Vehicle merge assistance system and method

A computer-implemented method for merge assistance of a vehicle, the method comprising:

• monitoring an area by a camera coupled to the vehicle;
• detecting, by at least one sensor coupled to the vehicle, information about at least one moving target object;
• connecting an electronic control unit having a processor with the camera and the sensor;
• receiving, at the electronic control unit, information from the camera and the sensor;
• operating the processor of the electronic control unit to
• receive information about a velocity and an acceleration of the vehicle,
• determine a merging location based on the information received from the camera,
• determine a velocity and an acceleration of the at the least one moving target object based on the information from the at least one sensor,
• identify a merge assist situation, and
• initiate a merge driving maneuver to control the vehicle during the merge assist situation.

A merge assistance system for a vehicle, the merge assistance system comprising:

• an electronic device configured to provide information about a plurality of road conditions;
• at least one sensor configured to be coupled to the vehicle and to detect information about at least one moving target object;
• an electronic control unit having a processor, the electronic control unit in electronic communication with the electronic device and the sensor to receive the information about the plurality of road conditions and the at least one moving target object;
• and
• a computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
• receive information about a velocity and an acceleration of the vehicle,
• determine a merging location based on information received from the electronic device,
• determine a velocity and an acceleration of the at the least one moving target object based on the information from the at least one sensor,
• identify a merge assist situation, and
• initiate a merge driving maneuver to control the vehicle during the merge assist situation.