Risk based driver assistance for approaching intersections of limited visibility
An automotive driver assistance for a vehicle with an improved capability to handle obstructed sensor coverage includes steps of acquiring sensor data on an environment of the vehicle from at least one sensor, of generating an environment representation based on the acquired sensor data and of predicting at least one behavior of the vehicle. The method determines at least one area in the environment of the vehicle wherein for the at least one area either a confidence for the sensor data is below a threshold or no sensor data is available and generates at least one virtual traffic entity in the at least one determined area, wherein the virtual traffic entity is adapted to interact with the at least one predicted behavior of the vehicle. A risk measure for each combination of the at least one virtual traffic entity and the predicted behavior of the vehicle is estimated, the calculated risk measure is evaluated and a controlling action for the vehicle is executed based on the evaluated risk measure.
1. A method for controlling a mobile device using a driver assistance system or an autonomous driving system, the method comprising steps of:
acquiring sensor data on an environment of the mobile device from at least one sensor,
generating an environment representation based on the acquired sensor data,
predicting at least one behavior of the mobile device,
wherein the method further comprises steps of
determining at least one area in the environment of the mobile device, wherein for the at least one area either a confidence for the sensor data is below a threshold or no sensor data is available,
generating at least one virtual traffic entity in the at least one determined area, wherein at least one behavior of the virtual traffic entity is predicted which can influence the at least one predicted behavior of the mobile device,
estimating a risk measure for each combination of the at least one behavior of the virtual traffic entity and the predicted behavior of the mobile device,
evaluating the calculated risk measure, and
executing a controlling action for the mobile device based on the evaluated risk measure.
2. The method for controlling a mobile device according to claim 1 , further comprising a step of
predicting at least one virtual behavior of the at least one virtual traffic entity, and
in the step of estimating a risk measure, a risk measure for each combination of the virtual behavior of the at least one virtual traffic entity and each predicted behavior of the mobile device is estimated.
3. The method for controlling a mobile device according to claim 1 , further comprising a step of
calculating a utility measure for each predicted behavior of the mobile device, and in the step of executing a controlling action for the mobile device, the controlling action is determined based on the calculated risk measure and the calculated utility measure.
4. The method for controlling a mobile device according to claim 1 , wherein
in the step of executing a controlling action a warning to a driver of the mobile device is issued if the estimated risk measure exceeds a predetermined risk threshold, the driver initiated driving action is supported or the driving action of the mobile device is executed autonomously.
5. The method for controlling a mobile device according to claim 1 , wherein
in the step of acquiring sensor data on an environment of the mobile device, map data of the environment of the mobile device is acquired.
6. The method for controlling a mobile device according to claim 5 , wherein
the acquired map data includes information on buildings or environment entities.
7. The method for controlling a mobile device according to claim 5 , wherein
in the step of determining the at least one area in the environment of the mobile device, a sensor position and a sensor orientation in the environment representation and sensor coverage occlusions based on the map data, in particular the information on buildings and environment structures are determined.
8. The method for controlling a mobile device according to claim 1 , further comprising steps of
obtaining further risk information and further predicted behavior of at least one target object in the environment of the mobile device, wherein the at least one target object is detected by the at least one sensor, and
fusing the obtained further risk information and further predicted behavior of the at least one target object with the estimated risk measure to generate fused risk and behavior data,
wherein in the step of evaluating the risk measure, the fused risk and behavior data is evaluated, and
wherein in the step of executing the controlling action, the controlling action is executed based on the evaluated fused risk and behavior data.
9. A system for controlling a mobile device, the system comprising:
an acquiring unit configured to acquire sensor data on an environment of the mobile device from at least one sensor,
an environment modelling unit configured to generate an environment representation based on the acquired sensor data,
a prediction unit configured to predict at least one behavior of the mobile device, and
wherein a gap area determining unit is configured to determine at least one area in the environment of the mobile device, wherein for the at least one area either a confidence for the sensor data is below a threshold or no sensor data is available,
that a virtual traffic entity determining unit is configured to generate at least one virtual traffic entity in the at least one determined area, wherein the virtual traffic entity is adapted to interact with the at least one predicted behavior of the mobile device,
that a risk estimation unit is configured to estimate a risk measure for each combination of the at least one virtual traffic entity and the predicted behavior of the mobile device,
that an evaluation unit is configured to evaluate the calculated risk measure,
that a vehicle control unit is configured to execute a controlling action for the mobile device based on the evaluated risk measure.
10. The system for controlling a mobile device according to claim 9 , wherein the system is a driver assistance system or an autonomous driving system for a mobile device.
11. A mobile device equipped with the system according to claim 9 .