Abstract: To increase convenience and safety in vehicles, sensor systems for environmental sensing which feature an intelligent scene interpretation are increasingly gaining importance. To determine the position of a motor vehicle with respect to the traffic lane, the data from a digital road map coupled with a navigation system is fused with the data delivered by a distance-resolving sensor. In this context, the signature and the distance-related variation of the received signal of the distance-resolving sensor are evaluated for determining the distance from the road edge. The advantage of the present invention ensues from the possibility for a vehicle to autonomously determine its instantaneous position with respect to the traffic lane, without falling back on a stationary traffic infrastructure (marking lines reflectors).

Abstract: To increase convenience and safety in vehicles, sensor systems for environmental sensing which feature an intelligent scene interpretation are increasingly gaining importance. To determine the position of a motor vehicle with respect to the traffic lane, the data from a digital road map coupled with a navigation system is fused with the data delivered by a distance-resolving sensor. In this context, the signature and the distance-related variation of the received signal of the distance-resolving sensor are evaluated for determining the distance from the road edge. The advantage of the present invention ensues from the possibility for a vehicle to autonomously determine its instantaneous position with respect to the traffic lane, without falling back on a stationary traffic infrastructure (marking lines reflectors).