JP2019010919A - Travel support device and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a travel support device and a computer program capable of guiding more surely a visual line of a driver to an object outside a vehicle by using a recognition image superposed on a visual field of the driver.SOLUTION: In a travel support device, a position of an object outside a vehicle is acquired to a crewman 9 of the vehicle, a central visual field and a peripheral visual field of the crewman 9 are acquired respectively, a recognition image for recognizing the object is displayed superposedly on a visual field of a driver, and the displayed recognition image is constituted so as to use a position where at least a part is superposed on the peripheral visual field of the crewman 9 as a display start position, and to travel from the display start position to a direction of the object across the central visual field.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support apparatus and a computer program that guide a driver's line of sight to an object.

  Conventionally, various means have been used as information providing means for providing driving information such as route guidance and obstacle warning to a vehicle driver. For example, display on a liquid crystal display installed in a vehicle, sound output from a speaker, and the like. In recent years, as one of such information providing means, an image superimposed on a driver's field of view such as a head-up display (hereinafter referred to as HUD) or a window shield display (hereinafter referred to as WSD) is displayed. There are devices that provide information.

  Here, HUD and WSD as described above are effective for an object (for example, a pedestrian or another vehicle) that the driver wants to recognize in the driver's field of view without deviating the driver's line of sight from the front. It is possible to perform guidance for guiding the gaze. In particular, for objects in the peripheral visual field of the driver, it is difficult for the driver to notice and recognition is delayed, so it is important to provide guidance that promptly guides the driver's line of sight to the object. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-291688, when there is an object such as a pedestrian in the driver's peripheral visual field, the object moves in the peripheral visual field in the direction of the object so as not to disturb the driver's view. A technique for guiding a driver's line of sight to an object by displaying a recognition image is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-291688 (page 6, FIG. 7)

  Here, in the technique of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the recognition image is not displayed in the central visual field region but is displayed only in the peripheral visual field region for the purpose of not obstructing the driver's visual field. However, since the peripheral visual field area has a lower recognition ability than the central visual field area, the driver may not notice the recognition image depending on the situation. In particular, when the vehicle is driven at a high speed, the peripheral visual field is narrowed, and the possibility of not recognizing the recognition image becomes higher.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, and more reliably guides the driver's line of sight to an object outside the vehicle using a recognition image superimposed on the driver's field of view. It is an object to provide a travel support device and a computer program that are made possible.

In order to achieve the above object, a driving support apparatus according to the present invention includes position acquisition means for acquiring the position of an object outside the vehicle, visual field acquisition means for acquiring a central visual field and a peripheral visual field of the driver, and driving the object. Image display means for displaying a recognition image to be recognized by the driver superimposed on the visual field of the driver, and the image display means uses a position at least a part of which is superimposed on the peripheral visual field as a display start position, The recognition image that moves in the direction of the object across the central visual field from the display start position is displayed.
The “object” includes not only a structure but also a moving body such as a vehicle or a person.

  The computer program according to the present invention is a program for supporting driving of a vehicle. Specifically, the computer acquires position acquisition means for acquiring the position of an object outside the vehicle, visual field acquisition means for acquiring the central visual field and peripheral visual field of the driver, and a recognition image for causing the driver to recognize the object. It is a computer program for functioning as image display means for displaying in a superimposed manner on the driver's field of view. The image display means displays the recognition image that moves from the display start position across the central visual field in the direction of the object, with the position at least partially overlapping the peripheral visual field as a display start position. .

  According to the driving support device and the computer program according to the present invention having the above-described configuration, an object outside the vehicle is displayed by displaying a recognition image that moves from the peripheral visual field to the object outside the vehicle across the central visual field of the driver. It is possible to guide the driver's line of sight more reliably. Thereby, it becomes possible to make the driver visually recognize the object. In particular, even when the vehicle travels at a high speed, the driver's line of sight can be reliably guided to the object.

It is a schematic block diagram of the driving assistance device concerning this embodiment. It is the block diagram which showed the navigation apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart of the driving assistance processing program concerning this embodiment. It is the figure which showed the area which can display an image by HUD. It is the figure explaining the identification method of a passenger | crew's eyes | visual_axis center. It is the figure which showed the center visual field and peripheral visual field of a passenger | crew. It is a figure explaining the calculation method of the initial radius of the circular arc displayed as a recognition image. It is the figure which showed the example of a display of the recognition image with respect to a warning target object. It is the figure which showed the example of a display of the recognition image with respect to a warning target object. It is the figure shown about the modification of a recognition image.

  Hereinafter, based on one embodiment which materialized the driving support device concerning the present invention, it explains in detail, referring to drawings. First, a schematic configuration of the driving support device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a driving support device 1 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a driving support device 1 includes a navigation device 3 mounted on a vehicle 2, and a head-up display device (hereinafter referred to as HUD) 4 that is also mounted on the vehicle 2 and connected to the navigation device 3. Basically has.

  Here, the navigation device 3 searches for a recommended route to the destination, detects the current position of the vehicle 2, obtains it from the server, or based on map data stored in the memory, around the current position of the vehicle 2 The map image is displayed, and the movement guidance along the set guidance route and the warning guidance for obstacles are performed together with the HUD 4. Note that the navigation device 3 does not have to have all the functions described above, and the present invention can be configured if it has at least a function of performing warning guidance for an obstacle. Details of the structure of the navigation device 3 will be described later.

  On the other hand, the HUD 4 is installed inside the dashboard 5 of the vehicle 2 and has a liquid crystal display 6 as a video display surface on which video is displayed. Then, the image projected on the liquid crystal display 6 is reflected on the front window 8 in front of the driver's seat through the concave mirror 7 provided in the HUD 4 as will be described later, so that the passenger 9 of the vehicle 2 can visually recognize the image. ing. The video displayed on the liquid crystal display 6 includes information related to the vehicle 2 and various information used for assisting the driving of the occupant 9. For example, a warning for an object (another vehicle or a pedestrian) that is a warning target for the occupant 9, guidance information set by the navigation device 3, guidance information based on the guidance route (such as an arrow indicating a right / left turn direction) There are warnings to be displayed (such as rear-end collision warnings, speed limits, etc.), current vehicle speed, information signs, map images, traffic information, news, weather forecasts, times, connected smartphone screens, TV programs, and the like.

  Further, in the HUD 4 of the present embodiment, when the occupant 9 visually reflects the image displayed on the liquid crystal display 6 by reflecting the front window 8, the occupant 9 is not at the position of the front window 8 but at the tip of the front window 8. The image displayed on the liquid crystal display 6 at a distant position is visually recognized as a virtual image 10. Further, the virtual image 10 is displayed so as to be superimposed on the field of view of the occupant 9. For example, the virtual image 10 can be displayed while being superimposed on an arbitrary object (such as an object to be warned) located in the field of view of the occupant 9. It is. The virtual image 10 that can be seen by the occupant 9 is an image displayed on the liquid crystal display 6, but the vertical direction and the horizontal direction may be reversed through the concave mirror 7 and other mirrors. Therefore, it is necessary to display an image on the liquid crystal display 6. In addition, the size is changed through the concave mirror 7.

  Here, regarding the position where the virtual image 10 is generated, more specifically, the distance from the occupant 9 to the virtual image 10 (hereinafter referred to as the virtual image generation distance) L, the curvature of the concave mirror 7 included in the HUD 4, the liquid crystal display 6 and the concave mirror 7 It is possible to set as appropriate depending on the relative position of the. For example, if the curvature of the concave mirror 7 is fixed, the virtual image generation distance L is determined by the distance (optical path length) along the optical path from the position where the image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 6 to the concave mirror 7. For example, the optical path length is set so that the virtual image generation distance L is 25 m.

  In this embodiment, the HUD 4 is used as a means for displaying an image to be superimposed on the field of view of the occupant 9, but other means may be used. For example, a window shield display (WSD) that displays an image on the front window 8 may be used. For example, an image may be displayed from a projector using the front window 8 as a screen, or the front window 8 may be a transmissive liquid crystal display. The image displayed on the front window 8 by the WSD is an image superimposed on the field of view of the occupant 9 as with the HUD 4.

  A front camera 11 is installed above the front bumper of the vehicle, behind the rearview mirror, and the like. The front camera 11 is an imaging device having a camera using a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD, for example, and is installed with the optical axis direction facing forward in the traveling direction of the vehicle. Then, by performing image processing on the captured image captured by the front camera 11, the situation of the front environment (that is, the environment in which the virtual image 10 is superimposed) that is visually recognized by the occupant 9 through the front window 8 is detected. Is done. A sensor such as a millimeter wave radar may be used instead of the front camera 11.

  An in-vehicle camera 12 is installed on the upper surface of the instrument panel of the vehicle. The in-vehicle camera 12 is an imaging device having a camera using a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD, for example, and is installed with the optical axis direction facing the driver's seat. Then, the face of the occupant 9 sitting in the driver's seat is imaged. Then, image processing is performed on the captured image captured by the in-vehicle camera 12 to detect the eye position (gaze start point) and the gaze direction of the occupant 9.

  Next, a schematic configuration of the navigation device 3 configuring the travel support device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the navigation device 3 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the navigation device 3 according to the present embodiment includes a current position detection unit 13 that detects the current position of the vehicle 2 on which the navigation device 3 is mounted, and a data recording unit 14 that records various data. The navigation ECU 15 that performs various arithmetic processes based on the input information, the operation unit 16 that receives operations from the user, and the liquid crystal display 17 that displays facility information related to the map and facilities around the vehicle to the user. And a speaker 18 that outputs voice guidance related to route guidance, a DVD drive 19 that reads a DVD as a storage medium, and a communication that communicates with an information center such as a VICS (registered trademark: Vehicle Information and Communication System) center. And a module 20. The navigation device 3 is connected to the HUD 4, the front camera 11, the in-vehicle camera 12, and the like described above via an in-vehicle network such as CAN.

Below, each component which the navigation apparatus 3 has is demonstrated in order.
The current position detection unit 13 includes a GPS 21, a vehicle speed sensor 22, a steering sensor 23, a gyro sensor 24, and the like, and can detect the current vehicle position, direction, vehicle traveling speed, current time, and the like. . Here, in particular, the vehicle speed sensor 22 is a sensor for detecting a moving distance and a vehicle speed of the vehicle, generates a pulse according to the rotation of the driving wheel of the vehicle, and outputs a pulse signal to the navigation ECU 15. And navigation ECU15 calculates the rotational speed and moving distance of a driving wheel by counting the generated pulse. In addition, it is not necessary for the navigation device 3 to include all the four types of sensors, and the navigation device 3 may include only one or a plurality of types of sensors.

  The data recording unit 14 is also a hard disk (not shown) as an external storage device and a recording medium, and a driver for reading the map information DB 31 and a predetermined program recorded on the hard disk and writing predetermined data on the hard disk And a recording head (not shown). The data recording unit 14 may include a flash memory, a memory card, an optical disk such as a CD or a DVD, instead of the hard disk. The map information DB 31 may be stored in an external server, and the navigation device 3 may be configured to acquire by communication.

  Here, the map information DB 31 is, for example, link data 32 regarding roads (links), node data 33 regarding node points, point data 34 regarding points such as facilities, intersection data regarding each intersection, and map display data for displaying a map. The storage means stores search data for searching for routes, search data for searching for points, and the like.

  Here, as the link data 32, for example, a link ID for identifying the link, end node information for specifying a node located at the end of the link, a road type of a road formed by the link, and the like are stored. . The node data 33 stores a node ID for identifying the node, position coordinates of the node, connection destination node information for specifying a connection destination node to which the node is connected through a link, and the like. Further, as the point data 34, various types of information related to the facility to be set as the destination are stored. For example, an ID for specifying a facility, a facility name, position coordinates, a genre, an address, and the like are stored.

  On the other hand, the navigation ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 15 is an electronic control unit that controls the entire navigation device 3, and includes a CPU 41 as an arithmetic device and a control device, and a working memory when the CPU 41 performs various arithmetic processes. Read out from the ROM 43 and the ROM 43 in which a RAM 42 that stores route data when a route is searched, a control program, and a driving support processing program (FIG. 3) described later are recorded. An internal storage device such as a flash memory 44 for storing the program is provided. The navigation ECU 15 has various means as processing algorithms. For example, the position acquisition unit acquires the position of an object outside the vehicle. The visual field acquisition means acquires the central visual field and the peripheral visual field of the driver, respectively. The image display means superimposes and displays a recognition image that allows the driver to recognize the object in the field of view of the driver.

  The operation unit 16 is operated when inputting a starting point as a travel start point and a destination as a travel end point, and has a plurality of operation switches (not shown) such as various keys and buttons. Then, the navigation ECU 15 performs control to execute various corresponding operations based on switch signals output by pressing the switches. The operation unit 16 may have a touch panel provided on the front surface of the liquid crystal display 17. Moreover, you may have a microphone and a speech recognition apparatus.

  The liquid crystal display 17 includes a map image including a road, traffic information, operation guidance, an operation menu, key guidance, a guidance route from the departure point to the destination, guidance information along the guidance route, news, weather forecast, Time, mail, TV program, etc. are displayed. In this embodiment, since the HUD 4 is provided as the information display means, the liquid crystal display 17 may be omitted if the map image or the like is displayed on the HUD 4.

  Further, the speaker 18 outputs voice guidance for guiding traveling along the guidance route and traffic information guidance based on an instruction from the navigation ECU 15.

  The DVD drive 19 is a drive that can read data recorded on a recording medium such as a DVD or a CD. Based on the read data, music and video are reproduced, the map information DB 31 is updated, and the like. A card slot for reading / writing a memory card may be provided in place of the DVD drive 19.

  The communication module 20 is a communication device for receiving traffic information composed of information such as traffic jam information, regulation information, traffic accident information transmitted from a traffic information center, for example, a VICS center or a probe center, For example, a mobile phone or DCM is applicable.

  Next, a driving support processing program executed in the navigation device 3 in the driving support device 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the driving support processing program according to the present embodiment. Here, the driving support processing program is a program that is executed after the ACC power supply (accessory power supply) of the vehicle is turned on, and warns the occupant 9 of the vehicle 2 of the object to be warned using the HUD 4. Note that the program shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 below is stored in the RAM 42 or ROM 43 provided in the navigation device 3 and is executed by the CPU 41.

  First, in step (hereinafter abbreviated as S) 1 in the driving support processing program, the CPU 41 obtains vehicle peripheral information. In the present embodiment, a captured image obtained by imaging the front direction of the vehicle with the front camera 11 is acquired as the surrounding information of the vehicle. As the peripheral information, the detection result of a sensor such as a millimeter wave radar installed in the vehicle other than the captured image of the front camera 11 may be acquired, or the surroundings of the vehicle may be obtained by inter-vehicle communication or communication with an external server. You may acquire the position of the other vehicle and pedestrian who are located in.

  Next, in S <b> 2, it is determined whether there is a target object (hereinafter referred to as a warning target object) that is a warning target for the vehicle occupant in the forward direction of the vehicle. Here, the warning object is an object to be watched by a passenger who rides the vehicle, for example, another vehicle, a pedestrian, or a two-wheeled vehicle. It should be noted that other objects that should be watched by the passenger, such as signs and traffic lights, may be included in the warning object.

  Further, the presence / absence of the warning object in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle is determined based on the peripheral information acquired in S1. For example, when a captured image captured by the front camera 11 is acquired in S1, the determination is performed by performing image processing such as template matching on the captured image.

  And when it determines with there being a warning target object ahead of the advancing direction of a vehicle (S2: YES), it transfers to S3. On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no warning object ahead in the traveling direction of the vehicle (S2: NO), the driving support processing program is terminated.

  In S3, the CPU 41 obtains a specific position of the warning object that is determined to be ahead of the vehicle in the traveling direction. Note that the position of the warning object may be acquired by performing image processing on a captured image captured by the front camera 11, for example, or may be acquired using a sensor such as a millimeter wave radar. Moreover, you may acquire by communication with a vehicle-to-vehicle communication or an external server. The position of the warning object is specified by an orthogonal coordinate system for an area where an image can be displayed by the HUD 4. Here, the area in which the image can be displayed by the HUD 4 is determined based on the driver's viewpoint (eye position) and the design value of the HUD 4, and for example, the driver's field of view (driver's field of view shown in a two-dimensional plane). (Specified image) with the line of sight as the optical axis direction). For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 4, an area where an image can be displayed by the HUD 4 is an area 50 having a rectangular shape. Therefore, the xy coordinates are set with the lower left point of the area 50 as the origin, and the position of the warning object is specified by the xy coordinates. In addition, when there are a plurality of warning objects, the positions of the plurality of warning objects are acquired.

  For example, a method for specifying the position of a warning object by performing image processing on a captured image captured by the front camera 11 will be described below.

  First, the CPU 41 generates template image data of a warning object. For example, when the warning object is a pedestrian, the template image data of the pedestrian is generated, and when the warning object is another vehicle, the template image data of the vehicle is generated and stored in the flash memory 44 or the like. To do. The template image data generation method is already known (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-223242).

  Then, the CPU 41 uses the generated template image to continuously detect the position of the warning object ahead of the traveling direction of the vehicle by the template matching process until the driving support processing program ends.

  Next, in S <b> 4, the CPU 41 determines, among the visual field areas of the occupant 9, in particular, a central visual field area 51 that is a partial area near the center including the sight line position (gaze point) of the occupant 9, The peripheral visual field region 52 excluding the central visual field region 51 is acquired. Here, the central visual field region 51 is a region that has a high power and is suitable for viewing an object in detail. On the other hand, the peripheral visual field region 52 is a region having a recognition power superior to that of the central visual field region with respect to a moving object, although it is inferior in terms of details.

A method for acquiring the central visual field 51 and the peripheral visual field 52 will be described below.
First, the CPU 41 detects the gaze start point (eye position) and the gaze direction of the occupant 9 based on the captured image of the in-vehicle camera 12. The in-vehicle camera 12 is installed on the instrument panel of the vehicle as described above, and is installed with the imaging direction facing the driver's seat (FIG. 1), and the captured image includes the face of the occupant 9. As a method for detecting the line-of-sight start point and the line-of-sight direction, there is a method of detecting using the center position of the pupil or the Purkinje image measured by the corneal reflection method, for example. Since these methods are already known techniques, details are omitted.

  Next, based on the detected line-of-sight start point and line-of-sight direction of the occupant 9, the CPU 41 sets an orthogonal coordinate system in S3 (an area where an image can be displayed by the HUD 4 (see FIG. 4)). ) Specifies the line-of-sight position where the driver's line of sight is located. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a line-of-sight position Q is an intersection of a straight line extending from the line-of-sight start point P in the line-of-sight direction α and the area 50. The line-of-sight position Q is specified at regular intervals (for example, every 200 ms) by xy coordinates on the area 50 and is stored in the flash memory 44 or the like. In this embodiment, the range 53 (also referred to as a saccade range) in which the line-of-sight position Q within a predetermined period of time (for example, several seconds) is accommodated is specified in consideration of the displacement of the line-of-sight position Q due to a saccade. Is specified as the center of gaze.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6, the CPU 41 specifies the range of the effective viewing angle θ <b> 1 around the direction of the line of sight to the center of the occupant 9 as the center visual field region 51 of the occupant 9. The effective viewing angle θ1 is about 30 degrees horizontally and 20 degrees vertically. On the other hand, a region excluding the central visual field region 51 out of the visual field region (a viewing angle of about 200 degrees in the horizontal direction and about 120 degrees in the vertical direction) visible to the occupant 9 is defined as the peripheral visual field region 52. The central visual field area 51 and the peripheral visual field area 52 are specified by xy coordinates in an orthogonal coordinate system (see FIG. 4) for an area where an image can be displayed by the HUD 4 as in S3.

  Subsequently, in S <b> 5, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the warning object that is determined to be ahead in the traveling direction of the vehicle is in the peripheral visual field region 52 of the occupant 9. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the xy coordinates of the warning object specified in S3 are located within the peripheral visual field region 52 specified in S4.

  And when it determines with the warning target object determined to be ahead of the advancing direction of a vehicle being in the periphery visual field area | region 52 of the passenger | crew 9 (S5: YES), it transfers to S6. On the other hand, when it is determined that the warning object determined to be ahead of the traveling direction of the vehicle is not in the peripheral visual field region 52 of the occupant 9 (S5: NO), that is, the warning object is the occupant 9 If it is outside the central visual field area or the visual field area, the driving support processing program is terminated without providing guidance for the warning object.

  However, even when the warning object is outside the center visual field area or the visual field area of the occupant 9, guidance for the warning object may be performed. For example, the HUD 4 may be operated, and a mark or character virtual image 10 for warning the warning object may be displayed at a position where the occupant 9 overlaps the warning object.

  On the other hand, in S6, the CPU 41 calculates an initial value R0 of the radius R of the arc displayed by the HUD 4 as an image for recognizing the warning object (hereinafter referred to as a recognition image). As will be described later, in this embodiment, a virtual image 10 having an arc shape with the position of the warning object as a center point is displayed as a recognition image. Furthermore, the display start position where the recognition image is first displayed is a position where at least a part is superimposed on the peripheral visual field, and more specifically, the boundary between the central visual field and the peripheral visual field, which is farthest from the position of the warning object. The position to be superimposed on the point.

警告対象物の位置を中心点とし、上記式（１）により算出された半径Ｒ０を有する円弧の虚像１０は、乗員９の中心視野と周辺視野の境界であって警告対象物の位置から最も離れた地点に重畳することとなる。 Therefore, when the warning object 55 is located in the peripheral visual field 52 of the occupant 9 as shown in FIG. 7, the position of the warning target 55 is (x1, y1), and the central visual field 51 and the peripheral visual field 52 If the point farthest from the warning object 55 in the boundary is (x2, y2), R0 is calculated by the following equation (1).

The virtual image 10 of the circular arc having the radius R0 calculated by the above formula (1) with the position of the warning object as the center point is the boundary between the center visual field and the peripheral visual field of the occupant 9 and is the farthest from the position of the warning object. It will be superimposed on the spot.

  Thereafter, in S <b> 7, the CPU 41 transmits a control signal to the HUD 4 and outputs a video for generating the virtual image 10 to the liquid crystal display 6 of the HUD 4. For example, in the present embodiment, an arc image is output. As a result, the virtual arc image 10 is displayed as a recognition image for recognizing the warning object. The display start position of the arcuate virtual image 10 is a position that passes through the boundary between the central visual field and the peripheral visual field of the vehicle occupant 9, and more specifically, the radius calculated in S6 with the position of the warning object as the central point. The arc is R0. Further, after that, the CPU 41 transmits a control signal to the HUD 4 to change the image displayed on the liquid crystal display 6, and shortens the radius R of the arc in a stepwise manner. Thereby, it becomes possible to move the virtual image 10 of the arc across the central visual field of the occupant 9 toward the warning object. Note that the speed at which the radius R is shortened can be set as appropriate, but is at least a speed at which the virtual image 10 at which the vehicle occupant 9 moves can be followed. Then, when the radius R finally becomes 0, the display of the virtual image 10 of the circular arc is finished, and the virtual image 10 of the bright spot (flashing image) is displayed at a position superimposed on the warning object (S8).

  Further, the arcuate virtual image 10 is visually recognized not at the position of the front window 8 but at a predetermined distance (for example, 25 m) from the occupant 9, and the occupant 9 moves the line of sight as little as possible when viewing the virtual image 10. Is possible.

Here, FIGS. 8 and 9 are diagrams showing an example of the virtual image 10 (recognition image) of the arc displayed in S7.
As shown in FIG. 8, the virtual image 10 of the arc first displayed in S <b> 7 passes through the boundary between the central visual field region 51 and the peripheral visual field region 52 of the vehicle occupant 9 and is centered on the position of the warning object 55. It becomes a circular arc with points. Thereafter, the radius R of the arc gradually decreases, and the virtual image 10 of the arc gradually moves toward the warning object 55 across the central visual field region 51. The arc virtual image 10 is an arc portion included in an area in which an image can be displayed by the HUD 4 in a circle having a radius R with the position of the warning object as a center point. Therefore, the arcuate virtual image 10 gradually approaches a circular shape (the angle increases) as the radius R becomes shorter, and finally becomes a circular shape with the warning object 55 as the center.
Then, as shown in FIG. 9, when the virtual image 10 of the arc finally converges at the position of the warning object 55 (the virtual image 10 is superimposed on the warning object 55), thereafter, the position is superimposed on the warning object 55. A virtual image 10 of a bright spot (flashing image) is displayed. As a result, it is possible to reliably guide the line of sight of the vehicle occupant 9 to the warning object 55 and to make the vehicle occupant 9 visually recognize the warning object 55. When there are a plurality of warning objects, the recognition image is displayed on the warning object closest to the vehicle or the warning object determined to have the highest degree of danger.

  As described in detail above, the driving support device 1 and the computer program executed by the driving support device 1 according to the present embodiment acquire the position of the warning object that is a warning target for the vehicle occupant 9 (S3). ), The center visual field and the peripheral visual field of the occupant 9 are respectively acquired (S4), and a recognition image for recognizing the warning object is superimposed on the driver's visual field and displayed. The position at least a part of which is superimposed on the peripheral visual field is set as the display start position and moved from the display start position to the direction of the warning object across the central visual field (S7). It becomes possible to guide the line of sight of the occupant 9 more reliably. Thereby, it becomes possible to make the vehicle occupant 9 visually recognize the object to be warned. In particular, even when the vehicle travels at a high speed, the line of sight of the occupant 9 can be reliably guided to the warning object.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
For example, in the present embodiment, the virtual image is generated in front of the front window 8 of the vehicle 2 by the HUD 4, but the virtual image may be generated in front of a window other than the front window 8. In addition, the object to be reflected by the HUD 4 may be a visor (combiner) installed around the front window 8 instead of the front window 8 itself.

  In this embodiment, the HUD 4 is used as means for displaying a recognition image for recognizing the warning object. However, a window shield display (WSD) that displays an image on the front window 8 may be used. . Even in that case, it is possible to display an arc image superimposed on the occupant's field of view in the same manner as the HUD 4.

  In the present embodiment, the case where an arc image is used as a recognition image for recognizing a warning object has been described. However, another image may be used as a recognition image. For example, an exclamation mark or an arrow image as shown in FIG. 10 may be used. Even when the image shown in FIG. 10 is used, the display start position of the image is a position that passes the boundary between the central visual field and the peripheral visual field of the occupant 9 of the vehicle, and thereafter the warning object crosses the central visual field of the occupant 9. Move in the direction of.

  In this embodiment, a recognition image for causing the occupant to recognize an object (for example, a pedestrian or another vehicle) that is a warning target for the occupant (driver) of the vehicle is displayed. The object to be recognized by the recognition image does not necessarily need to be the object to be warned. For example, the recognition image may be displayed for an object that is not a warning target, such as a sign or a signboard, but is preferably recognized by the occupant.

  Further, in this embodiment, the recognition image is displayed particularly when there is a warning object in the peripheral visual field region 52 of the vehicle occupant. However, the present invention can also be performed when the warning target is outside the peripheral visual field region 52. It is.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the processing of the driving support processing program (FIG. 3) is executed by the navigation ECU 15 of the navigation device 3, but the execution subject can be changed as appropriate. For example, it is good also as a structure which the control part of HUD4, vehicle control ECU, and another vehicle equipment perform. In addition, when the control part of HUD4 performs, the driving assistance device which concerns on this invention can also be comprised only with HUD4.

  Moreover, although the embodiment which actualized the driving support device according to the present invention has been described above, the driving support device can also have the following configuration, and in that case, the following effects can be obtained.

For example, the first configuration is as follows.
Position acquisition means (41) for acquiring the position of the object (55) outside the vehicle, visual field acquisition means (41) for acquiring the driver's central visual field (51) and peripheral visual field (52), respectively, and driving the object An image display means (41) for displaying a recognition image (10) to be recognized by the driver superimposed on the visual field of the driver, wherein the image display means has a position at least partially superimposed on the peripheral visual field. The recognition image that is set as a display start position and moves from the display start position across the central visual field toward the object is displayed.
According to the driving support apparatus having the above configuration, the driver's line of sight is more reliably displayed on the object outside the vehicle by displaying the recognition image that moves from the peripheral vision to the object outside the vehicle across the driver's central vision. Can be induced. Thereby, it becomes possible to make the driver visually recognize the object. In particular, even when the vehicle travels at a high speed, the driver's line of sight can be reliably guided to the object.

The second configuration is as follows.
The image display means (41) displays the recognition image (10) with a position that is a boundary between the central visual field and the peripheral visual field and is superimposed on a point farthest from the position of the object as a display start position.
According to the driving support apparatus having the above-described configuration, it is possible to display a recognition image that moves across the central visual field and moves to the object by moving the longest distance in the central visual field of the driver. Therefore, the driver can be surely made aware of the recognized image.

The third configuration is as follows.
The recognition image (10) is an image having an arc shape with the position of the object (55) as a center point.
According to the driving support apparatus having the above configuration, there is less possibility of disturbing the user's field of view even if the central visual field is crossed compared to images having other shapes. On the other hand, it is possible to reliably recognize the recognized image without causing the driver to miss it.

The fourth configuration is as follows.
The image display means (41) displays the recognition image (10) moving in the direction of the object across the central visual field (51) by shortening the radius of the arc shape stepwise.
According to the driving support apparatus having the above-described configuration, it is possible to more reliably guide the driver's line of sight to the object by displaying a circle that converges on the object.

The fifth configuration is as follows.
The image display means (41) visually recognizes the virtual image of the video as the recognition image (10) in front of the driver's line of sight by causing the driver to visually recognize the video displayed on the video display surface (6). Let
According to the driving support apparatus having the above configuration, it is possible to display a recognition image superimposed on the driver's field of view, particularly by using a head-up display. Therefore, it is possible to guide the driver to the object without deviating from the traveling direction.

The sixth configuration is as follows.
The image display means (41) displays the recognition image (10) on a vehicle window (8).
According to the driving support apparatus having the above-described configuration, it is possible to display a recognition image superimposed on the driver's field of view, particularly by using a window shield display. Therefore, it is possible to guide the driver to the object without deviating from the traveling direction.

The seventh configuration is as follows.
The said object (55) is a target object used as a warning object with respect to a driver | operator.
According to the driving support apparatus having the above-described configuration, the driver is moved to the target object to be warned by displaying a recognition image that moves from the peripheral view to the target object to be warned across the driver's central field of view. It is possible to more reliably guide the line of sight. Thereby, it is possible to make the driver visually recognize the target object to be warned.

1 driving support device 2 vehicle 3 navigation device 4 HUD
6 Liquid crystal display 8 Front window 10 Virtual image 15 Navigation ECU
41 CPU
42 RAM
43 ROM
51 Central visual field 52 Peripheral visual field 55 Warning object

Claims (8)

Position acquisition means for acquiring the position of an object outside the vehicle;
Visual field acquisition means for acquiring a driver's central visual field and peripheral visual field, respectively;
An image display means for displaying a recognition image that causes the driver to recognize the object in a superimposed manner on the driver's field of view;
The image display means sets a position where at least a part overlaps the peripheral visual field as a display start position, and displays the recognition image that moves in the direction of the object across the central visual field from the display start position. apparatus.   2. The driving support according to claim 1, wherein the image display means displays the recognition image using a position that is a boundary between the central visual field and the peripheral visual field and is superimposed on a point farthest from the position of the object as a display start position. apparatus.   The travel support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recognition image is an image having an arc shape with the position of the object as a center point.   The driving support device according to claim 3, wherein the image display means displays the recognition image that moves in the direction of the object across the central visual field by gradually shortening the radius of the arc shape.   The said image display means makes the said driver | operator visually recognize the image | video displayed on the image | video display surface, and visually recognizes the virtual image of the said image | video as the said recognition image ahead of the said driver | operator's eyes | visual_axis. The driving support device according to any one of the above.   The travel support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the image display means displays the recognition image on a window of a vehicle.   The travel support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object is an object to be a warning target for a driver. Computer
Position acquisition means for acquiring the position of an object outside the vehicle;
Visual field acquisition means for acquiring a driver's central visual field and peripheral visual field, respectively;
A computer program for functioning as an image display means for displaying a recognition image that causes the driver to recognize the object superimposed on the driver's field of view,
The image display means displays a recognition image that moves from the display start position across the central visual field in the direction of the object, with the position at least partially overlapping the peripheral visual field as a display start position. .

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