Vehicle to pedestrian communication system and method

Abstract

A system for alerting a user includes a first device for vehicle-to-pedestrian communication. The first device is operable by a pedestrian. The system further includes a vehicle operable by a driver including a second device for vehicle-to-pedestrian communication. The system is configured to provide an alert via at least one of the first device and second device to at least one of the driver and the pedestrian.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication system, comprising:
 a vehicle operable by a driver and configured to communicate with a first V2P device associated with the vehicle, the first V2P device configured for:   communicating with at least one vehicle system to acquire vehicle parameters for the vehicle including the first V2P device, the vehicle parameters including at least one of a location and a speed of the vehicle;   predicting a path of the vehicle based on at least one of the vehicle parameters;   receiving at least one Basic Safety Message (BSM) from a second V2P device associated with a pedestrian via a wireless communications channel;   acquiring pedestrian parameters for the pedestrian from at least one of the at least one BSM and the second V2P device, the pedestrian parameters including at least one of a position and a speed of the pedestrian;   determining whether the path of the vehicle intersects with a path of the pedestrian using the vehicle parameters, the at least one BSM, and the pedestrian parameters; and   when the path of the vehicle intersects with the path of the pedestrian, providing an alert to at least one of a driver of the vehicle and the pedestrian, wherein the alert includes a directional indication of a location of the pedestrian relative to the vehicle and at least one of an indication that the pedestrian is distracted with a phone call, an indication that the pedestrian is distracted with a text-messaging operation, an indication that the pedestrian is distracted with an Internet browsing operation, and an indication that the pedestrian is distracted by listening to music.   
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first V2P device is further configured for predicting a path of the pedestrian based on at least one of the pedestrian parameters. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first V2P device is further configured for receiving BSMs from a plurality of V2P devices associated with respective pedestrians, and performing threat arbitration to determine a probability of a collision between the vehicle and each one of the pedestrians. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first V2P device and the second V2P device is operable on a Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) network. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first V2P device and the second V2P device is operable to transmit a Basic Safety Message (BSM). 
     
     
       6. A method of operating a vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication system, the method comprising:
 communicating with at least one vehicle system to acquire vehicle parameters for a vehicle including a first V2P device, the vehicle parameters including at least one of a location and a speed of the vehicle;   predicting a path of the vehicle based on at least one of the vehicle parameters;   receiving at least one Basic Safety Message (BSM) from a second V2P device associated with a pedestrian via a wireless communications channel;   acquiring pedestrian parameters for the pedestrian, the pedestrian parameters including at least one of a position and a speed of the pedestrian;   predicting a path of the pedestrian based on at least one of the pedestrian parameters;   determining whether the path of the vehicle intersects with the path of the pedestrian; and   when the path of the vehicle intersects with the path of the pedestrian, providing an alert to at least one of a driver of the vehicle and the pedestrian, wherein the alert includes a directional indication of a location of the pedestrian relative to the vehicle and at least one of an indication that the pedestrian is distracted with a phone call, an indication that the pedestrian is distracted with a text-messaging operation, an indication that the pedestrian is distracted with an internet browsing operation, and an indication that the pedestrian is distracted by listening to music.   
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , further including:
 receiving BSMs from a plurality of V2P devices associated with respective pedestrians; and   performing threat arbitration to determine a probability of a collision between the vehicle and the pedestrians.   
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 6 , wherein at least one of the first V2P device and the second V2P device is operable on a Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) network. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 6 , wherein at least one of the first V2P device and the second V2P device is operable to transmit a Basic Safety Message (BSM). 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the BSM includes a classification of the pedestrian. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the vehicle includes at least one of an audible alert system and a visual alert system perceptible by the pedestrian, and wherein the audible alert system and the visual alert system are actuatable by at least one of the first device and the second device. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 6 , wherein at least one of the first device and the second device is configured to detect at least one of a driver-to-pedestrian transition and a pedestrian-to-driver transition. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 6 , wherein at least one of the first device and the second device is configured for at least one of distracted driver detection, distracted pedestrian detection and pedestrian trajectory prediction. 
     
     
       14. A vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication system comprising a vehicle operable by a driver and including a first V2P device, the first V2P device configured for:
 communicating with at least one vehicle system of the vehicle to acquire vehicle parameters for the vehicle, the vehicle parameters including a location and a speed of the vehicle;   predicting a future path of the vehicle based on the vehicle parameters;   acquiring a path history of a pedestrian from a second V2P device associated with the pedestrian via a wireless communications channel,   predicting a future path of the pedestrian based on the path history of the pedestrian;   determining whether the future path of the vehicle intersects with the future path of the pedestrian; and   when the future path of the vehicle intersects with the future path of the pedestrian, providing an alert including displaying a visual alert to at least one of a driver of the vehicle and the pedestrian, wherein the visual alert includes a visual directional indication of a location of the pedestrian relative to the vehicle.   
     
     
       15. The system of claim 14, wherein the path history includes historical positions of the pedestrian as a function of time. 
     
     
       16. The system of claim 15, wherein the future path of the pedestrian is predicted by analyzing the path history to detect a movement pattern of the pedestrian. 
     
     
       17. The system of claim 14, wherein:
 the I alert further includes an indication of a classification of the pedestrian, and   the classification of the pedestrian is based on at least one of kinematic behavior of the pedestrian, usage factors of the second V2P device, and information communicated by the pedestrian to the second V2P device.   
     
     
       18. The system of claim 14, wherein the intensity of the alert increases as a function of a decreasing distance between the pedestrian and the vehicle. 
     
     
       19. The system of claim 14, wherein the alert varies as a function of a velocity of the pedestrian and a distance between the pedestrian and the vehicle. 
     
     
       20. The system of claim 14, wherein:
 the at least one of the first V2P device and the second V2P device is configured for detecting at least one of a driver-to-pedestrian transition and a pedestrian-to-driver transition;   when the driver-to-pedestrian transition is detected, the alert includes an indication of the driver-to-pedestrian transition; and   when the pedestrian-to-driver transition is detected, the alert includes an indication of the pedestrian-to-driver transition.   
     
     
       21. The system of claim 14, wherein:
 determining whether the future path of the vehicle intersects with the future path of the pedestrian includes determining an angle between the future path of the vehicle and the future path of the pedestrian, and   the alert is provided only if the angle is more than 45°.   
     
     
       22. A method of operating a vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication system, the method comprising:
 communicating with at least one vehicle system of a vehicle to acquire vehicle parameters for the vehicle including a first V2P device, the vehicle parameters including a location and a speed of the vehicle;   predicting a future path of the vehicle based on the vehicle parameters;   acquiring a path history of a pedestrian from a second V2P device associated with the pedestrian via a wireless communications channel;   predicting a future path of the pedestrian based on the path history of the pedestrian;   determining by the first V2P device or the second V2P device, whether the future path of the vehicle intersects with the future path of the pedestrian; and   when the future path of the vehicle intersects with the future path of the pedestrian, providing an alert including displaying a visual alert to at least one of a driver of the vehicle and the pedestrian, wherein the visual alert includes a visual directional indication of a location of the pedestrian relative to the vehicle.   
     
     
       23. The method of claim 22, wherein the path history includes historical positions of the pedestrian as a function of time. 
     
     
       24. The method of claim 23, wherein the future path of the pedestrian is predicted by analyzing the path history to detect a movement pattern of the pedestrian. 
     
     
       25. The method of claim 22, wherein:
 the alert further includes an indication of a classification of the pedestrian, and   the classification of the pedestrian is based on at least one of kinematic behavior of the pedestrian, usage factors of the second V2P device, and information communicated by the pedestrian to the second V2P device.   
     
     
       26. The method of claim 22, wherein the intensity of the alert increases as a function of a decreasing distance between the pedestrian and the vehicle. 
     
     
       27. The method of claim 22, wherein the alert varies as a function of a velocity of the pedestrian and a distance between the pedestrian and the vehicle. 
     
     
       28. The method of claim 22, wherein:
 the at least one of the first V2P device and the second V2P device is configured for detecting at least one of a driver-to-pedestrian transition and a pedestrian-to-driver transition;   when the driver-to-pedestrian transition is detected, the alert includes an indication of the driver-to-pedestrian transition; and   when the pedestrian-to-driver transition is detected, the alert includes an indication of the pedestrian-to-driver transition.   
     
     
       29. The method of claim 22, wherein:
 determining whether the future path of the vehicle intersects with the future path of the pedestrian includes determining an angle between the future path of the vehicle and the future path of the pedestrian, and   the alert is provided only if the angle is more than 45°.