Method for handling failures in an autonomous vehicle

1 . A method performed by a control unit for handling failures in an autonomous vehicle, the method comprising, by a processor of the control unit:

detecting a failure in the autonomous vehicle, wherein the failure is detected by at least one of:

a set of sensors in the autonomous vehicle,

receiving an indication from another vehicle observing that there is a failure with the autonomous vehicle, or

receiving an indication from a weighing station detecting that the autonomous vehicle is overloaded;

determining whether the autonomous vehicle is in an open road area or in a restricted area, wherein the restricted area is isolated from the open road area, and the restricted area is associated with a restricted area configuration for the autonomous vehicle, wherein the restricted area configuration:

provides a higher degree of freedom of handling failures than in an open road configuration, and/or

relate to higher maximum speed limits when operating in the restricted area than in than the open road configuration, and

wherein determining whether the autonomous vehicle is in the open road area or in the restricted area comprises at least one of:

comparing a position of the autonomous vehicle to a map and/or coordinates indicating the restricted area, or

comparing the position of the autonomous vehicle with a geofence of the restricted area and/or the open road area;

wherein the position is determined by using at least one satellite and/or the set of sensors;

when the autonomous vehicle is determined to be in the restricted area, handling the failure according to a restricted area configuration, wherein handling the failure according to the restricted area configuration comprises determining whether a predetermined safety condition is fulfilled, and

when the predetermined safety condition is determined to be fulfilled, allowing the autonomous vehicle to leave the restricted area, wherein allowing the autonomous vehicle to leave the restricted area comprises at least one of:

triggering an opening of a gate between the open road area and the restricted area, or

reconfiguring the autonomous vehicle.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein detecting the failure in the autonomous vehicle further comprises obtaining failure status information, and wherein determining whether the predetermined safety condition is fulfilled is based on the obtained failure status information.

3 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein the failure status information indicates a severity level of the detected failure, and wherein the predetermined safety condition is considered fulfilled when the severity level of the failure is below a predetermined threshold.

4 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein the failure status information indicates a critical time and/or critical distance of operating the autonomous vehicle until the severity level of the failure is expected to increase, and wherein the predetermined safety condition is considered fulfilled when a drive plan of the autonomous vehicle is scheduled to finish before the indicated critical time and/or critical distance.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining a vehicle status information,

wherein determining whether the predetermined safety condition is fulfilled is based on the obtained vehicle status information.

6 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the vehicle status information indicates a current weight of the autonomous vehicle, and wherein the predetermined safety condition is considered fulfilled when the current weight is below a predetermined weight threshold.

7 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the vehicle status information indicates a current tire pressure of the autonomous vehicle, and wherein the predetermined safety condition is considered fulfilled when the current tire pressure is above a predetermined tire pressure threshold.

8 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the vehicle status information indicates a current fuel and/or battery level, and wherein the predetermined safety condition is considered fulfilled when the current fuel and/or battery level is/are above at least one predetermined fuel and/or battery level threshold.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein handling the failure according to the restricted area configuration comprises determining one or more driving parameters for the autonomous vehicle with a higher degree of freedom compared to handling the failure according to an open road configuration.

10 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein, when the predetermined safety condition is determined to not be fulfilled, the method comprises restricting the autonomous vehicle from leaving the restricted area.

11 . The method according to claim 10 , wherein, when the predetermined safety condition is determined to not be fulfilled, the method comprises determining one or more driving parameters for the autonomous vehicle based on a severity of the detected failure.

12 . A control unit configured to, by a processor of the control unit, perform the method according to claim 1 .

13 . An autonomous vehicle comprising the control unit according to claim 12 .

14 . A non-transitory computer program medium carrying a computer program comprising program code for performing the steps of claim 1 when said program code is run on a computer.