JP2013175057A - Information provision device and information provision method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information provision device and an information provision method which, if there is a positioning error in vehicle positioning, can present the existence of another vehicle to a driver accurately.SOLUTION: A display unit is made to display a presentation screen including a notification area indicating the existence region of a peripheral vehicle for notification to a self-vehicle, determined in consideration of a positioning error in positioning of the self-vehicle and the peripheral vehicle.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus and an information providing method.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technology for displaying information on vehicles existing around the host vehicle has been developed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that uses inter-vehicle communication and presents information on other vehicles that are traveling around the host vehicle to the driver. Specifically, in Patent Document 1, the display screen is divided into four front and rear, left and right block areas, and information on the front vehicle, the rear vehicle, the right vehicle, and the left vehicle is displayed in each divided block area. That is, in Patent Literature 1, by displaying information on other vehicles in the front, rear, left and right block areas corresponding to the direction in which the other vehicle exists, the driver is informed in which direction the other vehicle exists. Presenting.

JP 2007-099135 A

  However, the conventional technology (Patent Document 1 and the like) has a problem that the presence of the other vehicle cannot be accurately presented to the driver due to the position error and the direction error of the own vehicle and the other vehicle.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, GPS is used for specifying a vehicle position, and although GPS has a positioning error, determination processing in consideration of the error of GPS is not performed. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, for example, although it is actually a front vehicle, it is erroneously determined that the vehicle is a left vehicle (that is, the vehicle is approaching from the left side), and information on the left vehicle instead of the front vehicle is used. There was a problem that the situation of providing would occur. Further, in Patent Literature 1, other vehicles existing near the boundary of the divided block areas (for example, the boundary between the left block area and the previous block area) are selected for each determination process due to GPS errors. There was a situation where the areas switched. That is, in Patent Document 1, when a vehicle that is present near the boundary between the front, rear, left, and right block areas is displayed, a situation occurs in which the block areas are frequently switched, which gives the driver a sense of discomfort and annoyance. There was a problem.

  As described above, in the prior art, there is room for improvement because the processing considering the positioning error in specifying the position of the vehicle is not performed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an information providing apparatus and an information providing method capable of accurately presenting the presence of another vehicle to the driver even if there is a positioning error in specifying the position of the vehicle. The purpose is to do.

  The information providing apparatus of the present invention is an information providing apparatus that provides information related to surrounding vehicles existing around the own vehicle, and is determined in consideration of positioning errors in specifying the positions of the own vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. A display screen including a notification area indicating an area where the surrounding vehicle to be notified is displayed is displayed on the display unit.

  In the information providing apparatus of the present invention, when the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, a center angle of a predetermined frequency included in a circular presence area map centered on the position of the host vehicle is used. Of the divided areas, it is determined in which divided area the surrounding vehicle is present based on the relative position and relative direction between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle, and the determined divided area is A fan-shaped area expanded to include a predetermined number of divided areas on the left and right sides from the determined existing area is determined as the notification area, and is determined as the notification area. The number is preferably determined based on the maximum value of the positioning error and the frequency of the positioning error in the relative direction.

  In the information providing apparatus of the present invention, when the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle is less than the predetermined value, the position of the host vehicle in the presence area map is centered and is larger than the radius of the circular presence area map. It is preferable to determine a circular predetermined region with a small radius as the notification area.

  In the information providing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the predetermined value is not less than a maximum value of the positioning error of the relative position.

  In the information providing apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the predetermined frequency is equal to or higher than the frequency of the relative orientation positioning error, and is a frequency capable of equally dividing the divided area from the circular existence area map.

  In the information providing apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the predetermined value can be changed, and the predetermined number decreases as the predetermined value increases.

  The information providing method of the present invention is an information providing method for providing information related to surrounding vehicles existing around the own vehicle, and is determined in consideration of positioning errors in specifying the positions of the own vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. A display screen including a notification area indicating a region where the surrounding vehicle to be notified is displayed is displayed on the display unit.

  In the information providing method of the present invention, when the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the center angle of the predetermined frequency included in the circular presence area map centered on the position of the host vehicle is used. Of the divided areas, it is determined in which divided area the surrounding vehicle is present based on the relative position and relative direction between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle, and the determined divided area is A fan-shaped area expanded to include a predetermined number of divided areas on the left and right sides from the determined existing area is determined as the notification area, and is determined as the notification area. The number is preferably determined based on the maximum value of the positioning error and the frequency of the positioning error in the relative direction.

  In the information providing method of the present invention, when the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle is less than the predetermined value, the position of the host vehicle in the presence area map is centered and is larger than the radius of the circular presence area map. It is preferable to determine a circular predetermined region with a small radius as the notification area.

  According to the present invention, even if there is a positioning error in specifying the position of the vehicle, there is an effect that the presence of another vehicle can be accurately presented to the driver.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a surrounding vehicle display system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the divided areas included in the existence area map in the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a part of an existing area map including a divided area divided by a central angle of less than 7.5 degrees. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a part of an existing area map including a divided area divided by a central angle of 7.5 degrees or more. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a predetermined area included in the presence area map in the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an area where neighboring vehicles are present in the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a notification area in the present embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a presentation screen including a divided area as a notification area in the present embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a presentation screen including a predetermined area as a notification area in the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the surrounding vehicle display process in the present embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a presentation screen in the present embodiment.

  Embodiments of an information providing apparatus and an information providing method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited by this embodiment. In addition, constituent elements in the following embodiments include those that can be easily assumed by those skilled in the art or those that are substantially the same.

Embodiment
The configuration of the surrounding vehicle display system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a surrounding vehicle display system according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes the host vehicle, reference numeral 11 denotes an ECU (electronic control unit), reference numeral 12 denotes a vehicle-to-vehicle communication radio for transmitting and receiving information through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and reference numeral 13 denotes a position. Reference numeral 14 denotes a GPS antenna / receiver that receives information. Reference numeral 14 denotes a vehicle information network (CAN: Control Area Network) composed of transmission paths connected to various sensors mounted on the host vehicle 10, and reference numeral 15 denotes Reference numeral 16 is a display for displaying information, reference numeral 16 is a speaker for outputting information by voice, reference numeral 17 is a storage unit for storing various data necessary for processing of the ECU 11, and reference numeral 20 is capable of inter-vehicle communication with the host vehicle 10. The reference numeral 30 is a surrounding vehicle that exists in the vicinity of the host vehicle 10. Reference numeral 30 denotes a GPS (Global Posi ioning System: a global positioning system). In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 a is a surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit, reference numeral 11 b is a host vehicle information acquisition unit, reference numeral 11 c is a relative position and direction calculation unit, reference numeral 11 d is an existence area determination unit, Reference numeral 11e denotes a notification area determination unit, and reference numeral 11f denotes a display control unit. In FIG. 1, the surrounding vehicle 20 is assumed to include at least a vehicle-to-vehicle communication radio, a GPS antenna / receiver, a vehicle information network, and the like, similar to the host vehicle 10.

  In the surrounding vehicle display system according to the present invention, the ECU 11 (including the information providing device according to the present invention) mounted on the host vehicle 10 communicates with the surrounding vehicle 20 and the GPS 30 existing around the host vehicle 10. Assistance of vehicle driving by providing information.

  Here, in FIG. 1, an ECU 11 is an electronic control unit mounted on the host vehicle 10, and includes an inter-vehicle communication radio 12, a GPS antenna / receiver 13, a vehicle information network 14, a storage unit 17, and the like. Output data is generated based on various data obtained, and the output data is output via the display 15 and the speaker 16 or the like. Here, the ECU 11 includes a surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 11a, a host vehicle information acquisition unit 11b, a relative position / azimuth calculation unit 11c, a presence area determination unit 11d, a notification area determination unit 11e, and a display control unit 11f.

  In the ECU 11, the surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 11 a is a surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding vehicle information indicating the position and orientation of the surrounding vehicle 20. Here, the surrounding vehicle information is information indicating the absolute position and the absolute direction of the surrounding vehicle 20. The peripheral vehicle 20 is another vehicle existing around the host vehicle 10.

  The peripheral vehicle information acquisition unit 11a acquires peripheral vehicle information indicating the position and orientation of the peripheral vehicle 20 via the inter-vehicle communication radio device 12. In this case, the surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 11a includes position information indicating the position of the surrounding vehicle 20 acquired from the GPS 30 by the GPS antenna / receiver of the surrounding vehicle 20 and a transmission path connected to the direction sensor of the surrounding vehicle 20 The azimuth information indicating the azimuth of the surrounding vehicle 20 obtained from the vehicle information network constituted by the vehicle information is obtained via the inter-vehicle communication radio 12 as the surrounding vehicle information.

  The host vehicle information acquisition unit 11b is host vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring host vehicle information indicating the position and direction of the host vehicle 10. Here, the host vehicle information is information indicating the absolute position and the absolute direction of the host vehicle 10. In the present embodiment, the host vehicle information acquisition unit 11 b is connected to the position information indicating the position of the host vehicle 10 acquired from the GPS 30 by the GPS antenna / receiver 13 of the host vehicle 10 and the direction sensor of the host vehicle 10. The azimuth information indicating the azimuth of the host vehicle 10 acquired from the vehicle information network 14 composed of the transmission paths is acquired as host vehicle information.

  In addition, the relative position and direction calculation unit 11c is based on the surrounding vehicle information acquired by the surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 11a and the own vehicle information acquired by the own vehicle information acquisition unit 11b. Relative position and direction calculating means for calculating a relative position and a relative direction. In the present embodiment, the relative position indicates the position of the surrounding vehicle 20 with respect to the position of the own vehicle 10, and the relative direction indicates in which direction the surrounding vehicle 20 exists with respect to the own vehicle 10. is there.

  In addition, the presence area determination unit 11d determines whether the distance between the host vehicle 10 and the surrounding vehicle 20 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value based on the relative position and the relative direction calculated by the relative position and direction calculation unit 11c. It is an existence area determination means for determining an existence area of the surrounding vehicle 20 based on the determination result. Here, the predetermined value is equal to or greater than the maximum value of the positioning error of the relative position. Specifically, the existence area determination unit 11d includes a predetermined existence map 17a included in a circular existence area map 17a centered on the position of the own vehicle 10 when the distance between the own vehicle 10 and the surrounding vehicle 20 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Of the divided areas divided by the central angle of the frequency, in which divided area the surrounding vehicle 20 exists is determined based on the relative position and relative direction of the host vehicle 10 and the surrounding vehicle 20, and the determination The divided area is determined as an area where the surrounding vehicle 20 exists. Here, the predetermined frequency is a frequency that is equal to or greater than the frequency of the relative azimuth positioning error and that can divide the divided area equally from the circular existence area map 17a. In the present embodiment, it is preferable that the predetermined frequency is set with a frequency that is twice or three times the frequency of the positioning error of the relative orientation as a limit.

  On the other hand, when the distance between the host vehicle 10 and the surrounding vehicle 20 is less than a predetermined value, the presence area determination unit 11d is centered on the position of the host vehicle 10 in the presence area map 17a and is larger than the radius of the circular presence area map 17a. A predetermined area having a circular shape with a small radius is determined as the existence area.

  Here, the presence area map 17a in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the divided areas included in the existence area map 17a will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the divided areas included in the existence area map 17a in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the existence area map 17a has a circular shape centered on the position of the host vehicle 10 (the position of the triangle symbol in FIG. 2), and is divided into 48 equal parts by 24 straight lines passing through the center. The divided areas 1 to 48 are included. In FIG. 2, the central angles of these divided regions 1 to 48 are set based on the frequency of the relative orientation positioning error. That is, the divided areas of the existence area map 17a are set according to the direction error amount of the host vehicle 10. For example, when the heading error of the host vehicle 10 is ± 7.5 degrees, the center angle of one divided area is 7.5 degrees, and the divided areas included in the presence area map 17a are a total of 48 areas. In the example of FIG. 2, the minimum value larger than the azimuth error and divisible by 360 degrees (that is, the circle can be equally divided) is adopted as the center angle. This is because if the center angle is set to a frequency greater than the azimuth error, the total number of divided areas will decrease and the resolution will be rough, and the notification area when information is presented to the driver may change frequently. It is. In addition, when one divided area is increased, a notification area indicating an existing area of the surrounding vehicle 20 to be notified to the driver is also increased, and it may be difficult to understand in which direction the surrounding vehicle 20 exists. In the example of FIG. 2, the minimum value is adopted as the central angle so as to narrow down the notification area as much as possible.

  Further, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the reason why the central angle is made larger than the azimuth error will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a part of an existing area map including a divided area divided by a central angle of less than 7.5 degrees. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a part of an existing area map including a divided area divided by a central angle of 7.5 degrees or more.

  When the traveling direction of the host vehicle 10 (the direction indicated by the arrow symbol in FIGS. 2 to 4) indicates the divided region 3, the host vehicle 10 has a direction error of ± 7.5 degrees, which is illustrated in FIG. 3. Thus, if the central angle of the adjacent divided areas is set to be less than 7.5 degrees, it becomes impossible to specify in which divided area the host vehicle 10 exists. For example, in the example of FIG. 3, when the divided area is divided at a central angle of 5 degrees, the own vehicle 10 indicates one of the divided areas 1 to 5, and the divided areas 1 and 2 and the divided areas are displayed. The meaning of separating 4 and 5 is lost. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, when the divided area is divided at a central angle of less than 7.5 degrees, the vehicle direction is divided into divided areas 3 due to the influence of the own vehicle direction error (in this case, ± 7.5 degrees). However, the actual direction of the vehicle is in one of the divided areas 1 to 5. This is because if the central angle is less than 7.5 degrees, the divided areas 1 and 2 cannot be distinguished from the divided areas 4 and 5. Further, when the divided areas 1 and 2 (or divided areas 4 and 5) are combined, the center angle of the combined divided areas 1 and 2 becomes 7.5 degrees or more, and the lighting area per one divided area increases. Therefore, it becomes difficult for the driver to know in which direction the surrounding vehicle 20 exists.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the center angle of the divided area is set to be larger than the error amount of the vehicle direction. As shown in FIG. 4, by setting the central angle to 7.5 degrees or more, it is possible to narrow down to the divided areas 2 to 4 instead of the divided areas 1 to 5 as in the example of FIG. That is, even if the vehicle direction indicates the divided region 3 due to the influence of the vehicle direction error (± 7.5 degrees in this case), the actual vehicle direction is different from the example of FIG. It becomes any direction among -4.

  Next, the predetermined area included in the existence area map 17a will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a predetermined area included in the presence area map 17a in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the presence area map 17 a includes a predetermined area in all directions with respect to the host vehicle 10 (corresponding to the predetermined area 49 in FIG. 5). In FIG. 5, the radius of the predetermined region 49 is set according to the relative position error between the host vehicle 10 and the surrounding vehicle 20. For example, when the position error of the vehicle is ± 15 m, the relative position between the own vehicle 10 and the surrounding vehicle 20 has an error of 30 m at the maximum, and the predetermined region 49 is a circle having a radius of 30 m with the own vehicle 10 as the center. It becomes the area of.

  The necessity of setting the predetermined area 49 and the radius defining the predetermined area 49 will be described below. As an example, when the predetermined area 49 is not set in the presence area map 17a, in the situation where the surrounding vehicle 20 exists within a radius of 30m with the own vehicle 10 as the center, due to an error (in this case, 30m) of the relative position, The surrounding vehicle 20 cannot be specified in which divided region among the divided regions 1 to 48. For example, even if it is determined that the surrounding vehicle 20 is present in the divided area 1 based on the calculation result of the relative position, considering the influence of the relative position error (30 m in this case), the divided areas 2 to 48 are There is also a possibility that the surrounding vehicle 20 exists. As described above, when the predetermined area 49 is not set in the existence area map 17a, there is a possibility that the surrounding vehicle 20 exists in all the divided areas 1 to 48. Therefore, the predetermined area 49 is newly added to the existence area map 17a. Must be set. The radius that defines the predetermined region 49 may be equal to or greater than the maximum value of the relative position error. Note that the predetermined value can be changed, and the predetermined number referred to when the notification area is determined by the process of the notification area determination unit 11e described later decreases as the predetermined value increases. When the radius of the predetermined area 49 is increased, the notification area when the surrounding vehicle 20 exists in the divided areas 1 to 48 is narrowed. On the other hand, since the probability that the surrounding vehicle 20 exists in the predetermined area 49 increases, the opportunity to provide a presentation screen including the predetermined area 49 as a notification area increases.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 6, an example in which the presence area determination unit 11 d determines the presence area will be described using the above-described presence area map 17 a in FIG. 5 as an example. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an area where the surrounding vehicle 20 exists in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, when the distance between the host vehicle 10 and the surrounding vehicle 20 is 30 m or more, the existence area determination unit 11d is divided by a center angle of 7.5 degrees included in the existence area map 17a. Of the regions 1 to 48, it is determined in which divided region the surrounding vehicle 20 exists based on the relative position and relative direction between the host vehicle 10 and the surrounding vehicle 20, and the determined divided region 11 is It is determined as an area where the surrounding vehicle 20 exists. Although not shown in the drawings, the existence area determination unit 11d creates a circular existence area map 17a centered on the position of the own vehicle 10 in the existence area map 17a when the distance between the own vehicle 10 and the surrounding vehicle 20 is less than 30 m. A predetermined area 49 having a radius smaller than the radius may be determined as the existence area.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the notification area determination unit 11 e determines a notification area determination that determines, as a notification area, a fan-shaped region expanded to include a predetermined number of divided regions left and right from the presence area determined by the presence area determination unit 11 d. Means. Here, the predetermined number is a number determined based on the maximum value of the positioning error in the relative position and the frequency of the positioning error in the relative direction.

  Here, an example in which the notification area determination unit 11e determines the notification area will be described with reference to FIG. 7, taking as an example the case where the divided area 11 is determined as an existing area as shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a notification area in the present embodiment. The notification area determination unit 11e is determined by the presence area determination unit 11d as a vehicle that should notify the driver of the surrounding vehicle 20 existing in the divided region 11 from the relative position and relative orientation of the host vehicle 10 and the surrounding vehicle 20. In this case, in consideration of an error between the host vehicle 10 and the surrounding vehicle 20, an area 30 m or more away from the relative position of the surrounding vehicle 20 is determined as the notification area. Here, in order for the arc of the predetermined region 49 to be 30 m or more, the central angle needs to be about 60 degrees or more. That is, since the central angle of the divided areas 1 to 48 in FIG. 7 is 7.5 degrees, eight divided areas (= 60 / 7.5) are required. Therefore, eight divided areas from the divided area 11 where the surrounding vehicle 20 exists to the left and right respectively are notified areas (in FIG. 7, divided areas 3 to 10 and divided areas 12 to 12) necessary for absorbing the relative position error. Equivalent to 19). Further, in order to absorb the azimuth error of 7.5 degrees of the host vehicle 10, one more divided region is added on each of the left and right sides (corresponding to the divided region 2 and the divided region 20 in FIG. 7). In this way, when the surrounding vehicle 20 exists in the divided area 11, the notification area determination unit 11 e determines the existing area of the surrounding vehicle 20 that should notify the driver of the divided areas 2 to 20 in total. The notification area is determined. Note that the ratio of the notification area to the circular presence area map 17a may be limited to half of the presence area map 17a.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the display control unit 11 f determines the presence area of the surrounding vehicle 20 to be notified, which is determined by the notification area determining unit 11 e in consideration of the positioning error in specifying the positions of the host vehicle 10 and the surrounding vehicle 20. It is a display control means for performing control to display a presentation screen including an area via a display unit (that is, the display 15). In the present embodiment, the presentation screen is a screen for presenting information related to the surrounding vehicle 20 existing around the host vehicle 10. For example, the presentation screen includes a notification area indicating the direction and position of the surrounding vehicle 20 with respect to the host vehicle 10 to be notified to the driver in the presence area. An example of the presentation screen will be described later. Here, the display control unit 11f may output audio data corresponding to the presentation screen via the speaker 16 when the presentation screen is displayed on the display unit. For example, when the display control unit 11f displays the presentation screen on the display unit, the display control unit 11f may output an announcement such as “the vehicle is approaching from the right front” via the speaker 16 as voice data corresponding to the presentation screen. Good.

  Here, an example of a presentation screen displayed by the display control unit 11f will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a presentation screen including a divided area as a notification area in the present embodiment. The presentation screen shown in FIG. 8 includes notification areas corresponding to the divided areas 2 to 20 determined in the example of FIG. Thus, when the surrounding vehicle 20 is 30 m or more away from the host vehicle 10, a total of 19 areas, each of the 9 areas on the left and right sides, are turned on with the area where the surrounding vehicle 20 exists. Thereby, the information provision apparatus concerning this embodiment can present to the driver which direction the surrounding vehicle 20 exists in an easy-to-understand manner by lighting the notification area and notifying the driver. It is also possible to suppress variations (hunting) in the notification area (lighting area) of the presentation screen due to errors of the own vehicle 10 and the surrounding vehicle 20. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a presentation screen including a predetermined area as a notification area in the present embodiment. The presentation screen shown in FIG. 9 includes a notification area corresponding to the predetermined area 49. Thus, when the surrounding vehicle 20 is present at a position less than 30 m from the host vehicle 10, the predetermined region 49 that is a region in all directions with respect to the host vehicle is turned on. Thereby, this information provision apparatus can present to the driver easily that the surrounding vehicle 20 exists in the immediate vicinity of the own vehicle 10 by lighting the notification area and notifying the driver. it can.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which there is only one surrounding vehicle 20 has been described. However, when there are a plurality of surrounding vehicles 20, the information providing apparatus may perform superimposed display of the notification area. In addition, the information providing apparatus can make the driver strongly aware that there are a plurality of surrounding vehicles 20 by changing the illuminance and color when the notification area is turned on. As a result, even if there are a plurality of surrounding vehicles 20 and, as a result, all the divided areas 1 to 48 are turned on, the notification area corresponding to the predetermined area 49 and the divided areas 1 to 48 are combined. Since the size of the circle is different from the notification area corresponding to the area, it is possible to make the driver recognize that the surrounding vehicle 20 does not exist near the host vehicle 10.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the inter-vehicle communication wireless device 12 is a communication unit that transmits and receives information such as information on the surrounding vehicle 20, surrounding vehicle information, and own vehicle information by inter-vehicle communication. The inter-vehicle communication radio 12 provides the ECU 11 with the received surrounding vehicle information of the surrounding vehicle 20. Further, the inter-vehicle communication radio device 12 may transmit the own vehicle information provided from the ECU 11 to the surrounding vehicle 20.

  The GPS antenna / receiver 13 is a communication unit that receives position information distributed from the GPS 30. The GPS antenna / receiver 13 provides the received position information to the ECU 11. Here, the GPS antenna / receiver 13 may receive the position information of the surrounding vehicle 20 existing around the own vehicle 10 in addition to the position information of the own vehicle 10.

  The vehicle information network 14 is an in-vehicle network composed of transmission paths connected to various sensors mounted on the host vehicle 10. The vehicle information network 14 provides the ECU 11 with information indicating the state of the host vehicle 10 detected by various sensors. Here, the various sensors include, for example, a direction sensor, a periphery monitoring sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, an accelerator opening sensor, a brake sensor, a direction indication switch, and the like. The perimeter monitoring sensor includes a millimeter wave radar, a laser radar, an in-vehicle camera, and the like.

  The display 15 is controlled by the display control unit 11f of the ECU 11, and functions as a display unit that displays a presentation screen as information related to the surrounding vehicle 20, for example. In the present embodiment, the display 15 is a display unit, and the display unit may be a head mounted display, a display that displays a device meter, or navigation. The speaker 16 functions as sound output means for outputting information provided by the processing of the ECU 11 as sound.

  The storage unit 17 stores data, and is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), or a hard disk. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 17 stores at least the presence area map 17a illustrated in FIG. Moreover, the memory | storage part 17 may memorize | store map data and audio | voice data required for navigation.

  In FIG. 1, a surrounding vehicle 20 is a vehicle that exists in the vicinity of the host vehicle 10 that can communicate with the host vehicle 10. Similar to the host vehicle 10, the surrounding vehicle 20 includes at least a vehicle-to-vehicle communication radio, a GPS antenna / receiver, a vehicle information network, and the like. The GPS 30 is an artificial satellite that monitors the position of the host vehicle 10 or the like and distributes position information of the host vehicle 10 or the like every predetermined time or in response to a request from the host vehicle 10 or the like.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 10 to 11, the surrounding vehicle display process in the present embodiment performed by the ECU 11 having the above-described configuration will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the surrounding vehicle display process in the present embodiment. This peripheral vehicle display process may be repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals by the process of the ECU 11, or may be executed when it is determined that there is a peripheral vehicle 20 capable of inter-vehicle communication with the host vehicle 10.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the ECU 11 determines whether there is a surrounding vehicle 20 capable of inter-vehicle communication around the host vehicle 10 (step S <b> 1). Specifically, the ECU 11 controls the inter-vehicle communication radio device 12 to execute a pairing process with a peripheral vehicle 20 that exists in the vicinity of the host vehicle 10 and that can communicate with each other, and is connected to the peripheral vehicle 20. It is determined whether it is in a state. Here, the ECU 11 only determines whether there is a surrounding vehicle 20 capable of inter-vehicle communication, and the pairing process (a process for establishing communication with the target surrounding vehicle 20) may be performed separately.

  Then, the surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 11a of the ECU 11 determines that the surrounding vehicle 20 capable of inter-vehicle communication exists in the vicinity of the host vehicle 10 by the processing of the ECU 11 in step S1 (Yes in step S1) The surrounding vehicle information indicating the position and orientation of the vehicle 20 is acquired (step S2). Specifically, the surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 11 a acquires surrounding vehicle information indicating the position and orientation of the surrounding vehicle 20 via the inter-vehicle communication radio device 12. In this case, the surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 11a includes position information indicating the position of the surrounding vehicle 20 acquired from the GPS 30 by the GPS antenna / receiver of the surrounding vehicle 20 and a transmission path connected to the direction sensor of the surrounding vehicle 20 The azimuth information indicating the azimuth of the surrounding vehicle 20 obtained from the vehicle information network constituted by the vehicle information is obtained via the inter-vehicle communication radio 12 as the surrounding vehicle information. Here, the surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 11a may acquire the vehicle ID that identifies the surrounding vehicle 20 via the inter-vehicle communication radio 12.

  On the other hand, if the ECU 11 determines in step S1 that there is no surrounding vehicle 20 capable of inter-vehicle communication in the vicinity of the host vehicle 10 (No in step S1), the ECU 11 proceeds to processing in step S8.

  And the own vehicle information acquisition part 11b of ECU11 acquires the own vehicle information which shows the position and direction of the own vehicle 10 (step S3). Specifically, the host vehicle information acquisition unit 11 b is connected to the position information indicating the position of the host vehicle 10 acquired from the GPS 30 by the GPS antenna / receiver 13 of the host vehicle 10 and the direction sensor of the host vehicle 10. The azimuth information indicating the azimuth of the host vehicle 10 acquired from the vehicle information network 14 composed of the transmission paths is acquired as host vehicle information.

  The relative position / orientation calculation unit 11c of the ECU 11 includes the surrounding vehicle information acquired by the processing of the surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 11a in step S2, and the own vehicle acquired by the processing of the own vehicle information acquisition unit 11b in step S3. Based on the information, the relative position and relative orientation between the host vehicle 10 and the surrounding vehicle 20 are calculated (step S4). Here, the relative position indicates the position of the surrounding vehicle 20 with respect to the position of the host vehicle 10, and the relative direction indicates in which direction the surrounding vehicle 20 exists with respect to the host vehicle 10.

  Then, the presence area determination unit 11d of the ECU 11 determines whether or not there is a surrounding vehicle 20 to be notified to the driver based on the relative position and the relative direction calculated by the processing of the relative position / direction calculation unit 11c in step S4. Is determined (step S5). In step S5, the presence area determination unit 11d determines whether there is a surrounding vehicle 20 that is approaching the host vehicle 10, for example. Specifically, the existence area determination unit 11d proceeds toward the own vehicle 10 when the target surrounding vehicle 20 is located within a predetermined range around the own vehicle 10 based on the relative position and the relative direction. It is determined whether or not there is a surrounding vehicle 20 that is approaching the host vehicle 10. Here, the ECU 11 may determine whether there is a surrounding vehicle 20 approaching the host vehicle 10 based on the history of the relative position and the relative direction acquired continuously for a predetermined time. Thus, in step S5, when there is a surrounding vehicle 20 that is approaching the host vehicle 10, the existence area determining unit 11d recognizes the surrounding vehicle 20 as a vehicle that should be notified to the driver.

  When the presence area determination unit 11d of the ECU 11 determines that there is a vehicle to be notified to the driver in Step S5 (Yes in Step S5), the presence area determination unit 11d determines the presence area of the surrounding vehicle 20 (Step S6). That is, in step S6, the presence area determination unit 11d determines that the distance between the host vehicle 10 and the surrounding vehicle 20 is a predetermined value based on the relative position and the relative direction calculated by the processing of the relative position / direction calculation unit 11c in step S4. It is determined whether or not this is the case, and the presence area of the surrounding vehicle 20 is determined based on the determination result. For example, as shown in FIG. 6 described above, when the surrounding vehicle 20 exists in the divided area 11, the existing area determination unit 11 d determines the divided area 11 as the existing area.

  Then, the notification area determination unit 11e of the ECU 11 sets, as the notification area, a fan-shaped region expanded so as to include a predetermined number of divided regions left and right from the presence area determined by the processing of the presence area determination unit 11d in step S6. Determine (step S7). For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7 described above, when the divided area 11 is determined as an existing area, the notification area determining unit 11e includes nine divided areas for a total of 19 divided areas 11 from left to right (see FIG. 7). 2, the fan-shaped area expanded to include the divided areas 2 to 10 and the divided areas 12 to 20) is determined as the notification area.

  Then, the display control unit 11f of the ECU 11 considers the positioning error in specifying the positions of the host vehicle 10 and the surrounding vehicle 20 in step S7, and is determined by the process of the notification area determination unit 11e. Information is provided by displaying a presentation screen including a notification area indicating the presence area of the vehicle 20 on the display unit (that is, the display 15) (step S9). For example, the display control unit 11f causes the display unit to display a presentation screen including a notification area corresponding to the divided areas 2 to 20 as illustrated in FIG. For example, the display control unit 11f provides information by performing display control so that a notification area determined as an area to be notified to the driver is turned on. Thereafter, this process is terminated.

  Here, the ECU 11 should notify the driver in step S1 when it is determined that there is no surrounding vehicle 20 capable of inter-vehicle communication in the vicinity of the host vehicle 10 (No in step S1). If it is determined that there is no vehicle (No in step S5), the notification area is cleared (step S8). That is, in step S8, no area is selected as the notification area. Thus, when the surrounding vehicle 20 does not exist, ECU11 displays the designation | designated screen containing only the triangular arrow which shows the own vehicle 10, for example in the following step S9.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the surrounding vehicle display system has a divided area in which the area is fixed, but at the stage of presenting information to the driver, the positioning error is not a single divided area. In consideration, a fan-shaped notification area including a predetermined number of divided areas can be turned on. That is, according to the present embodiment, not only the existence area corresponding to one divided area where the surrounding vehicle 20 exists, but also the area to be lit can be expanded in consideration of the positioning error. As a result, it is possible to solve the conventional problem that the notification area is frequently switched, which occurs when the surrounding vehicle 20 exists in the vicinity of the boundary line between adjacent divided regions. Further, according to the present embodiment, since the notification area is determined in consideration of the positioning error of the own vehicle position and the surrounding vehicle position, the surrounding vehicle 20 always exists in the notification area. As a result, it is possible to solve the problem that a wrong region is turned on and notified to the driver due to an erroneous determination due to a positioning error or the like.

  In the present embodiment, the radius of the predetermined region 49 may be enlarged according to various specification applications. For example, the radius of the predetermined region 49 may be set to 30 to 60 m with respect to the relative position error of 30 m. Here, when the surrounding vehicle 20 exists in the divided area 11, the notification area indicating the existing area of the surrounding vehicle 20 to be notified to the driver is a total of 11 areas of the divided areas 6 to 16. This is because a central angle of about 30 degrees or more is required for an arc of the predetermined region 49 (in this case, a radius of 60 m) to be 30 m or more. That is, since the central angle of the divided areas 1 to 48 is 7.5 degrees, areas corresponding to four divided areas (= 30 / 7.5) are required. Accordingly, four divided areas on the left and right sides of the divided area 11 where the surrounding vehicle 20 exists are respectively notified areas (in this case, the divided areas 7 to 10 and the divided areas 12 to 15 necessary for absorbing the relative position error). Equivalent). Further, in order to absorb the azimuth error of 7.5 degrees of the host vehicle 10, one more divided area is added to the left and right (in this case, corresponding to the divided areas 6 and 16). Thus, when the surrounding vehicle 20 exists in any of the divided areas 1 to 48, the notification area depends on the radius of the predetermined area 49.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the radius of the predetermined area 49 can be properly used according to various specification applications. For example, when it is desired to notify the direction of the surrounding vehicle 20 existing at a relatively far distance in a narrower range, the radius of the predetermined region 49 can be increased. In addition, even if the surrounding vehicle 20 exists at a relatively close distance, the radius of the predetermined region 49 can be reduced when it is desired to notify in which direction the vehicle exists as much as possible. Here, with reference to FIG. 11, a change in the notification area when the radius of the predetermined region 49 is changed will be exemplified. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a presentation screen in the present embodiment. In FIG. 11, it is assumed that the surrounding vehicle 20 exists in the divided area 11. The upper diagram of FIG. 11 shows an example in which the radius of the predetermined area 49 is 30 m (that is, a value corresponding to a relative position error), and the notification area is a sector having a central angle of 120 degrees. Further, the lower diagram of FIG. 11 shows an example in which the radius of the predetermined region 49 is 60 m and the notification area is a sector shape with a central angle of 60 degrees.

  As described above, the information providing apparatus and the information providing method according to the present invention are useful in the automobile manufacturing industry, and are particularly suitable for use for supporting driving of a vehicle by providing information.

10 Own vehicle 11 ECU
11a Peripheral vehicle information acquisition unit
11b Own vehicle information acquisition unit
11c Relative position and direction calculation unit
11d Existence area determination unit
11e Notification area determination unit
11f Display control unit 12 Vehicle-to-vehicle communication radio 13 GPS antenna / receiver 14 Vehicle information network 15 Display 16 Speaker 17 Storage unit
17a Existence area map 20 Surrounding vehicles 30 GPS

Claims (9)

An information providing device for providing information on surrounding vehicles existing around the own vehicle,
A display screen including a notification area indicating a presence area of the surrounding vehicle to be notified, which is determined in consideration of a positioning error in specifying the position of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle, is displayed on a display unit. Information providing device. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1,
When the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle is a predetermined value or more,
Among the divided areas divided by the central angle of a predetermined frequency included in the circular existence area map centered on the position of the own vehicle, in which divided area the surrounding vehicle is present as the own vehicle Determine based on the relative position and relative direction with the surrounding vehicle, determine the determined divided region as an area of the surrounding vehicle,
A fan-shaped area expanded to include a predetermined number of divided areas from the determined presence area to the left and right is determined as the notification area,
The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined number is a number determined based on a maximum value of the positioning error of the relative position and a frequency of the positioning error of the relative direction. In the information provision apparatus of Claim 2,
When the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle is less than the predetermined value,
An information providing apparatus for determining a circular predetermined area having a radius smaller than a radius of the circular existence area map centered on the position of the host vehicle in the existence area map as the notification area. In the information provision apparatus of Claim 2 or 3,
The information providing apparatus, wherein the predetermined value is equal to or greater than a maximum value of a positioning error of the relative position. In the information provision apparatus of Claim 2,
The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined frequency is equal to or greater than a frequency of a positioning error in the relative direction, and is a frequency capable of equally dividing the divided area from the circular existence area map. In the information provision apparatus of Claim 2,
The information providing apparatus, wherein the predetermined value can be changed, and the predetermined number decreases as the predetermined value increases. An information providing method for providing information on surrounding vehicles existing around the own vehicle,
A display screen including a notification area indicating a presence area of the surrounding vehicle to be notified, which is determined in consideration of a positioning error in specifying the position of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle, is displayed on a display unit. Information provision method. In the information provision method of Claim 7,
When the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle is a predetermined value or more,
Among the divided areas divided by the central angle of a predetermined frequency included in the circular existence area map centered on the position of the own vehicle, in which divided area the surrounding vehicle is present as the own vehicle Determine based on the relative position and relative direction with the surrounding vehicle, determine the determined divided region as an area of the surrounding vehicle,
A fan-shaped area expanded to include a predetermined number of divided areas from the determined presence area to the left and right is determined as the notification area,
The information providing method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined number is a number determined based on a maximum value of the positioning error of the relative position and a frequency of the positioning error of the relative direction. In the information provision method of Claim 8,
When the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle is less than the predetermined value,
A method for providing information, comprising: determining, as the notification area, a circular predetermined area having a radius smaller than a radius of the circular existence area map centered on the position of the host vehicle in the existence area map.

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