There are known vehicles designed for piloted driving and controlled with regard to the longitudinal and/or transverse guidance of the motor vehicle by a control device, for example. During piloted driving, i.e., operation of the vehicle in an autonomous operating mode, the user of the motor vehicle may be engaged in other tasks and/or applications because he is no longer participating in the driving operation of the vehicle. A motor vehicle being operated in an autonomous operating mode is thus a self-driving vehicle. It is possible for such a motor vehicle to be networked optionally unidirectionally or bidirectionally with its surroundings. In particular, the vehicle may have a communication device, which enables communication with a server or with another motor vehicle.
It is also possible for such a motor vehicle, which is designed for operation in an autonomous operating mode, to move without passengers because neither a user nor a driver is needed in the autonomous operating mode.
However, there are locally limited regions, in which operation of motor vehicles in such an autonomous operating mode is undesirable and/or prohibited. Furthermore, special regulations, for example, specific regulations for each country, are in effect for various regions, some of them pertaining specifically to the operation of a motor vehicle in an autonomous operating mode in the respective territory.
DE 698 37 288 T2 describes a vehicle having two switchable operating modes, the first operating mode being an autonomous driving mode, which is carried out only outside of driving mode restricted zones. Before reaching such a restricted zone, the driver is notified of the need for switching the driving mode, so that he can prepare for manual control of the motor vehicle.
This method has the disadvantage that the data pertaining to the restricted zone is stored on a CD ROM (compact disk read only memory). Therefore, this does not allow flexible adjustment of information indicating which regions and/or route sections are approved for driving in the autonomous driving mode.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds