阅读说明：本技术 用于控制在车辆和云之间分布的应用程序的方法和装置 (Method and apparatus for controlling applications distributed between a vehicle and a cloud ) 是由 A·格拉尔迪 J·施瓦德曼 K·埃克特 J·沃尔特 F·布兰克 E·瓦洛塞克 B·贝纳姆 于 2020-02-13 设计创作，主要内容包括：用于控制分布在车辆(13)和云(14)之间的应用程序(15、16、17、18)的方法,其特征在于,具有以下特征：-执行对在所述车辆(13)和所述云(14)之间的通信信道(21、22)的监视(11),并且,-基于所述监视(11),对所述应用程序(15、16、17、18)的在所述车辆(13)中运行的部分(15、17)或者所述应用程序(15、16、17、18)的在所述云(14)中运行的部分(16、18)进行(12)控制和适配(12)。(Method for controlling applications (15, 16, 17, 18) distributed between a vehicle (13) and a cloud (14), characterized by the following features: -performing a monitoring (11) of a communication channel (21, 22) between the vehicle (13) and the cloud (14), and-based on the monitoring (11), performing (12) a control and adaptation (12) of a part (15, 17) of the application (15, 16, 17, 18) running in the vehicle (13) or a part (16, 18) of the application (15, 16, 17, 18) running in the cloud (14).)

1. Method (10) for controlling applications (15, 16, 17, 18) distributed between a vehicle (13) and a cloud (14),

the method is characterized by comprising the following characteristics:

-performing monitoring (11) of a communication channel (21, 22) between the vehicle (13) and the cloud (14), and,

-controlling and adapting (12) the part (15, 17) of the application (15, 16, 17, 18) running in the vehicle (13) or the part (16, 18) of the application (15, 16, 17, 18) running in the cloud (14) by means of the monitoring (11).

2. The method (10) of claim 1,

the method is characterized by comprising the following characteristics:

-connectivity (19) of the applications (15, 16, 17, 18) is established on the vehicle (13) side by means of a communication unit (23) and on the cloud (14) side by means of a back-end connector (24), and,

-said monitoring (11) involves said communication unit (23) and connector (24).

3. The method (10) according to claim 1 or 2,

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

the monitoring (11) relates to one of the following operating parameters (25, 26, 27) of the communication channel (21, 22):

-a time delay (25),

-a reliability (26),

-availability (27), or

-a transmission capacity.

4. The method (10) of claim 3,

the method is characterized by comprising the following characteristics:

-alternately using the communication channels (21, 22), and,

-said control is performed by means of a transformation between said communication channels (21, 22) according to said operating parameters (25, 26, 27).

5. The method (10) of claim 3,

the method is characterized by comprising the following characteristics:

-using the communication channels (21, 22) simultaneously, and,

-said control is achieved by means of assigning said application (15, 16, 17, 18) to said communication channel (21, 22) according to the requirements of said application (15, 16, 17, 18) and said operating parameters (25, 26, 27).

6. The method (10) of claim 3,

the method is characterized by comprising the following characteristics:

-the function of the application (15, 16, 17, 18) is selectively exercised by a part (15, 17) of the application (15, 16, 17, 18) running in the vehicle (13) or a part (16, 18) of the application (15, 16, 17, 18) running in the cloud (14), and,

-said control is performed by moving said function between said vehicle (13) and said cloud (14) according to said operating parameters (25, 26, 27).

7. The method (10) of claim 6,

the method is characterized by comprising the following characteristics:

-said application (15, 16, 17, 18) comprises a remote manoeuvre run of said vehicle (13) and,

-the moved function comprises a maneuver (28) of the vehicle (13).

8. Computer program arranged for implementing a method (10) according to any of claims 1 to 7.

9. A machine-readable storage medium on which the computer program according to claim 8 is stored.

10. Apparatus (20) arranged for carrying out the method (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method for controlling an application distributed between a vehicle and a cloud. The invention also relates to a corresponding device, a corresponding computer program and a corresponding storage medium.

Background

The prerequisite for a partially autonomous vehicle according to the prior art is a vehicle guidance interface ("driver station") and a person who is capable of driving and authorized to guide the vehicle, as a vehicle occupant, who can take over guidance when necessary. So-called remote driving (ToD) forms the subject of many research projects, in which vehicles can be assisted by remote control in the case of challenging scenarios (e.g. detour, alternative and irregular routes on rural roads, etc.) or driving tasks can be temporarily taken over completely or partially by an operator outside the dispatch center, i.e. the remote operator in question. For this purpose, the vehicle and the dispatch center or their operators are connected to one another via a mobile radio network with low latency and high data rate.

US 9494935B 2 discloses a computer apparatus, system and method for remotely operating an autonomous passenger car. When an autonomous vehicle encounters an unexpected ambient environment that is not suitable for autonomous operation (e.g., a road construction site or an obstacle), the vehicle sensors can sense data about the vehicle and the unexpected ambient environment, including pictures, radar data, lidar data, and the like. The sensed data can be transmitted to a remote operator. The remote operator can manually remotely operate the vehicle or issue instructions to the autonomous vehicle that should be executed by various vehicle systems. The sensed data sent to the remote operator can be optimized to save bandwidth by: such as transmitting a limited subset of the sensed data.

A vehicle according to US 9767369B 2 is capable of receiving one or more pictures of the surroundings of the vehicle. The vehicle can also acquire a surrounding map. The vehicle can also compare at least one feature in the picture to one or more features in the map. The vehicle is also capable of identifying a particular region of the one or more pictures that corresponds to a portion of the map that is a threshold distance from the one or more features. The vehicle can also compress the one or more pictures to record a lesser amount of detail in the area of the picture that is the given area. The vehicle can also provide the compressed picture to the remote system and receive an operation instruction from the remote system in response thereto.

The system and method according to US 9465388B 1 achieve that an autonomous vehicle may require assistance from a remote operator when the vehicle has low confidence in operation. An exemplary method includes operating an autonomous vehicle in a first autonomous mode. The method can also include identifying a situation in which a confidence level of the autonomous operation in the first autonomous mode is below a threshold level. The method can also include sending a request for assistance to the remote assistant, wherein the request includes sensor data representative of a portion of a surrounding environment of the autonomous vehicle. Additionally, the method can include receiving a response from the remote assistant, wherein the response is indicative of the second autonomous mode of operation. The method can also cause the autonomous vehicle to operate in a second autonomous operation type based on a response from the remote assistant.

US 9720410B 2 discloses another method for remotely assisting an autonomous vehicle in predetermined situations.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention proposes a method for controlling an application distributed between a vehicle and a cloud, a corresponding device, a corresponding computer program and a corresponding storage medium according to the independent claims.

The solution according to the invention is based on the recognition that: as in other technology areas, connectivity is also becoming increasingly important in the automotive field. As a result, more and more vehicles gain the ability to establish a connection with a back-end computer (back-end) in the cloud and provide or receive data for different applications. Most of these applications are set up for pure information exchange with the cloud and these applications, e.g. remote diagnostics, use this data in order to provide functionality based on the same data. Vehicle functions in the narrow sense have been able to be implemented individually in the cloud: in vehicles of the new generation, the language assistance function senses the language of the vehicle occupants, for example by means of sound signals, transmits these sound signals into the cloud and performs an analysis there and transmits the recognized words back to the vehicle, in which the specific vehicle functions are activated or implemented on the basis of the recognized words and their semantics.

The solution described below is also based on this knowledge: the transport connection between vehicle and cloud according to the prior art is mostly based on a minimum performance commitment in terms of quality of Service (QoS) which allows maintaining connectivity as good as possible, but never guarantees availability and operational capacity anytime and anywhere. It is important, precisely for procedures with high demands on functional security, to have a scheme that "teaches at least one knowledge of the connection status at any time or even allows the relevant communication channel to be controlled with respect to its throughput and quality of service".

The method proposed by the invention takes into account the vehicle functions distributed in this way, which are no longer restricted to the vehicle sector, but are operated partly in the cloud and partly in the vehicle. According to the prior art, applications distributed in this way are limited to comfort functions and auxiliary functions due to technical obstacles, which the solution according to the invention seeks to overcome. It is therefore virtually impossible according to the prior art for an application distributed in the manner described above to take over basic functions of the vehicle, such as vehicle motor management and control functions or driver assistance functions.

In this context, the solution according to the invention has the advantage of exploiting a considerable saving potential, since the functions of an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) which require high power and thus are expensive can be performed in the back-end more efficiently and with lower hardware costs. Furthermore, embodiments of the invention allow for novel functions to be provided, for example using other vehicle information to improve the functional capabilities of the vehicle, for example through motor management of the electric vehicle based on the availability and status of the charging device and other electric vehicle status. Finally, the configuration of the present invention can help avoid expensive recall actions, since most functions are located in the rear end and can thus be optimized and corrected without recalling each vehicle of interest. This extension of the distributed functionality is achieved by controlling and monitoring the availability of connections to the backend according to the present invention.

Advantageous embodiments and refinements of the basic concept specified in the dependent claims can be achieved by the measures listed in the dependent claims. Thus, it can be provided that the application controlled according to the invention allows a remote steering travel. In this case, most of the vehicle control is executed in the rear end; for example, the remote operator may appear to "cover" the perception of the autonomous vehicle by determining a new motion profile for travel and assist the vehicle in overcoming problematic areas or conditions. In extreme cases, the operator can fully maneuver the vehicle from the dispatch center. This may be necessary, for example, when an autonomous vehicle is in a difficult situation due to challenging traffic conditions or other problems and has to be reactivated for autonomous driving, in such a way that a remote operator temporarily maneuvers the vehicle through the problematic area.

Drawings

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and set forth in more detail in the following description. The figures show:

FIG. 1 shows a vehicle connected to a cloud through two communication channels;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart of a method for controlling a distributed application;

FIG. 3 schematically shows the architecture of a control program according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a first application scenario of the control program shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows a second application of the control program shown in FIG. 3;

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a third application of the control program shown in FIG. 3;

fig. 8 and 9 show a fourth application of the control program shown in fig. 3.

Detailed Description

The general approach of the method described here consists in providing the following devices: the device enables the communication channel to be influenced, controlled, monitored and used in a targeted manner in accordance with the functional requirements or application requirements distributed between the cloud and the vehicle. Furthermore, the application is able to adapt its functionality to the current state of the communication channel. If more than one communication channel is available, such as in the case of parallel communication at different frequencies with different codes and radio access, the communication channels may have an orthogonality. The more pronounced the orthogonality, the less likely problems occur on both channels simultaneously and at the same location. This orthogonality is used according to the invention to improve the overall performance of the communication when both channels are available as communication devices for one function at the same time. Fig. 1 provides an overview.

Fig. 2 shows a method (10) suitable for this, the flow of which is explained below with reference to the system shown in fig. 3 at a high level of abstraction. In order to monitor and control an application, a monitoring unit (hereinafter: "supervisor") is required. The application supervisor (20) monitors (process 11-fig. 2) permanently and in real time the communication conditions of the different available communication channels (21, 22) and decides, based on the monitored capabilities and qualities of these communication channels (21, 22), how the functionality should be adapted to the communication capabilities or how the communication should be adapted to the requirements of the respective application (15, 16, 17, 18) (process 12-fig. 3). The supervisor (20) is thus able to take into account the functional safety requirements of the applications (15, 16, 17, 18). The application supervisor (20) may be in the vehicle (13), in the backend, or distributed itself between the vehicle (13) and the backend. There can be a plurality of applications (15, 16, 17, 18) and communication units (23) controlled and adapted by a common supervisor (20); it is also conceivable that a plurality of supervisors (20) are available and that the monitoring (11) and the adapting (12) are performed separately or in coordination.

Fig. 4 shows aspects of possible transitions between communication channels (21, 22). In this application case, the supervisor (20) monitors the channels (21, 22) and decides whether to use the one or the other channel (21, 22). This is done dynamically based on continuously or at least periodically monitoring (11) the channels (21, 22) and adapting (12) their functional capabilities accordingly. Parameters such as communication latency (time delay 25), communication safety or reliability (26) which is inversely proportional to the probability of failure, availability (27) of the communication channel (21, 22) which is inversely proportional to the probability of failure of the communication, or the data capacity available for communication can be taken into account. Depending on the duration of the switching process, the supervisor (20) should be able to prepare the application (15, 16, 17, 18) for the upcoming transition and set up a respective further communication channel (21, 22) for the transformed application (15, 16, 17, 18). The supervisor (20) can therefore also take into account the functional safety requirements of the applications (15, 16, 17, 18) in this case.

Fig. 5 shows an aspect of parallel use of redundant communication channels (21, 22) with functional data classification: when a plurality of channels (21, 22) are used simultaneously in this way, the application supervisor (20) in the current application situation divides the communication types of the applications (15, 16, 17, 18) it controls into different classes on the basis of the requirements of the applications, for example with regard to latency (25), data throughput and data security or reliability (26), and dynamically assigns these classes to the communication channels (21, 22) controlled and managed by the application supervisor. It is thus possible to use the available channels (21, 22) in a manner that is most efficient and optimally adapted to the functional requirements. The classification of application data and the allocation thereof to available channels (21, 22) is carried out dynamically on the basis of continuous or at least periodic monitoring (11) of these channels and corresponding adaptation (12) of the function. In this way, the application supervisor (20) can also take into account the functional safety requirements of the application (15, 16, 17, 18) in this case.

Fig. 6 and 7 collectively illustrate the dynamically changing aspects of the functional partitions. In this regard, it should be noted that the assignment of tasks between the cloud (14) and the vehicle (13) is not generally determined to achieve a particular function. There must therefore be a possibility of transferring a smaller or larger part of the functionality from the vehicle (13) into the cloud (14). Thus, for example, in the case of language recognition, the functional part in the backend may be limited to text recognition, or a complete semantic analysis of the language elements together with their assignment to vehicle functions can be carried out in the cloud (14); the result of this analysis would be a direct access to the vehicle functions. Based on the capabilities of the monitoring (11) and the applications (15, 16, 17, 18), the part of the applications (16, 18) running in the backend can be adapted. Thus, if the communication capability is sufficient for this, more functions can be implemented in the cloud (14) (fig. 6); if, on the other hand, the communication is impaired, the function is moved back into the vehicle (13) (fig. 7). Thus, in this way, the application supervisor (20) can take into account the functional security requirements of the application (15, 16, 17, 18). The supervisor (20) can also be arranged to alternate between different application instances with different capabilities on the back end side or vehicle side, or the supervisor can adapt the capabilities of an application instance by communicating with the instance itself.

Finally, fig. 8 and 9 relate to aspects of remotely manipulated driving conditions. In this application, it is important that the remote operator (29) has a suitable overview of the environment of the remotely operated vehicle (13). This is achieved by transmitting sensor information, such as video, radar, lidar or vehicle system status, from the vehicle (13) or other information source, such as a camera comprised by the public infrastructure, to a remote operator (29) via a communication channel (21, 22). If a change in communication capacity occurs and this change is monitored accurately and reliably by the supervisor (20) both on the vehicle (13) side and on the rear end side, the range of assistance provided by the remote operator (29) can be changed dynamically on the one hand and, for example, adjusted from monitoring the movement trajectory (30) (fig. 8) of the vehicle to the fact that the vehicle is completely manipulated (28) (fig. 9) by the remote operator (29). On the other hand, if the quality of service of the used communication channel (20, 21) is below a certain threshold, a decision can be made: the vehicle (13) is placed in a safe state (safe state).

The method (10) can be implemented, for example, in a controller, for example, in software or hardware, or in a hybrid form of software and hardware.