BR112018003072B1 - SAFETY EVENT MESSAGE TRANSMISSION TIMING IN DEDICATED SHORT RANGE COMMUNICATION (DSRC) - Google Patents

Abstract

TIMING OF SAFETY EVENT MESSAGE TRANSMISSION IN DEDICATED SHORT RANGE COMMUNICATION (DSRC). Techniques for transmitting vehicle information messages between a plurality of vehicles are disclosed. In one aspect, a transceiver of a vehicle transmits a first set of vehicle information messages via a wireless medium at a first periodic rate, the first set of vehicle information messages including information related to the vehicle. One or more vehicle sensors detect an event related to vehicle operation. A vehicle processor generates a second set of vehicle information messages, each including an event indicator and information about the event, the event indicator indicating that the second set of vehicle information messages is reporting the event. The vehicle transceiver transmits a first vehicle safety message of the second set of vehicle information messages over the wireless media as soon as the first vehicle safety message is generated.

Description

Cross reference to related requests

[001] The present patent application claims the benefit of US provisional application no. 62/206,941, entitled “SAFETY EVENT MESSAGE TRANSMISSION TIMING IN DEDICATED SHORT-RANGE COMMUNICATION (DSRC)”, filed on August 19, 2015, assigned to the assignee hereof, and expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

INTRODUCTION

[002] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to the timing of security event message transmission in dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC).

[003] Wireless communication systems are widely used to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, data, multimedia, and so on. Typical wireless communication systems are multiple access systems capable of supporting communication between multiple devices by sharing available system resources (e.g. bandwidth, transmission power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access systems include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division 9OFDMA) and others. These systems are often used in compliance with specifications such as 802.11 provided by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Long Term Evolution (LTE) provided by the Third Generation Society Project (3GPP), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), and Optimized evolution data (EV-DO) provided by Third Generation Society Project 2 (3GPP2), etc.

[004] In the United States of America, the US Department of Transportation is working to implement the Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) communications link to support Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications such as wireless communications between high-speed vehicles (Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V)) and between vehicles and roadside infrastructure (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I). DSRC can be used for applications such as vehicle security services, self-driving functionality, commercial transactions through a vehicle, etc.

[005] DSRC uses the Wireless Access for Vehicular Environments (WAVE) protocol, also known as IEEE 802.11p, for V2V and V2I communications. IEEE 802.11p is an approved amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard and operates in the 5.9 GHz licensed ITS band (5.85-5.925 GHz).

[006] In Europe, 802.11p was used as the basis for the ITS-G5 standard, supporting V2V and V2I communications. The European Commission has allocated part of the 5.9 GHz band for priority road safety applications and V2V and V2I communications. The intent is to ensure compatibility with the US even if the allocation is not exactly equal by using frequencies that are close enough that the same antenna and radio transceiver can be used.

SUMMARY

[007] The following presents a simplified summary for one or more aspects disclosed in the present invention. As such, the following summary should not be considered an extensive overview regarding all aspects considered, nor should the following summary be considered to identify key or critical elements regarding all aspects considered or to delineate the scope associated with any specific aspect . Therefore, the following summary has the sole purpose of presenting certain concepts relating to one or more aspects relating to the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form to precede the detailed description presented below.

[008] A method for transmitting vehicle information messages between a plurality of vehicles including transmitting, by a transceiver of a vehicle of the plurality of vehicles, a first set of vehicle information messages via a wireless medium at a first speed periodic, the first set of vehicle information messages including vehicle-related information, detect, by one or more sensors of the vehicle, an event related to the operation of the vehicle, generate, by at least one processor of the vehicle, a second set of messages of vehicle information each including an event indicator and information about the event, the event indicator indicating that the second set of vehicle information messages is reporting the event, and transmitting, via the vehicle transceiver, a first vehicle information message. vehicle of the second set of vehicle information messages via the wireless media as soon as the first vehicle information message is generated.

[009] An apparatus for transmitting vehicle information messages between a plurality of vehicles includes a transceiver of a vehicle of the plurality of vehicles configured to transmit a first set of vehicle information messages via a wireless medium at a first periodic rate , the first set of vehicle information messages including information related to the vehicle, one or more vehicle sensors configured to detect an event related to the operation of the vehicle, and at least one vehicle processor configured to generate a second set of information messages vehicle information each including an event indicator and information about the event, the event indicator indicating that the second set of vehicle information messages is reporting the event, wherein the vehicle transceiver is further configured to transmit a first information message of the second set of vehicle information messages via the wireless media as soon as the first vehicle information message is generated.

[0010] An apparatus for transmitting vehicle information messages between a plurality of vehicles includes transmitting means configured to transmit a first set of vehicle information messages via a wireless medium at a first periodic rate, the first set of messages of vehicle information including information related to the vehicle, means for detection configured to detect an event related to the operation of the vehicle, and means for processing configured to generate a second set of vehicle information messages each including an event indicator and information about the vehicle. event, the event indicator indicating that the second set of vehicle information messages is reporting the event, wherein the means for transmission is further configured to transmit a first vehicle information message of the second set of vehicle information messages through wireless media as soon as the first vehicle information message is generated.

[0011] A non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores computer-executable code for transmitting vehicle information messages between a plurality of vehicles includes code for causing a transceiver of a vehicle of the plurality of vehicles to transmit a first set of vehicle information messages. vehicle information via a wireless medium at a first periodic rate, the first set of vehicle information messages including information related to the vehicle, causing one or more sensors of the vehicle to report an event related to the operation of the vehicle, causing that at least one processor of the vehicle generates a second set of vehicle information messages each including an event indicator and information about the event, the event indicator indicating that the second set of vehicle information messages is reporting the event, and causing the vehicle transceiver to transmit a first vehicle information message of the second set of vehicle information messages over the wireless media as soon as the first vehicle information message is generated.

[0012] Other objectives and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed in the present invention will be evident to those skilled in the art based on the attached drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The attached drawings are presented to assist in describing various aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely to illustrate aspects and not limit them.

[0014] Figure 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system including a vehicle communicating with one or more other vehicles and one or more roadside access points in accordance with at least one aspect of the disclosure.

[0015] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating various components of an exemplary vehicle in accordance with at least one aspect of the disclosure.

[0016] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating conventional timing of Basic Safety Message (BSM) transmissions.

[0017] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the timing of BSM transmissions in accordance with at least one aspect of the disclosure.

[0018] Figure 5A illustrates various components of the vehicle of Figure 2 in greater detail, where the transceiver transmits an event BSM to another vehicle.

[0019] Figure 5B illustrates the components of the vehicle illustrated in Figure 5A, where the transceiver receives a BSM event from another vehicle.

[0020] Figure 6 illustrates an exemplary flow for transmitting vehicle information messages between a plurality of vehicles in accordance with at least one aspect of the disclosure.

[0021] Figure 7 illustrates an example vehicle apparatus represented as a series of interrelated functional modules in accordance with at least one aspect of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Techniques for transmitting vehicle information messages between a plurality of vehicles are disclosed. In one aspect, a transceiver of a vehicle of the plurality of vehicles transmits a first set of vehicle information messages via a wireless medium at a first periodic rate, the first set of vehicle information messages including information related to the vehicle. Subsequently, one or more vehicle sensors detect an event related to vehicle operation. In response, at least one processor of the vehicle generates a second set of vehicle information messages, each including an event indicator and information about the event, the event indicator indicating that the second set of vehicle information messages is reporting the event. The vehicle transceiver then transmits a first vehicle information message of the second set of vehicle information messages over the wireless media once the first vehicle information message is generated.

[0023] These and other aspects of the disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings directed to various examples provided for purposes of illustration. Alternative aspects can be imagined without straying from the scope of the revelation. Additionally, well-known aspects of the disclosure may not be described in detail or may be omitted so as not to obscure more relevant details.

[0024] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the information and signals described below can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols and chips that may be referenced throughout the description below may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic particles or fields, optical particles or fields, or any combination thereof, depending partly on the specific application, partly on the desired design, partly on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0025] Furthermore, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed, for example, by elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuits (e.g., Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Furthermore, for each of the aspects described here, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be implemented as, for example, “logic configured to” perform the described action.

[0026] As mentioned in the Background section, in the United States of America, the US Department of Transportation is working to implement the Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) communications link to support Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications. , such as wireless communications between high-speed vehicles (vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)) and between vehicles and roadside infrastructure (vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I)). The DSRC system is being developed with the aim of requiring vehicles to transmit short-range messages to each other, informing other nearby vehicles about the vehicle's position, speed, acceleration, direction and other data. A vehicle receiving such messages can alert the driver to avoid potential collisions, or in more advanced implementations, can automatically trigger evasive action for this purpose. For example, if another vehicle is entering an intersection ahead at high speed or approaching in an adjacent lane in a blind spot, the first vehicle will receive V2V messages from the other vehicle, allowing the first vehicle to take any necessary evasive action. . As another example, when self-driving (automated) vehicles are traveling in platoon or close formation, these messages are also used nominally for control. They are part of a tight control loop, where time is critical.

[0027] Figure 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system including a vehicle 110 communicating with one or more other vehicles 120 and one or more roadside access points 140. In the example of Figure 1, the vehicle 110 may transmit and receive messages with one or more vehicles 120 and one or more roadside access points 140 via a wireless link 130. The wireless link 130 may operate via a communication medium of interest, shown as an example in Figure 1 as media 132, which can be shared with other communications between other vehicles/infrastructure access points, as well as other RATs.

[0028] DSRC uses Wireless Access for Vehicular Environments (WAVE) protocol, also known as IEEE 802.11p, for V2V and V2I communications. IEEE 802.11p is an approved amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard and operates in the 5.9 GHz (5.85 - 5.925 GHz) licensed ITS band in the US. In Europe, IEEE 802.11p operates in the G5A ITS band (5.875 - 5.905 MHz). Other bands may be allocated in other countries. The V2V communication briefly described above occurs on the Security Channel, which in the US is typically a 10 MHz channel that is dedicated for security purposes. The remainder of the DSRC band (total bandwidth is 75 MHz) is intended for other services of interest to drivers, such as road rules, tolls, parking automation, etc. Thus, referring to Figure 1, as a specific example, media 132 may correspond to at least a portion of the 5.9 GHz licensed ITS frequency band.

[0029] Communications between vehicles 110 / 120 are referred to as V2V communications and communications between vehicle 110 and one or more roadside access points 140 are referred to as V2I communications. As noted above, V2V communications between vehicles 110 / 120 may include information about the position, speed, acceleration, direction and other vehicle data of vehicles 110 / 120. V2I information received at vehicle 110 from one or more points of roadside access 140 may include road rules, parking automation information, etc.

[0030] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating various components of an exemplary vehicle 200, which may correspond to vehicle 110 and/or vehicle 120 in Figure 1. Vehicle 200 may include at least one transceiver 204 (e.g., a DSRC transceiver) connected to one or more antennas 202 for communicating with other network nodes, e.g., other vehicles, infrastructure access points (e.g., one or more roadside access points 140), etc., through of at least one designated radio access technology (RAT), e.g., IEEE 802.11p, via media 132. Transceiver 204 may be variously configured to transmit and encode signals (e.g., messages, indications, information, and etc.), and conversely, to receive and decode signals (e.g. messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) according to the designated RAT. As used herein, a “transceiver” may include a transmitter circuit, a receiver circuit, or a combination thereof, but need not provide both transmit and receive functionality in all designs. For example, a low-functionality receiver circuit may be employed in some designs to reduce costs when providing full communication is not necessary (e.g., a receiver chip or similar circuitry simply providing low-level sniffing).

[0031] Vehicle 200 may also include a satellite positioning service (SPS) receiver 206. The SPS receiver 206 may be connected to one or more antennas 202 to receive satellite signals. The SPS receiver 206 may comprise any hardware and/or software suitable for receiving and processing SPS signals. The SPS receiver 206 requests information and operations as appropriate from other systems, and performs the necessary calculations to determine the position of the vehicle 200 using measurements obtained by any suitable SPS algorithm.

[0032] One or more sensors 208 may be coupled to a processor 210 to provide information related to the state and/or environment of vehicle 200, such as speed, light status, mileage, etc. As an example, one or more sensors 208 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a pressure altimeter). barometric), etc.

[0033] Processor 210 may include one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, and/or digital signal processors that provide processing functions, as well as other calculations and control functionality. Processor 210 may include any form of logic suitable to perform at least the techniques provided herein.

[0034] The processor 210 may also be coupled to a memory 214 to store data and software instructions to perform programmed functionality in the vehicle 200. The memory 214 may be onboard the processor 210 (e.g., in the same integrated circuit package ( IC)), and/or the memory 214 may be external to the processor 210 and functionally coupled over a data bus.

[0035] The vehicle 200 may include a user interface 250 that provides any suitable interface systems, such as a microphone/speaker 252, key pad 254, and display 256 that allows user interaction with the vehicle 200. The microphone /speaker 252 provides voice communication services with vehicle 200. Key block 254 comprises any suitable buttons for user input on vehicle 200. Display 256 comprises any suitable display, such as, for example, an illuminated LCD display , and may even include a touch screen display for additional user input modes.

[0036] In the Safety Channel described above, each vehicle, such as vehicle 200, periodically broadcasts the Basic Safety Message (BSM), also known in similar systems (e.g., Europe) as the Cooperative Awareness Message (CAM), to provide information about the vehicle. Other systems may also exist to provide vehicle safety messages that may or may not implement the techniques described here (e.g., vehicle message sending systems from China and Japan). To manage access conflict, Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA), standardized in IEEE 802.11, is used.

[0037] BSMs are described in the “Surface Vehicle Standard”, SAE J2735, published by SAE International in 2015, which is incorporated herein in full. Each BSM includes the BSM Part I message and the BSM Part II data data DF_VehicleSafetyExtension, DF_PathHistory and DF_PathPrediction. Each BSM includes the BSM Part II data element DF_VehicleSafetyExtension and DE_EventFlags only as long as an event is active. This data element is not included in a BSM unless at least one event indicator is active, that is, set to “1”. Each BSM may optionally include the BSM Part II data frame DF_VehicleSafetyExtension and DF_RTCMPackage. Table 1 illustrates the data elements (DE) and/or data fields (DF) that can be transmitted in a BSM. Table 1 - BSM data fields/elements

[0038] In addition to “routine” information about vehicle position and other data carried in the BSM Part I message, BSM may transmit information about safety-related “events” in the BSM Part II DF_VehicleSafetyExtension data frames, e.g., actions heavy braking, which may be used to inform the driver of the receiving vehicle about the event and/or allow the receiving vehicle to perform automated operations in response to the event, such as automatic braking, steering, and/or acceleration for collision avoidance. When the DE_EventFlag is not active, the nominal speed at which BSMs are broadcast is 10 Hz (that is, 10 times per second). When transmitting at the default message rate of 10 Hz, BSMs are transmitted every 100 ms plus or minus a random value between 0 and 5 ms. After an initial BSM reports a security event, i.e., has the DE_EventFlag set to “1”, subsequent BSMs, which may still have the DE_EventDFlag set to “1” (as a security event can last several seconds), continue to be transmitted at a nominal speed of 10 Hz.

[0039] Security-related events are not periodic, and are typically rare. Broadcasting BSM periodically means that the occurrence of a security event will be transmitted to other vehicles with a certain delay, which can be increased to the BSM periodicity of 100 ms nominally, or 50 ms on average. That is, as a vehicle typically transmits BSMs 10 times per second, there is a 100 ms gap between BSMs, and thus the longest delay between a safety event and the time it is reported in a BSM is 100 ms. However, because security events can occur at any point during a 100 ms period, on average, a security event will be reported within 50 ms of occurrence.

[0040] There are two factors that can increase this nominal delay time. Firstly in the case of Security Channel congestion (for example, from a high density of vehicles in an area), the rate at which BSMs are transmitted is decreased, thereby increasing the periodicity of the BSMs. Delays caused by increased periodicity can double, triple, or more, for example, from 100 ms to 300 ms or more. Secondly, EDCA causes some idle time between transmissions, which can vary from a few tens of microseconds to several milliseconds, depending on the value of the chosen parameters, e.g., the arbitration interframe space number (AIFSN), minimum conflict window ( CWmin) and maximum conflict window (CWmax).

[0041] Conventionally, “routine” BSMs use EDCA parameters of the second highest priority (i.e., user priority 4 and 5), while BSMs containing “event” indicators (i.e., a BSM with the DE_EventFlag set to “ 1”) use EDCA parameters of the highest priority (i.e. user priority 6 and 7). Table 2 illustrates the EDCA parameter defined in IEEE 802.11. In Table 2, AC_BK is the background access class, AC_BE is the best-effort access class, AC_VI is the video access class, and AC_VO is the voice access class. Table 2 - EDCA Parameters

[0042] Table 3 illustrates only the EDCA parameters CWmin, CWmax, and AIFSN for both routine and event BSMs: Table 3 - EDCA Parameters for Routine and Event BSMs

[0043] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating conventional timing of BSM transmissions. The timing diagram illustrated in Figure 3 begins with a host vehicle, such as vehicle 200, transmitting a routine BSM at 302 on a shared medium, such as media 132 in Figure 1. The host vehicle will not transmit another BSM for approximately 100 ms (in 304), during which time the host vehicle receives BSMs from other nearby vehicles on the shared media. In figure 3, transmissions on shared media from nearby vehicles are represented by the reference number 310. That is, vehicles both transmit and receive on the same shared media, or channel. In the example in Figure 3, shortly after the host vehicle transmits the first BSM at 302, a safety event occurs at 306. However, the host vehicle must wait until the next BSM opportunity at 304 to report this safety event.

[0044] Figure 3 also illustrates the timing between routine BSMs from different vehicles. As shown in call 312, transmission of a BSM lasts 4 ms, followed by a gap of (3 + (7 to 15) x 9) μ s before the BSM is transmitted, where “3” is the AIFSN, “7 ” is the CWmin, and “15” is the CWmax. In the case of a security event, however, the gap between BSM transmissions is (2 + (3 to 7) x 9)μ s, as shown in call 314, where “2” is the AIFSN, “3” is the CWmin and “7” is CWmax. The difference in gap length is due to event BSMs being transmitted using EDCA parameters of the highest priority and routine BSMs being transmitted using EDCA parameters of the second highest priority.

[0045] It would be beneficial to (1) minimize BSM latencies, (2) maximize channel utilization (and thereby system capacity), and (3) allow for higher priority BSMs (e.g., those indicating “security events” ) to be received faster than “routine” BSMs. Criterion (2) leads to the selection of values for the EDCA parameters that are as low as possible (e.g., the minimum amount of backoff between transmissions). Criterion (3) was addressed as discussed above by classifying routine BSMs into a lower EDCA priority class (e.g., higher values for CWmin and CWmax) and BSMs carrying security event information into the EDCA priority class. taller. However, as described below, this is not the most optimal design.

[0046] Instead, the present disclosure provides a mechanism in which latency performance differentiation between “routine” BSMs and “high priority” BSMs carrying security event indicators is not achieved using EDCA parameters, as described above. The use of EDCA parameters can make very little differentiation between the two classes of messages. It also carries with it a lower channel utilization penalty than is otherwise achievable, since a large majority of “routine” BSMs have higher inter-message gaps between them, as illustrated by call 312 in the figure. 3.

[0047] Instead of EDCA parameter differentiation, in the present disclosure, if a vehicle is experiencing a “safety event,” such as a heavy braking event, the vehicle does not wait for its nominal transmission partition (e.g., until 100 ms in uncongested conditions or higher in congested channel conditions) to transmit the next BSM containing the DE_EventFlag and DF_VehicleSafetyExtension data frames for the event. Instead, the vehicle may transmit the event BSM immediately, or as soon as the channel (e.g., media 132) is available. Alternatively, the vehicle may, for a brief period of time, transmit in some reduced inter-BSM gap (e.g., 50 ms instead of 100 ms), particularly if the channel is congested and the inter-BSM gap is increased (e.g. example, above 100 ms). In this case, the vehicle resumes normal BSM transmission (e.g., every 100 ms, or the frequency increased in case of channel congestion) after the event is discontinued, for example, after the heavy braking event ends.

[0048] This immediate or near-immediate transmission of event-related BSMs is particularly relevant when collision avoidance - i.e., automated braking, steering and acceleration - is invoked. Similarly, because V2V and V2I communication are used for self-driving (automated) vehicles, and the required latencies are shorter, the almost immediate transmission of event-related BSMs is significant. For example, although the driver's braking reaction time (i.e., the time from the driver perceiving a “target vehicle” threat to braking) may exceed one second, and thus the incremental gains in EDCA parameter changes may not be significant where the driver remains in control of the vehicle, when vehicles are automated - and especially when following in platoon or close formation - then immediate or near-immediate transmission of event-related BSMs becomes significant. It should be noted that although BSMs are referred to as “safety messages” for automated vehicles, these messages are also used for control and are part of a tight control loop in which time is critical.

[0049] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the timing of BSM transmissions in accordance with at least one aspect of the disclosure. The timing diagram illustrated in Figure 4 begins with a host vehicle, such as vehicle 200, transmitting a routine BSM at 402 on a shared media (e.g., media 132). In the present disclosure, “routine” BSMs are still nominally transmitted every 100 ms, as described above. In this way, the host vehicle would typically not transmit another BSM for approximately 100 ms, during which time it receives BSMs from other nearby vehicles on the shared media. In figure 4, transmissions on shared media from nearby vehicles are represented by the reference number 410. That is, vehicles both transmit and receive on the same shared media, or channel.

[0050] However, in the example of Figure 4, shortly after the host vehicle transmits the routine BSM at 402, a safety event occurs at 404. Instead of waiting almost 100 ms until the next BSM opportunity to report this safety event security, the host vehicle may transmit an “event” BSM (i.e., a BSM with the DE_EventFlag set to “1”) at 406 as soon as the channel (e.g., media 132) is available. The host vehicle will then resume transmitting BSMs approximately every 100 ms (shown at 408), regardless of whether the DE_EventFlag is still set to “1” (which may be if the security event at 404 is still in progress at 408). . Alternatively, the host vehicle may transmit the remaining BSMs related to the safety event at a higher frequency than every 100 ms.

[0051] Figure 4 also illustrates the timing between BSMs of different vehicles. In the present disclosure, all BSMs, whether “routine” or “event” triggered, use the highest priority EDCA parameters. Thus, as shown in call 412, the gap between routine BSMs is (2 + (3 to 7) x 9)μ s, where “2” is the AIFSN, “3” is the CWmin, and “7” is the CWmax. Similarly, as shown in call 414, the gap between event BSMs is also (2 + (3 to 7) x 9)μ s.

[0052] Note that although the vehicle may wait until the shared media/channel is available to transmit BSMs related to a security event, this is not necessary. Instead, the vehicle can transmit such BSMs immediately. If media is unavailable, transmissions may be lost or interfere with other transmissions. To address this issue, the vehicle may retransmit the BSMs related to the security event some limited number of times (optionally in rapid succession) to increase the probability that they will be received by nearby vehicles.

[0053] It should be noted that this deviation from the normal message cadence does not significantly disrupt the system's work, although it results in a small transitional added load on the channel. Considering that safety events, such as heavy braking events, are rare, and typically in a given area and occurrence, only occur for a small percentage of vehicles, this small transitional effect has a negligible impact on the timeliness of BSMs from others. vehicles. Similarly, from an EDCA performance standpoint, a vehicle experiencing a safety event transmits its BSM earlier than its nominal allotted time. However, since transmissions from all vehicles are uniformly distributed in time, the delay experienced by the vehicle in question due to EDCA is not impacted.

[0054] The mechanism of the present disclosure (1) results in better channel utilization and improved capacity of the DSRC system and (2) considerably reduces latency in security event-triggered BSM received by surrounding vehicles, giving them more time to react, thereby reducing the chance of a traffic accident. This latency reduction can be 100 ms for the nominal case (i.e. when there is no congestion), up to several hundred milliseconds if the channel is congested.

[0055] Figure 5A illustrates various components of the vehicle 200 of Figure 2 in greater detail. In the example of Figure 5A, the processor 210 includes a number of subprocessors and controllers, specifically, a fast event processor 520, an obstacle detection/collision avoidance processor 522, a brake controller 524, a throttle controller 526, a steering controller 528, an automated driving processor 532, a sensor and I/O processor 534, a scene tracking processor 536, a map-based road geometry processor 538, and a target route estimation and selection processor 542 communicatively coupled via a controller area network (CAN) bus 560.

[0056] In the example of Figure 5A, any or a combination of the sensor(s) 208, the obstacle detection/collision avoidance processor 522, the brake controller 524, the throttle controller 526, the steering 528, the automated drive processor 532, the scene tracking processor 536, the map-based road geometry processor 538, and the target path selection and estimation processor 542 may detect a safety event, such as a of heavy braking, and provide information about the event to the fast event processor 520. The fast event processor 520 may generate an event BSM including information about the detected safety event and pass the same to the transceiver 204. The transceiver 204 may immediately or as soon as the media 132 is available, transmit the generated event BSM, as described above with reference to Figure 4.

[0057] Figure 5B illustrates the components of the vehicle 200 illustrated in Figure 5A, where the transceiver 204 receives a BSM event from another vehicle.

[0058] The present disclosure features the inclusion of an EDCA-accelerated Fast Event Indicator (QEF), which is event-triggered (i.e., generated upon receipt of an event BSM) and connects with a fast event processor 520. The fast event processor 520 has two functions: running predefined commands to the brake, accelerator and/or steering controllers 524 - 528 and informing the obstacle detection/collision avoidance processor 522 and automated driving processor 532. This communication bypasses the delay inherent in the current architecture. Specifically, sending commands from fast event processor 520 to the collision avoidance/obstacle detection and automated steering processors 522 and 532 in addition to the brake, accelerator and/or steering controllers 524 - 528 allows: (i) automated vehicle actuation or emergency that bypasses the CAN bus 560 and (ii) transition to normal operations, since simultaneous communication of fast event processor commands 520 to these other processors would allow them to recognize and implement post-event trajectory commands after end of the “security event”.

[0059] Referring to Figure 5B, transceiver 204 receives a BSM with the DE_EventFlag set to “1”. Transceiver 204 converts the event BSM into a Fast Event Indicator and transmits the same to the Fast Event Processor 520. The Fast Event Processor 520 sends predefined commands to the brake, accelerator and/or steering controllers 524 - 528 such as necessary to react to the safety event and informs the collision avoidance/obstacle detection and automated steering processors 522 and 532 that it has done so.

[0060] The system illustrated in Figure 5B is pertinent to vehicles that are equipped with DSRC transceivers, such as transceiver 204, and benefits will be realized with (i) increased levels of vehicle steering automation, (ii) increased reliability of the input from DSRC communications, (iii) the proliferation of emergency intervention and automated collision avoidance algorithms, and (iv) the expected advent of self-driving cars with decreasing following distances and times (e.g., cooperative vehicles or “ platoon”).

[0061] The modules shown in Figures 5A and 5B may be processors coupled to processor 210, Electronic Control Units (ECUs), processes that may be incorporated into processor 210 as a system one on chip (SOC) or similar. Alternatively, in certain implementations, these modules may be provided for or otherwise operatively arranged using other or additional mechanisms. For example, all or part of the controllers/processors 520 - 542 may be provided in firmware or as software modules stored in memory 214. Additionally, although in this example the controllers/processors 520-542 are illustrated as being separate modules, it should be recognized that such modules may be combined together as a module or perhaps with other modules or otherwise further divided into a plurality of sub-modules.

[0062] Figure 6 illustrates an exemplary flow for transmitting vehicle information messages between a plurality of vehicles in accordance with at least one aspect of the disclosure. The flow illustrated in figure 6 can be carried out by the vehicle 200 of figures 2, 5A and 5B.

[0063] At 602, transceiver 204 of vehicle 200 transmits a first set of vehicle information messages (e.g., BSMs, CAMs, etc.) via a wireless media (e.g., media 132) at a first rate periodic (e.g. every 100 ms). The first set of vehicle information messages may include information related to vehicle 200, such as the BSM Part 1 information illustrated in Table 1.

[0064] At 604, one or more of the sensor(s) 208 detects an event related to the operation of vehicle 200. The event may be a heavy braking event, a failure to brake event, a gear change event, unmarked lane, a failure to follow a traffic light event, a speeding event, and/or any event that may influence the operation of a nearby vehicle (e.g., safety, steering, speed, etc.).

[0065] At 606, a vehicle processor 200 (e.g., processor 210 and/or fast event processor 520) generates a second set of vehicle information messages (e.g., BSMs, CAMs) each including an event indicator (e.g., DE_EventFlag set to “1”) and information about the event, such as the BSM Part II information illustrated in Table 1. The event indicator may indicate that the second set of vehicle information messages is reporting the event.

[0066] At 608, transceiver 204 transmits a first vehicle information message of the second set of vehicle information messages over the wireless media once the first vehicle information message is generated.

[0067] At 610, transceiver 204 optionally transmits the remainder of the second set of vehicle information messages via the wireless media at the first periodic rate. As described herein, the first and second sets of vehicle information messages may be utilized by nearby vehicles for automated vehicle control for emergency intervention, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, and/or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) for coordination. with other vehicles in automated vehicle operation following closely, or any combination thereof.

[0068] Figure 7 illustrates an exemplary vehicle apparatus 700 represented as a series of interrelated functional modules. A module for transmitting 702 may correspond in at least some aspects, for example, to a communication device, such as transceiver 204 in Figure 2, as discussed herein. A module for detection 704 may correspond to at least some aspects, for example, one or more sensors, controllers or processors, such as sensor(s) 208, obstacle detection/collision avoidance processor 522, brake controller 524, controller accelerator 526, steering controller 528, automated driving processor 532, sensor and I/O processor 534, scene tracking processor 536, map-based road geometry processor 538, and target path estimation and selection processor 542 , as discussed here. A module for generation 706 may correspond at least in some respects, for example, to a processing system, such as processor 210 and/or fast event processor 520, as discussed herein. A module for transmission 708 may correspond at least in some aspects, for example, to a communication device, such as transceiver 204, as discussed herein. An optional transmission module 710 may correspond at least in some aspects to, for example, a communication device such as transceiver 204 as discussed herein.

[0069] The functionality of the modules of figure 7 can be implemented in various ways compatible with the teachings of the present invention. In some designs, the functionality of these modules may be implemented as one or more electrical components. In some designs, the functionality of these blocks may be implemented as a processing system including one or more processor components. In some designs, the functionality of these modules may be implemented using, for example, at least a portion of one or more integrated circuits (e.g., an ASIC). As discussed here, an integrated circuit may include a processor, software, other related components, or some combination thereof. In this way, the functionality of different modules can be implemented, for example, as different subsets of an integrated circuit, as different subsets of a set of software modules, or a combination thereof. Also, it will be recognized that a given subset (e.g., of an integrated circuit and/or a set of software modules) may provide at least a portion of the functionality for more than one module.

[0070] Furthermore, the components and functions represented by figure 7, as well as other components and functions described here, can be implemented using any suitable means. Such a means can also be implemented, at least in part, using corresponding structure as disclosed herein. For example, the components described above in combination with the “module for” components of Figure 7 may also correspond to the similarly designated “means for” functionality. Accordingly, in some aspects one or more of such means may be implemented using one or more of the processor components, integrated circuits or other suitable structure as disclosed herein.

[0071] It should be understood that any reference to an element of the present invention using a designation such as “first”, “second” and etc. does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. Instead, these designations may be used in the present invention as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, a reference to the first and second elements does not mean that only two elements can be used or that the first element must precede the second element in some way. Also, unless otherwise mentioned a set of elements may comprise one or more elements. Furthermore, terminology of the form “at least one of A, B, or C” or “one or more of A, B, or C” or “at least one of the group consisting of A, B, and C” used in description or in the claims means “A or B or C or any combination thereof.” For example, this terminology may include A or B or C or A and B, or A and C, or A and B and C, or 2A or 2B or 2C and so on.

[0072] In view of the above descriptions and explanations, a person skilled in the art will recognize that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, circuits and algorithm steps described with respect to the aspects disclosed in the present invention can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and design limitations imposed on the overall system. Skilled technicians may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0073] Accordingly, it will be recognized, for example, that an apparatus or any component of an apparatus may be configured to (or made operable for or adapted to) provide functionality as disclosed herein. This can be achieved, for example: by manufacturing (e.g. manufacturing) the apparatus or component in such a way that it will provide the functionality; for programming the device or component in a way that will provide the functionality; or through the use of some other suitable implementation technique. As an example, an integrated circuit can be manufactured to provide the required functionality. As another example, an integrated circuit may be manufactured to support the required functionality and then configured (e.g., through programming) to provide the required functionality. As yet another example, a processor circuit may execute code to provide the required functionality.

[0074] Furthermore, the methods, sequences, and/or algorithms described with respect to the aspects disclosed herein may be incorporated directly into hardware, into a software module executed by a processor, or into a combination of the two. A software module may reside in Random Access Memory (RAM), flash memory, Read-Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Erasable Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), registers, disk hard drive, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage media known in the art, transient or non-transitory. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage media can be integrated into the processor (for example, cache memory).

[0075] Accordingly, it will also be recognized, for example, that certain aspects of the disclosure may include a transient or non-transitional computer readable medium incorporating a method for transmitting vehicle information messages between a plurality of vehicles.

[0076] Although the above disclosure shows several illustrative aspects, it should be noted that various changes and modifications can be made to the illustrated examples without departing from the scope defined by the appended claims. The present disclosure will not be limited to the specifically illustrated examples only. For example, unless otherwise mentioned, the functions, steps and/or actions of the method claims according to the aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any specific order. Furthermore, although certain aspects may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is considered unless limitation to the singular is explicitly mentioned.

Claims (15)

1. Method for transmitting vehicle information messages between a plurality of vehicles, characterized in that it comprises: transmitting (602), by a transceiver (204) of a vehicle (200) of the plurality of vehicles, a first set of messages of vehicle information via a wireless medium at a first periodic rate, the first set of vehicle information messages including information related to the vehicle; detect (604), by one or more sensors (208) of the vehicle, an event related to the operation of the vehicle; generate (606), by at least one processor (210) of the vehicle, a second set of vehicle information messages each including an event indicator and information about the event, the event indicator indicating that the second set of information messages vehicle is reporting the event; and transmitting (608), by the vehicle transceiver, a first vehicle information message of the second set of vehicle information messages via the wireless media as soon as the first vehicle information message is generated. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting, by the vehicle transceiver, a remainder of the second set of vehicle information messages via the wireless media at the first periodic rate. 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting, by the vehicle transceiver, a remainder of the second set of vehicle information messages via the wireless media at a higher frequency than the first periodic speed. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second set of vehicle information messages each includes the same information about the event. 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: repeating transmission of the second set of vehicle information messages up to a threshold number of times to ensure that nearby vehicles receive the second set of vehicle information messages vehicle. 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: updating vehicle state information in the second set of vehicle information messages based on a change in the vehicle state. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle-related information includes a vehicle position, a vehicle elevation, a position accuracy of the vehicle position, a vehicle speed, a transmission state of the vehicle, a steering state of the vehicle, a steering wheel angle of the vehicle, an acceleration of the vehicle, a brake system status of the vehicle, a size of the vehicle, or any combination thereof. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the event information includes a vehicle trajectory history, a vehicle trajectory prediction, or any combination thereof. 9. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the event related to the operation of the vehicle includes a heavy braking event, a failure to brake event, an unsignalized lane change event, a failure event following a traffic light, a speeding event, or any combination thereof. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second sets of vehicle information messages are used by nearby vehicles of the plurality of vehicles for automated vehicle control for emergency intervention, vehicle communication with vehicle, V2V, and/or vehicle with infrastructure, V2I, for coordination with other vehicles in closely following automated vehicle operation, or any combination thereof. 11. The method of claim 1, wherein other vehicles of the plurality of vehicles transmit vehicle information messages on the wireless media at the first periodic rate. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein a gap between vehicle information messages transmitted by the plurality of vehicles corresponds to a higher priority access class specified by Enhanced Distributed Channel Access, EDCA parameters. . 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of vehicles transmits and receives vehicle information messages over the same wireless channel of the wireless media. 14. Apparatus (700) for transmitting vehicle information messages between a plurality of vehicles, characterized in that it comprises: means for transmitting (702) configured to transmit a first set of vehicle information messages via a wireless medium at a first periodic speed, the first set of vehicle information messages including information related to the vehicle; means for detecting (704) configured to detect an event related to the operation of the vehicle; and means for processing (708) configured to generate a second set of vehicle information messages each including an event indicator and information about the event, the event indicator indicating that the second set of vehicle information messages is reporting the event , wherein the means for transmitting (706) is further configured to transmit a first vehicle information message of the second set of vehicle information messages via the wireless media once the first vehicle information message is generated. 15. Memory characterized by the fact that it comprises instructions stored therein, the instructions being executed by a computer to carry out the method as defined in any one of claims 1 to 13.