Method for the multistage fusion of measurement data

1 . A vehicle control method comprising:

receiving, by a first controller or by a first module of a central control unit of a vehicle, measurement data ascertained by a first group of on-board sensors that are on board a vehicle, the first group of on-board sensors having a higher functional safety classification than a second group of on-board sensors that are on board the vehicle;

fusing the measurement data ascertained by the first group of on-board sensors to form a first environmental model;

receiving, by at least one second controller or by at least one second module of the central control unit, measurement data ascertained by the second group of on-board sensors of the vehicle;

generating a second environmental model using the first environmental model in combination with the measurement data of the second group of on-board sensors;

executing, by the vehicle, first vehicle control operations using the first environmental model independent of the second environmental model, wherein the first vehicle control operations are classified by the vehicle with the higher functional safety classification than second vehicle control operations; and

executing, by the vehicle, second vehicle control operations using the second environmental model, wherein the first and second vehicle control operations control at least one actuator of the vehicle.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the measurement data ascertained by the first group of on-board sensors are received with a functional safety classification of ASIL-B or higher.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one output of the first environmental model is provided as input for generating the second environmental model.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first environmental model and the second environmental model are created in the form of a hierarchical cascade of environmental models, with the functional safety classifications increasing in a direction from a lower hierarchical level to a higher hierarchical level, and wherein the environmental model at the lower hierarchical level is generated based on the environmental model at the higher hierarchical level.

5 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein the first environmental model has a functional safety classification of at least ASIL-B, and the second environmental model has a functional safety classification of ASIL-A or a QM.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein output of the first environmental model is provided to at least one first driving assistance function associated with the first vehicle control operations, and output of the second environmental model is provided to at least one second driving assistance function associated with the second vehicle control operations.

7 . A controller system of a vehicle, the controller system comprising a first controller and a second controller or a central control unit that is programmed with a first module and a second module, the controller system being configured to perform a vehicle control method, the controller system being configured to:

receive, by the first controller or by the first module of the central control unit of the vehicle, measurement data ascertained by a first group of on-board sensors that are on board the vehicle, the first group of on-board sensors having a higher functional safety classification than a second group of on-board sensors that are on board the vehicle;

fuse the measurement data ascertained by the first group of on-board sensors to form a first environmental model;

receive, by the second controller or by the second module of the central control unit, measurement data ascertained by the second group of on-board sensors of the vehicle;

generate a second environmental model using the first environmental model in combination with the measurement data of the second group of on-board sensors;

execute first vehicle control operations using the first environmental model independent of the second environmental model, wherein the first vehicle control operations are classified by the vehicle with the higher functional safety classification than second vehicle control operations; and

execute second vehicle control operations using the second environmental model, wherein the first and second vehicle control operations control at least one actuator of the vehicle.

8 . A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium on which is stored instructions that are executable by a controller system of a vehicle, the controller system including a first controller and a second controller or a central control unit that is programmed with a first module and a second module, the instructions, when executed by the controller system, causing the controller system to perform the following steps:

receiving, by the first controller or by the first module of the central control unit of the vehicle, measurement data ascertained by a first group of on-board sensors that are on board the vehicle, the first group of on-board sensors having a higher functional safety classification than a second group of on-board sensors that are on board the vehicle;

fusing the measurement data ascertained by the first group of on-board sensors to form a first environmental model;

receiving, by the second controller or by the second module of the central control unit, measurement data ascertained by the second group of on-board sensors of the vehicle;

generating a second environmental model using the first environmental model in combination with the measurement data of the second group of on-board sensors;

executing first vehicle control operations using the first environmental model independent of the second environmental model, wherein the first vehicle control operations are classified by the vehicle with the higher functional safety classification than second vehicle control operations; and

executing second vehicle control operations using the second environmental model, wherein the first and second vehicle control operations control at least one actuator of the vehicle.