SE1650631A1

SE1650631A1 - A method and a system for making maneuver decisions for avehicle

Info

Publication number: SE1650631A1
Application number: SE1650631A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Huselius Joel
Original assignee: Scania Cv Ab
Priority date: 2016-05-11
Filing date: 2016-05-11
Publication date: 2017-11-12
Also published as: SE542517C2; DE102017004068A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for making manoeuvring decisions for a vehicle (1), wherein the vehicle (1) is on a transportation mission travelling along a trajectory to a certain destination, the transportation mission including a number of requirements relating to such as safety, cargo-integrity, driving economy and time of travel, the method comprising the steps of: identifying (s101) a road anomaly associated with the trajectory of the vehicle (1); determining (s102) a priority of the mission requirements; and determining (s103) a suitable manoeuvre of the vehicle (1) in relation to the road anomaly, based on the priority order of the requirements.The invention also relates to a system (100), a vehicle (1) comprising such a system (100), a computer program (P) and a computer program product.(Fig. 1)

Description

A method and a system for making manoeuvring decisions for a vehicle TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for making manoeuvring decisionsfor a vehicle, a system for making manoeuvring decisions for a vehicle, avehicle comprising such a system, a computer program and a computerprogram product according to the appended claims.

BACKGROUND vehicles used for servioing a client are typicaliy assigned a transportationmission, such as transporting a cargo from one location to another. The clientassigning the mission may have various requirements regarding how thismission should pe performed. The requirements of the mission typicaily reiateto time of travel, fuel consumption and similar. Such requirements of themission should he considered when determining for example the route for thevehicle and the refueiiing strategy. The road quality affects the vehicle speedand driving manner and is therefore often considered when determining aroute for a vehicle in order to meet the various requirements. Documenttlššâuiíšitšuíioffl At for example shows a navigation system with a routevvhichmanoeuvraloility conditions in order to provide a safety oriented re-routing of a function hloo, they consider real-time road conditions andvehicle. The road condition is typioaliy analysed to decide vvhether a route is time efficient and/or fuel efficient for the vehicle to travel. DocumentÜEtß2ßt32i2776 At disoloses a method for route planning invoiving costfunction parameters relating to how suitable a route is for autonomous vehicles, for example based on road quality.

That road quality is taken into consideration to meet mission requirementswhen making strategic decisions is thus commonly known, but road quality andmission requirements are rarely considered when inaking tactical decisions during a rnissian. Üepending on new an oparator of a vehicia handias forexainpie an encounter of a road anoiriaty, an individuai pothoie couid thereforeiead to a certain raquirament not being mat. ii; is thus important aiso toconsider the requirements of the mission when operating the vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Despite known solutions in the field, there is still a need to develop a methodand a system for making manoeuvring decisions for a vehicle, which improvesthe ability to meet the various requirements of a transportation mission.

An object of the present invention is to achieve an advantageous method formaking manoeuvring decisions, which improves the ability to meet various requirements of a transportation mission.

Another object of the invention is to achieve an advantageous system formaking manoeuvring decisions, which improves the ability to meet various requirements of a transportation mission.

The herein mentioned objects are achieved by a method for makingmanoeuvring decisions for a vehicle, a system for making manoeuvringdecisions for a vehicle, a vehicle comprising such a system, a computerprogram and a computer program product according to the independent claims.

According to an aspect of the present invention a method for makingmanoeuvring decisions for a vehicle is provided, wherein the vehicle is on atransportation mission travelling along a trajectory to a certain destination. Thetransportation mission includes a number of requirements relating to such assafety, cargo-integrity, driving economy and time of travel. The methodcomprises the steps of: - identifying a road anomaly associated with the trajectory of the vehicle;- determining a priority order of the mission requirements; and- determining a suitable manoeuvre of the vehicle in relation to the road anomaly, based on the priority order of the requirements.

A road anomaly may for example be a bump, a pothole, a railway track, apavement, defects or other unevenness on the road surface. The roadanomaly may be a fixed anomaly or a moving anomaly, such as an animal or an object lying on the road.

A vehicle is suitably assigned a transportation mission by a client who wishesto deliver/pick up/transport something. The requirements associated with atransportation mission are suitably set by the client and may vary dependingon the mission. The requirements may for example relate to safety, cargo-integrity, driving economy, punctuality and time of travel but other requirementsmay also exist. Safety suitably relates to safety of the vehicle and thesurroundings. A requirement relating to cargo-integrity suitably relates to howfragile the cargo is. A high priority of cargo-integrity may indicate that the cargois fragile and it is thus important that the vehicle is manoeuvred such that thecargo is not damaged. Driving economy suitably relates to fuel consumption.Punctuality means that the cargo should be delivered at a desired point of timeand time of travel is the time spent on the road. These requirements may bedefined as additional requirements, i.e. requirements in addition to the mainrequirement of transporting a cargo from one destination to another. Therequirements are suitably of different importance in relation to each other andmay thus be divided in order of priority. The requirement with the highestpriority is thus the most important requirement. lt may for example be moreimportant to minirnize the fiiei consumption than to deliver the cargo on tinie orit rnay be inore important to drive srnoothiy than to rnininiize the time of travet.The requirements and the priority order rnay be provided oy the ciient througha ciient interface arranged in connection to a systern tor making inanoeuvring decisions for a vehicie. The ciient interface rnay be an interface to a deiivery system connected to the system for making manoeuvring decisions. Theinterface rney provide a vvay for ciients to soecify their constraintsifrequirementson an individuai mission with a given route and cargo~ioaci The system formaking manoeuvring decisions suitabiy determiries the priority order based oninformation given by the ciient oi the mission. By determining the priority orderoi the requirements and determining a siiitabie manoetiver to handie a roadanomaiy based on the priority order, a tacticai decision can he made whichimproves the abiiity to ttiiiii the requirements ot the mission.

The oriority order of the requirements may vary deoending on the mission.intuitiveiy, safety may be the single most important requirement, but in a scaleof possible safety levels, medium safety may be sufficient. As an exampledriving-economy may be less important than safety and on a scale of differentlevels of driving-economy, high cargo-integrity may have priority over high driving economy.

According to an aspect of the invention the road anomaly is identified based oninformation from means for determining the road quality. The means fordetermining the road quality may be a system for diagnosing road quality. Thesystem for diagnosing road quality may be arranged on the vehicle or may bevehicle external and is suitably arranged to communicate with the system formaking manoeuvring decisions. The system for diagnosing road quality mayalternatively be arranged in another vehicle, in communication with the systemfor making manoeuvring decisions via vehicle-to-vehicle technology. Theinformation from the system for diagnosing road quality suitably comprisesinformation about a road anomaly along the trajectory, such as geographicalposition, the type of anomaly, the Characteristics of the anomaly, such as sizeand form, if the anomaly comprises one or a plurality of defects, or similar. Theinformation regarding road anomalies is suitably saved in the system formaking manoeuvring decisions. This way, the system for making manoeuvringdecisions can predict a road anomaly along the trajectory and retrieve information about the road anomaly such that a suitable manoeuvring decision can be made when reaching the relevant geographical position. Alternatively,the means for determining the road quality may be sensor means and/orcameras arranged on the vehicle. The sensor means may be laser devices,radar devices or similar. The system for making manoeuvring decisionssuitably receives information regarding an encountered road anomaly from thesensor means/cameras, such as type of anomaly, the characteristics of theanomaly, such as size and form, if the anomaly comprises one or a plurality of defects, or similar.

The suitable manoeuvre of the vehicle in relation to the road anomaly maycomprise to adjust the vehicle speed and/or initiate an evasive manoeuver.Depending on the priority of the requirements and depending on the roadanomaly, different manoeuvres may be suitable. lf the identified road anomalyis a bump in the road a decrease of the vehicle speed may be the mostsuitable manoeuvre for safety reasons. However, a sudden decrease ofvehicle speed could jeopardise the cargo, so if cargo-integrity is the highestpriority a slow and smooth decrease of vehicle speed may be the most suitablemanoeuvre. A smooth decrease of vehicle speed will however increase thetime of travel and may affect the punctuality so if time to travel or punctuality isof highest priority this is not an option. lf the road anomaly is so small that itwouldn"t affect neither safety nor cargo-integrity maybe the most suitablemanoeuvre is to do nothing or even to increase the vehicle speed. lf the most suitable manoeuvre to handle the road anomaly is to adjust thevehicle speed, the adjustment of the vehicle speed suitably depends on thecharacteristics of the road anomaly. lf the road anomaly is large, the vehiclespeed is suitably decreased significantly and if the road anomaly is small thevehicle speed is suitably not decreased as much. Likewise, if the road anomalycomprises a plurality of obstacles the vehicle speed is suitably decreasedsignificantly and if the road anomaly comprises one obstacle the vehicle speedmay not be decreased as much.

According to an aspect of the invention the suitable manoeuvre to handle theroad anomaly is determined based on the road condition and/or environment inwhich the vehicle travels. The suitable manoeuvre to handle the road anomalymay also be determined based on vehicle data and/or vehicle configuration.For example, if a vehicle is travelling in an urban environment and encountersa pothole, an evasive manoeuver may be deemed unsafe since it may lead toincalculable consequences, whereas if the vehicle is travelling on a countryroad an evasive manoeuvre may be the most suitable to meet therequirements of the mission. Similarly, a sudden and significant decrease ofvehicle speed may be suitable if the vehicle is travelling on a paved road withhigh quality but it may deemed unsafe if the vehicle is travelling on a road withpoor quality. The weight/load of the vehicle may affect both the ability toperform an evasive manoeuvre and for example the braking distance whenbraking the vehicle. The weight/load of the vehicle is thus suitably consideredwhen determining a suitable manoeuvring decision to handle the road anomaly while meeting the mission requirements.

The suitable manoeuvre to handle the road anomaly is preferably determinedby first considering the requirement with the highest priority and then therequirement with the second highest priority etc. As an example, the vehicle ison a mission to deliver a cargo to a certain destination and the requirementsare prioritised as follows: o Safety o Cargo-integrity o Driving economy o Time to travelThe vehicle is traveling in an urban environment and a large pothole isidentified. An evasive manoeuver is deemed as unsafe as discussed above sothe determined suitable manoeuver to meet the safety requirement is to adjustthe vehicle speed. lf the characteristics of the pothole are such that the cargo- integrity will be jeopardised, the vehicle speeds must be decreased. However, a sudden decrease of vehicle speed may also jeopardise the cargo-integrityand the vehicle speed thereby has to be decreased smoothly in order to meetthe cargo-integrity requirement. This way, the mission may take longer time butsince punctuality and travelling time has the Iowest priority this is considered tobe allowed. ln the case where the travelling time has a higher priority thancargo-integrity the suitable manoeuver may instead be a sudden and smalldecrease of vehicle speed.

According to an aspect of the invention the vehicle is an autonomouslyoperated vehicle and the determined manoeuvre is transferred as controlparameters to a control unit for controlling the vehicle. By using road qualityand mission requirements as parameters when making manoeuvring decisionsin an autonomously operated vehicle it is ensured that the autonomous vehicleis operated along an appropriate trajectory at an appropriate speed. Thedetermined manoeuver may be determined proactively and may thus beexecuted at a later stage when the road anomaly is encountered.

According to an aspect of the invention the vehicle is a manually operatedvehicle and the determined manoeuvre is presented to the operator of thevehicle on a display unit. The suitable manoeuvre is preferably determinedprior to reaching the identified road anomaly, such that the operator has timeto analyse and execute the presented instructions. The actual performance ofthe operator of the vehicle may be logged in the system for makingmanoeuvring decisions. lf the manoeuvre was determined based on roadanomaly information from a system for diagnosing road quality and the roadanomaly information was wrong, the operator may of course not execute thedetermined manoeuvre. ln this case, it may be noted that the determinedmanoeuvre was incorrect or unnecessary in order to meet the missionrequirements and the system for diagnosing road quality is suitably updatedwith information regarding the road anomaly.

According to an aspect of the invention the road anomaly may be that a gamefencing along the road ends or a traffic sign indicating wild animals. This mayindicate that there is a risk for animals crossing the road and the suitablemanoeuver in relation to this road anomaly is suitably to decrease the vehicle speed.

According to an aspect of the invention a system for making manoeuvringdecisions for a vehicle is provided, wherein the vehicle is on a transportationmission travelling along a trajectory to a certain destination, the transportationmission including a number of requirements relating to such as safety, cargo-integrity, driving economy and time of travel. The system is adapted to identifya road anomaly associated with the trajectory of the vehicle; determine apriority of the mission requirements; and determine a suitable manoeuvre ofthe vehicle in relation to the road anomaly, based on the priority order of the requirements.

The system for making manoeuvring decisions for a vehicle suitably comprisesa control unit adapted to identify a road anomaly associated with the trajectoryof the vehicle; determine a priority of the mission requirements; and determinea suitable manoeuvre of the vehicle in relation to the road anomaly, based onthe priority order of the requirements. A computer may be connected to the control unit.

The system is suitably adapted to identify a road anomaly based oninformation from means for determining the road quality. The means fordetermining the road quality may be a system for diagnosing road quality. Thesystem for diagnosing road quality may be arranged on the vehicle or may bea vehicle external system and is suitably arranged to communicate with thesystem for making manoeuvring decisions. The system for diagnosing roadquality may be arranged on another vehicle, in communication with the systemfor making manoeuvring decisions through vehicle-to-vehicle technology. The information from the means for determining the road quality suitably comprises information about the identified road anomaly, such as type of anomaly, theCharacteristics of the anomaly, size and form, if the anomaly comprises one ora plurality of defects, or similar. The information regarding the road anomaly issuitably saved in the system for making manoeuvring decisions. This way, thesystem for making manoeuvring decisions can predict a road anomaly on acertain geographical position and retrieve information about the road anomalysuch that a suitable manoeuvring decision can be made for when reachingsaid geographical position. Alternatively or additionally, the means fordetermining the road quality may be sensor means and/or cameras arrangedon the vehicle. The sensor means/and or cameras are suitably arranged to communicate with the system for making manoeuvring decisions.

The system is suitably adapted to determine a manoeuvre in relation to theroad anomaly which comprises to adjust the vehicle speed and/or initiate anevasive manoeuver. The system is suitably adapted to determine a suitablemanoeuvre in relation to the road anomaly based on the priority order of therequirements and the characteristics of the road anomaly. Depending on thehighest prioritised requirement, and depending on the road anomaly, different manoeuvres may be suitable.

The system is suitable adapted to adjust the vehicle speed depending on thecharacteristics of the road anomaly. lf the system has determined that the mostsuitable manoeuvre to handle the road anomaly is to adjust the vehicle speed,the system is adapted to adjust the vehicle speed depending on thecharacteristics of the road anomaly. lf the road anomaly is large, the systemmay be adapted to decrease the vehicle speed significantly and if the roadanomaly is small the system may be adapted not to decrease the vehiclespeed as much. Likewise, if the road anomaly comprises a plurality ofdefects/obstacles the system may be adapted to decrease the vehicle speedsignificantly and if the road anomaly comprises only one obstacle the systemmay be adapted not to decrease the vehicle speed as much.

The system is suitably adapted to determine the manoeuvre based on the roadcondition and/or environment in which the vehicle travels. The system mayalso be adapted to determine the suitable manoeuvre to handle the roadanomaly based on vehicle data and/or vehicle configuration. The system maythus be adapted to consider such factors as type of vehicle, vehicleload/weight, road quality, the amount of traffic, surrounding vehicles/objectsetc. when determining a suitable manoeuvre to handle the identified road anomaly.

According to an aspect of the invention the vehicle is an autonomouslyoperated vehicle and the system is adapted to transfer the determined manoeuvre as control parameters to a control unit for controlling the vehicle.

According to an aspect of the invention the vehicle is a manually operatedvehicle and the system is adapted to present the manoeuvre to the operator ofthe vehicle on a display unit. The system is suitably adapted to present thedetermined manoeuver as instructions on a display unit, such that the operatorcan perform the manoeuvre. The system is suitably adapted to determine thesuitable manoeuvre prior to reaching the identified road anomaly, such that theoperator has time to analyse and perform the presented instructions. Thesystem may be adapted to log the actual performance of the operator of thevehicle. This way, the system will be able to identify if the operator followed theinstructions and determine if the determined manoeuvre was correct in order tomeet the mission requirements. The system is thereby also able to determine ifthe information about the road anomaly was wrong. The system may thus beadapted to transfer correct information about the road anomaly to the system for diagnosing road quality.

Further objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention willbecome apparent to one skilled in the art from the following details, and alsoby putting the invention into practice. Whereas the invention is described below, it should be noted that it is not restricted to the specific details 11 described. Specialists having access to the teachings herein will recognisefurther applications, modifications and incorporations within other fields, whichare within the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For fuller understanding of the present invention and further objects andadvantages of it, the detailed description set out below should be read togetherwith the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference notationsdenote similar items in the various diagrams, and in which: Figure 1 schematically illustrates a vehicle according to an embodiment ofthe invention; Figure 2 schematically illustrates a system for making manoeuvringdecisions for a vehicle according to an embodiment of theinvenﬁon; Figure 3 schematically illustrates a flow chart for a method for makingmanoeuvring decision for a vehicle according to an embodiment ofthe invention; and Figure 4 schematically illustrates a control unit or computer according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The term "link" refers herein to a communication link which may be a physicalconnection such as an opto-electronic communication line, or a non-physical connection such as a wireless connection, e.g. a radio link or microwave link. 12 Figure 1 schematicaiiy shows a side view of a vehicfe 1 comprising a systemfor making maneuvering decisions 100 according to an embodiment of theinvention. The vehicle 1 may be a heavy vehicle, e.g. a truck or a bus. Thevehicle 1 may alternatively be a passenger car. The vehicle may be a hybridvehicle, an electrical vehicle or a vehicle driven by a combustion engine. Thevehicle may be manually operated, remotely operated or autonomouslyoperated.

Figure 2 shows a system for making manoeuvring decisions for a vehicle 100according to an embodiment of the invention. The vehicle 1 is suitablyconfigured as described in Figure 1 and is adapted to be used fortransportation missions and thereby travelling along a trajectory to a certaindestination. Each transportation mission is configured to comprise a plurality ofrequirements relating for example to safety, cargo-integrity, driving economyand time of travel. The system 100 is adapted to identify a road anomalyassociated with the trajectory of the vehicle 1; determine a priority of themission requirements; and determine a suitable manoeuvre of the vehicle 1 inrelation to the road anomaly, based on the priority order of the requirements.

The system 100 suitably comprises a control unit 110 arranged incommunication with means for determining the road quality 200. The meansfor determining the road quality 200 is/are arranged to transfer road qualityinformation via link L200 to the control unit 110. The information may comprisean identified anomaly, the geographical location of the anomaly, which type ofanomaly, the size and form of the anomaly etc. The control unit 110 is suitablyadapted to identify a road anomaly along the trajectory of the vehicle 1, basedon information from the means for determining road quality 200. The means fordetermining the road quality 200 may be a system for diagnosing road quality.The road quality information from the system for diagnosing road quality 200may be saved in the control unit 110, such that the control unit 110 can predicta road anomaly along the trajectory based on the road quality information and map data. The system for diagnosing road quality 200 may be arranged on the 13 vehicle 1, on another vehicle or may be a vehicle external system. The controlunit 110 may be adapted to transfer information regarding the encounteredroad anomaly to the system for diagnosing road quality 200 via link L200.Alternatively or additionally, the means for determining the road quality 200comprises sensor means and/or cameras arranged on the vehicle 1. A computer 120 may be connected to the control unit 110.

The requirements associated with a transportation mission are suitably savedin the control unit 110. The priority of the requirements for each mission maybe entered by the client assigning the mission via a client interface 210arranged in communication with the control unit 110. The interface 210 thusprovides a way for the client to speoify the eonetraints/requirernents on eachindividuai mission. The client interface 210 is thus suitably adapted to transferinformation regarding the requirements via link L210 to the control unit 110.The client interface 210 may constitute a part of an external delivery systemassociated with the vehicle 1. The control unit 110 is thus adapted todetermine the priority order of the requirements, based on information from theclient interface 210.

The control unit 110 is further arranged in communication with means fordetermining the environment in which the vehicle is travelling 220, such ascameras and/or sensor means arranged on the vehicle 1. The means fordetermining the environment in which the vehicle is travelling 220 is suitablyadapted to transfer information regarding the environment via link L220 to thecontrol unit 110. The information may comprise the amount of traffic, thepresence of pedestrians or objects surrounding the vehicle 1. The control unit110 is suitably adapted to determine a suitable manoeuvre in relation to anidentified road anomaly, based on information regarding the environment inwhich the vehicle is travelling. The control unit 110 is suitably adapted todetermine a suitable manoeuvre to handle an identified road anomaly basedon the road condition. lnformation regarding the road condition is suitablyreceived from the means for determining the road quality 200. 14 The control unit 110 suitably comprises vehicle data such as type of vehicle,estimated weight/load of the vehicle, current vehicle speed, gear selection etc.The control unit 110 may be adapted to determine a suitable manoeuvre based on such vehicle data.

The control unit 110 may further be arranged in communication with anothercontrol unit for controlling the vehicle 230. ln the case where the vehicle 1 is anautonomously operated vehicle 1 the control unit 110 is suitably adapted totransfer the determined manoeuvre as control parameters to the control unit forcontrolling the vehicle 230 via link L230. The control unit 110 may be arrangedin communication with a display unit 240. ln the case where the vehicle 1 ismanually operated the control unit 110 is suitably adapted to transferinformation via link L240 to present the determined manoeuver on the displayunit 240. The display unit 240 is suitably arranged inside the vehicle 1 in vicinity of the operator of the vehicle 1.

Figure 3 schematically shows a flow chart of a method for makingmanoeuvring decisions for a vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of theinvention. The vehicle 1 is on a transportation mission travelling along atrajectory to a certain destination, the transportation mission including anumber of requirements relating to such as safety, cargo-integrity, drivingeconomy and time of travel. The method comprises the steps of identifyings101 a road anomaly associated with the trajectory of the vehicle 1;determining s102 a priority order of the mission requirements; and determinings103 a suitable manoeuvre of the vehicle 1 in relation to the road anomaly,based on the priority order of the requirements. The method is suitablyperformed by means of a system for making manoeuvring decisions 100 according to Figure 2.

The requirements associated with a transportation mission may vary and mayfor example relate to safety, cargo-integrity, driving economy, punctuality and time of travel. Other requirements may also exist. These requirements may bedefined as additional requirements, i.e. requirements in addition to the mainrequirement of transporting a cargo from one destination to another. Therequirement with the highest priority is the most important requirement. Forsome missions it may be more important to minirnize the foot consumptionthan to oeiiver the cargo on time or it may be more important to drive smoothiythan to rriiriirnize the time of travet. By determining the priority order of therequirements and determining a euitabie manoeover to handie a road anomaiybased on the priority order, a taotioai decision can be rnade whioh improvesthe abiiity to fuifii the requirements of the mission.

The road anomaly may be identified based on information from means fordetermining the road quality 200. The road anomaly may be identified basedon information from a system for diagnosing road quality 200. Alternatively, theroad anomaly may be identified based in information from sensor means and/or cameras 200 arranged on the vehicle 1.

The suitable manoeuvre of the vehicle 1 in relation to the road anomaly maycomprise to adjust the vehicle speed and/or initiate an evasive manoeuver.Depending on the highest prioritised requirement, and depending on the roadanomaly, different manoeuvres may be suitable. lf the road anomaly is a bumpa decrease of the vehicle speed may be the most suitable manoeuvre forsafety reasons. However, a sudden decrease of vehicle speed couldjeopardise the cargo, so if cargo-integrity is the highest priority a slow andsmooth decrease of vehicle speed may be the most suitable manoeuvre. Asmooth decrease of vehicle speed will however increase the time of travel andmay affect the punctuality so if time to travel or punctuality is of highest prioritythis is not an option. lf the road anomaly is so small that it wouldn"t affectneither safety nor cargo-integrity maybe the most suitable manoeuvre is to donothing or even to increase the vehicle speed. 16 lf the most suitable manoeuvre to handle the road anomaly is to adjust thevehicle speed, the adjustment of the vehicle speed suitably depends on theCharacteristics of the road anomaly. lf the road anomaly is large, the vehiclespeed is suitably decreased significantly and if the road anomaly is small thevehicle speed is suitably not decreased as much. Likewise, if the road anomalycomprises a plurality of obstacles the vehicle speed is suitably decreasedsignificantly and if the road anomaly comprises one obstacle the vehicle speedmay not be decreased as much.

The suitable manoeuvre in relation to the road anomaly may be determinedbased on the road condition and/or environment in which the vehicle travels.The suitable manoeuvre in relation to the road anomaly may also bedetermined based on vehicle data and/or vehicle configuration. A vehicle 1travelling in an urban environment which encounters a pothole will probablyreceive a different suitable manoeuver compared to when it travels on acountry road. Similarly, if the vehicle 1 is travelling on a paved road with highquality a certain manoeuver may be suitable which is not suitable at all if thevehicle is travelling on a road with poor quality. The weight/load of the vehicle1 may affect both the ability to perform an evasive manoeuvre and for examplethe braking distance when braking the vehicle 1. The weight/load of the vehicle1 is thus suitably considered when determining a suitable manoeuvringdecision to handle the road anomaly while meeting the requirements of themission. Also, the suitable manoeuvre may differ depending on the type ofvehicle. A certain manoeuver may for example be suitable if the vehicle is a bus and another may be suitable if the vehicle is a tank truck.

The manoeuvre to handle the road anomaly is suitably determined by firstconsidering the requirement with the highest priority and then the requirementwith the second highest priority etc.

The vehicle 1 may be an autonomously operated vehicle and the determined manoeuvre is suitably transferred as control parameters to a control unit for 17 controlling the vehicle 230. The vehicle 1 may alternatively be a manuallyoperated vehicle and the determined manoeuvre is suitably presented to theoperator of the vehicle on a display unit 240. The suitable manoeuvre ispreferably determined prior to reaching the identified road anomaly, such thatthe operator has time to analyse and execute the presented instructions. Theactual performance of the operator of the vehicle may be logged in the systemfor making manoeuvring decisions 100. lf the manoeuvre was determinedbased on road anomaly information from a system for diagnosing road quality200 and the road anomaly information was wrong, the operator may of coursenot execute the determined manoeuvre. ln this case, it may be noted that thedetermined manoeuvre was incorrect in order to meet the missionrequirements and the system for diagnosing road quality 200 is suitably updated with information regarding the road anomaly.

Figure 4 schematically illustrates a device 500. The control unit 110 orcomputer 120 described with reference to Figure 2 may in a version comprisethe device 500. The term "link" refers herein to a communication link whichmay be a physical connection such as an optoelectronic communication line,or a non-physical connection such as a wireless connection, e.g. a radio link ormicrowave link. The device 500 comprises a non-volatile memory 520, a dataprocessing unit 510 and a read/write memory 550. The non-volatile memory520 has a first memory element 530 in which a computer program, e.g. anoperating system, is stored for controlling the function of the device 500. Thedevice 500 further comprises a bus controller, a serial communication port, I/Omeans, an A/D converter, a time and date input and transfer unit, an eventcounter and an interruption controller (not depicted). The non-volatile memory520 has also a second memory element 540.

There is provided a computer program P which comprises routines for amethod for making manoeuvring decisions for a vehicle 1 according to theinvention. The computer program P comprises routines for identifying a roadanomaly along the trajectory of the vehicle 1. The computer program P 18 comprises routines for determining a priority order of the requirements of themission. The computer program P comprises routines for determining asuitable manoeuvre in relation to the road anomaly, based on the priority orderof the requirements. The computer program P comprises routines for adjustingthe vehicle speed and/or making an evasive manoeuvre. The computerprogram P comprises routines for transferring a determined manoeuvre ascontrol parameters for contro||ing the vehicle 1. The computer program Pcomprises routines for presenting the determined manoeuvre on a display unit.The program P may be stored in an executable form or in a compressed formin a memory 560 and/or in a read/write memory 550.

Where the data processing unit 510 is described as performing a certainfunction, it means that the data processing unit 510 effects a certain part of theprogram stored in the memory 560 or a certain part of the program stored inthe read/write memory 550.

The data processing device 510 can communicate with a data port 599 via adata bus 515. The non-volatile memory 520 is intended for communication withthe data processing unit 510 via a data bus 512. The separate memory 560 isintended to communicate with the data processing unit 510 via a data bus 511.The read/write memory 550 is adapted to communicating with the dataprocessing unit 510 via a data bus 514.

When data are received on the data port 599, they are stored temporarily inthe second memory element 540. When input data received have beentemporarily stored, the data processing unit 510 is prepared to effect codeexecution as described above.

Parts of the methods herein described may be effected by the device 500 bymeans of the data processing unit 510 which runs the program stored in thememory 560 or the read/write memory 550. When the device 500 runs theprogram, methods herein described are executed. 19 The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention is provided for illustrative and descriptive purposes. lt is not intendedto be exhaustive or to restrict the invention to the variants described. Manymodifications and variations will obviously be apparent to one ski||ed in the art.The embodiments have been chosen and described in order best to explainthe principles of the invention and its practical applications and hence make itpossible for specialists to understand the invention for various embodiments and with the various modifications appropriate to the intended use.

Claims

1. A method for making manoeuvring decisions for a vehicle (1), wherein thevehicle (1) is on a transportation mission travelling along a trajectory to acertain destination, the transportation mission including a number ofrequirements relating to such as safety, cargo-integrity, driving economy andtime of travel, the method comprising the steps of: - identifying (s101) a road anomaly associated with the trajectory of the vehicle(1): - determining (s102) a priority of the mission requirements; and - determining (s103) a suitable manoeuvre of the vehicle (1) in relation to the road anomaly, based on the priority order of the requirements.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the road anomaly is identified based on information from a system for diagnosing road quality (200).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determined manoeuvre comprises to adjust the vehicle speed and/or initiate an evasive manoeuver.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the adjustment of the vehicle speed depends on the characteristics of the road anomaly.

5. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein themanoeuvre is determined based on the road condition and/or environment in which the vehicle (1) travels.

6. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the vehicle(1) is an autonomously operated vehicle and the determined manoeuvre istransferred as control parameters to a control unit for controlling the vehicle(230). 21

7. The method according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the vehicle (1) is amanually operated vehicle and the determined manoeuvre is presented to the operator of the vehicle on a display unit (240).

8. A system (100) for making manoeuvring decisions for a vehicle (1), whereinthe vehicle (1) is on a transportation mission travelling along a trajectory to acertain destination, the transportation mission including a number ofrequirements relating to such as safety, cargo-integrity, driving economy andtime of travel, characterized in that the system (100) is adapted to identify aroad anomaly associated with the trajectory of the vehicle (1); determine apriority of the mission requirements; and determine a suitable manoeuvre ofthe vehicle (1) in relation to the road anomaly, based on the priority order of the requirements.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein it is adapted to identify a roadanomaly based on information from a system for diagnosing road quality (200).

10. The system according to claim 8 or 9, wherein it is adapted to determine amanoeuvre comprising to adjust the vehicle speed and/or comprising to initiate an evasive manoeuver.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein it is adapted to adjust thevehicle speed depending on the characteristics of the road anomaly.

12. The system according to any of claims 8-11, wherein it is adapted todetermine the manoeuvre based on the road condition and/or environment in which the vehicle (1) travels.

13. The system according to any of claims 8-12, wherein the vehicle (1) is anautonomously operated vehicle and the system (100) is adapted to transfer thedetermined manoeuvre as control parameters to a control unit for controllingthe vehicle (230). 22

14. The system according to any of claims 8-13, wherein the vehicle (1) is amanually operated vehicle and the system (100) is adapted to present themanoeuvre to the operator of the vehicle (1) on a display unit (240).

15. A vehicle (1), characterized in that it comprises a system (100) according to any of claims 8-14.

16. A computer program (P), wherein said computer program comprisesprogram code for causing an electronic control unit (110; 500) or a computer(120; 500) connected to the electronic control unit (110; 500) to perform thesteps according to any of the claims 1-7.

17. A computer program product comprising a program code stored on acomputer-readable medium for performing the method steps according to anyof claims 1-7, when said computer program is run on an electronic control unit(110; 500) or a computer (120; 500) connected to the electronic control unit(110; 500).