Method for determining a lane course of a lane

1. A method for operating an advance driver assistance system, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of recorded routes of vehicles, each of the plurality of recorded routes including individual position indications in an order of passing during a respective journey;

determining a lane course based on a B-spline compensation curve, wherein determining the lane course includes a processor performing the following acts:

selecting a route from the plurality of recorded routes;

determining, based on the selected route, a number of checkpoints to be used in generating the B-spline compensation curve, and a value of each checkpoint;

generating a first B-spline compensation curve based on the number of checkpoints and the value of each checkpoint;

generating a second B-spline compensation curve based on the first B-spline compensation curve and individual position indications of the plurality of routes, wherein determining the second B-spline compensation curve is independent of an order of position indications in one of the respective routes and is independent of the fact that a position indication used is assigned to a route from the plurality of routes;

assigning the second B-spline curve as the first B-spline curve and repeating the act of generating the second B-spline compensation curve until an abort condition is satisfied;

and when the abort condition is satisfied, assigning the second B-spline compensation curve as the lane course; and

displaying a warning to a driver of the vehicle when it is determined by advance driver assistance system, based on the lane course, that a collision is likely.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising the following acts which are carried out before all other acts:

determining those routes from the plurality of routes which at least one of follow the same lane and represent the same driving maneuver; and

including only the determined routes in the plurality of routes.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2 , wherein determining those routes from the plurality of routes further comprising determining, for each such route, whether each such route has position indications in a first predefined position region and in a second predefined position region.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein determining the number of checkpoints comprises: dividing a length of a randomly selected route by a predefined divisor length; and selecting the number of checkpoints on the basis of a result of said dividing.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein determining the second B-spline compensation curve comprises, for each individual position indication used:

determining a point on the first B-spline compensation curve which is at the shortest distance from the respective individual position indication;

determining said point as a base point for the respective individual position indication.

6. The method as claimed in claim 2 , wherein determining the new compensation curve comprises, for each individual position indications used:

determining a point on the first B-spline compensation curve which is at the shortest distance from the respective individual position indication;

determining said point as a base point for the respective individual position indication.

7. The method as claimed in claim 3 , wherein determining the new compensation curve comprises, for each individual position indications used:

determining a point on the first B-spline compensation curve which is at the shortest distance from the respective individual position indication;

determining said point as a base point for the respective individual position indication.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein determining the second B-spline compensation curve comprises performing a multiplication of matrices, wherein at least one matrix of said matrices comprises the individual position indications used in said determining of the second B-spline compensation curve.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the position indications are determined with the aid of a satellite navigation system.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the method comprises the following acts which are performed after a final determination of the second B-spline compensation curve:

for a section of the second B-spline compensation curve where the section comprises the entire second B-spline compensation curve, for the position indications used in the section of the second B-spline compensation curve:

determining a respective shortest distance between the individual position indication and the second B-spline compensation curve;

determining a frequency distribution on the basis of the respective shortest distance;

determining whether the frequency distribution indicates that there are at least two parallel lanes based on at least two detected maxima of the frequency distribution; and

deriving a number of lane courses corresponding to a number of the at least two detected maxima from the second B-spline compensation curve of the final determination.

11. An apparatus for avoiding collisions involving a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a memory configured to store individual position indications and parameters of B-spline compensation curves, and

a processor configured to:

receive a plurality of recorded routes of vehicles, each of the plurality of recorded routes including individual position indications in an order of passing during a respective journey;

select a route from the plurality of recorded routes,

determine a number of checkpoints for a B-spline compensation curve, and a value for each checkpoint, based on the selected route,

generate an initial B-spline compensation curve based on the number of checkpoints and the value of each checkpoint,

repeat the following acts until an abort criterion has been satisfied:

generate a new B-spline compensation curve based on a previously-determined B-spline compensation curve and individual position indications of the plurality of routes,

wherein determining the new B-spline compensation curve is independent of an order of position indications in one of the respective routes and is independent of the fact that a position indication used is assigned to a route from the plurality of routes, and

when the abort condition is satisfied, assigning the new B-spline compensation curve as the lane course;

determine that a collision with the vehicle is likely based on the lane course; and

display a warning to a driver of the vehicle when it is determined that a collision is likely.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium having processor executable code embodied therein, which when executed by a processor causes the processor to perform the method of claim 1 .