Lane change maneuver planning for driver in control application

A system comprising:

• one or more sensors of a vehicle that are configured to obtain sensor data, including as to engagement of a turn signal and a steering wheel of the vehicle by a driver of the vehicle;
• and
• a processor that is coupled to the one or more sensors and that is configured to at least facilitate:
• determining, using the sensor data, when a driver of the vehicle is initiating a lane change maneuver for the vehicle into an adjacent lane, including a first indication of the lane change maneuver based on the engagement of the turn signal by the driver and a second indication of the lane change maneuver based on the engagement of the steering wheel by the driver;
• determining, using the sensor data, including as to the engagement of both the turn signal and the steering wheel by the driver, a target zone for the lane change maneuver, the target zone comprising a region of the adjacent lane into which the vehicle would turn in executing the lane change maneuver, and wherein the target zone is determined from a plurality of target zone candidates of sufficient size to allow the vehicle to travel therethrough without contacting other vehicles or other objects;
• and
• automatically controlling longitudinal movement of the vehicle as the driver manually performs lateral movement of the vehicle via engagement of the steering wheel of the vehicle by the driver during the lane change maneuver, such that the vehicle can effectively execute the lane change maneuver into the adjacent lane without contacting the other vehicles or other objects;
• wherein the processor is further configured to at least facilitate:
• determining, after the first indication of the lane change maneuver and before the second indication of the lane change maneuver, an initial target zone prediction from the plurality of target zone candidates for the lane change maneuver;
• determining, after the second indication of the lane change maneuver, an updated target zone prediction from the plurality of target zone candidates for the lane change maneuver;
• controlling the longitudinal movement of the vehicle after the first indication of the lane change maneuver and before the second indication of the lane change maneuver by adjusting a longitudinal speed of the vehicle such that the vehicle is on path to effectively execute the lane change maneuver into the adjacent lane via the initial target zone prediction;
• controlling the longitudinal movement of the vehicle after the second indication of the lane change maneuver by adjusting the longitudinal speed of the vehicle such that the vehicle is on path to effectively execute the lane change maneuver into the adjacent lane via the updated target zone prediction;
• determining the initial target zone prediction after the first indication and before the second indication, to be an initial selection from the plurality of target zone candidates as a closest one of the plurality of target zone candidates to the vehicle in terms of a time for travel thereto by the vehicle;
• and
• determining the updated target zone prediction after the second indication, to be an updated selection from the plurality of target zone candidates as a closest one of the plurality of target zone candidates to the vehicle in terms of a distance for travel thereto by the vehicle;
• and
• determining the time for travel by the vehicle to a particular one of the plurality of target zone candidates in connection with the following equation:
• t
• 1
• =
• -
• Vx
• ⁢
• 1
• +
• Vx
• ⁢
• 1
• 2
• -
• 2
• *
• D
• ⁢
• c
• ⁢
• lRate
• *
• Δ
• ⁢
• x
• 1
• D
• ⁢
• c
• ⁢
• lRate
• ,
• in which “t1” represents the time to reach a particular target zone candidate, “Vx1” represents a current velocity of a target vehicle or object at the particular target zone candidate;
• “DclRate” represents a calibratable parameter based on an expected longitudinal deceleration rate response of the for the lane change maneuver, “Δx1” represents the distance between the vehicle and the particular target zone candidate.

A vehicle comprises:

• a body;
• a drive system configured to move the body;
• a braking system configured to control braking for the body;
• a steering system configured to control steering for the body, the steering system including a turn signal and a steering wheel;
• and
• a control system comprising:
• one or more sensors that are configured to obtain sensor data, including as to engagement of the turn signal and the steering wheel by a driver of the vehicle;
• and
• a processor that is coupled to the one or more sensors and that is configured to at least facilitate:
• determining, using the sensor data, when a driver of the vehicle is initiating a lane change maneuver for the vehicle into an adjacent lane, including a first indication of the lane change maneuver based on the engagement of the turn signal by the driver and a second indication of the lane change maneuver based on the engagement of the steering wheel by the driver;
• determining, using the sensor data, a plurality of target zone candidates for the lane change maneuver, each of the plurality of target zone candidates comprising a region of the adjacent lane into which the vehicle would turn in executing the lane change maneuver wherein each of the plurality of target zone candidates of is sufficient size to allow the vehicle to travel therethrough without contacting other vehicles or other objects, and wherein the processor determines a selected target zone from the plurality of target zone candidates as follows:
• determining, using the sensor data, after the first indication of the lane change maneuver and before the second indication of the lane change maneuver, an initial target zone prediction for the selected target zone from the plurality of target zone candidates for the lane change maneuver as a closest one of the plurality of target zone candidates to the vehicle in terms of a time for travel thereto by the vehicle;
• determining, after the second indication of the lane change maneuver, an updated target zone prediction of the selected target zone from the plurality of target zone candidates for the lane change maneuver as a closest one of the plurality of target zone candidates to the vehicle in terms of a distance for travel thereto by the vehicle;
• and
• automatically controlling longitudinal movement of the vehicle based initially on the initial target zone prediction and subsequently on the updated target zone prediction as the driver manually performs lateral movement of the vehicle via engagement of the steering wheel of the vehicle by the driver during the lane change maneuver, such that the vehicle can effectively execute the lane change maneuver into the adjacent lane without contacting the other vehicles or other objects, including based on whether the target zone candidate is of sufficient size based on a position and movement of the vehicle and the other vehicles or other objects as obtained via the sensor data, along with pre-calibrated requirements as to a driver-selected follow distance for adaptive cruise control with respect to those of the other vehicles and other objects that are in front of the vehicle as well as a buffer with respect to other of the other vehicles and other objects that are behind the vehicle, including by:
• controlling the longitudinal movement of the vehicle after the first indication of the lane change maneuver and before the second indication of the lane change maneuver by adjusting a longitudinal speed of the vehicle such that the vehicle is on path to effectively execute the lane change maneuver into the adjacent lane via the initial target zone prediction;
• and
• controlling the longitudinal movement of the vehicle after the second indication of the lane change maneuver by adjusting the longitudinal speed of the vehicle such that the vehicle is on path to effectively execute the lane change maneuver into the adjacent lane via the updated target zone prediction;
• and
• determining the time for travel by the vehicle to a particular one of the plurality of target zone candidates in connection with the following equation:
• t
• 1
• =
• -
• Vx
• ⁢
• 1
• +
• Vx
• ⁢
• 1
• 2
• -
• 2
• *
• DclRate
• *
• Δ
• ⁢
• x
• 1
• DclRate
• ,
• in which “t1” represents the time to reach a particular target zone candidate, “Vx1” represents a current velocity of a target vehicle or object at the particular target zone candidate;
• “DclRate” represents a calibratable parameter based on an expected longitudinal deceleration rate response of the for the lane change maneuver, “Δx1” represents the distance between the vehicle and the particular target zone candidate.