JP2008134458A - Cognitive map formation support device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cognitive map formation support device which can appropriately help the vehicle crew make their cognitive maps. <P>SOLUTION: An on-board cognitive map formation support device (1) carried in a vehicle has a cruising environment detector to check the cruising surroundings of the vehicle and asks the crew geographical questions relating to the cruising surroundings detected by the cruising environment detector. This device can be constituted on the basis of the hardware configuration of general on-board navigation devices. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cognitive map formation assisting device that assists a vehicle occupant in forming a cognitive map.

  Conventionally, a recommended route from the current position of a vehicle specified by GPS (Global Positioning System) to a destination set by an occupant is created, and voice guidance and display are performed so that the vehicle travels along the recommended route. Car navigation systems are widely used.

  One of the problems of such an in-vehicle navigation device is that a cognitive map is not formed because the driver relies on guidance. The cognitive map is a map on the image that each person forms in his / her head regarding the spatial arrangement of roads and buildings. And when driving a place where the driver has passed in the past, it is considered that the cognitive map is searched and reproduced as necessary. Therefore, if the vehicle travels in a place where a cognitive map is not formed even if the place has passed in the past, it is not much different from driving in a place that has never passed.

  Then, the problem that the cognitive map is not formed as a result of depending on the in-vehicle navigation device causes a delay in driving judgment, and it is considered that an elderly driver who is increasing in recent years may cause a traffic accident.

By the way, the invention about the navigation apparatus with a quiz game function which can set the quiz relevant to the present location of a vehicle, a destination, a waypoint, or a guidance route is disclosed (for example, refer patent document 1).
JP 2001-347066 A

  It can be considered that the formation of a cognitive map is assisted by asking quizzes related to the current location of the vehicle and the guide route, as in the conventional device. However, in order to form a cognitive map, it is necessary to ask “geographical questions”, not just “quizzes”. However, the above Patent Document 1 only describes that “quiz” related to the current location etc. is given, and a specific creation method, creation procedure, etc. for creating “geographical questions” There is no description at all. This is because the above-mentioned conventional apparatus is not intended to assist in the formation of a cognitive map, but mainly to provide entertainment.

  This invention is for solving such a subject, and makes it the main objective to provide the cognitive map formation assistance apparatus which can assist the crew member's cognitive map preparation appropriately.

  A first aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is a cognitive map formation assisting device mounted on a vehicle, comprising travel environment detection means for detecting the travel environment of the vehicle, and detected by the travel environment detection means. The present invention is characterized in that a geographical question associated with the travel environment of the vehicle is given to the occupant. Here, the “geographical question” is, for example, an inquiry about the positional relationship between the road layout, the traveling direction of the vehicle, the current position, the place name, the building, and the like. In other words, the question may be based on visual information given to the passenger. This is because the current location and traveling direction of the vehicle are recognized mainly from the scenery outside the vehicle.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the geographical question associated with the traveling environment of the vehicle is given, it is possible to appropriately assist the vehicle occupant in creating the recognition map.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, the traveling environment detection means is a means capable of detecting the road on which the vehicle is traveling and the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the road and vehicle on which the vehicle detected by the traveling environment detection means is traveling. It is good also as a thing characterized by asking the geographical question linked | related with the advancing direction. In this case, road information storage means that stores information about roads including road eigenvalues set for each road with a tendency to become larger as major roads, and recommendations from the current position of the vehicle to the destination set by the occupant A route guidance unit that creates a route and provides guidance information so that the vehicle travels along the recommended route, and a road information storage unit for the road on which the vehicle detected by the traveling environment detection unit is traveling When the multiplication value of the value corresponding to the road among the road unique values stored in the road and the distance of the road on the recommended route created by the recommended route creation means is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the driving environment is detected. The vehicle detected by the means may ask a geographical question related to the road on which the vehicle is running.

  Further, in the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided storage means for storing information on place names and / or buildings, and the traveling environment detecting means is means capable of detecting the current location of the vehicle and the traveling direction of the vehicle, A geographical question regarding a place name or a building in a predetermined direction based on the traveling direction of the vehicle detected by the environment detection means may be given.

  The road information storage means according to claim 3 and the storage means according to claim 4 may indicate the same storage medium.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the traveling environment detection means is a means capable of detecting the road shape around the vehicle and the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the road shape around the vehicle detected by the traveling environment detection means, and A geographical question related to the traveling direction of the vehicle may be asked.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, a recommended route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination set by the occupant is created, and guidance information is provided so that the vehicle travels along the recommended route. Route guidance means may be provided, and instead of route guidance by the route guidance means, a geographical question related to the contents of the route guidance may be given.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, a recommended route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination set by the occupant is created, and guidance information is provided so that the vehicle travels along the recommended route. Route guidance means may be provided, and geographical questions may be asked only in places where guidance information has been provided by the route guidance means.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, a recommended route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination set by the occupant is created, and guidance information is provided so that the vehicle travels along the recommended route. Route guidance means may be provided, and the difficulty level of the geographical question may be changed according to the number of times the route guidance means provides guidance information regarding the place where the vehicle is traveling.

  Note that the route guidance means described in claims 3, 6, 7, and 8 may be the same.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, route guidance is provided that creates a recommended route from the current position of the vehicle to a destination set by a passenger and provides guidance information so that the vehicle travels along the recommended route. A geographical question related to the contents of the route guidance instead of the route guidance by the route guidance means when traveling in a place where guidance information has been provided by the route guidance means. It is characterized by the question. Here, the predetermined case may be a case where an occupant turns on the device, a case based on a determination result regarding the number of times of providing guidance information, or the like.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the cognitive map formation assistance apparatus which can assist appropriately the preparation of a vehicle occupant's cognitive map can be provided.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Hereinafter, the cognitive map formation assistance apparatus 1 which concerns on one Example of this invention is demonstrated. The cognitive map formation auxiliary device 1 can be configured based on the hardware configuration of a general in-vehicle navigation device.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of the cognitive map formation assisting device 1. The cognitive map formation auxiliary device 1 includes a GPS receiver 10, a memory 20, a display device 30, a voice input / output device 40, and a navigation computer 50 as main components.

  The GPS receiver 10 receives a radio signal including satellite orbit and time data from a GPS satellite and outputs the radio signal to the navigation computer 50. In addition, you may further provide the receiver which receives the electromagnetic wave from the reference station used for DGPS (Diffrential GPS; relative positioning system) and RTK-GPS (Real Time Kinematic GPS; interference positioning system).

  As the memory 20, for example, a storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) is used, and map information is stored. In the map information, the road shape is expressed by nodes indicating intersections and links connecting the nodes, and each link has a road name (only for main roads such as national roads and prefectural roads), road width, The number of lanes, road gradient, road type according to the road traffic law, and the like are additionally stored. In addition, coordinates and attributes (described later) are stored for major items such as place names, buildings, and service facilities.

  The display device 30 is, for example, a display device that employs a video graphics array (VGA) as a graphic system to display an image including a moving image and allows a user to perform various input operations as a touch panel. The display device 30 detects a change in voltage caused by a user touching the surface of the display device 30 and recognizes the position where the touch operation is performed. The input operation performed on the display device 30 is transmitted to the navigation computer 50, and the display content of the display device 30 is determined by the navigation computer 50.

  The voice input / output device 40 includes, for example, a microphone, a speaker, a buzzer, and the like for voice input. The voice input made to the voice input / output device 40 is transmitted to the navigation computer 50, and the output content of the voice input / output device 40 is determined by the navigation computer 50.

  The navigation computer 50 is, for example, a computer unit in which a ROM, a RAM, and the like are connected to each other via a bus with a CPU as a center, and includes other I / O ports, a timer, a counter, and the like. The ROM stores programs and data executed by the CPU. The navigation computer 50 includes a current position specifying unit 51, a destination setting unit 52, and main function blocks that function when the CPU stores (executes) a program stored in the ROM and executes the program. The route guidance unit 53, the question control unit 54, and the question creation unit 55 are provided.

  The current position specifying unit 51 specifies the current position (latitude, longitude, altitude) of the host vehicle by a calculation based on the time difference of the radio signal received by the GPS receiver 10. The current position of the host vehicle is corrected based on the output of various sensors such as a vehicle speed sensor and a gyro sensor, various information received via the beacon receiver and the FM multiplex broadcast receiver, map matching technology, and the like. Good.

  The destination setting unit 52 searches the map information for a place name or the like corresponding to the destination input to the display device 30 or the voice input / output device 40. Set the coordinates of the destination in the area.

  The route guidance unit 53 generates a recommended route from the current position of the host vehicle specified by the current position specifying unit 51 to the destination set by the destination setting unit 52 using the Dijkstra method or the like. Guidance information is provided using the display device 30 and the voice input / output device 40 so that the vehicle travels along the route.

  Thus, the current position specifying unit 51, the destination setting unit 52, and the route guide unit 53 are functional blocks for realizing the functions of the existing in-vehicle navigation device. Next, the question control unit 54 and the question creation unit 55, which are features of the present invention, will be described.

  The question control unit 54 converts, for example, the content of a geographical question for assisting the formation of a cognitive map into a voice by a VUI (Voice User Interface) module according to a predetermined operation of the occupant on the display device 30 (or a dedicated switch), The voice input / output device 40 is controlled to output the converted voice. Control of the question timing will be described later.

  The content of the geographical question is created by the question creation unit 55. There are various methods for creating a question. Specific examples are shown below.

  Creation method (1): Ask the name of the road on which the vehicle is traveling. Since it is excessive to ask questions about all roads, it is preferable to limit to only main roads. For example, road eigenvalues set in advance so that the major roads become larger (calculated based on the road type, road width, and lane width included in the map information are stored along with the road) When the product of the road distance on the recommended route created by the route guidance unit 53 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the name of the road on which the vehicle is traveling is inquired (see FIG. 2). In addition, this method presupposes that the route guidance part 53 is act | operating. By doing so, it is possible to preferentially store major roads that are important elements in the cognitive map.

  Creation method (2): When asking for a road name, a question may be created in association with the shape of the road. For example, “What is the road that gently turns right here?”. By doing so, the shape of the road and the road name are stored as a set, and the accuracy of the cognitive map is improved. In this case, it is needless to say that the method (1) may be combined.

  Creation method (3): Ask the name of a place or a famous building (large bridge, interchange, etc.) that exists at the end of the currently running road (eg, based on the direction of travel of the vehicle) (see Figure 3; (3) shows the object of creation method (3), the same applies hereinafter). For example, “How many cities will you reach if you go straight on this road (○ line)?”. By doing so, road names and surrounding place names are linked in the cognitive map, and a cognitive map with more information is formed.

  Creation method (4): A place name or a famous building existing in a predetermined direction (for example, based on the traveling direction of the vehicle) viewed from the current position of the vehicle is inquired. For example, “What is the city if you turn right at this intersection?”. By doing so, a cognitive map with abundant information including not only the roads that are usually driven by vehicles but also the surrounding geography is formed.

  Creation method (5): The road shape around the vehicle is inquired based on the traveling direction of the vehicle. For example, “If you turn right at this intersection? By doing so, the cognitive map becomes easier to memorize.

  Creation method (6): Furthermore, as an applied question, a question such as “What is the name of one of the bridges upstream of the bridge existing on the left side?” May be created.

  Creation method (7): Further, in cooperation with the question control unit 54 and the route guide unit 53, prior to providing the guide information by the route guide unit 53, the content of the guide information may be asked in reverse. For example, “next convenience store is right or left?”. In this way, it is possible to make the driver have a habit of traveling while forming a cognitive map even when guidance information is provided, instead of traveling according to guidance information.

  These geographical questions are, for example, when there are roads whose road-specific values are greater than or equal to a predetermined value, place names or buildings with predetermined attributes, specific road shapes, etc. in the area centered on the vehicle. It is automatically created by the question creation unit 55. Here, the attributes accompanying the place name and the like classify the place name and the like into natural objects such as lakes and rivers, municipalities (by scale), buildings (by importance), and the like. Since the “predetermined attribute” is a standard for limiting to main place names and the like, for example, natural objects, municipalities of a predetermined scale or larger, and important buildings are set. The “specific road shape” is a slope, a curve, a three-dimensional intersection, or the like.

  These questions may be based on visual information (scenery outside the vehicle) given to passengers including the driver. This is because the current location and traveling direction of the vehicle are recognized mainly from the scenery outside the vehicle.

  Note that the driver's answer is input from the voice input / output device 40 to the question control unit 54 and is derived as a result of text analysis by the above-described VUI module. Are output by voice.

  Next, the control of the question timing and the like by the question control unit 54 will be described. The questioning by this apparatus is determined to be on / off by a predetermined operation of the occupant, for example. Further, it may be automatically operated when an elderly person is driving by an occupant discrimination means such as a smart entry system or an in-vehicle camera. The selection of the timing of questions, the availability of questions, the frequency of questions, the difficulty level, etc. may be determined in any way, but specific examples are shown below.

  (A) First, it is determined whether the vehicle is traveling in a place where guidance information has been provided by the route guidance unit 53, and when traveling in a place where guidance information has not been provided. It is possible to stop the questions. This is because it may be too difficult to ask a geographical question regarding a place where no guidance information has been provided. On the other hand, when the user is traveling in a place where a geographical question is asked many times, the question may be stopped. It is troublesome to repeat the same geographical question over and over again.

  (B) It is conceivable to change the difficulty level according to the number of times the guidance information is provided. This is because it is expected that the occupant is familiar with the surrounding geography at locations where the guidance information has been provided many times. Here, the difficulty level is determined, for example, in accordance with a deviation (distance) between a place name or the like targeted for a geographical question and a recommended route. In addition, municipalities may be determined according to scale, and buildings and the like may be determined according to importance.

  (C) The frequency may be adjusted with reference to a history of timings at which questions are given. By doing this, questions are given at an appropriate frequency, and it is possible to prevent driving from being hindered, and it is possible to prevent attention from being taken away due to too long intervals between questions.

  According to the cognitive map formation assisting apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, since various geographical questions are given as described above, it is possible to appropriately assist the vehicle occupant in creating a cognitive map.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. And substitutions can be added.

  For example, the question creation unit 55 may not be provided, and a geographic question created in advance linked to the current position and the traveling direction of the vehicle may be stored in the memory 20.

  Alternatively, a scene outside the vehicle may be imaged by a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) camera or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) camera to help control the timing of questions. Since there is a slight error in the current position specification by GPS at present, after confirming by image recognition that a specific intersection or target is actually seen, "If you turn right at this intersection ..." This is because it is desirable to issue a question.

  Further, it may be provided with a means for communicating with the facility outside the vehicle, analyzing the answer of the occupant in the facility outside the vehicle, and offering a product to the excellent person. In this way, the use of the device can be promoted, which can contribute to safe driving. You can also ask more advanced geographical questions.

  The present invention can be used in the automobile manufacturing industry, the automobile parts manufacturing industry, and the like.

It is a figure which shows an example of the whole structure of the recognition map formation assistance apparatus. It is an image figure which shows the surrounding condition of a vehicle when asking the name of the road where the vehicle is running. It is an image figure which shows the surrounding condition of a vehicle at the time of creating the geographical question about roads other than driving | running | working.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cognitive map formation auxiliary | assistance apparatus 10 GPS receiver 20 Memory 30 Display apparatus 40 Voice input / output apparatus 50 Navigation computer 51 Present position specific | specification part 52 Destination setting part 53 Route guidance part 54 Question control part 55 Question preparation part

Claims (10)

A cognitive map formation auxiliary device mounted on a vehicle,
A driving environment detection means for detecting the driving environment of the vehicle;
A cognitive map formation assisting apparatus that questions a passenger a geographical question associated with a traveling environment of a vehicle detected by the traveling environment detection means. The cognitive map formation assisting device according to claim 1,
The travel environment detection means is a means capable of detecting the road on which the vehicle is traveling and the traveling direction of the vehicle,
The vehicle detected by the traveling environment detection means questions a geographical question associated with the traveling road and the traveling direction of the vehicle,
Cognitive mapping aid. It is a cognitive map formation assistance apparatus of Claim 2, Comprising:
Road information storage means for storing information about roads, including road eigenvalues set for each road with a tendency to become larger as major roads;
A recommended route from the current position of the vehicle to a destination set by the occupant, and route guidance means for providing guidance information so that the vehicle travels along the recommended route,
Regarding the road on which the vehicle detected by the travel environment detection unit is traveling, a value corresponding to the road among the road specific values stored in the road information storage unit, and the recommended route created by the recommended route creation unit When the multiplication value of the distance of the road above is a predetermined value or more, the vehicle detected by the driving environment detection means questions a geographical question associated with the road that is running,
Cognitive mapping aid. A cognitive map formation auxiliary device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Comprising storage means for storing information on place names and / or buildings,
The travel environment detection means is a means capable of detecting the current location of the vehicle and the traveling direction of the vehicle,
It is characterized in that a geographical question about a place name or a building in a predetermined direction based on the traveling direction of the vehicle detected by the traveling environment detection means
Cognitive mapping aid. A cognitive map formation auxiliary device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The travel environment detection means is a means capable of detecting the road shape around the vehicle and the traveling direction of the vehicle,
The present invention questions geographic questions associated with the road shape around the vehicle and the traveling direction of the vehicle detected by the traveling environment detection means,
Cognitive mapping aid. A cognitive map formation auxiliary device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A recommended route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination set by the occupant is created, and route guidance means is provided for providing guidance information so that the vehicle travels along the recommended route.
Instead of the route guidance by the route guidance means, a geographical question related to the contents of the route guidance is given,
Cognitive mapping aid. The cognitive map formation assisting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A recommended route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination set by the occupant is created, and route guidance means is provided for providing guidance information so that the vehicle travels along the recommended route.
The present invention is characterized in that a geographical question is given only in places where the guide information has been provided by the route guide means,
Cognitive mapping aid. A cognitive map formation auxiliary device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A recommended route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination set by the occupant is created, and route guidance means is provided for providing guidance information so that the vehicle travels along the recommended route.
The difficulty of the geographical question is changed according to the number of times the guidance information is provided by the route guidance means regarding the place where the vehicle is traveling.
Cognitive mapping aid. A cognitive map formation auxiliary device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The geographical question is a question based on visual information given to an occupant.
Cognitive mapping aid. A recommended route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination set by the occupant is created, and route guidance means is provided for providing guidance information so that the vehicle travels along the recommended route.
Instead of the route guidance by the route guidance means, a geographical question related to the contents of the route guidance is given instead of the route guidance by the route guidance means when traveling in a place where guidance information has been provided by the route guidance means. It is characterized by taking questions
Cognitive mapping aid.

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