IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,787,424
Granted Patent B2
US 11,787,424 · App. 17/290,370 · Granted Oct 17, 2023

Method for checking at least one driving environment sensor of a vehicle

Inventors: Christoph Gustav Keller (Stuttgart, DE); Holger Mielenz (Ostfildern, DE)
Assignee: Daimler AG
B60W50/0205B60W50/14G06F18/24G06V20/56B60W2050/0215B60W2554/20B60W2554/802B60W2556/40
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,787,424
App. No.
17/290,370
Granted
Oct 17, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

A method for checking at least one driving environment sensor of a vehicle is provided. The vehicle is located on a digital map, features of stored stationary objects in an environment of the vehicle, which are expected to be recognized by the driving environment sensor, are identified in the digital map and the environment of the vehicle is sensed using the driving environment sensor. A degradation of the driving environment sensor is deduced if the features to be recognized according to expectations are not recognized by the driving environment sensor or if features actually recognized by the driving environment sensor deviate strongly from the features to be recognized according to expectations.

Claims (12)

1. A method for checking at least one environment detection sensor on a vehicle, comprising:

locating the vehicle on a digital map,

identifying features of stored stationary objects in an environment around the vehicle on the digital map, and the environment detection sensor is adapted recognize the stored stationary objects based on those features,

scanning the environment around the vehicle by the environment detection sensor,

wherein it is deduced that the environment detection sensor has degraded if the features of the stored stationary objects whose recognition is expected are not recognized by the environment detection sensor or if features actually recognized by the environment detection sensor deviate from the features whose recognition is expected, and

wherein degradation of the environment detection sensor is not deduced if it is determined that the features whose recognition is expected are not recognized by the environment detection sensor due to being concealed by at least one dynamic object, or the features actually recognized by the environment detection sensor deviate significantly from the features whose recognition is expected due to being concealed by at least one dynamic object.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a deviation occurs when the deviation exceeds a preset tolerance range.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein degradation of the environment detection sensor is deduced if an expected distance between the vehicle and one of the stored stationary objects stored in the digital map varies from an actual detected distance between the vehicle and the stored stationary object by more than a preset distance threshold value, wherein the expected distance taken from the digital map is determined as the feature of the stored stationary object that is expected to be recognized and the actual detected distance is determined by the environment detection sensor.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein based on sensor data from the environment detection sensor, the detected stored stationary objects are classified to determine recognized classification types of the stored stationary objects as actual recognized features of the stored stationary objects, in that the recognized classification types are checked for agreement with expected classification types that are obtained from the digital map as features expected to be recognized, and in that degradation of the environment detection sensor is deduced if a determined classification rate is lower than a preset classification threshold.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein features of stored stationary objects in the environment around the vehicle, whose recognition by the environment detection sensor is expected, are identified in the digital map by means of sensor-specific detection information stored in the digital map.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein features of stored stationary objects in the environment around the vehicle, whose recognition by the environment detection sensor is expected, are identified in the digital map by means of a calculation of the expected recognizability, based on a three-dimensional model of the digital map.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the expected recognizability is calculated using a ray tracing method.

Assignments (3)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Jul 29, 2025
From: DAIMLER AG
To: MERCEDES BENZ GROUP AG
Reel/Frame 072886/0467 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 21, 2021
From: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
To: DAIMLER AG
Reel/Frame 056928/0628 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 19, 2021
From: KELLER, CHRISTOPH GUSTAV, DR.; MIELENZ, HOLGER, DR.
To: DAIMLER AG; ROBERT BOSCH GMBH
Reel/Frame 056902/0827 →
Priority Claims (1)
DE 10 2018 127 059.3 · Oct 30, 2018 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20210403012A1 · Dec 30, 2021
Cited By (1)
US 12,195,030