# US 12,110,039 B2 · Information processing method and information processing system

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- Number: US 12,110,039 B2
- Document ID: US12110039B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/846,346
- Filed: 2022-06-22
- Published: 2022-10-13
- Granted: 2024-10-08
- Earliest claimed: 2020-03-26
- Assignees: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Yuki Matsumura; Takahiro Yoneda; Yoshimasa Honda
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12110039B2

## CPC

- B60W 60/0015: {specially adapted for safety}
- G05D 1/0038: {by providing the operator with simple or augmented images from one or more cameras located onboard the vehicle, e.g. tele-operation (images analyzed by a computer and used for automatic navigation G05D1/0246)}
- B60W 30/09: Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
- B60W 30/095: Predicting travel path or likelihood of collision
- B60W 50/0205: {Diagnosing or detecting failures; Failure detection models}
- B60W 50/14: Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
- G08G 1/166: {for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes}
- G08G 1/167: {Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection}
- B60W 2050/146: {Display means}
- B60W 2420/403: Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
- B60W 2540/215: Selection or confirmation of options
- B60W 2556/10: Historical 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
- G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93})

## Abstract

The information processing method includes processes of determining whether an emergency stop for a moving vehicle that is autonomously travelling has occurred; when it is determined that the emergency stop has occurred, simulating safety control based on a travel situation history of the moving vehicle; identifying a process that is a cause of the emergency stop from processes for the autonomous travel control indicated by a log of an autonomous driving system, based on the autonomous travel control indicated by the log and the safety control simulated; obtaining, from a database, one or more situation candidates corresponding to the process identified, and presenting an interface to an operator for inputting a situation candidate from the one or more situation candidates that corresponds to a situation indicated by the log; and determining restartability of the autonomous travel control by the autonomous driving system according to the situation candidate input.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An information processing method executed by a processor, the information processing method comprising:
determining whether an emergency stop for causing a moving vehicle that is autonomously travelling to avoid a collision with an obstacle has occurred;
when it is determined that the emergency stop has occurred, simulating safety control based on a travel situation history of the moving vehicle, the safety control being an autonomous travel control for causing the moving vehicle to autonomously travel to avoid the collision with the obstacle without performing the emergency stop;
obtaining a log of an autonomous driving system that executes the autonomous travel control of the moving vehicle, calculating a safety control time by comparing the safety control with the autonomous travel control indicated by the log, and identifying a process that is a cause of the emergency stop from processes for the autonomous travel control indicated by the log, based on the autonomous travel control indicated by the log and the safety control time, the safety control time being a start time of execution of the safety control in the autonomous travel control of the moving vehicle;
obtaining, from a database related to situations that possibly lead to an occurrence of the emergency stop, one or more situation candidates corresponding to the process identified, and presenting an interface to an operator for inputting a situation candidate from the one or more situation candidates that corresponds to a situation indicated by the log; and
determining restartability of the autonomous travel control by the autonomous driving system according to the situation candidate input.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The information processing method according to claim 1,
wherein the identifying of the process that is the cause of the emergency stop is performed based on a result of determining whether a result of a process required for executing the safety control was output before the safety control time.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The information processing method according to claim 2,
wherein the process required for executing the safety control is at least one of a detection process for obtaining a detection result indicating a surrounding situation of the moving vehicle, a prediction process for predicting the surrounding situation of the moving vehicle using the detection result, or a determination process for determining a travelling route according to the surrounding situation predicted.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The information processing method according to claim 2,
wherein the interface includes an image generated using an output of the process identified and observation data input to the autonomous driving system.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The information processing method according to claim 4,
wherein the interface includes an image generated further using an output obtained at the safety control time in the safety control.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The information processing method according to claim 5,
wherein the interface is for inputting the situation candidate corresponding to the situation indicated by the log for a time point after the safety control time.

### Claim 7 (depends on 2)

The information processing method according to claim 2,
wherein the restartability of the autonomous travel control is determined based on a value of a parameter indicating a safety level or a risk level of execution of the autonomous travel control, the value being set for the situation candidate input.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The information processing method according to claim 7,
wherein the parameter is based on a length of delay time from the safety control time of the output of the process identified.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The information processing method according to claim 7,
wherein the parameter is related to a time period corresponding to the situation candidate input, and
the situation candidate is input with respect to a time period until the safety control time.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The information processing method according to claim 1,
wherein the safety control is control to stop the moving vehicle at a stop position in case of the emergency stop or at a position short of the stop position.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The information processing method according to claim 1,
wherein the safety control is control to cause the moving vehicle to travel without colliding with the obstacle.

### Claim 12

An information processing system comprising:
one or more computers including a processor,
wherein the processor
determines whether an emergency stop for causing a moving vehicle that is autonomously travelling to avoid a collision with an obstacle has occurred;
when it is determined that the emergency stop has occurred, simulates safety control based on a travel situation history of the moving vehicle, the safety control being an autonomous travel control for causing the moving vehicle to autonomously travel to avoid the collision with the obstacle without performing the emergency stop;
obtains a log of an autonomous driving system that executes the autonomous travel control of the moving vehicle, calculates a safety control time by comparing the safety control with the autonomous travel control indicated by the log, and identifies a process that is a cause of the emergency stop from processes for the autonomous travel control indicated by the log, based on the autonomous travel control indicated by the log and the safety control time, the safety control time being a start time of execution of the safety control in the autonomous travel control of the moving vehicle;
obtains, from a database related to situations that possibly lead to an occurrence of the emergency stop, one or more situation candidates corresponding to the process identified, and presents an interface to an operator for inputting a situation candidate from the one or more situation candidates that corresponds to a situation indicated by the log; and
determines restartability of the autonomous travel control by the autonomous driving system according to the situation candidate input.
