JP2010097335A - Driving intention estimating device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a driving intention estimating device for smoothing the flow of traffic and supporting safer passage of an intersection. <P>SOLUTION: The driving intention estimating device 1 includes a camera 5 for capturing a driver's image for detecting the visual axis direction of the driver, an estimation start determination unit 11 for determining whether a winker is working, and a traveling direction intention reporting unit 15 for estimating the traveling direction intention of the driver at the intersection according to the visual axis direction detected by the camera 5 for capturing the driver's image when it is determined that winker is not working. When the driver approaches the intersection without operating the winker, the driving intention estimating device 1 can estimate the traveling direction intention of the driver. Accordingly, by informing surrounding another vehicle of the estimated traveling direction intention of the driver, the flow of the traffic can be smoothed and safer passage at the intersection can be achieved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving intention estimation device that estimates a driving intention of a vehicle by a driver.

Conventionally, when approaching an intersection, the degree of accidental encounter between the host vehicle and another vehicle at the intersection is determined based on the driver's gaze behavior (which area is being watched) and the driver's driving operation. A driver future situation prediction apparatus that transmits a degree of unexpected encounter to a driver by a monitor is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 3991804

  In the driver future situation prediction device described above, the driver's gaze behavior and driving operation when entering the intersection are detected to determine the degree of unexpected encounter when passing the intersection, but the driver has no blinker operation Sufficient consideration is not given to cases where there is a high risk of turning left or right. In such a case, there is a problem that even if the unexpected encounter degree is transmitted to the driver by the transmission means, it does not sufficiently contribute to the improvement of safety at the intersection that is currently passing.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a driving intention estimation device that smoothes traffic flow and realizes safer traffic at an intersection.

  The present invention relates to a driving intention estimation device that estimates a driver's intention to drive a vehicle at an intersection, and a winker operation determination unit that determines whether or not the vehicle winker is operating, and a driver's line-of-sight direction. When it is determined that the winker is not operating by the gaze direction detection means to be detected and the winker motion determination means, the driver's intention to travel in the intersection is estimated according to the gaze direction detected by the gaze direction detection means. Traveling direction intention estimation means.

  In this driving intention estimation device, when the vehicle approaches the intersection when the blinker is not operating, the driver's intention to travel is estimated from the detected driver's line-of-sight direction. Therefore, according to this driving intention estimation device, even when the driver tries to enter the intersection without operating the turn signal, the driver's traveling direction intention can be estimated. By notifying the surrounding vehicle of the intention to travel, traffic flow can be made smoother, and safer traffic at the intersection can be realized.

  In addition, a moving body detecting unit that detects a moving body near the intersection, and a gaze ratio calculating unit that calculates the gaze ratio of the driver with respect to the moving body based on the detection result by the moving body detecting unit and the detection result by the gaze direction detecting unit. It is preferable that the traveling direction intention estimation unit estimates the traveling direction intention of the driver at the intersection based on the calculation result by the line-of-sight ratio calculation unit. Since the moving body (for example, surrounding vehicles and pedestrians) that the driver pays attention to differs depending on the traveling direction, the driver's traveling direction can be more reliably calculated by calculating the driver's line-of-sight ratio for the moving body near the intersection. Intention can be estimated.

  Moreover, it is preferable to further provide a notifying means for notifying the moving body of the driver's intention in the traveling direction estimated by the traveling direction intention estimating means. By providing such a notification means, it becomes possible for a moving body near the intersection to perform an avoiding operation such as deceleration or course adjustment in advance according to the driver's intention in the direction of travel, thereby smoothing the traffic flow. And it is possible to realize safer traffic at the intersection.

  The vehicle further includes an intersection passing result recording means for recording the vehicle passing result, and the traveling direction intention estimating means is based on the intersection passing result recorded in the intersection passing result recording means and the driver's traveling direction intention at the intersection. Is preferably estimated. In this case, by referring to the past intersection passing results, it is possible to consider the tendency of the change in the driver's line-of-sight direction according to the direction of travel, etc., so it is possible to more reliably estimate the direction of travel direction.

  According to the present invention, the traffic flow is smoothed and safer traffic at the intersection is realized.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a driving intention estimation device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a driving intention estimation device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view around an intersection. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the driving intention estimation device 1 is mounted on the host vehicle A and estimates the driving intention of the driver, and the driving intention estimation ECU (Electric Control) that estimates the driving intention. Unit) 10.

  The driving intention estimation ECU 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs arithmetic processing, a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory) serving as a storage unit, an input signal circuit, an output signal circuit, a power supply circuit, and the like. Yes. The driving intention estimation ECU 10 is electrically connected to the navigation system 2, the stereo camera 3, and the winker detection unit 4. Further, the driving intention estimation ECU 10 is electrically connected to the driver imaging camera (gaze direction detecting means) 5 and the inter-vehicle communication unit 6.

  The navigation system 2 includes a GPS receiver that detects the position of the host vehicle A by receiving radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites, and a map database that stores road shapes, intersection positions, and the like. The navigation system 2 detects an intersection P located in front of the host vehicle A from the position of the host vehicle A detected by the GPS receiver and the map database. The navigation system 2 calculates the distance between the detected entrance of the intersection P and the host vehicle A, and transmits the calculation result to the driving intention estimation ECU 10 as intersection distance information.

  In addition, the navigation system 2 acquires the passing result (straight, right turn, left turn) of the host vehicle A at the intersection P from the position of the host vehicle A detected by the GPS receiver and the map database. The navigation system 2 transmits the acquired passing result at the intersection P, the position of the intersection P, and information on the shape of the intersection P (crossroad, T-junction, etc.) to the driving intention estimation ECU 10 as the passing result information.

  The stereo camera 3 includes a plurality of CCD cameras that acquire images around the host vehicle A, and an image processing unit that recognizes the acquired images and detects moving objects such as other vehicles and pedestrians. In this image processing unit, moving object candidates are extracted from the image captured by the CCD camera by edge extraction, pattern recognition processing, or the like. And the distance of the own vehicle A and a moving body is calculated | required by the triangulation method based on the difference in the position of the moving body in a some acquired image. Further, the moving direction of the moving body and the relative speed with respect to the host vehicle A are obtained from the difference in position of the moving body in the plurality of acquired images having different times. The stereo camera 3 transmits the detected moving body information (the position of the moving body, the moving direction, and the relative speed) to the driving intention estimation ECU 10.

  The blinker detection unit 4 detects a blinker operation (a blinker start operation or a release operation) by the driver. The turn signal detection unit 4 transmits the detected turn signal operation to the driving intention estimation ECU 10 as turn signal operation information.

  The driver imaging camera 5 is a camera that is installed, for example, inside the steering cover of the host vehicle A and captures a face image of the driver sitting in the driver's seat. The driver imaging camera 5 transmits the captured driver's face image information to the driving intention estimation ECU 10.

  The vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit 6 performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication with vehicles that can be communicated between vehicles existing around the host vehicle. The inter-vehicle communication unit 6 acquires information on the position, route, and vehicle speed of other vehicles as peripheral vehicle information through inter-vehicle communication, and transmits the acquired peripheral vehicle information to the driving intention estimation ECU 10. Further, when the vehicle intention communication unit 6 receives the traveling direction intention notification command from the driving intention estimation ECU 10, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit 6 notifies the other vehicle designated by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication of the intention of traveling direction such as going straight, turning right, or turning left.

  The driving intention estimation ECU 10 includes an estimation start determination unit (blinker operation determination unit) 11, an attention target moving body detection unit (moving body detection unit) 12, a line-of-sight ratio calculation unit (line-of-sight ratio calculation unit) 13, and an intersection passage result recording unit ( (Intersection notification result recording means) 14 and a traveling direction intention notifying unit (traveling direction intention estimating means, notifying means) 15. The estimation start determination unit 11 determines whether or not the distance between the entrance of the intersection P and the host vehicle A is equal to or less than a predetermined estimated start distance H based on the intersection distance information transmitted from the navigation system 2.

  When it is determined that the estimation start determination unit 11 is equal to or less than the estimation start distance H, the estimation start determination unit 11 determines whether or not the winker of the host vehicle A is operating based on the winker operation information transmitted from the winker detection unit 4. When it is determined that the blinker is not operating, the estimation start determination unit 11 determines the start of driving intention estimation.

  The attention target moving body detection unit 12 is based on the moving body information transmitted from the stereo camera 3 and the surrounding vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit 6, and the subject vehicle when the vehicle passes through the intersection P in the vicinity of the intersection P. Presence of a moving body to be noted (such as a pedestrian crossing or another vehicle traveling toward the intersection P) that may come into contact with A is detected.

  The line-of-sight ratio calculation unit 13 recognizes the direction of the driver's line of sight for a predetermined T seconds based on the driver's face image information transmitted from the driver imaging camera 6. The line-of-sight ratio calculation unit 13 calculates the line-of-sight ratio of the driver in the straight traveling area F in front of the host vehicle A, the right-turn area R diagonally forward right, and the left-turn area L diagonally forward left, from the recognized driver's line-of-sight To do.

  The intersection passing result recording unit 14 has a personal authentication function for authenticating the individual driver based on the driver's face image information transmitted from the driver imaging camera 6. For each authenticated driver, the intersection passing result recording unit 14 passes the result of passing the vehicle A at the intersection that has passed in the past (straight forward, right turn, left turn), and the driver's line-of-sight ratio (straight forward region F, The ratio of the line of sight to the right turn area R and the left turn area L), the traffic situation at the time of entering the intersection (position of the moving body, etc.) and the intersection shape are recorded as the intersection passing result.

  The traveling direction intention notifying unit 15 includes the moving body information of the moving body to be noted detected by the attention target moving body detecting unit 12, the driver's line-of-sight ratio calculated by the line-of-sight ratio calculating unit 13, and the intersection passing result recording unit 14. Based on the intersection record, the driver's intention in the direction of travel (straight, right, left) is estimated. When the estimated traveling direction intention is a right turn or a left turn, the traveling direction intention notifying unit 15 notifies the vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit 6 of the traveling direction intention in order to notify the driver of the traveling direction intention to be careful. Send a command.

  Hereinafter, the estimation of the driver's traveling direction intention in the driving intention estimation ECU 10 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a plan view around the intersection showing a case where there is no moving body to be noted, and FIG. 4 is a plan view around the intersection showing a case where there is a moving body to be noted in front and diagonally to the left. is there.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when there is no moving object to be noted at the intersection P, the driver's line-of-sight ratio in the right-turn area R is 60%, the driver's line-of-sight ratio in the straight-ahead area F is 30%, and the left-turn area It is assumed that the driver's line-of-sight ratio in L is calculated as 10%. In this case, the driving intention estimation ECU 10 estimates that the driver is likely to take a right-turn action based on the high gaze ratio of the driver.

  Further, in the case shown in FIG. 3, the driver's line-of-sight ratio in the right turn area R is calculated as 20%, the driver's line-of-sight ratio in the straight-ahead area F is calculated as 60%, and the driver's line-of-sight ratio in the left turn area L is calculated as 20%. Suppose that In this case, the driving intention estimation ECU 10 estimates that the driver is likely to take a normal straight movement from the high line-of-sight ratio of the driver, and does not notify the mobile object to be noted.

  As shown in FIG. 4, as a moving body to which attention should be paid, another vehicle C2 that is proceeding facing the own vehicle A, another vehicle C3 that is proceeding from the left side of the own vehicle A, and a crosswalk in front of the left side of the own vehicle A When the pedestrian D is passing, the driver's line-of-sight ratio in the right turn area R is 50%, the driver's line-of-sight ratio in the straight-ahead area F is 25%, and the driver's line-of-sight ratio in the left turn area L is Suppose that it is calculated as 25%. In this case, the driving intention estimation ECU 10 evaluates the calculation result of the driver's line-of-sight ratio with reference to the driver's intersection passage record. The driving intention estimation ECU 10 estimates that the line of sight is directed to the straight-ahead area F and the left-turn area L because, for example, the driver should pay attention to the moving body, and the driver is determined based on the driver's line-of-sight ratio. Presumes that he is likely to take a right turn.

  Then, operation | movement of the driving intention estimation apparatus 1 is demonstrated with reference to drawings. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the driving intention estimation apparatus of FIG. It is assumed that the driver's personal authentication in the driving intention estimation ECU 10 has already been performed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, first, the navigation system 2 in the driving intention estimation device 1 uses the position of the host vehicle A detected by the GPS receiver and the map database, and the entrance at the intersection P in front of the host vehicle A. And the distance between the vehicle A and the host vehicle A (S1). The navigation system 2 transmits the calculated distance between the intersection P entrance and the host vehicle A to the driving intention estimation ECU 10 as intersection distance information.

  The estimation start determination unit 11 of the driving intention estimation ECU 10 determines whether the distance between the intersection P entrance and the vehicle A is equal to or less than a predetermined estimated start distance H based on the intersection distance information transmitted from the navigation system 2. (S2). When the estimation start determination unit 11 determines that the distance between the intersection P entrance and the vehicle A is not equal to or less than the predetermined estimation start distance H, the estimation start distance is again based on the intersection distance information transmitted from the navigation system 2. The determination regarding H is performed.

  When it is determined that the distance between the intersection P entrance and the vehicle A is equal to or less than the predetermined estimated start distance H, the estimation start determination unit 11 transmits an activation signal to the attention target moving body detection unit 12 and the line-of-sight ratio calculation unit 13. To do. Based on the moving body information transmitted from the stereo camera 3, the attention target moving body detection unit 12 is a moving body to be noted that may come into contact with the host vehicle A when passing the intersection P among the moving bodies near the intersection P ( For example, the presence of other vehicles C2 and C3 and a pedestrian D) in FIG. 4 is detected (S3). The attention target moving body detection unit 12 transmits the moving body information regarding the detected moving body to be noted to the intersection passing result recording unit 14 and the traveling direction intention notification unit 15.

  The line-of-sight ratio calculation unit 13 recognizes the direction of the driver's line of sight for a predetermined T seconds immediately before the activation signal is transmitted based on the driver's face image information transmitted from the driver imaging camera 6. . The line-of-sight ratio calculation unit 13 calculates the line-of-sight ratio of the driver in the straight traveling area F in front of the host vehicle A, the right-turn area R diagonally forward right, and the left-turn area L diagonally forward left, from the recognized driver's line-of-sight direction. (S4). The line-of-sight ratio calculating unit 13 transmits the calculated line-of-sight ratio as line-of-sight ratio information to the intersection passage result recording unit 14 and the traveling direction intention notifying unit 15.

  After transmitting the activation signal, the estimation start determination unit 11 determines whether or not the turn signal of the host vehicle A is operating based on the turn signal operation information of the turn signal detection unit 4 (S5). When the estimation start determination unit 11 determines that the winker is operating, the driving intention estimation ECU 10 determines that the estimation of the driving intention is not necessary, and proceeds to step S9. On the other hand, when it is determined that the blinker is not in operation, the estimation start determination unit 11 transmits an estimation start signal to the traveling direction intention notification unit 15.

  When the estimation start signal is transmitted, the traveling direction intention notifying unit 15 records the moving body information transmitted from the attention target moving body detecting unit 12, the line-of-sight ratio information transmitted from the line-of-sight ratio calculating unit 13, and the intersection passing result record. Based on the driver's intersection passing result recorded in the unit 14, the driver's intention to travel is estimated (S6).

  Thereafter, the traveling direction intention notifying unit 15 determines whether the estimated traveling direction intention is straight, right turn, or left turn (S7). When it is determined that the traveling direction intention estimated by the traveling direction intention notifying unit 15 is straight, the driving intention estimation ECU 10 determines that it is not necessary to estimate the driving intention, and proceeds to step S9.

  On the other hand, when the estimated traveling direction intention is a right turn or a left turn, the traveling direction intention notifying unit 15 informs the vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit 6 of the traveling direction in order to notify the driver of the traveling direction intention to be careful. An intention notification command is transmitted. When the traveling direction intention notification command is transmitted, the inter-vehicle communication unit 6 notifies the driver of the traveling direction intention to other vehicles to be noted by inter-vehicle communication (S8).

  In step S9, the navigation system 2 acquires the passing result of the host vehicle A at the intersection P from the position of the host vehicle A detected by the GPS receiver and the record in the map database. The navigation system 2 transmits the acquired passing result, the position of the intersection P, and the information of the shape of the intersection P to the intersection passing result recording unit 14 of the driving intention estimation ECU 10 as passing result information.

  The intersection passing result recording unit 14 performs the passing result information transmitted from the navigation system 2, the moving body information transmitted from the attention target moving body detecting unit 12, and the gaze ratio information transmitted from the gaze ratio calculating unit 13. It records as an intersection passing result (S10).

  As described above, the driving intention estimation device 1 estimates the driver's intention in the traveling direction based on the driver's line-of-sight direction when the host vehicle A approaches the intersection P in a state where the turn signal is not operating. Specifically, the driver's line-of-sight ratio is calculated from the driver's line-of-sight direction with respect to other vehicles C2, C3, pedestrians D, etc., and the driver's direction of travel is estimated from the calculated line-of-sight ratio. To do. Therefore, according to the driving intention estimation device 1, even when the driver tries to enter the intersection P without operating the turn signal, the driver's intention to travel can be estimated. It is possible to smooth the flow of traffic using the intention of traveling direction, and it is possible to realize safer traffic at the intersection. In addition, since the moving body to which the driver pays attention differs depending on the traveling direction, the driver's intention in the traveling direction can be more reliably estimated by calculating the driver's line-of-sight ratio with respect to the moving body near the intersection P. It becomes.

  In this driving intention estimation device 1, the driver's intention to travel is notified to the other vehicles C2 and C3 to be noted by inter-vehicle communication. As a result, the other vehicles C2 and C3 can perform an avoidance operation such as deceleration or course adjustment in advance according to the driver's intention to travel, so that the traffic flow can be further smoothed, It is possible to realize safer traffic.

  Moreover, in this driving intention estimation device 1, by referring to the past intersection passing results, it is possible to consider a tendency of the driver's line-of-sight ratio according to the traveling direction, a moving body in which the driver easily turns his / her line of sight, and the like. Therefore, it is possible to estimate the direction of travel more reliably.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, the driving intention estimation device 1 may include a winker ECU that controls the operation of the winker. In this case, the driving intention estimation device 1 can notify the surrounding pedestrians, other vehicles, and the like of the driver's traveling direction by operating the turn signal of the host vehicle A according to the estimated traveling direction intention. . Further, the driver intention estimation device 1 may include a speaker, and may notify the pedestrian or the like of the driver's traveling direction intention by voice.

  In addition, the driving intention estimation apparatus 1 includes an in-vehicle monitor and a speaker for alerting the driver, and alerts the driver about the blinker operation based on the estimated traveling direction intention, thereby making the intersection safer. The mode which implement | achieves simple traffic may be sufficient.

  Further, the driving intention estimation device 1 may be configured to estimate the driver's traveling direction intention without referring to past intersection passing results.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment of the driving intention estimation apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a top view around an intersection. It is a top view around an intersection showing a case where there is no moving body to be noted. It is a top view of the intersection periphery which shows the case where the mobile body which should be noted exists in front and diagonally left front. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the driving intention estimation apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Driving intention estimation apparatus, 2 ... Navigation system, 3 ... Stereo camera, 4 ... Winker detection part, 5 ... Driver imaging camera, 6 ... Inter-vehicle communication part, 10 ... Driving intention estimation ECU, 11 ... Estimation start judgment part (Winker operation determination means), 12 ... attention object moving body detection section (moving body detection means), 13 ... gaze ratio calculation section (gaze ratio calculation means), 14 ... intersection passing result recording section (intersection notification result recording means), 15 ... Travel direction intention notification unit (travel direction intention estimation means, notification means).

Claims (4)

A driving intention estimation device that estimates a driving intention of a vehicle by a driver at an intersection,
Turn signal operation determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle turn signal is operating;
Gaze direction detecting means for detecting the gaze direction of the driver;
A traveling direction that estimates the driver's intention to travel at the intersection according to the line-of-sight direction detected by the line-of-sight direction detecting unit when the turn signal movement determining unit determines that the turn signal is not in operation A driving intention estimation device comprising: an intention estimation means. A moving body detecting means for detecting a moving body near the intersection;
Line-of-sight ratio calculating means for calculating the line-of-sight ratio of the driver with respect to the moving body based on the detection result by the moving body detection means and the detection result by the line-of-sight direction detection means,
The driving intention estimation device according to claim 1, wherein the traveling direction intention estimation unit estimates the driving direction intention of the driver at the intersection based on a calculation result by the line-of-sight ratio calculation unit.   The driving intention estimation apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a notifying unit for notifying the moving body of the driver's traveling direction intention estimated by the traveling direction intention estimating unit. The vehicle further includes an intersection passage result recording means for recording the intersection passage result of the vehicle,
The driving according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the traveling direction intention estimation means estimates the traveling direction intention of the driver at the intersection based on the intersection passing result. Intention estimation device.

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