# US 11,897,504 B2 · Method for assisted or at least semi-automated driving of a motor vehicle

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 11,897,504 B2
- Document ID: US11897504B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/763,579
- Filed: 2020-08-03
- Published: 2022-10-20
- Granted: 2024-02-13
- Earliest claimed: 2019-10-14
- Assignees: Audi AG
- Applicants: Audi AG
- Inventors: Lukas Rottkamp
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11897504B2

## CPC

- B60W 30/00: Purposes of road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. of systems using conjoint control of vehicle sub-units
- B60W 60/0011: {involving control alternatives for a single driving scenario, e.g. planning several paths to avoid obstacles}
- B60W 10/04: including control of propulsion units
- B60W 10/18: including control of braking systems
- B60W 10/20: including control of steering systems
- B60W 40/02: related to ambient conditions
- B60W 50/00: Details of control systems for road vehicle drive control not related to the control of a particular sub-unit {, e.g. process diagnostic or vehicle driver interfaces}
- B60W 50/0097: {Predicting future conditions}
- B60W 50/14: Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
- B60W 60/0057: {Estimation of the time available or required for the handover}
- H04W 4/40: for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
- B60W 2050/0002: {Automatic control, details of type of controller or control system architecture}
- B60W 2050/0004: {In digital systems, e.g. discrete-time systems involving sampling}
- B60W 2050/0006: {Digital architecture hierarchy}
- B60W 2420/403: Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
- B60W 2420/408: Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
- B60W 2420/54: Audio sensitive means, e.g. ultrasound
- B60W 2552/05: Type of road, e.g. motorways, local streets, paved or unpaved roads
- B60W 2555/20: Ambient conditions, e.g. wind or rain
- B60W 2556/45: External transmission of data to or from the vehicle
- B60W 2556/50: of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
- B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)

## Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method of driving a motor vehicle. The method determines position data relating to at least one of a current position or a predicted future position of the motor vehicle detecting, using at least one sensor device, surroundings data relating to a surrounding environment of the motor vehicle, determining at least one driving intervention based on the surroundings data, and controlling at least one vehicle system of the motor vehicle to execute the determined at least one driving intervention. The at least one driving intervention executed by a selected software module that is selected based on the surroundings data, and the selected software module is selected from a plurality of software modules based on the position data. Each software module is configured to execute the at least one driving intervention.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of driving a motor vehicle, comprising:
determining position data relating to at least one of a current position or a predicted future position of the motor vehicle;
detecting, using at least one sensor device, surroundings data relating to a surrounding environment of the motor vehicle;
determining, based on the surroundings data, at least one driving intervention;
controlling at least one vehicle system of the motor vehicle to execute the at least one driving intervention,
wherein the at least one driving intervention is executed by a selected software module that is selected based on the surroundings data, and
wherein the selected software module is selected from a plurality of software modules based on the position data, each software module of the plurality of software modules being configured to execute the at least one driving intervention;
predicting a future route for the motor vehicle, wherein the future route is predicted based on the predicted future position of the motor vehicle; and
selecting, based on at least one of the predicted future position of the motor vehicle or a plurality of predicted future positions of the motor vehicle on the future route, at least one future software module from the plurality of software modules,
wherein the method of driving the motor vehicle along the predicted future route is executed if a waiting condition is fulfilled,
wherein at least one of a current connection quality or a predicted connection quality of a wireless communication connection affects fulfillment of the waiting condition, and
wherein the waiting condition is fulfilled when the selected software module and the at least one future software module are selected by a vehicle-external device and stored locally in the motor vehicle.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
determining at least one of a probable route type or a probable traffic situation for the current position of the motor vehicle based on the position data,
wherein the selected software module is selected based on at least one of the probable route type or the probable traffic situation.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1,
wherein the at least one driving intervention is determined by a processing device of the motor vehicle, and
wherein the selected software module is selected by the vehicle-external device via the wireless communication connection prior to the determination of the at least one driving intervention.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1,
wherein, in the event that only a subset of software modules from the plurality of software modules is available, predicting the future route is based on the available subset of software modules.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method according to claim 4, further comprising:
controlling a notification device to inform a user that manual driving of the motor vehicle is required for at least one of the current position or the predicted future position of the motor vehicle on the future route when an intervention condition is met; and
sending a request for assistance to the vehicle-external device when the intervention condition is met,
wherein the intervention condition indicates that the selected software module for at least one of the current position or the predicted future position on the future route is not available, and
wherein the intervention condition indicates that no software module in the available subset of software modules is suited for at least one of the current position or the predicted future position on the future route.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
evaluating, using a monitoring software module, a quality condition, wherein fulfillment of the quality condition depends on the at least one driving intervention determined by the selected software module.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1,
wherein the selected software module is selected based on at least one of a specified travel destination, a current travel direction, or a predicted travel direction of the motor vehicle.

### Claim 8

A motor vehicle, comprising:
a memory for storing instructions; and
one or more processors, communicatively coupled to the memory, configured to execute the instructions, the instructions causing the one or more processors to:
determine position data relating to at least one of a current position or a predicted future position of the motor vehicle;
detect, using at least one sensor device, surroundings data relating to a surrounding environment of the motor vehicle;
determine, based on the surroundings data, at least one driving intervention; and
control at least one vehicle system of the motor vehicle to execute the at least one driving intervention,
wherein the at least one driving intervention is executed by a selected software module that is selected based on the surroundings data, and
wherein the selected software module is selected from a plurality of software modules based on the position data, each software module of the plurality of software modules being configured to execute the at least one driving intervention;
predict a future route for the motor vehicle, wherein the future route is predicted based on the predicted future position of the motor vehicle; and
select, based on at least one of the predicted future position of the motor vehicle or a plurality of predicted future positions of the motor vehicle on the future route, at least one future software module from the plurality of software modules,
wherein the method of driving the motor vehicle along the future route is executed if a waiting condition is fulfilled,
wherein at least one of a current connection quality or a predicted connection quality of a wireless communication connection affects fulfillment of the waiting condition, and
wherein the waiting condition is fulfilled when the selected software module and the at least one future software module are selected by a vehicle-external device and stored locally in the motor vehicle.