Method, apparatus, and computer program product for automated lane merging assistance
AssigneeHERE Global B.V.
InventorsJames Fowe, Bruce Bernhardt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method, apparatus, and computer program product are provided for providing merging assistance for a vehicle. The method includes capturing a vehicle speed of the vehicle travelling in a lane of roadway. The method also includes receiving adjacent vehicle data relating to an adjacent vehicle in an adjacent lane. The method further includes receiving adjacent lane data relating to a speed of one or more vehicles in the adjacent lane. The method still further includes generating merger information for the vehicle based on the vehicle speed, the adjacent vehicle data, and the adjacent lane data. A corresponding apparatus and computer program product are also provided.
Claims20
A method of providing merging assistance for a vehicle, the method comprising:
- capturing a vehicle speed of the vehicle travelling in a lane of a roadway;
- receiving adjacent vehicle data relating to an adjacent vehicle in an adjacent lane;
- receiving adjacent lane data including vehicle speed of one or more vehicles within the adjacent lane, wherein the vehicle speed of the adjacent lane data is based on historical speed data associated with the adjacent lane for a same time epoch from a traffic service provider and is different from the vehicle speed;
- and
- based on the vehicle speed, the adjacent vehicle data, a safe following distance, and the adjacent lane data, generating merger information for a potential merge for the vehicle, wherein the merger information comprises at least a safety rating of the potential merge, wherein the safety rating of the potential merge is based in part on a minimum acceleration of the vehicle and a maximum amount of time to reach the vehicle speed of one or more vehicles within the adjacent lane and merge, wherein the safety rating is further based at least on a vehicle type of the vehicle, wherein the potential merge comprises the vehicle entering the adjacent lane and accelerating to the vehicle speed of one or more vehicles within the adjacent lane while remaining at least the safe following distance ahead of the adjacent vehicle, and
- wherein the safe following distance is based on a predetermined travel-time gap that is based on (i) the vehicle type including a length of the vehicle, and (ii) a road condition, and wherein the maximum amount of time to reach the vehicle speed of one or more vehicles within the adjacent lane is determined based on a formula of twice a distance between the vehicle and the adjacent vehicle divided by the vehicle speed subtracted from the vehicle speed of one or more vehicles within the adjacent lane.
An apparatus for providing merging assistance for a vehicle, the apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one non-transitory memory including computer program code instructions, the computer program code instructions configured to, when executed, cause the apparatus to:
- capture a vehicle speed of the vehicle travelling in a lane of a roadway;
- receive adjacent vehicle data relating to an adjacent vehicle in an adjacent lane,
- receive adjacent lane data including vehicle speed of one or more vehicles within the adjacent lane, wherein the vehicle speed of the adjacent lane data is based on historical speed data associated with the adjacent lane for a same time epoch from a traffic service provider and is different from the vehicle speed;
- and
- based on the vehicle speed, the adjacent vehicle data, a safe following distance, and the adjacent lane data, generate merger information for a potential merge for the vehicle, wherein the merger information comprises at least a safety rating of the potential merge, wherein the safety rating of the potential merge is based in part on a minimum acceleration of the vehicle and a maximum amount of time to reach the vehicle speed of one or more vehicles within the adjacent lane and merge, wherein the potential merge comprises the vehicle entering the adjacent lane and accelerating to the vehicle speed of one or more vehicles within the adjacent lane while remaining at least the safe following distance ahead of the adjacent vehicle,
- wherein the safety rating is further based at least on a vehicle type of the vehicle, and
- wherein the safe following distance is based on a predetermined travel-time gap that is based on (i) the vehicle type including a length of the vehicle, and (ii) a road condition, and wherein the maximum amount of time to reach the vehicle speed of one or more vehicles within the adjacent lane is determined based on a formula of twice a distance between the vehicle and the adjacent vehicle divided by the vehicle speed subtracted from the vehicle speed of one or more vehicles within the adjacent lane.
A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code portions stored therein, the computer-executable program code portions comprising program code instructions configured to:
- capture a vehicle speed of a vehicle travelling in a lane of a roadway;
- receive adjacent vehicle data relating to an adjacent vehicle in an adjacent lane;
- receive adjacent lane data including vehicle speed of one or more vehicles within the adjacent lane, wherein the vehicle speed of the adjacent lane data is based on historical speed data associated with the adjacent lane for a same time epoch from a traffic service provider and is different from the vehicle speed;
- and
- based on the vehicle speed, the adjacent vehicle data, a safe following distance, and the adjacent lane data, generate merger information for a potential merge for the vehicle, wherein the merger information comprises at least a safety rating of the potential merge, wherein the safety rating of the potential merge is based in part on a minimum acceleration of the vehicle and a maximum amount of time to reach the vehicle speed of one or more vehicles within the adjacent lane and merge, wherein the potential merge comprises the vehicle entering the adjacent lane and accelerating to the vehicle speed of one or more vehicles within the adjacent lane while remaining at least the safe following distance ahead of the adjacent vehicle,
- wherein the safety rating is further based at least on a vehicle type of the vehicle, and
- wherein the safe following distance is based on a predetermined travel-time gap that is based on (i) the vehicle type including a length of the vehicle, and (ii) a road condition, and wherein the maximum amount of time to reach the vehicle speed of one or more vehicles within the adjacent lane is determined based on a formula of twice a distance between the vehicle and the adjacent vehicle divided by the vehicle speed subtracted from the vehicle speed of one or more vehicles within the adjacent lane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.