WO2017072942A1

WO2017072942A1 - Notification control device and notification control method

Info

Publication number: WO2017072942A1
Application number: PCT/JP2015/080684
Authority: WO
Inventors: 裕樹境; 裕史狩田; 下谷　光生; 井上　悟; 佐藤　理朗; 直志宮原
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2015-10-30
Filing date: 2015-10-30
Publication date: 2017-05-04
Also published as: CN108140320A; JPWO2017072942A1; JP6494782B2; CN108140320B

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to prevent overconfidence regarding driving assistance while preventing a driver from becoming irritated by notifications in a vehicle capable of automated driving. A notification control device 101 according to the present invention is provided with: a status acquisition unit 11 that acquires, from data measured by an on-board sensor 1, status data including at least data pertaining to any of the peripheral environment of the vehicle, the assistance status of a driving assistance system 2, and the travel status of the vehicle; a status determination unit 16 that determines whether the status data is normal status data satisfying a predetermined condition or abnormal status data not satisfying the predetermined condition; and a notification control unit 17 that, if the vehicle is in an automated driving state in which notifications should be inhibited, allows the execution of a notification request from the driving assistance system 2 when the status data is abnormal status data, and inhibits the execution of a notification request when the status data is normal status data.

Description

Notification control device and notification control method

The present invention relates to a device that supports driving by notifying driving information to a driver.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are devices that support safe driving or comfortable driving by notifying a driver of information useful for driving such as notification of approaching information about obstacles around the vehicle and notification of lane departure. Information that supports these driving (driving support information) is notified by voice, image, video or vibration, etc., so that the driver can avoid oversight of places to be careful or perform collision avoidance behavior, Appropriate operation can be easily performed.

However, the driving support information may cause confusion or annoyance to the driver depending on the content or situation to be notified. For example, when a nearby vehicle abnormally approaches the host vehicle, the driver needs to quickly determine whether to perform an avoidance action. In this situation, it is assumed that the front crossing information is notified simultaneously with the approach information of the surrounding vehicles. In this case, it is the approach information of surrounding vehicles that should be preferentially dealt with, but the driving load increases because the driver himself must determine which notification should be prioritized.

For such a problem, Patent Document 1 provides a means for changing the output means according to the usefulness of the driving support information when outputting a plurality of alarms at the same time. Furthermore, in recent years, a technique has been devised that considers notifications assuming automatic operation or semi-automatic operation. For example, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for reducing the driver's troublesomeness by changing the conditions and contents of notification of driving support information according to the automatic driving state. Specifically, the driver's troublesomeness is suppressed by not notifying the driving support information that has been notified at the time of manual driving at the time of automatic driving.

International Publication No. 2010/119482 JP 2006-318446 A

In driving support such as automatic driving, the driving support system is expected to reduce the driving load of the driver by performing all or part of the operation on behalf of the driver. In many cases, the driving support system operates in a normal system, and the driver does not need to intervene in the operation in the normal system. For this reason, when the driver trusts the driving support system, the driver tends to neglect the situation confirmation of the surrounding environment necessary for the operation that the driving support system performs on behalf of the driver. In addition, even if the driving support system presents a point to be noted by notification, a driver who is familiar with driving support may feel annoying the notification or may not recognize (or ignore) the notification content. There was a problem.

In Patent Documents 1 and 2, if the notification condition or the automatic operation state is the same, the notification is performed under the same condition or means, and thus the above problem is not solved.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to prevent overconfidence with respect to driving support in a vehicle capable of automatic driving while suppressing the troublesomeness of the driver due to notification.

The notification control apparatus according to the present invention is any one of the surrounding environment of the vehicle, the support status of the drive support system, and the travel status of the vehicle from the measurement data of the sensor mounted on the vehicle capable of automatic driving with the support of the drive support system. The situation notification unit for acquiring the situation data including at least data relating to the situation, the situation determination unit for judging whether the situation data is the normal situation data satisfying the predetermined condition or the abnormal situation data not satisfying the predetermined condition, and the vehicle notifies If the situation data is abnormal situation data, the notification request from the driving support system is permitted to be executed, and if the situation data is normal situation data, the notification request A notification control unit that suppresses execution.

The notification control method of the present invention obtains situation data including data related to the surrounding situation of a vehicle from measurement data of a sensor mounted on a vehicle that can be automatically driven by a driving support system, and the situation data normally satisfies a predetermined condition. It is determined whether it is situation data or abnormal situation data that does not satisfy a predetermined condition. When the vehicle is in an automatic driving state in which notification should be suppressed, if the situation data is abnormal situation data, from the driving support system Execution of the notification request is permitted, and if the status data is normal status data, execution of the notification request is suppressed.

The notification control apparatus according to the present invention is any one of the surrounding environment of the vehicle, the support status of the drive support system, and the travel status of the vehicle from the measurement data of the sensor mounted on the vehicle capable of automatic driving with the support of the drive support system. The situation notification unit for acquiring the situation data including at least data relating to the situation, the situation determination unit for judging whether the situation data is the normal situation data satisfying the predetermined condition or the abnormal situation data not satisfying the predetermined condition, and the vehicle notifies If the situation data is abnormal situation data, the notification request from the driving support system is permitted to be executed, and if the situation data is normal situation data, the notification request A notification control unit that suppresses execution. Therefore, since notification can be performed only when the situation is not normal, overconfidence with respect to driving assistance can be prevented without causing the driver to feel bothered.

The notification control method of the present invention obtains situation data including data related to the surrounding situation of a vehicle from measurement data of a sensor mounted on a vehicle that can be automatically driven by a driving support system, and the situation data normally satisfies a predetermined condition. It is determined whether it is situation data or abnormal situation data that does not satisfy a predetermined condition. When the vehicle is in an automatic driving state in which notification should be suppressed, if the situation data is abnormal situation data, from the driving support system Execution of the notification request is permitted, and if the status data is normal status data, execution of the notification request is suppressed. Therefore, since notification can be performed only when the situation is not normal, overconfidence with respect to driving assistance can be prevented without causing the driver to feel bothered.

The objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the alerting | reporting control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1, and its peripheral device. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a notification control apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an operation example of the notification control apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an overall operation of the notification control apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a notification request acquisition part. It is a figure which illustrates the surrounding environment which a surrounding environment acquisition part acquires. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a surrounding environment acquisition part. It is a figure which illustrates the assistance condition of the driving assistance system which a assistance condition acquisition part acquires. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the alerting | reporting control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2, and its peripheral device. 6 is a flowchart showing an overall operation of the notification control apparatus according to the second embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the specific factor extraction process by a specific factor extraction part. It is a flowchart which shows the alerting | reporting process based on the specific factor by the alerting | reporting control part. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the alerting | reporting control apparatus which concerns on the modification of Embodiment 2 by the combination of a vehicle-mounted apparatus and a server. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the alerting | reporting control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3, and its peripheral device. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the operation of a notification control apparatus according to Embodiment 3. It is a flowchart which shows the surrounding vehicle state acquisition process by a surrounding vehicle state acquisition part. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the alerting | reporting control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 4, and its peripheral device. It is a figure explaining the outline | summary of operation | movement of the alerting control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 4. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the driver state acquisition process by a driver state acquisition part. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the alerting | reporting control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 5, and its peripheral device. It is a figure explaining the outline | summary of operation | movement of the notification control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 5. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the manual driving | operation switching prediction process of a switching estimation part. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the alerting | reporting control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 6, and its peripheral device. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an operation example of a notification control apparatus according to a sixth embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the forced notification determination process by a forced notification determination part.

<A. Embodiment 1>
<A-1. Configuration>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a notification control apparatus 101 and its peripheral devices according to Embodiment 1. The notification control device 101 is a device that performs vehicle notification control. The vehicle to be controlled by the notification control device 101 can be automatically driven by driving support of the driving support system 2. The notification control device 101 receives a notification request for the vehicle from the driving support system 2, determines whether or not to perform the notification, and outputs the notification content to the output device 3 when performing the notification.

In the present specification, the term “automatic driving” refers to a driving support system in a specific situation such as a highway where a person is involved in an emergency in addition to a fully automatic driving in which the driving support system 2 performs all driving operations. 2 is used to include semi-automatic driving in which all driving operations are performed in principle and semi-automatic driving in which the driving support system 2 performs part of the driving operations. In addition, when the word “vehicle” is simply used in the present specification, it indicates a vehicle to be controlled by the notification control apparatus 101.

Hereinafter, the notification control apparatus 101 will be described as an apparatus mounted on a vehicle. In FIG. 1, the notification control apparatus 101 includes a situation acquisition unit 11, a notification request acquisition unit 15, a situation determination unit 16, and a notification control unit 17.

The status acquisition unit 11 acquires status data from the in-vehicle sensor 1 and the driving support system 2 and outputs the status data to the status determination unit 16.

The notification request acquisition unit 15 acquires a notification request for the vehicle from the driving support system 2 and outputs the notification request to the notification control unit 17.

The status determination unit 16 acquires status data from the status acquisition unit 11, determines whether the status data is normal status data or abnormal status data, and outputs the result to the notification control unit 17. That is, it is determined whether the current situation is normal or abnormal.

The notification control unit 17 acquires a notification request from the notification request acquisition unit 15 and determines whether or not to execute the notification request according to the determination result of the situation determination unit 16. When the notification request is executed, the notification content is output to the output device 3.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the notification control apparatus 101. As shown in FIG. 2, the notification control apparatus 101 is realized by a CPU 31, a memory 32, and a receiving unit 33. The situation acquisition unit 11, the notification request acquisition unit 15, the situation determination unit 16, and the notification control unit 17 function as a function of the CPU 31 by the CPU 31 executing a program stored in a memory 32 such as a RAM (Random Access Memory). Realized. However, these may be realized in cooperation with a plurality of CPUs 31, for example.

<A-2. Operation>
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an operation example of the notification control apparatus 101. FIG. 3 shows a state in which a bicycle that does not normally exist is arranged near the guidance route when the vehicle is parked in the parking lot at home. When assisting parking of the vehicle, the driving support system 2 displays a video behind the vehicle on the back monitor and outputs a notification request to the notification control device 101 to pay attention to an obstacle behind the vehicle. Conventionally, whether or not to perform such notification has been controlled by the level of automatic driving of the vehicle or the like. For example, when the vehicle is in a manual driving state, the driver needs to know the surrounding situation, so notification is given. On the other hand, when the vehicle is in fully automatic driving, the driver needs special operation. No notification was made. However, in the case of detecting an “abnormal situation” in which the bicycle that is not always present is arranged near the guidance route as shown in FIG. Even at a level that does not perform the above-mentioned, the above-mentioned notification is performed to prompt the driver to pay attention to the rear of the vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the notification control apparatus 101. Hereinafter, taking the situation of FIG. 3 as an example, an outline of the operation of the notification control apparatus 101 will be shown along FIG. First, when the vehicle tries to park in the parking lot at home, the notification request acquisition unit 15 acquires a notification request from the driving support system 2 to pay attention to the rear of the vehicle (step S11). Next, the situation acquisition part 11 acquires situation data from the information acquired from the vehicle-mounted sensor 1 and the driving support system 2 (step S12). The situation data acquired in step S12 is sent to the situation determination unit 16. The situation determination unit 16 determines from the situation data whether the automatic driving state of the vehicle is an automatic driving state in which notification is suppressed (step S13). If the automatic driving state of the vehicle is an automatic driving state in which notification is suppressed, the situation determination unit 16 determines whether or not the current situation is normal (step S14). Here, if the status data is normal status data satisfying a predetermined condition, it is determined that the current status is normal. If the status data is not normal status data, it is determined that the current status is abnormal. When the current situation is normal, the notification control unit 17 suppresses notification (step S15) and ends the process.

On the other hand, if the automatic driving state of the vehicle is not an automatic driving state in which notification is suppressed (step S13: No), or if the current situation is abnormal (step S14: No), the notification control unit 17 follows the notification request to the rear of the vehicle. A notice regarding attention to the user is issued (step S16), and the process is terminated. The notification here is performed, for example, by outputting sound from a vehicle-mounted speaker.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the notification request acquisition unit 15 (notification request acquisition processing, step S11 in FIG. 4). Hereinafter, the operation of the notification request acquisition unit 15 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the notification request acquisition unit 15 determines whether or not the driving support system 2 is currently being executed (step S111). When driving support by the driving support system 2 is not performed, such as during manual driving of the vehicle (step S111: No), the process returns to step S111 again and waits until driving support is performed. If the driving support system 2 is currently being executed (step S111: Yes), the notification request acquisition unit 15 acquires a notification request from the driving support system 2 (step S112). Then, the acquired notification request is transmitted to the situation determination unit 16 (step S113).

Next, the situation acquisition unit 11 will be described. The situation acquisition unit 11 includes a surrounding environment acquisition unit 12, a support situation acquisition unit 13, and a travel situation acquisition unit 14.

The surrounding environment acquisition unit 12 generates surrounding environment information from the sensing data of the in-vehicle sensor 1. Here, the in-vehicle sensor 1 is a mechanical sensor, an electromagnetic sensor, an optical sensor, a temperature sensor, an electrochemical sensor, or the like mounted on the vehicle. For example, Denso Technical Review “Technical Trends of Automotive Sensors” VOL. 11 No. 1 Assumes that shown in Table 2 of 2006.

FIG. 6 illustrates the surrounding environment information acquired by the surrounding environment acquisition unit 12. The surrounding environment information includes surrounding vehicles, pedestrians, other moving objects, obstacles, and the like. About these, the position, moving speed, and moving direction are also included in the surrounding environment information. For example, when the vehicle passes a specific vehicle such as an emergency vehicle, the situation determination unit 16 may determine that the current situation is not normal when the surrounding vehicle includes the specific vehicle. The white line is also included in the surrounding environment. This can be detected by image processing or radar, for example. The surrounding environment also includes weather, road surface conditions, time, signs, signal information, traffic information, construction information such as construction, and the like. The weather can be obtained from the internet. Moreover, freezing of the road surface can be recognized by detecting the idling of the tire. Also, the time can be obtained from the GPS signal. The traffic information can be acquired by VICS (registered trademark) (Vehicle Information and Communication System) information, road-to-vehicle communication, or vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the peripheral environment acquisition unit 12 (peripheral environment acquisition process, step S12 in FIG. 4). Hereinafter, the operation of the peripheral environment acquisition unit 12 will be described with reference to FIG. The surrounding environment acquisition unit 12 first acquires sensing data from the in-vehicle sensor 1 (step S121). Next, ambient environment information is generated from the acquired sensing data (step S122). And the produced | generated surrounding environment information is transmitted to the condition determination part 16 (step S123).

FIG. 8 illustrates the support status of the driving support system 2 acquired by the support status acquisition unit 13. The support situation includes a planned movement trajectory of the vehicle, a support function movable situation, mode information of each support function, and the like. The support functions of the driving support system 2 include driving support, automatic parking support, lane change support, and the like. There are two modes of driving support functions: semi-automatic mode and fully automatic mode. The modes of the automatic parking assistance function include assistance start, forward movement, backward movement, and completion. The modes of the lane change function include start, execution, and success.

The travel status acquired by the travel status acquisition unit 14 includes vehicle speed, acceleration, direction, position coordinates, and the like. Such information is acquired from the in-vehicle sensor 1 or the driving support system 2.

The situation data may be transmitted separately from the situation acquisition unit 11 to the situation determination unit 16, or the surrounding environment, the support situation, and the traveling situation on the same time axis are combined and transmitted to the situation determination unit 16. You may do it.

The situation determination unit 16 determines whether or not the current situation is normal from the situation data. The situation determination unit 16 defines the definition (condition) of the normal state, and when the situation data satisfies the condition, the current situation is determined to be normal. The definition (condition) of the normal state is a condition that the driving support system 2 makes a notification request or a condition different from the driving state of the vehicle related to the automatic driving. Is determined. For example, it is determined that the vehicle is in a normal state when the vehicle is in a specific place registered by a passenger such as a home. Alternatively, it is determined that the vehicle is in the normal state when the vehicle is in a place that has been visited more than a certain number of times from the running history of the vehicle. Alternatively, the intrusion speed at a certain intersection may be repeatedly recorded, and the average value or median value may be defined as the normal state. Further, the vehicle situation data at the time point designated by the vehicle occupant may be defined as the normal situation. In this way, “unusual” situations, such as when there are obstacles that do not always exist, or when traveling at the higher speed than usual, can be determined as “unusual”.

<A-3. Modification>
In the above description, the in-vehicle sensor 1 has been described as being mounted on a vehicle, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the surrounding environment acquisition unit 12 may acquire the surrounding environment information from an in-vehicle sensor or a server of the surrounding vehicle.

In the above description, the situation acquisition unit 11, the notification request acquisition unit 15, the situation determination unit 16, and the notification control unit 17 operate according to the software program stored in the memory 32 or the like by the CPU 31 (processor) in FIG. Realized by. However, instead of this, the situation acquisition unit 11, the notification request acquisition unit 15, the situation determination unit 16, and the notification control unit 17 may be realized by a signal processing circuit that realizes the operation by an electrical circuit of hardware. The software status acquisition unit 11, notification request acquisition unit 15, status determination unit 16 and notification control unit 17 are combined with the hardware status acquisition unit 11, notification request acquisition unit 15, status determination unit 16 and notification control unit 17. As a concept, the word “processing circuit” can be used instead of the word “part”.

<A-4. Effect>
The notification control apparatus 101 according to Embodiment 1 determines the surrounding environment of the vehicle, the support status of the driving support system, and the vehicle's environment from the measurement data of the sensors mounted on the vehicle capable of automatic driving with the assistance of the driving support system 2. A situation acquisition unit 11 that obtains situation data including at least data relating to any of the driving situations, and a situation determination that determines whether the situation data is normal situation data that satisfies a predetermined condition or abnormal situation data that does not satisfy a predetermined condition When the situation data is abnormal situation data when the vehicle is in an automatic driving state where the notification is to be suppressed and the vehicle is in the abnormal driving state, execution of the notification request from the driving support system 2 is permitted, and the situation data is the normal situation data. And a notification control unit 17 that suppresses the execution of the notification request. Therefore, since notification can be performed only when the situation is not normal, overconfidence with respect to driving assistance can be prevented without causing the driver to feel bothered.

In addition, the notification control method according to the first embodiment obtains situation data including data related to the surrounding situation of the vehicle from the measurement data of the sensor mounted on the vehicle capable of automatic driving with the assistance of the driving assistance system 2. It is determined whether the situation data is normal situation data that satisfies a predetermined condition or abnormal situation data that does not satisfy a predetermined condition, and the situation data is abnormal situation data when the vehicle is in an automatic driving state in which notification should be suppressed. In some cases, execution of the notification request from the driving support system is permitted, and when the situation data is normal situation data, execution of the notification request is suppressed. Therefore, since notification can be performed only when the situation is not normal, overconfidence with respect to driving assistance can be prevented without causing the driver to feel bothered.

<B. Second Embodiment>
<B-1. Configuration>
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the notification control device 102 and its peripheral devices according to the second embodiment. The notification control device 102 includes a status storage unit 18 and a specific factor extraction unit 19 in addition to the configuration of the notification control device 101 according to the first embodiment.

The status storage unit 18 is realized by a storage medium such as an HDD or an SD card, and stores status data determined by the status determination unit 16 as normal status data.

The specific factor extraction unit 19 extracts a specific factor from the situation data determined as abnormal situation data by the situation determination unit 16 and outputs the specific factor to the notification control unit 17.

The notification control unit 17 specifies the notification means and content based on the specific factor, and outputs the notification content to the output device 3.

Other configurations are the same as those of the notification control apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment.

<B-2. Operation>
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the notification control apparatus 102. Hereinafter, taking the situation of FIG. 3 as an example, an outline of the operation of the notification control apparatus 102 will be shown along FIG. Steps S21 to S24 and 29 in FIG. 10 are the same as steps S11 to S14 and S16 in FIG. When the situation determination unit 16 determines that the current situation is the normal situation (step S24: Yes), the situation storage unit 18 stores the situation data (normal situation data) at that time (step S25). And the alerting | reporting control part 17 suppresses alerting | reporting (step S26).

On the other hand, when the situation determination unit 16 determines that the current situation is not a normal situation (abnormal situation) (step S24: No), the specific factor extraction unit 19 performs a specific factor extraction process (step S27). The specific factor extracted here is sent to the notification control unit 17, and the notification control unit 17 performs notification based on the specific factor (step S28).

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the specific factor extraction processing (step S27 in FIG. 10) by the specific factor extraction unit 19. The specific factor extraction process will be described below. First, the specific factor extraction unit 19 searches the normal situation data stored in the situation storage unit 18 for normal situation data that is geographically close to the current abnormal situation data (step S271). For example, if the current abnormal situation data is situation data when a vehicle has entered a specific intersection, the normal storage data when the vehicle has entered the same specific intersection in the past is retrieved from the situation storage unit 18. To do. Next, the current abnormal situation data is compared with the past normal situation data searched in step S271, and a specific factor is extracted from these differences (step S272). Here, obstacles different from the normal state, time, weather, driving operation, traffic situation, etc. are extracted as specific factors. For example, when there is an obstacle at a position different from the normal state, the obstacle is extracted as a specific factor. Or, if you are always traveling on the same route by car commuting, if you usually leave the workplace at 19 o'clock and leave at 21 o'clock, 21 o'clock, which is “later than usual”, is extracted as a specific factor The

Then, the specific factor extraction unit 19 transmits the specific factor extracted in step S272 to the notification control unit 17 (step S273), and ends the specific factor extraction process.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a notification process (step S28 in FIG. 10) based on a specific factor by the notification control unit 17. Hereinafter, the notification process based on the specific factor by the notification control unit 17 will be described. First, the notification control unit 17 determines notification means (corresponding to the output device 3 in FIG. 9) from the specific factor (step S281). Next, notification content corresponding to the notification means is determined (step S282). And it alert | reports by the alerting | reporting means determined by step S281, and the alerting | reporting content determined by step S282 (step S283), and complete | finishes a process. Examples of the notification means and notification contents include popping up a notification screen on the vehicle-mounted display, outputting a notification sound from a vehicle-mounted speaker, and vibrating the steering, brake pedal, or accelerator pedal. Further, when there are a plurality of output devices 3, they may be used in combination. Further, the pop-up content, the notification sound, and the vibration method may be changed according to the notification content.

<B-3. Modification>
Up to this point, the notification control device 102 has been described as an in-vehicle device. However, the notification control device 102 may have all of its components mounted in a vehicle, and in addition to the in-vehicle device, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a PDA, A server or the like may be combined. FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the notification control device 102 by a combination of the in-vehicle device and the server. In FIG. 13, the status acquisition unit 11, the notification request acquisition unit 15, and the notification control unit 17 of the notification control device 102 are configured by an in-vehicle device, and the status determination unit 16, the status storage unit 18, and the specific factor extraction unit 19 are configured by a server. Has been. In this way, each configuration of the notification control device 102 can be appropriately shared by the in-vehicle device, the mobile terminal, the server, and the like.

<B-4. Effect>
In addition to the configuration of the notification control apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment, the notification control apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment includes a situation storage unit 18 that stores normal situation data, and the current situation data is abnormal situation data. In this case, the abnormal situation data is compared with past normal situation data stored in the situation storage unit, and a specific factor extracting unit 19 is provided for extracting the difference as a specific factor. Then, the notification control unit 17 determines the notification means or the notification content according to the specific factor when the specific factor extraction unit 19 extracts the specific factor when the vehicle is in the automatic driving state in which the notification should be suppressed. To do. Therefore, appropriate notification according to the specific factor can be performed.

Further, the notification control unit 17 suppresses the execution of the notification request when the specific factor extraction unit 19 does not extract the specific factor when the vehicle is in an automatic driving state in which the notification is to be suppressed. Therefore, since the notification request is executed only when the specific factor is extracted, the troublesomeness of the driver due to the frequent execution of the notification request can be reduced.

<C. Embodiment 3>
<C-1. Configuration>
FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the notification control device 103 and its peripheral devices. In addition to the configuration of the notification control device 102 according to Embodiment 2, the notification control device 103 includes a surrounding vehicle state acquisition unit 20 in the situation acquisition unit 11. The surrounding vehicle state acquisition unit 20 acquires the surrounding vehicle state as situation data from the surrounding vehicle network 4 using inter-vehicle communication, an information server, or the like. The peripheral vehicle state is a driving state related to automatic driving of the peripheral vehicle. Since the other configuration is the same as that of the notification control apparatus 102 according to Embodiment 2, the description thereof is omitted.

<C-2. Operation>
FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the operation of the notification control apparatus 103 according to the third embodiment. FIG. 15 shows a state in which three vehicles are traveling in front of the vehicle, and these three vehicles are peripheral vehicles. The notification control device 103 acquires the automatic driving state of these three surrounding vehicles. As a result, it is assumed that one peripheral vehicle is manually operated. It is considered that a manually driven vehicle often behaves differently from an automatically driven vehicle. Therefore, when a manually driven vehicle is traveling around, it is considered necessary to pay more attention to surrounding conditions. Therefore, the notification control device 103 restores the notification even when the vehicle is in an automatic driving state in which notification should be suppressed. That is, in the notification control device 103, the situation data for determining whether or not the situation is a normal situation includes the automatic driving state of the surrounding vehicle.

The overall operation of the notification control device 103 is the same as the operation of the notification control device 102 shown in FIG. However, the surrounding vehicle state acquisition processing by the surrounding vehicle state acquisition unit 20 is included in the state data acquisition processing in step S22 of FIG.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the surrounding vehicle state acquisition process by the surrounding vehicle state acquisition unit 20. Hereinafter, the surrounding vehicle state acquisition process will be described with reference to FIG. First, the surrounding vehicle state acquisition unit 20 determines whether there is an unregistered vehicle around the vehicle (step S31). If there is no unregistered vehicle, the process ends. If there is an unregistered vehicle, it is determined whether or not communication with the unregistered vehicle is possible (step S32). If communication is impossible, the automatic driving state of the unregistered vehicle is generated as “unknown” (step S34). . If communication with an unregistered vehicle is possible, an automatic driving state is acquired from the unregistered vehicle (step S33).

Next, the automatic driving state generated in step S34 or acquired in step S33 is transmitted to the situation determination unit 16 (step S35).

The situation determination unit 16 defines that “the surrounding vehicle does not include a manually operated vehicle or a vehicle whose automatic driving state is unknown” as a condition of a normal situation. Therefore, if there is any “manual” or “unknown” automatic driving state of the surrounding vehicle acquired from the surrounding vehicle state acquisition unit 20, it is determined that the current state is abnormal, and the state data at that time is abnormal. Judged as status data.

The specific factor extraction unit 19 compares the abnormal situation data with the past normal situation data stored in the situation storage unit 18 and extracts the specific factor from the difference, as in the second embodiment. In the example of FIG. 15, “There are manually driven vehicles in the surrounding vehicles” is extracted as the specific factor.

Other operations of the notification control apparatus 103 are the same as those of the notification control apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

<C-3. Effect>
In the notification control apparatus 103 according to the third embodiment, the situation data acquired by the situation acquisition unit 11 includes information on the driving state related to the automatic driving of the vehicle traveling around the vehicle. Accordingly, when the automatic driving state of the surrounding vehicle is different from usual, the suppressed notification can be restored.

<D. Embodiment 4>
<D-1. Configuration>
FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the notification control device 104 and its peripheral devices. The notification control device 104 includes a driver state acquisition unit 21 in the situation acquisition unit 11 in addition to the configuration of the notification control device 102 according to the second embodiment. The driver status acquisition unit 21 acquires the physical condition, recognition status, operation status, or the like of the driver of the vehicle as the driver status. Since the other configuration is the same as that of the notification control apparatus 102 according to Embodiment 2, the description thereof is omitted.

<D-2. Operation>
FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the operation of the notification control apparatus 104 according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 18 shows the line of sight of the driver of the vehicle stopped before the railroad crossing. In this state, it is assumed that the driver normally confirms the breaker, confirms the left and right directions, and confirms the mirror. If the driver does not confirm the mirror, the driver determines that the state of the driver is not normal, and the notification control device 104 restores the notification even when the vehicle is in an automatic driving state in which notification should be suppressed. . That is, in the notification control apparatus 104, the status data for determining whether or not the normal status is included includes the driver status.

The overall operation of the notification control device 104 is the same as the operation of the notification control device 102 shown in FIG. However, the driver status acquisition processing by the driver status acquisition unit 21 is included in the status data acquisition processing in step S22 of FIG.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing driver state acquisition processing by the driver state acquisition unit 21. First, the driver state acquisition unit 21 acquires sensing data from the driver sensor 5 (step S41). For example, it is possible to acquire information on the driver's line of sight or facial expression or the usage status of a device such as a smartphone from a captured image of a camera or infrared camera that captures the driver. Further, from the electrodes mounted on the handle, whether the driver is holding the handle or, if the handle is held, biological information such as the heartbeat of the driver can be acquired. In-car conversations can also be acquired with a microphone.

Next, the driver state acquisition unit 21 generates a driver state from the acquired sensing data (step S42). For example, the driver's gaze or facial expression is used to determine the driver's cognitive status, such as whether he is asleep or looking away, the driver's operating status is determined from the handle grip status, and the device usage status is determined to indicate that the device is being operated can do. Further, from the biometric information, it is possible to determine the physical condition of the driver such as being drunk. Thus, the driver state includes at least one of the driver's physical condition, cognitive situation, or operation situation.

Next, the generated driver state is transmitted to the situation determination unit 16 (step S43).

The status determination unit 16 acquires status data from the status acquisition unit 11 and determines whether the current status is normal as in the second embodiment. In particular, in the third embodiment, since the status data includes the driver status from the driver status acquisition unit 21, the status determination unit 16 has definition data of the normal status related to the driver status. In the example of FIG. 18, the situation determination unit 16 obtains information of “breaker confirmation”, “left / right confirmation”, and “mirror unconfirmed” as the driver state at the crossing. Since the situation determination unit 16 has “breaker check”, “left / right check”, and “mirror check” as normal states, the driver determines that the driver does not check the mirror that is normally checked, and the current status is not normal. Is determined. In another example, when the heart rate of the driver is significantly different from a normal value, it is determined that the current situation is not normal.

The specific factor extraction unit 19 compares the abnormal situation data with the past normal situation data stored in the situation storage unit 18 and extracts the specific factor from the difference, as in the second embodiment. In the example of FIG. 18, “mirror unconfirmed” is extracted as the specific factor.

<D-3. Effect>
In the notification control device 104 according to the fourth embodiment, the situation data acquired by the situation acquisition unit 11 includes data on at least one of the physical condition, the recognition situation, and the operation situation of the driver of the vehicle. Therefore, when the driver state is different from the normal state, the suppressed notification can be restored.

<E. Embodiment 5>
In the first to fourth embodiments, when the vehicle is in an automatic driving state where notification should be suppressed, the notification request is permitted if the current situation is not normal. In the fifth embodiment, in addition to this, the notification request is permitted even when the vehicle is predicted to switch to manual operation.

<E-1. Configuration>
FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the notification control device 105 and its peripheral devices. In addition to the configuration of the notification control apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment, the notification control apparatus 105 includes a switching prediction unit 22 that predicts that the vehicle is switched from automatic driving to manual driving. The configuration of the notification control device 105 other than the switching prediction unit 22 is the same as that of the notification control device 102.

<E-2. Operation>
FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the operation of the notification control apparatus 105 according to the fifth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 21, when there is a possibility that the vehicle may return to manual driving from an automatic driving state in which notification should be suppressed due to dense fog, the notification control device 105 restores the suppressed notification.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the manual operation switching prediction process of the switching prediction unit 22. Hereinafter, the manual operation switching prediction process will be described with reference to FIG. The switching prediction unit 22 acquires the current status data from the status acquisition unit 11 and the past status data from the status storage unit 18 (step S51). Then, future situation data is predicted from these situation data (step S52). For this prediction method, linear prediction or machine learning can be used. If the future situation data suggests switching to manual operation (step S53: Yes), the notification control unit 17 is notified that there is a possibility of switching to manual operation (step S54), and the process ends. . On the other hand, if the future situation data does not suggest switching to manual operation, the process ends.

When the notification control unit 17 receives a notification from the switching prediction unit 22 that there is a possibility of switching to manual operation, the notification control unit 17 permits the execution of the notification request regardless of whether the current situation is normal.

<E-3. Modification>
In the above description, the notification control device 105 itself predicted switching to manual operation by the switching prediction unit 22. However, the notification control device 105 itself may not receive a prediction and may receive a notification that switching from the driving support system 2 to the manual driving is predicted. That is, when the notification control unit 17 receives a notification from the driving support system 2 that the driving state of the vehicle is predicted to be switched to manual driving, the notification control unit 17 permits execution of the notification request.

<E-4. Effect>
In the notification control apparatus 105 according to the fifth embodiment, the notification control unit 17 permits the notification request to be executed when the driving state of the vehicle is predicted to switch from the automatic driving state where the notification should be suppressed to the manual driving. . Therefore, since the driver can be alerted to the surrounding situation before the vehicle is switched to manual driving, the driver can smoothly switch from automatic driving to manual driving.

In addition to the configuration of the notification control apparatus 102 according to the second embodiment, the notification control apparatus 105 includes a switching prediction unit 22 (situation prediction unit) that predicts future situation data from past situation data and current situation data. ). The notification control unit 17 permits the notification request to be executed when it is predicted from the future situation data that the vehicle driving state is switched from the automatic driving state in which the notification should be suppressed to the manual driving. Therefore, since the driver can be alerted to the surrounding situation before the vehicle is switched to manual driving, the driver can smoothly switch from automatic driving to manual driving.

<F. Embodiment 6>
<F-1. Configuration>
FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the notification control device 106 and its peripheral devices according to the sixth embodiment. The notification control device 106 includes a forced notification determination unit 23 in addition to the configuration of the notification control device 102 according to the second embodiment. The compulsory notification determination unit 23 compulsorily permits a notification request under specific conditions such as random or random.

<F-2. Operation>
In the first to fourth embodiments, when the vehicle is in an automatic driving state in which notification is to be suppressed, as shown in FIG. 3, a bicycle that normally does not exist is arranged near the guidance route. If it is not normal, the notification request is permitted. In FIG. 24, unlike FIG. 3, the bicycle is not arranged and the normal state is shown. In the sixth embodiment, even in such a case, the notification request is forcibly permitted under specific conditions such as random or random. Accordingly, since the notification is sometimes issued regardless of whether the current situation is normal or not, the driver can be urged to pay attention to the surrounding situation without overconfidence in automatic driving.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing a forced notification determination process by the forced notification determination unit 23. Hereinafter, the forced notification determination process by the forced notification determination unit 23 will be described. The forcible notification determination unit 23 determines whether to forcibly notify (step S61). As a condition for forcibly informing, for example, a certain number of times, random according to a specific distribution such as a uniform distribution or an exponential distribution, or a specific date and time, day of the week, season, etc. can be considered. When such a condition is not satisfied, the forced notification determination unit 23 determines that the forced notification is not performed, and ends the processing as it is. On the other hand, if the condition for compulsory notification is satisfied, the compulsory notification determination unit 23 determines to forcibly notify, notifies the notification control unit 17 to that effect (step S62), and stores the determination result in the situation. It transmits to the part 18 (step S63), and a process is complete | finished.

When the notification control unit 17 receives notification from the forced notification determination unit 23 that forced notification is performed, the notification control unit 17 permits the notification request to be executed regardless of whether the current state is normal.

<F-3. Effect>
In the notification control device 106 according to the sixth embodiment, the notification control unit 17 is in a situation where a specific condition, either random or random, is satisfied when the vehicle is in an automatic driving state in which notification should be suppressed. The notification request is permitted to be executed regardless of whether the data is abnormal situation data or normal situation data. Therefore, since the notification is sometimes issued regardless of whether the current situation is normal or not, the driver can be encouraged to pay attention to the surrounding situation without overconfidence in automatic driving.

In the present invention, it is possible to freely combine the respective embodiments within the scope of the invention, and to appropriately modify and omit the respective embodiments.

Although the present invention has been described in detail, the above description is illustrative in all aspects, and the present invention is not limited thereto. It is understood that countless variations that are not illustrated can be envisaged without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 in-vehicle sensor, 2 driving support system, 3 output device, 4 surrounding vehicle network, 5 driver sensor, 11 status acquisition unit, 12 peripheral environment acquisition unit, 13 support status acquisition unit, 14 travel regular acquisition unit, 15 notification request acquisition unit , 16 Situation determination unit, 17 Notification control unit, 18 Situation storage unit, 19 Specific factor extraction unit, 20 Peripheral vehicle state acquisition unit, 21 Driver state acquisition unit, 22 Switch prediction unit, 23 Forced notification determination unit, 31 CPU, 32 Memory, 33 receiver, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106 Notification control device.

Claims

It includes at least data related to any of the surrounding environment of the vehicle, the support status of the drive support system, and the travel status of the vehicle, from measurement data of a sensor mounted on a vehicle capable of automatic driving with the assistance of the driving support system. A status acquisition unit for acquiring status data;
A situation determination unit that determines whether the situation data is normal situation data that satisfies a predetermined condition or abnormal situation data that does not satisfy the predetermined condition;
When the vehicle is in an automatic driving state in which notification should be suppressed, if the situation data is the abnormal situation data, execution of a notification request from the driving support system is permitted, and the situation data is the normal situation. A notification control unit that suppresses execution of the notification request in the case of data,
Notification control device.
A status storage unit for storing the normal status data;
When the current situation data is the abnormal situation data, a specific factor that compares the abnormal situation data with the past normal situation data stored in the situation storage unit and extracts the difference as a specific factor An extractor, and
When the specific factor extracting unit extracts the specific factor when the vehicle is in an automatic driving state in which the notification is to be suppressed, the notification control unit displays a notification unit or notification content according to the specific factor. decide,
The notification control apparatus according to claim 1.
The notification control unit suppresses execution of the notification request when the specific factor extraction unit does not extract the specific factor when the vehicle is in an automatic driving state in which notification should be suppressed.
The notification control device according to claim 2.
The situation data includes information about a driving state related to automatic driving of a vehicle traveling around the vehicle.
The notification control apparatus according to claim 1.
The situation data includes data relating to at least one of a physical condition, a cognitive situation, and an operation situation of the driver of the vehicle.
The notification control apparatus according to claim 1.
The notification control unit permits execution of the notification request when the driving state of the vehicle is predicted to switch from an automatic driving state in which notification should be suppressed to manual driving.
The notification control apparatus according to claim 1.
A situation prediction unit for predicting future situation data from the past situation data and the current situation data;
The notification control unit permits the execution of the notification request when it is predicted from the future situation data that the driving state of the vehicle is predicted to be switched from an automatic driving state in which notification should be suppressed to manual driving.
The notification control device according to claim 6.
The notification control unit, when the vehicle is in an automatic driving state in which notification should be suppressed, and when the condition data is a random or random specific condition, the situation data is the abnormal situation data or the normal situation Permit execution of the notification request regardless of whether it is data,
The notification control apparatus according to claim 1.
From the measurement data of the sensor mounted on the vehicle capable of automatic driving with the assistance of the driving support system, obtain situation data including data on the surrounding situation of the vehicle,
Determining whether the situation data is normal situation data satisfying a predetermined condition or abnormal situation data not satisfying the predetermined condition;
When the vehicle is in an automatic driving state in which notification should be suppressed, if the situation data is the abnormal situation data, execution of a notification request from the driving support system is permitted, and the situation data is the normal situation. If it is data, suppress the execution of the notification request,
Notification control method.