JP2019089394A - Automatic driving time information transmission method and information presentation device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To enable smooth handover in a situation in which automatic driving is difficult, and to secure the comfort of the automatic driving by reducing a burden for allowing a driver to correctly grasp the situation of the automatic driving and a surrounding situation.SOLUTION: An information presentation device for a vehicle grasps time allowance until interference with each of a plurality of objects recognized by a system, extracts important objects to which a driver has to pay attention among the plurality of recognized objects on the basis of the time allowance, and outputs objects other than the important objects in an expression form weaker than in the important objects in presenting the recognized information to the driver. The driver can limit the direction of a monitoring object because the driver can intuitively and immediately grasp a situation on the basis of the narrowing-down of the object and the use of simple expression. When the time allowance of a TTC or the like is reduced due to a lane change of each object, the object is preferentially selected and presented as an important object.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of transmitting information at the time of automatic driving that can be used in a vehicle capable of automatic driving, and a device for presenting information for a vehicle.

  In the automobile manufacturing industry, technologies for automating part of driving operations and automatic driving technologies in which a system including a computer automatically performs almost all driving operations on behalf of a passenger are being developed (for example, patents Document 1, Patent Document 2).

  The driving support system of Patent Document 1 shows a technique for enabling the driver to immediately grasp surrounding traffic conditions when canceling automatic driving. Specifically, when a notice of switching from automatic driving to manual driving or switching from automatic driving to manual driving is received, the display in the meter cluster displays the vehicle speed of the vehicle, the rear image, and the front. It is shown that an image representing a road shape, an image representing the arrangement of other surrounding vehicles, and an image representing the distance to the leading vehicle and the situation around the leading vehicle are displayed.

  Moreover, the information presentation system of patent document 2 has shown the technique for showing the recognition information of an automatic driving system to a passenger | crew based on a passenger | crew's instruction | indication. Specifically, the display mode of the display unit is switched based on the display switching instruction of the occupant. In addition, it has a display mode for displaying setting information of automatic driving, a display mode for displaying traveling information at the time of operation of the automatic driving system, and a display mode for displaying recognition result information of the automatic driving system.

JP, 2016-182906, A Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2017-26417

  By the way, when a vehicle equipped with an automatic driving system is traveling by automatic driving, there may be a situation where the system can not cope with the situation sufficiently. Therefore, in such a situation, for example, it is necessary to switch from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode (system to driver transfer: handover) and continue or not to drive the vehicle by the driver's judgment and operation. For example, it is assumed that the vehicle is automatically stopped. In addition, there may be a case where switching from an automatic driving mode requiring no driver's assistance at all to an automatic driving mode requiring driver's assistance may be performed.

  Here, in order to smoothly carry out the handover from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode, the system warns the driver in some way before the handover actually occurs, and the driver prepares for the handover. It is necessary to prompt them to keep

  However, the various handover situations that the system predicts in a vehicle may actually lead to such situations, or may not occur in practice. That is, after the system predicts the possibility of the situation where the automatic operation mode can not be continued, the case where the situation actually requires a handover and the actual operation without the handover request from the system actually occur. May continue.

  As described above, even when the host vehicle is traveling in the automatic driving mode, the driver predicts the possibility of a request for switching to the manual driving mode or the automatic driving mode requiring the driver's assistance. It is necessary to be prepared in advance, to some extent, so that smooth handover can always be performed.

  On the other hand, there may be so-called automation surprises in which the driver feels a surprise for the automatic drive control when the driver's idea or prediction is different from the content of the automatic drive. When such automation surprises are repeated, the driver gradually becomes distrustful about automatic driving. For example, when another vehicle changes its course and breaks in front of the host vehicle, the driver of the host vehicle predicts that the automatic driving of the host vehicle will perform a deceleration operation, but in actuality the automatic driving is decelerating There is a possibility to select a lane change instead. In such a case, the driver may manually operate the steering wheel (manual steering), which may cause the driver to feel distrustful about automatic driving.

  Also, for example, the distance between the other vehicle, which is the preceding vehicle, and the own vehicle may be closer due to, for example, acceleration / deceleration of the other vehicle traveling in the vicinity of the own vehicle, or changing the traveling lane of the other vehicle or the own vehicle. In that case, there is no problem if the system's recognition of the situation matches the driver's recognition. However, even if the driver recognizes the presence of another vehicle whose distance to the host vehicle is close, automatic driving is performed as if the system does not recognize the other vehicle. The driver feels uneasy about continuing automatic driving as it is.

  Therefore, it is important to prevent the occurrence of the above-mentioned automation surprise in order for the driver to leave the operation to the system safely in the automatic operation mode, and for that purpose, it is necessary that the system is operating properly. It is necessary for the driver to always know. It is also necessary to inform the driver in advance of the possibility of handover so that the request for handover does not occur suddenly.

  Therefore, as in, for example, Patent Document 2, it is assumed to provide a display mode for displaying recognition result information of the automatic driving system. However, for example, in a situation where a large number of other vehicles exist around the host vehicle traveling in the automatic driving mode, all other vehicles recognized by the system are displayed, or each other vehicle is Displaying detailed information is annoying for the driver. That is, although in the automatic driving mode, the driver needs to be aware of monitoring of surrounding conditions and safety of each of a large number of objects displayed on the screen.

  Also, in situations where the system simultaneously recognizes multiple objects, the driver must always determine which of the multiple objects the system is aware of. . Therefore, although in the automatic driving mode, the driver feels troublesome, and the comfort of the automatic driving is lost.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to increase the degree of involvement of the driver in the drive control from the first state in which the drive control is automatically performed. It enables smooth switching to 2 states, reduces the burden of work for the driver to correctly grasp the situation of automatic driving and the surrounding situation, and can prevent loss of comfort in automatic driving An object of the present invention is to provide a method of transmitting information at the time of automatic driving and an information presentation apparatus for a vehicle.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a method of transmitting information at the time of automatic driving and an information presentation apparatus for a vehicle according to the present invention are characterized by the following (1) to (6).
(1) An automatic driving time information transmission method for presenting information to the driver in an autonomous driving vehicle having two or more states in which a degree of involvement of the driver in driving control is different as a running state,
The traveling state includes a first state in which the driving control is automatically executed, and a second state in which the degree of involvement of the driver is larger than the first state.
The autonomous driving vehicle is equipped with an object recognition unit that recognizes the presence of each target in the vicinity of the autonomous driving vehicle.
In at least the first state,
Grasping a time margin until interference with each of a plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit;
From the plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit, an important object to be noted by the driver is extracted based on the time margin,
When presenting information on a plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit to the driver, objects other than the important objects are output in a form of expression weaker than the important objects.
A method of transmitting information at the time of automatic driving, characterized in that

  According to the method of transmitting information at the time of automatic driving of the configuration of the above (1), the driver of the autonomous driving vehicle recognizes the system even in the situation where many other vehicles and the like exist around the own vehicle. Important objects automatically extracted from objects can be grasped instantly based on presented information. Therefore, the driver of the autonomous driving vehicle can easily identify the other vehicle or the like to which the driver should pay attention, and can easily identify whether or not his recognition matches the recognition of the system. Therefore, the burden of the driver who grasps the situation of automatic driving and the surrounding situation is reduced, and the comfort of automatic driving is not impaired. Also, the driver can be prepared for the occurrence of a handover request from the system, which facilitates a smooth handover to avoid danger. Alternatively, if the driver determines that his or her recognition does not coincide with that of the system, he or she can voluntarily carry out overriding according to his / her own intention.

(2) When detecting a course change of at least one of each object recognized by the object recognition unit and the vehicle, the object whose time margin has become smaller along with the course change is important Select as object,
The automatic driving time information transmission method according to the above (1), characterized in that

  According to the method of transmitting information at the time of automatic driving of the configuration of (2), when the possibility of interference is rapidly increased (the time margin becomes smaller) by the course change of any other vehicle or the own vehicle, Since the corresponding other vehicle is selected as the important object, the driver of the host vehicle can easily recognize the other vehicle to which the driver should pay attention.

(3) When information on the important object is presented to the driver, the reduction of the time margin in the important object is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, and the important object is emphasized more than usual. Present information,
The automatic driving time information transmission method according to the above (1), characterized in that

  According to the method of transmitting information at the time of automatic driving of the configuration of the above (3), the driver of the own vehicle pays attention because the other vehicle having a high possibility of interference is presented in a state of being emphasized as an important object. It can be easily recognized that it is an object to be done.

(4) When presenting information related to at least one of the important object and each of the other objects to the driver, the information indicating at least the relative direction between the host vehicle and the object is To present,
The automatic driving time information transmission method according to the above (1), characterized in that

  According to the method of transmitting information at the time of automatic driving of the configuration of the above (4), since the relative direction of the important object to be noted is presented, the driver of the own vehicle can easily recognize the direction to be noticed by itself. it can. Moreover, since the important object can be expressed with only a small amount of information, for example, the driver can visually recognize the displayed information instantaneously. Therefore, the driver does not have to read explicit information such as a message during automatic driving, and the comfort of automatic driving is not lost.

(5) When presenting information related to at least one of the important object and each of the other objects to the driver, the direction, color, size and distance of at least one of the applicable objects are applicable. Reflect one difference in the display form of the information,
The automatic driving time information transmission method according to the above (1), characterized in that

  According to the method of transmitting information at the time of automatic driving of the configuration of (5), the color, size, distance, direction, etc. of the corresponding object are reflected in the display form of the presented information. People can easily understand the situation. That is, the driver can instantly grasp the situation by the intuitive information based on the visual information without reading the explicit information such as the message.

(6) A vehicle information presentation apparatus for presenting information to the driver in an autonomous driving vehicle having two or more states in which the degree of involvement of the driver in driving control is different as the traveling state.
The traveling state includes a first state in which the driving control is automatically executed, and a second state in which the degree of involvement of the driver is larger than the first state.
The automatically driven vehicle includes an object recognition unit that recognizes the presence of each object in the vicinity of the automatically driven vehicle.
An information output control unit that outputs information on a plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit;
At least in the first state, the information output control unit
Grasping a time margin until interference with each of a plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit;
From the plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit, an important object to be noted by the driver is extracted based on the time margin,
When presenting information on a plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit to the driver, objects other than the important objects are output in a form of expression weaker than the important objects.
An information presentation apparatus for a vehicle, characterized in that

  According to the information presentation apparatus for vehicles having the configuration of (6), the driver of the own vehicle recognizes the target object recognized by the system even in the situation where a large number of other vehicles and the like exist around the own vehicle. The important objects automatically extracted from among them can be grasped instantly based on the presented information. Therefore, the driver of the host vehicle can easily identify the other vehicle or the like to which the driver should pay attention, and can easily identify whether or not their recognition matches the recognition of the system. Therefore, the burden of the driver who grasps the situation of automatic driving and the surrounding situation is reduced, and the comfort of automatic driving is not impaired. In addition, when the driver determines that his or her recognition does not coincide with that of the system, the driver voluntarily carries out a handover according to his own intention, or prepares for a handover request from the system. it can. This makes it easy to implement smooth handover and avoid danger.

  According to the method of transmitting information at the time of automatic driving and the information presentation apparatus for a vehicle of the present invention, the burden of work for the driver to correctly grasp the state of automatic driving and the surrounding state is reduced. It can be prevented, and there is no loss in the comfort of automatic driving. In addition, smooth switching is possible from the first state in which driving control is automatically executed to the second state in which the degree of involvement of the driver in driving control is greater than that in the first state, ensuring safety. Is easy.

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading the modes for carrying out the invention described below (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") with reference to the attached drawings. .

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an arrangement example of a plurality of vehicles traveling on a road. FIG. 2 is a front view showing a general display example of the host vehicle and surrounding vehicles. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a main part of an on-vehicle system including a vehicular information presentation apparatus. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the information presentation control. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of traveling directions and lane changes of a plurality of vehicles traveling on a road. 6 (a) and 6 (b) are front views showing display examples of the peripheral information display area. FIG. 7A, FIG. 7B, FIG. 7C, and FIG. 7D are front views showing display examples of the peripheral information display area.

  Specific embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the figures.

<Description of the environment to which the automatic driving information transmission method is applied>
<A specific example of the traveling condition of the vehicle>
An arrangement example of a state in which a plurality of vehicles traveling on a road are viewed from above is shown in FIG.

  The example shown in FIG. 1 represents a situation in which the vehicle 42 travels on the road 41 with three lanes such as expressways from left to right in FIG. 1. Further, a plurality of other vehicles 45A, 45B, 45C exist around the host vehicle 42, and these are traveling with the host vehicle 42 from the left to the right. For example, the other vehicle 45A is an ordinary vehicle, the other vehicle 45B is a bus, and the other vehicle 45C is a motorcycle. Further, in the example shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that the other vehicle 45A traveling in the right traveling lane of the host vehicle 42 changes its course and moves forward in the same traveling lane as the host vehicle 42. .

  Moreover, in the example shown in FIG. 1, the case where the own vehicle 42 makes the monitoring object area | region 46 of the circular centering on the own vehicle 42 the monitoring object is assumed. That is, when the host vehicle 42 travels in the automatic operation mode, the system on the host vehicle 42 monitors the monitoring target range so as not to reach a situation such as interference or contact between the host vehicle 42 and other vehicles in the vicinity. It is necessary to recognize each other vehicle in 46 as a target object of interest and to monitor the distance between the own vehicle 42 and each target object.

  In addition, even when the host vehicle 42 is traveling in the automatic operation mode or the like, the occupant seated in the driver's seat of the host vehicle 42 as well as the system on the host vehicle 42 for various reasons, It may be necessary for the driver also to grasp the surrounding conditions such as the monitoring target range 46 and the like to grasp whether or not the safety is secured.

  Therefore, in order to make it easy for the driver on the own vehicle 42 to grasp the situation, it is assumed that the information on each object in the vicinity recognized by the system on the own vehicle 42 is provided as it is to the driver Ru.

<General display example>
A typical display example of the own vehicle and surrounding vehicles is shown in FIG. That is, in the situation shown in FIG. 1, if the information of each object recognized by the system on the vehicle 42 is displayed on the screen of the display on the vehicle 42 or the like in consideration of the actual positional relationship, The display content is as shown in 2.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, the peripheral vehicle display pattern 62 is displayed on the right front of the host vehicle display pattern 61, the peripheral vehicle display pattern 63 is displayed on the rear of the host vehicle display pattern 61, and the left of the host vehicle display pattern 61. A surrounding vehicle display pattern 64 is displayed at the rear. 2 corresponds to the host vehicle 42 in FIG. 1, and the peripheral vehicle display patterns 62, 63 and 64 shown in FIG. 2 respectively correspond to the other vehicle 45A in FIG. , 45B and 45C.

<Items required in automatic operation mode>
On the other hand, for example, when the host vehicle 42 is traveling in the automatic operation mode as shown in FIG. 1, it is important to consider the items described below.

<Automation Surprise>
Automation surprises can occur when the vehicle is driving autonomously. That is, there is a possibility that the driver may have a sense of distrust of the automatic driving when the driver's thinking or prediction is different from the content of the automatic driving. For example, when the other vehicle 45A changes the course and breaks in front of the host vehicle 42, the driver of the host vehicle 42 predicts that the automatic driving system of the host vehicle 42 performs a deceleration operation, but in practice There is a possibility that the automated driving system may select a lane change instead of deceleration. In that case, there is a possibility that the driver may operate the steering wheel manually (manual steering), or the driver may feel distrust of automatic driving.

<Possibility of handover>
Also, for example, with the acceleration / deceleration of the other vehicle 45A traveling in the vicinity of the own vehicle 42, the change of the travel lane of the other vehicle 45A or the own vehicle 42, etc. There is no problem if the system's perception of the situation matches the driver's perception if the distance between the two approaches. However, even if the driver recognizes that the distance between the other vehicle and the host vehicle is close, if the automatic driving is performed, which misleads the user that the system does not recognize it, the driver will You will be anxious about the continuation of automatic driving.

<Ensuring the comfort of automatic driving>
On the other hand, in a situation where there is no particular problem in the automatic driving of the host vehicle 42, it is important that the comfort of the automatic driving is not impaired. However, for example, when the display shown in FIG. 2 is performed, the driver of the host vehicle 42 displays the host vehicle display pattern 61 and the plurality of peripheral vehicle display patterns 62, 63, 64 on the screen. Since the vehicle is visually recognized, in spite of the automatic driving, other vehicles 45A, 45B, 45C are to be conscious as in the manual driving.

  Therefore, the driver of the own vehicle 42 will grasp the surrounding situation in a state almost unchanged from the case of the manual driving even in the automatic driving mode. Therefore, the comfort of automatic driving is lost.

<Important items when conducting information presentation>
In order for the driver of the host vehicle 42 to leave driving to the system safely in the automatic driving mode, it is important to prevent the occurrence of the above-mentioned automation surprise, and for that purpose, the system is operating properly. It is necessary for the driver to be able to keep track of things. It is also necessary to inform the driver in advance of the possibility of handover so that the request for handover does not occur suddenly.

  In addition, when the driver actually performs the operation in the automatic driving mode, the comfort of the automatic driving is impaired, so for example, as shown in FIG. 2, it is avoided to provide the driver with more information than necessary. There is a need.

<Example of information transmission method at the time of automatic operation>
<Example of configuration of in-vehicle system>
An example of the configuration of the main part of an on-vehicle system for carrying out the method of transmitting information on automatic driving of the present invention is shown in FIG. The on-vehicle system includes a function for automatically driving a vehicle and an on-vehicle information presentation device 100 for presenting information related to the automatic driving to a driver.

  In the on-vehicle system shown in FIG. 3, the automatic driving control unit 10, the wireless communication device 11, the road map database (DB) 12, the position detection unit 13, and the on-vehicle camera 14 are necessary components to drive an automobile automatically. The radar 15, the accelerator control unit 16, the brake control unit 17, and the steering control unit 18 are provided.

  The wireless communication device 11 can acquire weather information, traffic information, and the like at each point ahead in the traveling direction of the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling by connecting to a predetermined server outside the vehicle by wireless communication. it can. Information on weather acquired by the wireless communication device 11, traffic information, and the like are input to the automatic driving control unit 10 as input information SG11.

  The road map database (DB) 12 stores and holds in advance a wide range road map including the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling and various information related to the road. Information such as maps held by the road map database 12 is input to the automatic driving control unit 10 as input information SG12.

  The position detection unit 13 can calculate the latest position information representing the current position of the vehicle by receiving and using radio waves such as satellites of GPS (Global Positioning System), for example. The position information is input to the automatic driving control unit 10 as input information SG13.

  The on-vehicle camera 14 can capture an image representing a surrounding situation such as the front, the rear, and the side of the traveling direction of the host vehicle, and can output an image signal. This video signal is input to the automatic driving control unit 10 as input information SG14.

  The radar 15 can detect, for example, the presence or absence of an obstacle such as a leading vehicle, the distance between the leading vehicle and the host vehicle, and the like by a detection function using radio waves such as millimeter waves. Information detected by the radar 15 is input to the automatic driving control unit 10 as input information SG15.

  The accelerator control unit 16 includes an electrically controllable actuator necessary to automatically adjust the accelerator opening of the host vehicle. The accelerator control unit 16 can adjust the accelerator opening degree in accordance with the output signal SG16 output from the automatic driving control unit 10.

  The brake control unit 17 includes an electrically controllable actuator connected to the brake mechanism of the host vehicle. The brake control unit 17 can control the on / off of the brake of the host vehicle and the braking force in accordance with the output signal SG17 output from the automatic driving control unit 10.

  The steering control unit 18 includes an electrically controllable actuator connected to the steering mechanism of the host vehicle. The steering control unit 18 can move the steering mechanism of the host vehicle or generate an assisting torque for assisting the steering force of the driver according to the output signal SG18 output from the automatic driving control unit 10.

  The autonomous driving control unit 10 is an electronic control unit (ECU) for controlling the autonomous driving of a car, and for example, the level of the automation level prescribed by the Japanese government or the Road Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the US Department of Transportation. It has a function that supports 2 (LV2) and level 3 (LV3) automatic operation.

  At level 2, the system automatically performs a plurality of operations among acceleration, steering and braking of the vehicle. However, at level 2, the driver must constantly monitor the driving situation and carry out the driving operation as necessary.

  On the other hand, at level 3, since the system implements all control of acceleration, steering and braking of the vehicle, the driver usually only needs to monitor the driving situation. Also, the driver does not necessarily have to monitor the situation. However, even in the case of level 3, when the system makes a request in case of emergency or when the accuracy of the system is lowered, the driver needs to respond to the request. In other words, it is necessary to hand over (H / O) the driving responsibility from the system to the driver's manual operation and shift from level 3 to level 2 or the like, which has a lower automation rate. In addition, even within the same level, during automatic driving of the vehicle, hand over the steering wheel, the driver is obliged to monitor, start of the lane change starting from the blinker operation, the driver's approval for the judgment of the system, etc. There is also a case where the vehicle travels to a driving state requiring any one of these assistances from a driving state where the driver's assistance is unnecessary. That is, the first state in which the driving control is automatically performed may be shifted to the second state in which the degree of the driver's involvement in the driving control is higher than that in the first state.

  The autonomous driving control unit 10 can perform acceleration control of the host vehicle by giving an instruction to the accelerator control unit 16 using the output signal SG16. Further, the automatic driving control unit 10 can perform braking control of the own vehicle by giving an instruction to the brake control unit 17 using the output signal SG17. Further, the automatic driving control unit 10 can perform steering control of the own vehicle by giving an instruction to the steering control unit 18 using the output signal SG18.

  Further, the automatic driving control unit 10 analyzes the image of the on-vehicle camera 14 to grasp the white lines at the boundary of the traveling lane and the positions of the host vehicle in the left and right direction, and calculates the proper position of the host vehicle in the left and right direction. Also, you can understand the conditions of curves on the road ahead. Therefore, the automatic driving control unit 10 can realize, for example, a lane keeping assist function that automatically controls the host vehicle to travel at the central position of the traveling lane on the road.

  Further, based on the result of analyzing the image of the on-vehicle camera 14 and the position and distance information of the leading vehicle detected by the radar 15, the automatic driving control unit 10 has, for example, a safe distance between the leading vehicle and the own vehicle. Acceleration and deceleration can be implemented automatically to be maintained within range. That is, ACC (Adaptive Cruse Control System) can be realized.

  In addition, the automatic driving control unit 10 is based on the target point determined in advance, the current position detected by the position detection unit 13, the road map of the road map database 12, the traffic information acquired by the wireless communication device 11, etc. Can calculate an appropriate travel route on the road on which the vehicle should travel, or predict changes in the road conditions ahead. In addition, by reflecting the analysis result of the actual image of the on-vehicle camera 14, it is possible to improve the prediction accuracy.

  In addition, the automatic driving control unit 10 receives an automatic / manual switching instruction SG01 generated by a driver's switch operation or the like, and implements a handover for transitioning from level 3 to level 2 or the like having a lower automation rate than that. be able to.

In addition, the automatic driving control unit 10 can detect a situation in which securing of safety is difficult based on an analysis result of an image of the on-vehicle camera 14, distance information detected by the radar 15, and the like. For example, a situation where it is difficult to ensure safety is detected by grasping the time margin based on the remaining time TTC (Time To Collision) or the like until the time when the own vehicle 42 and the other vehicle 45 may come in contact with each other. it can. The time TTC can be calculated, for example, by the following equation.
TTC = (distance between the vehicle 42 and the object) / (relative speed)

  Therefore, when the automatic driving control unit 10 detects a situation where it is difficult to secure the safety, the automatic driving control unit 10 outputs the alarm level SG10 as a signal representing the situation. The alarm level SG10 may include information indicating the type of the predicted event. The alarm level SG10 is input to the information output control unit 20.

  The information output control unit 20 is an electronic control unit (ECU) that performs control to present information necessary for automatic driving to the driver. The automatic driving control unit 10 and the information output control unit 20 shown in FIG. 3 may be integrated.

  The on-vehicle information presentation apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a part of functions in the automatic driving control unit 10, an information output control unit 20, a display output device 21, a lighting output device 22, a sound / voice output device 23, and a vibration output. A device 24 and at least one of the odor output device 25 are provided.

  The display output device 21 corresponds to a display device such as a meter unit or a center display mounted on a vehicle, for example, at a position where an occupant driving the vehicle at a driver's seat can easily view. .

  The illumination output device 22 corresponds to various indoor lighting devices mounted in a vehicle. The sound / voice output device 23 corresponds to various hearing output devices including an audio device and the like. The vibration output device 24 is a device capable of generating mechanical vibration by electrical control. The vibration output device 24 is attached to or coupled to a seating portion of a driver's seat or a steering wheel so that a driver can recognize vibrations as a tactile sense during driving.

  The odor output device 25 is a device capable of generating a specific odor in the vehicle compartment by electrical control. The odor output device 25 is installed, for example, inside the car air conditioner, and can spray the air freshener or spread the odor into the space of the vehicle interior by blowing air.

  The information output control unit 20, for example, according to the alarm level SG10 input from the automatic operation control unit 10, the display output device 21, the illumination output device 22, the sound / voice output device 23, the vibration output device 24, and the odor output device It is possible to select one or any combination of the twenty-five to present the driver with the necessary information. The information output control unit 20 can present information in various types of forms and adjust the intensity of information presentation by properly using various types of output devices as needed.

<Characteristic operation example of in-vehicle system>
An operation example of characteristic information presentation control in the case where the on-vehicle system shown in FIG. 3 implements the information transmission method at the time of automatic operation of the present invention is shown in FIG.

  In this information presentation control, for example, necessary information is optimized for the driver about the situation recognized by the automatic driving system in the traveling state in the automatic driving mode of the own vehicle 42 as shown in FIG. 1, for example. It is for presenting in the state. The operation example shown in FIG. 4 will be described below.

  The automatic driving control unit 10 mounted on the own vehicle 42 is, for example, objects such as each other vehicle 45 around the own vehicle based on the input information SG14 from the on-vehicle camera 14 and the input information SG15 from the radar 15. Each is recognized individually, and the direction, size, distance, shape, etc. of each object are grasped (S11). When the automatic driving control unit 10 detects one or more objects, the process proceeds to the process of S12 and thereafter.

  The automatic driving control unit 10 or the information output control unit 20 selects each object recognized by the automatic driving control unit 10 as an information presentation candidate (S12). For example, in the situation shown in FIG. 1, the other vehicles 45A, 45B, 45C existing in the monitoring target range 46 are respectively selected as information presentation candidates.

  The automatic driving control unit 10 or the information output control unit 20 respectively grasps the time TTC and the change thereof for each target selected as the information presentation candidate (S13). For example, in the case of an object which has moved forward of the same traveling lane as the host vehicle 42 due to a route change like the other vehicle 45A shown in FIG. 1, the time TTC rapidly changes, so it is important as a monitoring target It will exist. Therefore, the automatic driving control unit 10 or the information output control unit 20 recognizes such a change.

  The automatic driving control unit 10 or the information output control unit 20 narrows down important objects from among a plurality of information presentation candidates based on the grasped condition in S13, and extracts, for example, only one important object (S14). For example, an object with the largest decrease in time TTC within a fixed time is extracted as an important object. As a result, for example, the other vehicle 45A whose course is changed in FIG. 1 is selected as the important object. That is, the priority of the object to be displayed preferentially as the important object is determined by the magnitude of the amount of change of the time TTC.

  The information output control unit 20 outputs information representing the direction, size, and the like of the important object extracted in S14 in a simple expression using visible information and the like (S15). Although a concrete example will be described later, this simple expression is for providing the minimum information necessary for grasping the situation in an optimized state without making the driver feel bothersome in the automatic operation mode. It is. This makes it possible to ensure the comfort during automatic driving.

  Further, the information output control unit 20 compares, with respect to the important object selected in S14, the decrease width within a predetermined time of the time TTC with the predetermined threshold value k1 (S16). If the decrease width of the time TTC of the important object within a predetermined time is larger than the threshold value k1, the next S17 is executed, and if the decrease width is within the threshold value k1, this process is omitted.

  In step S17, the information output control unit 20 performs processing to output visible information representing the corresponding important object in a state of being highlighted by, for example, blinking of the display.

  Further, the information output control unit 20 compares the value of the time TTC with the predetermined threshold value k2 for the important object selected in S14 (S18). If the value of the time TTC of the important object is larger than the threshold k2, the next S19 is executed, and if the value is within the threshold k2, this process is omitted.

  In step S19, the information output control unit 20 performs processing to add an information presentation such as a warning sound as well as the visible information as the expression form of the relevant important object.

  Further, the information output control unit 20 processes each of the remaining objects (information presentation candidates) other than the important objects selected in S14 so as to be presented together with the important objects in a form of expression weaker than the important objects. (S20).

<A specific example of the automatic driving traveling condition of the own vehicle 42>
An example of traveling directions and lane changes of a plurality of vehicles traveling on a road is shown in FIG.
In the example shown in FIG. 5, there are another vehicle 45A existing near the host vehicle 42 and having a constant time TTC, and another vehicle 45B whose time TTC becomes shorter due to a change of course (lane change) in the distance of the host vehicle 42. The case is assumed.

  Here, at first, there is a sufficient margin in the time TTC of the other vehicle 45B, but if, for example, the other vehicle 45B changes its course while decelerating and moves to the same traveling lane as the own vehicle 42, the time for the other vehicle 45B The TTC rapidly decreases, for example, to about ten seconds from a very large state. Therefore, in such a case, it is assumed that the other vehicle 45B is regarded as one of the important monitoring targets.

  However, if the driver is presented with both the other vehicle 45A with the smallest time TTC and the other vehicle 45B with a large decrease in time TTC, the driver must simultaneously monitor two other vehicles 45A, 45B. It can be very annoying, and the comfort of automatic driving can be lost.

  However, when the information presentation control shown in FIG. 4 is performed, since the important objects are narrowed down in S14, for example, the driver of only one of the two other vehicles 45A and 45B shown in FIG. 5 is more important. Can be presented to As a result, the annoyance felt by the driver can be eliminated and the comfort of automatic driving can be secured.

<Specific information presentation example>
A display example of the peripheral information display area 50 is shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), respectively. Further, examples of other display modes are shown in FIG. 7A, FIG. 7B, FIG. 7C, and FIG. 7D, respectively.

  That is, for example, when the automatic driving control unit 10 or the information output control unit 20 of the on-vehicle system mounted on the host vehicle 42 implements the information presentation control shown in FIG. Necessary information can be presented to the driver in the form of expression as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) to 7 (d).

<Description of the expression form of FIG. 6 (a)>
In this example, it is assumed that the peripheral information display area 50 exists in the screen of the in-vehicle display or the like. Further, in the peripheral information display area 50 shown in FIG. 6A, the host vehicle display pattern 51 can be displayed, and a ring-shaped display arranged so as to surround the position of the host vehicle display pattern 51. Part 52 can also be used. The ring-shaped display unit 52 can individually control display in a state in which each part of the ring is divided.

  And in the example shown to Fig.6 (a), it is displayed so that a driver | operator can visually recognize only a part of upper side of the ring-shaped display part 52 as the circular-arc-shaped target object presentation pattern 53A. The arc-shaped object presentation pattern 53A shown in FIG. 6A is information presentation corresponding to the other vehicle 45B after the course change in FIG. That is, using the overhead display, the relative positional relationship and the direction between the own vehicle 42 and the other vehicle 45B are displayed in a simple expression. However, since it is a simple expression, the pattern of the other vehicle 45B which is an object is not displayed.

  Therefore, the driver does not have to compare the presented information with the real thing, and can simply grasp only the direction to which he / she should be careful by visual information. That is, the driver needs to read various information on the display, monitor various directions around the own vehicle 42, and confirm the types and positions of the other vehicles 45A and 45B. Since it does not exist, it is possible to eliminate the bother of information presentation.

<Description of the expression form of FIG. 6 (b)>
In this example, as in the case of FIG. 6A, it is assumed that the peripheral information display area 50 exists in the screen of the in-vehicle display or the like. Therefore, the host vehicle display pattern 51 can be displayed in the peripheral information display area 50 shown in FIG. 6B, and the ring-shaped display unit 52 can also be used.

  Then, in the example shown in FIG. 6B, the arc-shaped object presentation pattern 53A is displayed on a part of the upper side of the ring-shaped display unit 52, and the arc-shaped object is displayed on the diagonally upper right region of the ring-shaped display unit 52. The presentation pattern 53B is displayed. However, in the two arc-shaped object presentation patterns 53A and 53B, the strength of information presentation is different from each other.

  That is, the important objects are displayed in a strong expression state, and the other objects are displayed in a weak expression state. The arc-shaped object presentation pattern 53A shown in FIG. 6B is information presentation corresponding to the other vehicle 45B after the course change in FIG. 5, and the arc-shaped object presentation pattern 53B is information corresponding to the other vehicle 45A It is a presentation.

  For example, when the variation width of the time TTC of the other vehicle 45B shown in FIG. 5 is large and the other vehicle 45B is selected as the important object, the arc-shaped object presentation pattern 53A of FIG. The arc-shaped object presentation pattern 53B shown in FIG. 6B is displayed in a weak state.

  Therefore, from the display content of FIG. 6 (b), the driver grasps the existence of two objects and at the same time intuitively indicates by visual information that it is important to monitor the front view. I can understand.

<Description of the expression form of FIG. 7 (a)>
In this example, as in the case of FIG. 6A, it is assumed that the peripheral information display area 50 exists in the screen of the in-vehicle display or the like. Therefore, also in FIG. 7A, the host vehicle display pattern 51 can be displayed in the peripheral information display area 50, and the ring-shaped display unit 52 can also be used.

  Further, in the example shown in FIG. 7A, the three arc-shaped object presentation patterns 71A, 71B, 71C displayed in the ring-shaped display unit 52 indicate the directions of the objects, respectively. Furthermore, each of the arc-shaped object presentation patterns 71A, 71B, 71C is displayed in the same display color as the color of the corresponding object, and is displayed with the length of the arc according to the size of the corresponding object. .

  The three arc-shaped object presentation patterns 71A, 71B, and 71C shown in FIG. 7A correspond to the other vehicles 45A, 45B, and 45C shown in FIG. 1, respectively. That is, the color, direction, and size of each of the other vehicles are reflected in the display contents of the three arc-shaped object presentation patterns 71A, 71B, and 71C.

<Description of the expression form of FIG. 7 (b)>
In this example, arrow-like object presentation patterns 72A, 72B and 72C are used instead of the three arc-like object presentation patterns 71A, 71B and 71C shown in FIG. 7 (a).

  In each of the arrow-like object presentation patterns 72A, 72B, and 72C, the pattern shape is an arrow, and the direction of the arrow represents the direction of each object viewed from the host vehicle 42. In addition, the display color, pattern length, and pattern thickness of each of the arrow-like object presentation patterns 72A, 72B, and 72C reflect the difference in color, size, and distance of the corresponding object.

<Description of the expression form of FIG. 7 (c)>
In this example, arrow-like object presentation patterns 73A, 73B and 73C are used instead of the three arc-like object presentation patterns 71A, 71B and 71C shown in FIG. 7A.

  Each of the arrow-like object presentation patterns 73A, 73B, and 73C is an arrow in the pattern shape, and the direction of the arrow represents the advancing method of the corresponding object. In addition, the display color, pattern length, and pattern thickness of each of the arrow-like object presentation patterns 73A, 73B, and 73C reflect the difference in color, size, and distance of the corresponding object.

<Description of the expression form of FIG. 7 (d)>
In this example, a ring similar to the ring-shaped display 52 shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b) is arranged in the vicinity of the scale on a circular tachometer or speedometer provided in the meter unit of the vehicle. The case where it is equipped with LED (light emitting diode) which can carry out display control separately for every field is assumed.

  And in this example, metering part LED74A, 74B, and 74C is utilized instead of three circular-arc-shaped target object presentation patterns 71A, 71B, and 71C shown to Fig.7 (a). That is, each object is represented by controlling the display of each LED in the vicinity of the scale of the meter. Further, in this case, by controlling the brightness and the light emission color of the metering portions LEDs 74A, 74B, and 74C, it is possible to express the strength of the expression and the features of the corresponding objects.

<Advantages of information transmission method during automatic operation>
When using the above-described automatic driving time information transmission method, the important objects selected from among the objects recognized by the system for the driver of the host vehicle 42 traveling in the automatic operation mode The driver can instantly grasp the direction he should monitor. In addition, since the target that the system recognizes as important is presented, the driver can grasp the thinking state of the system, and the sense of security can be obtained by confirming the agreement with the driver's own thought. . Also, it can prevent the occurrence of automation surprises.

  Further, in the above-described automatic driving time information transfer method, since the target object recognized by the system is presented to the driver by a simple expression, the driver can intuitively grasp the situation instantly. Therefore, the burden on the driver in the automatic driving mode can be reduced, and the comfort of automatic driving can be secured.

  In addition, since the driver can easily grasp the situation from the presented information, the driver can prepare in advance when a handover request is likely to occur, and a smooth handover can be realized.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, You may add a change in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention.
In the present embodiment, when presenting information related to at least one of the important object and each of the other objects to the driver, at least one of the direction, color, size and distance of the relevant object is applicable. Although it was described that the two differences are reflected in the display mode of the information, the display mode may be switched according to the driver's situation.
For example, when the driver has a leeway and the risk is low, information such as the direction and distance is not transmitted, and the presence of the target object is displayed by ambient lighting etc., and the status of the target object is metered as the handover approaches. Etc., and the direction or distance may be notified.

Here, the features of the information transmission method for automatic driving and the information presentation device for a vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention described above will be briefly summarized and listed in the following [1] to [10].
[1] An autonomous driving information transmission method for presenting information to the driver in an autonomous driving vehicle having two or more states in which a degree of involvement of the driver in driving control is different as a running state,
The traveling state includes a first state in which the driving control is automatically executed, and a second state in which the degree of involvement of the driver is larger than the first state.
The autonomous driving vehicle is equipped with a target recognition unit (automatic driving control unit 10) that recognizes the presence of each target in the periphery of the autonomous driving vehicle,
In at least the first state,
Grasping a time margin (TTC etc.) until interference with each of the plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit (S13);
From the plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit, an important object to be noted by the driver is extracted based on the time margin (S14).
When presenting information on a plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit to the driver, objects other than the important objects are output in a form of expression weaker than the important objects (S15) ),
A method of transmitting information at the time of automatic driving, characterized in that

[2] When detecting a course change of at least one of each object recognized by the object recognition unit and the own vehicle, the object whose time margin has become smaller along with the course change is important It selects as a target object The information transmission method at the time of automatic driving | operation as described in said [1].

[3] When presenting information on the important object to the driver, if the reduction in the time margin in the important object is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the important object is emphasized more than usual. Present information (S16, S17),
The automatic driving time information transmission method according to the above [1], characterized in that

[4] When presenting information related to at least one of the important object and each of the other objects to the driver, the information indicating at least the relative direction between the host vehicle and the object is Present (see FIG. 6 (a), FIG. 6 (b)),
The automatic driving time information transmission method according to the above [1], characterized in that

[5] When presenting information related to at least one of the important object and each of the other objects to the driver, at least one of the color, the size, and the distance of the corresponding object is further included. Reflect the difference in the display form of the information (see FIGS. 7A to 7C);
The automatic driving time information transmission method according to the above [4], characterized in that

[6] The first state is a state in which the traveling direction and speed of the vehicle are automatically controlled, and the driver's assistance for the driving control is not required.
The second state is a state in which the traveling direction and speed of the vehicle are automatically controlled, and the driver's assistance for the driving control is requested.
The automatic driving time information transmission method according to the above [1], characterized in that

[7] The first state is a state in which the traveling direction and the speed of the vehicle are automatically controlled,
The second state is a state in which at least one of the traveling direction and the speed of the vehicle is controlled by the driver.
The automatic driving time information transmission method according to the above [1], characterized in that

[8] A vehicular information presentation device (in-vehicle information presentation device 100) for presenting information to the driver in an autonomous driving vehicle having two or more states in which the degree of involvement of the driver in driving control is different as the traveling state. And
The traveling state includes a first state in which the driving control is automatically executed, and a second state in which the degree of involvement of the driver is larger than the first state.
The self-driving vehicle includes a target recognition unit (information output control unit 20) that recognizes the presence of each target around the self-driving vehicle;
An information output control unit that outputs information on a plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit;
At least in the first state, the information output control unit
Grasping a time margin until interference with each of a plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit;
From the plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit, an important object to be noted by the driver is extracted based on the time margin,
When presenting information on a plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit to the driver, objects other than the important objects are output in a form of expression weaker than the important objects.
An information presentation apparatus for a vehicle, characterized in that

[9] The first state is a state in which the traveling direction and speed of the vehicle are automatically controlled, and the driver's assistance for the driving control is not required.
The second state is a state in which the traveling direction and speed of the vehicle are automatically controlled, and the driver's assistance for the driving control is requested.
The on-vehicle information presentation device according to the above [6], characterized in that

[10] The first state is a state in which the traveling direction and the speed of the vehicle are automatically controlled,
The second state is a state in which at least one of the traveling direction and the speed of the vehicle is controlled by the driver.
The on-vehicle information presentation device according to the above [6], characterized in that

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Automatic driving control part 11 Wireless-communications apparatus 12 Road map database 13 Position detection part 14 In-vehicle camera 15 Radar 16 Accelerator control part 17 Brake control part 18 Steering control part 20 Information output control part 21 Display output device 22 Illumination output device 23 Sound / Voice output device 24 Vibration output device 25 Odor output device 41 Road 42 Own vehicle 43 Direction 45 45A, 45B, 45C Other vehicle 46 Monitored area 50 Peripheral information display area 51, 61 Own vehicle display pattern 52 Ring display 53A , 53B, 71A, 71B, 71C Arc-shaped object presentation pattern 62, 63, 64 Peripheral vehicle display pattern 72A, 72B, 72C, 73A, 73B, 73C Arrow-like object presentation pattern 74A, 74B, 74C Metering part LED
100 In-vehicle information presentation device SG01 Auto / manual switching instruction SG10 Alarm level SG11, SG12, SG13, SG14, SG15 Input information SG16, SG17, SG18 Output signal SG21, SG22, SG23, SG24, SG25 Output signal

Claims (6)

An automatic driving time information transmission method for presenting information to the driver in an autonomous driving vehicle having two or more states in which a degree of involvement of the driver in driving control is different as a traveling state.
The traveling state includes a first state in which the driving control is automatically executed, and a second state in which the degree of involvement of the driver is larger than the first state.
The autonomous driving vehicle is equipped with an object recognition unit that recognizes the presence of each target in the vicinity of the autonomous driving vehicle.
In at least the first state,
Grasping a time margin until interference with each of a plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit;
From the plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit, an important object to be noted by the driver is extracted based on the time margin,
When presenting information on a plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit to the driver, objects other than the important objects are output in a form of expression weaker than the important objects.
A method of transmitting information at the time of automatic driving, characterized in that When the course change of at least one of each object recognized by the object recognition unit and the own vehicle is detected, the object whose time margin becomes smaller along with the course change is regarded as the important object select,
The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the information on the important object is presented to the driver, the information is presented in a state in which the important object is emphasized more than usual if the reduction in the time margin in the important object is greater than or equal to a predetermined level. Do,
The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: When presenting information related to at least one of the important object and each of the other objects to the driver, at least information indicating a relative direction between the host vehicle and the object is presented.
The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: When presenting information related to at least one of the important object and each of the other objects to the driver, at least one difference in color, size, and distance of the corresponding object is further determined; Reflect the display form of the information,
The method according to claim 4, wherein the information transmission method at the time of automatic driving. A vehicle information presentation device for presenting information to the driver in an autonomous driving vehicle having two or more states in which a degree of involvement of the driver in driving control is different as a traveling state.
The traveling state includes a first state in which the driving control is automatically executed, and a second state in which the degree of involvement of the driver is larger than the first state.
The automatically driven vehicle includes an object recognition unit that recognizes the presence of each object in the vicinity of the automatically driven vehicle.
An information output control unit that outputs information on a plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit;
At least in the first state, the information output control unit
Grasping a time margin until interference with each of a plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit;
From the plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit, an important object to be noted by the driver is extracted based on the time margin,
When presenting information on a plurality of objects recognized by the object recognition unit to the driver, objects other than the important objects are output in a form of expression weaker than the important objects.
An information presentation apparatus for a vehicle, characterized in that

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