System and method for smooth steering override transition during automated lane centering

1. A method comprising:

measuring, by a processor, one or more vehicle steering measurements of a vehicle;

calculating, by the processor, one or more expected vehicle steering measurements, each calculated expected vehicle steering measurement corresponding to one of the measured vehicle steering measurements;

calculating, by the processor, an absolute value difference between one of the measured vehicle steering measurements and its corresponding calculated expected vehicle steering measurement;

calculating, by the processor, a lower boundary and an upper boundary of at least one override transition zone, each of the override transition zones corresponding to one of the measured vehicle steering measurements and its corresponding calculated expected vehicle steering measurement, wherein the lower boundary includes a buffer to take into account driver interaction that is not intended to override an automatic vehicle control system;

comparing the calculated absolute value difference to the calculated lower boundary and the calculated upper boundary of the at least one override transition zone;

transferring, by the processor, steering control of the vehicle from an automatic vehicle control system to a driver of the vehicle with a gradual transition over a predetermined period of time when the calculated absolute value difference lies between the calculated lower boundary and the calculated upper boundary of the corresponding override transition zone; and

transferring, by the processor, steering control of the vehicle from an automatic vehicle control system to a driver of the vehicle without a gradual transition when the calculated absolute value difference lies above the calculated upper boundary of the corresponding override transition zone.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the calculated lower boundary or the calculated upper boundary declines in value as a measured speed of the vehicle increases.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more vehicle steering measurements comprises a vehicle steering angle measurement.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more vehicle steering measurements comprises a vehicle steering torque measurement.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the period of time is selected such that a characteristic of motion of the vehicle does not deviate from a predetermined vehicle motion criterion.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the predetermined motion criterion comprises an upper limit on lateral acceleration or an upper limit on yaw acceleration.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the steering control by the automatic vehicle control system is reduced in accordance with an exponential function of time.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle automated steering system comprises an adaptive lane centering system.

9. The method of claim 1 , comprising providing an alert prior to transferring steering control.

10. A system comprising:

a vehicle automated steering system;

one or more sensors; and

a controller to:

measure one or more vehicle steering measurements of a vehicle;

calculate one or more expected vehicle steering measurements, each calculated expected vehicle steering measurement corresponding to one of the measured vehicle steering measurements;

calculate at least one difference between one of the measured vehicle steering measurements and its corresponding calculated expected vehicle steering measurement;

calculate a lower boundary and an upper boundary of at least one override transition zone, each of the override transition zones corresponding to one of the measured vehicle steering measurements and its corresponding calculated expected vehicle steering measurement, wherein the lower boundary includes a buffer to take into account driver interaction that is not intended to override an automatic vehicle control system;

compare the calculated absolute value difference to the calculated lower boundary and the calculated upper boundary of the at least one override transition zone;

transfer steering control of the vehicle from an automatic vehicle control system to a driver of the vehicle with a gradual transition over a period of time when one or more of said at least one calculated difference lies between the calculated lower boundary and the calculated upper boundary of the corresponding override transition zone; and

transfer steering control of the vehicle from an automatic vehicle control system to a driver of the vehicle without a gradual transition when the calculated absolute value difference lies above the calculated upper boundary of the corresponding override transition zone.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the calculated lower boundary or the calculated upper boundary declines in value as a measured speed of the vehicle increases.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more vehicle steering measurements comprises a steering angle measurement.

13. The system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more vehicle steering measurements comprises a steering torque measurement.

14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the vehicle automated steering system comprises an adaptive lane centering system.

15. The system of claim 10 , wherein the controller provides an alert prior to transferring steering control.

16. The system of claim 10 , wherein the period of time is selected such that a characteristic of motion of the vehicle does not deviate from a predetermined vehicle motion criterion.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the predetermined motion criterion comprises an upper limit on lateral acceleration or an upper limit on yaw acceleration.

18. The system of claim 11 , wherein the sensors comprise a sensor for measuring a speed of the vehicle.