JP2015118500A - Drive assist system, method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for executing proper drive assist based on positional relationship between position of an own vehicle and position of another vehicle.SOLUTION: A drive assist system includes other vehicle position acquiring means which, through a vehicle-vehicle communication between an own vehicle and another vehicle, acquires the position of another vehicle which is a position of another vehicle specified by position specifying means provided at the another vehicle, own vehicle position acquiring means which acquires an own vehicle position that is a position of the own vehicle specified by position specifying means provided at the own vehicle, and drive assist means which executes drive assisting based on positional relationship between the own vehicle and the another vehicle. The drive assist means switches content of the drive assisting based on reliability of the position specifying means of the another vehicle.

Description

  The present invention relates to driving assistance, a method, and a program for executing driving assistance based on a positional relationship with another vehicle.

  A technique is known in which the position of the other vehicle is acquired from another vehicle by inter-vehicle communication, and the possibility of collision or warning is given based on the position of the own vehicle and the position of the other vehicle (patent) References 1, 2).

JP 2010-108343 A JP-A-9-97400

Here, when the reliability of the position specified by the other vehicle is low, the reliability of the positional relationship between the position of the own vehicle and the position of the other vehicle is low even if the reliability of the position of the own vehicle is high. Therefore, when the reliability of the position specified by the other vehicle is low, there is a problem that the driving assistance performed based on the positional relationship between the position of the own vehicle and the position of the other vehicle may be inappropriate. Further, in Patent Document 1, the position of the other vehicle obtained by the inter-vehicle communication is considered to be uniformly inaccurate, but there are various position specifying means provided in the other vehicle, and the position is not necessarily obtained by the inter-vehicle communication. The accuracy of the position of the received other vehicle is not necessarily bad. That is, there is a problem that the position of the other vehicle obtained by the inter-vehicle communication cannot be used effectively for driving support even though the accuracy of the position of the other vehicle obtained by the inter-vehicle communication is good.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of executing appropriate driving support based on the positional relationship between the position of the host vehicle and the position of another vehicle.

  In order to achieve the above object, the driving support system of the present invention is the position of the other vehicle specified by the position specifying means provided in the other vehicle through inter-vehicle communication between the host vehicle and the other vehicle. Other vehicle position acquisition means for acquiring the other vehicle position, own vehicle position acquisition means for acquiring the own vehicle position that is the position of the own vehicle specified by the position specifying means provided in the own vehicle, the own vehicle position and the other vehicle Driving support means for executing driving support based on the positional relationship with the position. The driving support means switches the content of the driving support based on the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle.

  In addition, the driving support method of the present invention acquires the position of the other vehicle, which is the position of the other vehicle identified by the position identifying means provided in the other vehicle, through inter-vehicle communication between the host vehicle and the other vehicle. The other vehicle position acquisition step, the own vehicle position acquisition step of acquiring the own vehicle position that is the position of the own vehicle specified by the position specifying means provided in the own vehicle, and the positional relationship between the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position A driving support step for performing driving support based on the driving support step, wherein the content of the driving support is switched based on the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle.

  Furthermore, the driving support program of the present invention acquires the other vehicle position, which is the position of the other vehicle specified by the position specifying means provided in the other vehicle, through inter-vehicle communication between the host vehicle and the other vehicle. The other vehicle position acquisition function, the own vehicle position acquisition function for acquiring the own vehicle position that is the position of the own vehicle specified by the position specifying means provided in the own vehicle, and the positional relationship between the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position And a driving support function that executes driving support based on the computer. The driving support function causes the computer to switch the content of the driving support based on the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle.

  In the configuration of the present invention, the driving support means switches the content of the driving support based on the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle. Thereby, the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle is high, the reliability of the positional relationship between the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position is high, and the reliability of the positional relationship between the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position is low. Depending on the case, the content of driving assistance can be switched. That is, appropriate driving assistance can be executed based on the positional relationship between the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position. In addition, when the reliability of the other vehicle position is high, driving assistance that effectively uses the other vehicle position can be executed.

It is a block diagram which shows a navigation apparatus. (2A) and (2B) are schematic diagrams of roads. It is a flowchart of a driving assistance process.

Here, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
(1) Configuration of navigation device:
(2) Driving support processing:
(3) Other embodiments:

(1) Configuration of navigation device:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device 10 as a driving support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The navigation device 10 is provided in the host vehicle X. The navigation device 10 includes a control unit 20 and a recording medium 30. The control unit 20 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and executes a program stored in the recording medium 30 or the ROM. The recording medium 30 records map information 30a and similar model information 30b.

  The map information 30a includes node data indicating the position of a node set on the road, link data indicating information about a link connecting the nodes, and shape interpolation point data indicating the shape of the link connecting the nodes. Including. Nodes correspond to intersections, and links correspond to road sections connecting the intersections. The link data includes information indicating a link length for each link and information indicating a road type for each link.

  The similar model information 30b is information that defines the model of the navigation device provided with the position specifying means similar to the position specifying means provided in the navigation device 10. Specifically, similar models manufactured by the same manufacturer as the navigation device 10 are defined in the similar model information 30b. The similar model is a model of a navigation device that calculates the position of the vehicle with the same position calculation logic as the navigation device 10 of the host vehicle X, and map information of the same version as the map information 30a of the host vehicle X is recorded. The navigation device model. The position calculation logic will be described later.

The host vehicle X includes a GPS receiver 41, a vehicle speed sensor 42, a gyro sensor 43, a user I / F unit 44, and a communication I / F unit 45.
The GPS receiver 41 receives radio waves from GPS satellites and outputs a signal for calculating the position of the host vehicle X to the controller 20 via an interface (not shown). The vehicle speed sensor 42 outputs a signal corresponding to the rotational speed of the wheels included in the host vehicle X to the control unit 20. The gyro sensor 43 outputs a signal corresponding to the angular acceleration acting on the host vehicle X to the control unit 20.

The user I / F unit 44 receives an output device (display, speaker, etc.) that outputs various types of guidance based on the video signal and audio signal output from the control unit 20, and various operations such as designation of a destination from the user. Input devices (operation buttons, touch sensors, etc.).
The communication I / F unit 45 is a circuit for performing inter-vehicle communication with the other vehicle Y, and communicates with the communication I / F unit 145 provided in the other vehicle Y through a radio wave of a predetermined frequency band. . Although not shown, many other vehicles Y may exist, and the communication I / F unit 45 communicates with the communication I / F unit 145 of the other vehicle Y that has entered the communicable range of the host vehicle X among the many other vehicles Y. It is possible to do. The communication I / F unit 45 receives other vehicle position information and model information transmitted by the other vehicle Y. The other vehicle position information is information indicating the position of the other vehicle that is the position of the other vehicle Y specified by the navigation device 110 of the other vehicle Y. The model information is information indicating the model of the navigation device 110 of the other vehicle Y.

  Hereinafter, the other vehicle Y will be described. The other vehicle Y includes a navigation device 110, a GPS receiver 141, a vehicle speed sensor 142, a gyro sensor 143, and a communication I / F unit 145. The GPS receiver 141, the vehicle speed sensor 142, and the gyro sensor 143 are the same as the GPS receiver 41, the vehicle speed sensor 42, and the gyro sensor 43 of the host vehicle X. The navigation device 110 includes a control unit 120 and a recording medium 130, and the recording medium 130 records map information 130a. The map information 130a is the same as the map information 30a of the host vehicle X (the map maker and version may be different). The control unit 120 executes the navigation program 121 and executes the position calculation unit 121a of the navigation program 121.

  With the function of the position calculation unit 121a, the control unit 120 calculates the other vehicle position, which is the position of the other vehicle Y, by performing a calculation according to a predetermined position calculation logic. The GPS receiving unit 141, the vehicle speed sensor 142, and the gyro sensor 143 output a signal for calculating the position of the other vehicle to the control unit 120. With the function of the position calculation unit 121a, the control unit 120 calculates the position of the other vehicle using the signals from the GPS reception unit 141, the vehicle speed sensor 142, and the gyro sensor 143 and the map information 130a. In the present embodiment, the control unit 120 generates a self-contained navigation trajectory based on signals from the vehicle speed sensor 142 and the gyro sensor 143, and corrects the self-contained navigation trajectory based on a signal from the GPS receiving unit 141. Then, the control unit 120 identifies the road on which the other vehicle Y is most likely traveling based on the corrected autonomous navigation locus and the map information 130a, and the latest position on the autonomous navigation locus on the road. The other vehicle position is calculated by correcting. That is, the control unit 120 of the other vehicle Y calculates the other vehicle position by map matching using the map information 130a. That is, the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y specifies the position after the map matching as the other vehicle position.

  In the present embodiment, the navigation device 10 of the host vehicle X is the latest model, and the navigation device 10 of the host vehicle X records the execution data of the latest versions of the navigation programs 21 and 121 and the map information 30a. And In addition, it is assumed that the same version of map information 30a and 130a created by the same map maker is recorded in the navigation devices 10 and 110 of the same model. Further, the navigation programs 21 and 121 are not updated in the navigation devices 10 and 110, and the same navigation programs 21 and 121 are executed in the navigation devices 10 and 110 of the same model.

  Here, in the similar model information 30b, the model of the navigation device defined as the similar model is the model of the navigation device that executes the same position calculation unit 121a as the navigation device 10 of the host vehicle X, and the host vehicle This is the model of the navigation device in which the map information 130a of the same version as that of the X navigation device 10 is recorded. For example, even when the navigation apparatuses 10 and 110 that execute the navigation programs 21 and 121 having a plurality of specifications are manufactured by the same manufacturer, at least the module specifications (execution data) of the position calculation units 21a and 121a are the same. If there is a similar model. That the module specifications of the position calculation units 21a and 121a are the same means that the position calculation logic is the same.

  Further, the function of the navigation program 121 causes the control unit 120 to automatically transmit model information indicating the model of the navigation device 110 and the map information 130a and other vehicle position information indicating the position of the other vehicle via the communication I / F unit 145. Send to vehicle X.

Next, a configuration of software executed by the navigation device 10 of the host vehicle X will be described. The control unit 20 executes the navigation program 21. The navigation program 21 includes a position calculation unit 21a, a host vehicle position acquisition unit 21b, an other vehicle position acquisition unit 21c, and a driving support unit 21d.
The position calculation unit 21a is a module that causes the control unit 120 to realize a function of calculating the host vehicle position, which is the position of the host vehicle X, by performing calculation according to a predetermined position calculation logic. The control unit 20 calculates the vehicle position based on signals from the navigation device 10, the GPS reception unit 41, and the vehicle speed sensor 42 by the function of the position calculation unit 21 a. Similar to the control unit 120 of the other vehicle Y, the control unit 20 of the own vehicle X generates a self-contained navigation locus based on signals from the vehicle speed sensor 42 and the gyro sensor 43, and the self-contained navigation locus is used as the GPS receiving unit 41. It corrects based on the signal from. And the control part 20 pinpoints the road with the highest possibility that the own vehicle X is traveling based on the corrected self-contained navigation locus and the map information 30a, and the latest position on the self-contained navigation locus on the road. By correcting the vehicle position, the vehicle position is calculated. That is, the control unit 20 of the host vehicle X calculates the host vehicle position by map matching using the map information 30a. That is, the position specifying means of the host vehicle X specifies the position after map matching as the host vehicle position.

  The own vehicle position acquisition unit 21 b is a module that causes the control unit 20 to realize a function of acquiring the own vehicle position, which is the position of the own vehicle X specified by the position specifying means provided in the own vehicle X. That is, the control unit 20 acquires the vehicle position calculated by the function of the position calculation unit 21a in order to execute driving support described later by the function of the vehicle position acquisition unit 21b. The vehicle position calculated by the function of the position calculation unit 21a may be used for other functions of the navigation program 21 (for example, a route guidance function).

  The other vehicle position acquisition unit 21c determines the other vehicle position that is the position of the other vehicle Y specified by the position specifying means provided in the other vehicle Y via the inter-vehicle communication between the host vehicle X and the other vehicle Y. This is a module for causing the control unit 20 to realize the function to be acquired. That is, by the function of the other vehicle position acquisition unit 21c, the control unit 20 acquires the other vehicle position indicated by the other vehicle position information received by the communication I / F unit 45. Of course, the control unit 20 acquires the other vehicle position of the other vehicle Y that has entered the communicable range of the communication I / F unit 45.

The driving support unit 21d is a module that causes the control unit 20 to realize a function of executing driving support based on the positional relationship between the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position. Specifically, the control unit 20 uses the function of the driving support unit 21d to alert the user I / F unit 44 to the approaching vehicle when the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position approach within a caution distance (for example, 10 m). To output a voice message. Here, that the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position approach within the caution distance means that the distance on the road connecting the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position is within the caution distance. The control unit 20 acquires the link specified as the road section on which the host vehicle X is traveling when calculating the host vehicle position as the host vehicle link, and selects the road section closest to the other vehicle position in the map information 30a. Obtained as another vehicle link. Further, the control unit 20 acquires a position closest to the other vehicle position on the other vehicle link as the corrected other vehicle position. The control unit 20 searches for the shortest route connecting the own vehicle link and the other vehicle link by a known route search method, and the distance between the own vehicle position and the corrected other vehicle position on the shortest route is within the caution distance. It is determined whether or not.

  2A and 2B are schematic views showing roads. 2A and 2B, the white triangle indicates the own vehicle position PX, the black triangle indicates the other vehicle position PY, the alternate long and short dash line indicates the link, and the white circle indicates the node N. 2A and 2B, the other vehicle position PY originally exists on the link (other vehicle link LY) indicated by the map information 30a of the host vehicle X, and the other vehicle position PY matches the corrected other vehicle position. To do. In the case of FIG. 2A, the node N at the end point of the other vehicle link LY is not directly connected to the own vehicle link LX, and the distance on the shortest path connecting the own vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY is larger than the attention distance. It is getting bigger. On the other hand, in the case of FIG. 2B, the node N at the end point of the other vehicle link LY is directly connected to the own vehicle link LX, and the distance on the shortest path connecting the own vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY is greater than the attention distance. Is also getting smaller. Therefore, in the case of FIG. 2B, a voice message for alerting is output. The control unit 20 may set the attention distance according to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle X, the road type of the road on which the host vehicle X is traveling, and the like.

  Moreover, the control part 20 switches the content of the driving assistance based on the reliability of the position specific | specification means of the other vehicle Y by the function of the driving assistance part 21d. Specifically, by the function of the driving support unit 21d, the control unit 20 executes driving support with a higher degree of emphasis as the reliability of the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y is higher. In the present embodiment, when the reliability of the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y is equal to or higher than the threshold, the control unit 20 has a higher degree of enhancement than when the reliability of the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y is less than the threshold. A voice message for alerting a large approaching vehicle is output to the user I / F unit 44.

  Here, the voice message for alerting an approaching vehicle with a high degree of emphasis is a voice message for alerting that there is a possibility that the host vehicle X and another vehicle Y will come into contact with each other. Is a voice message for alerting that does not refer to the possibility of contact between the host vehicle X and the other vehicle Y. That is, by the function of the driving support unit 21d, the control unit 20 causes the own vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY to approach (within the caution distance), and the reliability of the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y is equal to or greater than the threshold value. In some cases, a warning is issued indicating the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and another vehicle. As an example of the voice message indicating the possibility that the host vehicle X and the other vehicle Y are in contact with each other, “please be careful about contact with an approaching vehicle” can be cited. On the other hand, when the own vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY are close to each other and the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y is less than the threshold value, the control unit 20 makes contact with the own vehicle X and the other vehicle Y. Call attention not to mention the possibility of doing. An example of a voice message that does not mention the possibility that the host vehicle X and the other vehicle Y come into contact is “There is an approaching vehicle”.

  Here, the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y being equal to or greater than the threshold means that the similarity as a comparison result between the position specifying means of the host vehicle X and the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y is equal to or greater than the threshold. Means. That is, by the function of the driving support unit 21d, the control unit 20 acquires a comparison result between the position specifying unit of the own vehicle X and the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y as an index of reliability of the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y. The driving support is repeated based on the comparison result. Furthermore, by the function of the driving support unit 21d, the control unit 20 indicates that the greater the degree of similarity between the position specifying unit of the host vehicle X and the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y, the higher the reliability of the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y. Consider. Specifically, the control unit 20 uses the function of the driving support unit 21d to cause the position calculation logic and map information 30a used by the position specifying unit of the host vehicle X, and the position calculation logic and map used by the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y. The greater the degree of similarity with the information 30a, the higher the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y. Here, the similarity with the position specifying means being equal to or greater than the threshold means that the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y uses a combination of the position calculation logic used by the position specifying means of the host vehicle X and the map information 30a. This means that the combination of the position calculation logic and the map information 30a is the same.

  Based on the similar model information 30b, the control unit 20 determines whether the model of the navigation device 110 of the other vehicle Y indicated by the model information received from the other vehicle Y is a similar model of the navigation device 10 of the host vehicle X. When the model of the navigation device 110 of the other vehicle Y is a similar model of the navigation device 10 of the host vehicle X, the similarity between the position specifying unit of the host vehicle X and the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y is equal to or greater than a threshold value. Is considered. That is, when the model of the navigation device 110 of the other vehicle Y is a similar model of the navigation device 10 of the host vehicle X, the control unit 20 uses the position calculation logic and map information 30a used by the position specifying means of the host vehicle X. Is considered to be the same as the combination of the position calculation logic used by the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y and the map information 30a.

  When it is determined that the model of the navigation device 110 of the other vehicle Y indicated by the model information received from the other vehicle Y is a similar model of the navigation device 10 of the host vehicle X, the control unit 20 determines that the host vehicle X and the other vehicle Y The user I / F unit 44 outputs a voice message indicating the possibility of contact with the user. On the other hand, when the model of the navigation device 110 of the other vehicle Y indicated by the model information received from the other vehicle Y is not determined to be a similar model of the navigation device 10 of the own vehicle X, the control unit 20 And cause the user I / F unit 44 to output a voice message that does not mention the possibility of contact with the other vehicle Y.

  In the present embodiment described above, the control unit 20 switches the content of the driving support based on the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y by the function of the driving support unit 21d. Thereby, when the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y is high and the reliability of the positional relationship between the own vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY is high, the positional relationship between the own vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY. The content of driving support can be switched when the reliability of the vehicle is low. That is, appropriate driving assistance can be executed based on the positional relationship between the own vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY. Further, when the reliability of the other vehicle position PY is high, driving assistance that effectively uses the other vehicle position PY can be executed.

  Furthermore, the control part 20 switches the content of the driving assistance based on the comparison result between the position specifying means of the host vehicle X and the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y by the function of the driving support part 21d. Since the comparison between the position specifying means of the host vehicle X and the position specifying means Y of the other vehicle is easy, driving support based on the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y can be easily switched. Moreover, the content of the driving assistance can be switched based on the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y based on the reliability of the position specifying means of the host vehicle X. Further, the function of the driving support unit 21d allows the control unit 20 to increase the reliability of the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y as the similarity between the position specifying unit of the host vehicle X and the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y increases. I consider it. That is, it can be considered that the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y is as high as the position specifying means of the own vehicle X because the similarity between the position specifying means of the own vehicle X and the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y is large. it can.

  Further, the control unit 20 uses the function of the driving support unit 21d to cause the position calculation logic and map information 30a used by the position specifying unit of the host vehicle X, and the position calculation logic and map information 130a used by the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y. The higher the degree of similarity is, the higher the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y is. The map information 30a, 130a and the position calculation logic greatly affect the own vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY. In this embodiment, since the navigation device 10 of the host vehicle X is the latest model, the position calculation logic and map information 30a used by the position specifying unit of the host vehicle X and the position calculation used by the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y are calculated. As the degree of similarity between the logic and the map information 130a increases, the position calculation logic used by the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y and the map information 130a can be regarded as new, and the reliability of the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y increases. Can be considered high.

  Furthermore, in map matching, it can be considered that the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y is higher as the map information 130a that determines the corrected other vehicle position PY is newer. The newer the map information 130a, the greater the possibility that the other vehicle position PY is corrected to a position on the road that actually exists, that is, a position on the road where the other vehicle Y is truly traveling. It is. In this embodiment, since the map information 30a of the own vehicle X is the latest version, the greater the similarity between the map information 130a of the other vehicle X and the map information 30a of the own vehicle X, the more the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y. It can be considered that the reliability is high.

  For example, it is assumed that the link information corresponding to the road section R2 in FIGS. 2A and 2B is not recorded in the map information 130a because the version of the map information 130a is old. In such a case, even if the other vehicle Y truly travels on the road section R2 and the autonomous navigation locus KY is obtained, the other vehicle position PY includes link data in the map information 130a as shown in FIG. 2B. Will be corrected on the existing road section R3. The own vehicle link LX corresponding to the road section R1 in which the host vehicle X is traveling and the other vehicle link LY corresponding to the road section R3 closest to the other vehicle position PY are directly connected. Accordingly, although the other vehicle Y is truly traveling on the new road R2 and cannot join directly to the road section R1 on which the own vehicle X is traveling from the new road R2, the own vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY. Is determined to be approaching (within a caution distance) on the road. On the other hand, when the version of the map information 130a is the latest and the link data corresponding to the new road R2 is recorded in the map information 130a, the road section R1 in which the host vehicle X is traveling as shown in FIG. 2A. Since the other vehicle position PY is specified on the new road R2 that is not directly connected to the vehicle, it is not determined that the own vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY are close to each other on the road. That is, when the version of the map information 130a is the latest, the reliability of the positional relationship between the own vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY is increased.

  Moreover, the control part 20 performs the driving assistance with big emphasis, so that the reliability of the position specific | specification means of the other vehicle Y is high by the function of the driving assistance part 21d. The higher the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y, the higher the reliability of the positional relationship between the host vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY, and the positional relationship between the host vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY. It can be said that the possibility that the driving support based on the vehicle can be appropriately performed increases. Thus, when there is a high possibility that the driving assistance can be appropriately performed, the driving assistance can be emphasized. On the other hand, it is possible to prevent emphasis on inappropriate driving assistance.

  Furthermore, the control unit 20 uses the function of the driving support unit 21d to make the own vehicle X when the own vehicle position PX approaches the other vehicle position PY and the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y is equal to or greater than the threshold value. A warning indicating the possibility of contact with the other vehicle Y is performed. When the other vehicle position PY and the own vehicle position PX are close to each other and the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y is equal to or higher than the threshold value, there is a possibility that the own vehicle X and the other vehicle Y are truly approaching. There is a high possibility that the host vehicle X and the other vehicle Y are in true contact with each other. Therefore, when there is a high possibility that the host vehicle X and the other vehicle Y will truly come into contact with each other, it is possible to alert the host vehicle X and the other vehicle Y to show a possibility of contact. As a result, the driver's attention can be strongly attracted. On the other hand, when the own vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY approach each other and the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y is less than the threshold, the control unit 20 uses the function of the driving support unit 21d. A warning that does not mention the possibility of contact with the other vehicle Y is performed. Thereby, when the possibility that the own vehicle X and the other vehicle Y are truly in contact with each other is small, it is possible to call attention without mentioning the possibility that the own vehicle X and the other vehicle Y are in contact with each other. It can prevent the driver from being strained.

(2) Driving support processing:
Next, an example of the driving support process will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the driving support process. The driving support process is a process executed every predetermined time period or mileage period. First, the control unit 20 acquires the host vehicle link LX and the host vehicle position PX by the function of the host vehicle position acquisition unit 21b (step S100). The own vehicle position PX is the position of the own vehicle X calculated by the function of the position calculating unit 21a, and is the position of the own vehicle X specified by the position specifying means of the own vehicle X. The own vehicle link LX is a link corresponding to a road section that is identified as the own vehicle X traveling when the map matching of the own vehicle position PX is performed by the function of the position calculation unit 21a.

  Next, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the other vehicle position PY has been acquired by the function of the other vehicle position acquisition unit 21c (step S110). That is, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the other vehicle position information and the model information can be received from the other vehicle Y. Of course, the other vehicle position PY and the model of the navigation device 110 provided in the other vehicle Y can be acquired only when the other vehicle Y exists in the communicable range of the inter-vehicle communication. When it is not determined that the other vehicle position PY has been acquired (step S110: N), the control unit 20 returns to step S100. That is, the other vehicle Y does not exist in the communicable range of the inter-vehicle communication, and it is assumed that no alert is required, and the process returns to the beginning of the driving support process.

  On the other hand, when it determines with having acquired other vehicle position PY (step S110: Y), the control part 20 acquires the other vehicle link LY by the function of the driving assistance part 21d (step S120). That is, the control unit 20 specifies the road section closest to the other vehicle position PY using the map information 30a, and acquires a link corresponding to the specified road section as the other vehicle link LY.

  Next, by the function of the driving support unit 21d, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the degree of similarity between the position specifying unit of the host vehicle X and the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y is greater than or equal to a threshold value (step S130). Specifically, when the model of the navigation device 110 is defined as a similar model in the similar model information 30b, the control unit 20 determines the similarity between the position specifying unit of the host vehicle X and the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y. It determines with it being more than a threshold value. The similarity between the position specifying unit of the own vehicle X and the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y means a comparison result between the position specifying unit of the own vehicle X and the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y. In this embodiment, since the position specifying means (map information 30a and position calculation logic) of the own vehicle X is the latest, the greater the similarity between the position specifying means of the own vehicle X and the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y, It can be considered that the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y is high. In step S130, the control unit 20 substantially determines whether or not the reliability of the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y is equal to or higher than a threshold value.

  Here, when it is not determined that the similarity between the position specifying unit of the host vehicle X and the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y is greater than or equal to the threshold (step S130: N), the control unit 20 is controlled by the function of the driving support unit 21d. Performs alerting that does not refer to the possibility of contact between the host vehicle X and the other vehicle Y (step S170). Specifically, the control unit 20 causes the user I / F unit 44 to output a voice message (for example, “there is an approaching vehicle”) that does not mention the possibility that the host vehicle X and the other vehicle Y come into contact with each other. That is, even if it is determined that the possibility that the host vehicle X and the other vehicle Y are in contact with each other based on the positional relationship between the host vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY is greater than or equal to a predetermined reference, Because the degree of reliability is low, alerts that do not place unnecessary tension on the driver.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the similarity between the position specifying unit of the own vehicle X and the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y is equal to or greater than the threshold (step S130: Y), the control unit 20 uses the function of the driving support unit 21d. The distance on the road between the vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY is acquired (step S140). First, the control unit 20 acquires a position closest to the other vehicle position PY among the positions on the other vehicle link LY as a corrected other vehicle position. Then, by the function of the driving support unit 21d, the control unit 20 searches for the shortest route connecting the own vehicle position PX on the own vehicle link LX and the corrected other vehicle position on the other vehicle link LY, and on the shortest route The distance between the own vehicle position PX and the corrected other vehicle position is acquired as the distance on the road between the own vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY.

  Next, the control unit 20 determines whether the distance on the road between the host vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY is within the caution distance by the function of the driving support unit 21d (step S150). That is, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the possibility that the host vehicle X and the other vehicle Y are in contact with each other is greater than or equal to a predetermined reference. When it is not determined that the distance on the road between the own vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY is within the caution distance (step S150: N), the control unit 20 can contact the own vehicle X and the other vehicle Y. A voice message that does not mention sex (for example, “there is an approaching vehicle”) is output to the user I / F unit 44 (step S170). That is, since the possibility that the host vehicle X and the other vehicle Y are in contact with each other is not equal to or higher than a predetermined standard, a warning that does not give unnecessary tension to the driver is performed.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the distance on the road between the own vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY is within the caution distance (step S150: Y), the control unit 20 uses the function of the driving support unit 21d to cause the control unit 20 to A voice message indicating the possibility of contact with the vehicle Y (for example, “please pay attention to contact with an approaching vehicle”) is output to the user I / F unit 44 (step S170). That is, based on the positional relationship between the host vehicle position PX and the other vehicle position PY, it can be determined that the possibility that the host vehicle X and the other vehicle Y are in contact with each other is greater than or equal to a predetermined reference, and the reliability of the positional relationship is When the vehicle is large, a warning that indicates the possibility of contact between the host vehicle X and the other vehicle Y is performed.

(3) Other embodiments:
In the embodiment, the control unit 20 acquires the comparison result between the position specifying unit of the own vehicle X and the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y as an index of the reliability of the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y. Information indicating the reliability itself of the Y position specifying means may be acquired from another vehicle Y, a server, or the like. Of course, for each model of the navigation device 110 of the other vehicle Y, a database defining the reliability of the position specifying means is prepared in the recording medium 30, and the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y is acquired from the database. May be.

  Due to the function of the driving support unit 21d, the control unit 20 considers that the greater the similarity between the position calculation logics used by the position specifying means of the host vehicle X and the other vehicle Y, the higher the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y. May be. For example, when neither the position specifying means of the host vehicle X nor the other vehicle Y performs map matching, the driving support may be switched based only on the similarity of the position calculation logic. Furthermore, when performing map matching, the control part 20 may switch driving assistance based only on the similarity of the map information 30a and 130a.

  By the way, the navigation programs 21 and 121 and the map information 30a and 130a may be updated. That is, in the same model of the navigation devices 10 and 110, a plurality of versions of the navigation programs 21 and 121 may be executed, or map matching may be performed with reference to a plurality of versions of the map information 30a and 130a. . In this case, the function of the driving support unit 21d causes the control unit 20 to compare the version of the navigation program 21 and the map information 30a of the host vehicle X with the version of the navigation program 121 and the map information 130a of the other vehicle Y. What is necessary is just to acquire as a parameter | index of the reliability of the position identification means of the vehicle Y. Moreover, the control part 20 should just be comprised so that the information which shows the version of the navigation program 121 of the said other vehicle Y and the map information 130a from the other vehicle Y may be received. Further, the control unit 20 of the host vehicle X may update the navigation program 21 and the map information 30a in advance to the latest version before executing the driving support process. As a result, the control unit 20 determines that the version of the navigation program 21 and the map information 30a of the host vehicle X is similar to the version of the navigation program 121 of the other vehicle Y and the version of the map information 130a. It can be determined that the reliability of the is certainly high.

  Moreover, the control part 20 should just perform driving assistance with large emphasis, so that the reliability of the position specific | specification means of the other vehicle Y is high by the function of the driving assistance part 21d, and the driving assistance directly controls the own vehicle X. It may be. That is, the control unit 20 performs only alerting when the reliability of the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y is less than the threshold, and performs braking or steering when the reliability of the position specifying unit of the other vehicle Y is less than the threshold. The operation of the host vehicle X such as a warning or an alarm may be directly controlled. Of course, the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y is not limited to two stages, but the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle Y is determined to three or more stages, and different driving assistance is executed at every stage. Good.

  Moreover, the present invention may be configured as follows. The other vehicle position acquisition means may acquire the other vehicle position, which is the position of the other vehicle specified by the position specifying means provided in the other vehicle, through the inter-vehicle communication, and the radio wave is used as a wireless communication medium in the inter-vehicle communication. Or light or sound waves can be used. Further, the other vehicle position acquisition means may acquire information about the position specifying means of the other vehicle via inter-vehicle communication. The own vehicle position acquisition means may acquire the own vehicle position specified by the position specification means provided in the own vehicle, and may acquire the own vehicle position output from the position specification means. The own vehicle position specifying means includes a sensor for detecting an environmental condition for specifying the own vehicle position, a receiving unit for receiving a signal for specifying the own vehicle position, and an automatic operation based on the environmental condition and the signal. A calculation unit for calculating the vehicle position may be included. The position specifying means of the other vehicle is the same as the position specifying means of the own vehicle.

  The driving support means may perform driving support based on the positional relationship between the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position, and may provide guidance based on the positional relationship between the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position as driving support. The vehicle control based on the positional relationship between the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position may be performed as driving assistance. Furthermore, the driving support means only needs to be configured to switch the content of driving support, and may switch the content of guidance as driving support, or may switch the content of vehicle control as driving support. The guidance and the vehicle control may be switched. For example, the driving support means may provide driving assistance when the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position are closer than a predetermined reference, or when the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position are separated by a predetermined reference or more. May be performed. The driving support means includes a case where the amount of change in the distance between the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference, and a case where the amount of change in the distance between the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position is less than the predetermined reference. You can also switch driving assistance.

  Further, the driving support means acquires a comparison result between the position specifying means of the host vehicle and the position specifying means of the other vehicle as an index of reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle, and based on the comparison result, the driving support means The contents may be switched. Thereby, the driving assistance means can switch the content of the driving assistance based on whether or not the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle is as high as the reliability of the position specifying means of the own vehicle. Since it is easy to compare the position specifying means of the own vehicle and the position specifying means of the other vehicle, it is possible to easily switch driving assistance based on the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle.

  Further, the driving support means may consider that the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle is higher as the similarity between the position specifying means of the own vehicle and the position specifying means of the other vehicle is larger. The driving support means has a high degree of similarity between the position specifying means of the own vehicle and the position specifying means of the other vehicle, so that the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle is about the same as the reliability of the position specifying means of the own vehicle. Can be considered high.

  The driving support means is similar to at least one of position calculation logic and map information used by the position specifying means of the own vehicle and at least one of position calculation logic and map information used by the position specifying means of the other vehicle. It may be considered that the higher the degree is, the higher the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle is. In the position specifying means, the position of the other vehicle or the own vehicle can be specified by performing calculation according to the position calculation logic using the signal and the map information from the sensor or the receiving unit. The position calculation logic means the contents of various calculations and various calculation procedures performed by the calculation unit in order to calculate the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position based on signals from the sensor and the reception unit. The own vehicle position and the other vehicle position are specified on the map indicated by the map information. Therefore, the map information and the position calculation logic have a great influence on the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position. Therefore, when the similarity between at least one of the position calculation logic and the map information used by the position specifying means of the own vehicle and at least one of the position calculation logic and the map information used by the position specifying means of the other vehicle is large. The reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle can be considered as high as the reliability of the position specifying means of the own vehicle. The position specifying means may specify the position of the other vehicle or the own vehicle without using the map information. In this case, the greater the degree of similarity of only the position calculation logic, the more reliable the position specifying means of the other vehicle. May be considered high.

  In addition, when the position identification means of the own vehicle and the other vehicle is provided in the in-vehicle terminal such as a car navigation device, the position calculation logic and the map information are the same if the models of the in-vehicle terminal of the own vehicle and the other vehicle are the same. There is a great possibility. Therefore, when the models of the in-vehicle terminals of the host vehicle and the other vehicle are the same, the position calculation logic and the map information are also the same, and the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle may be considered high. However, even if the model of the in-vehicle terminal of the own vehicle and the other vehicle is the same, the position calculation logic and the map information may be different if the versions of software (including map information) installed in the in-vehicle terminal are different. is there. Therefore, if the models of the in-vehicle terminal of the own vehicle and the other vehicle are the same and the software version installed in the in-vehicle terminal is the same, the position calculation logic and the map information can be regarded as the same. Good.

  Furthermore, the driving support means, the greater the degree of similarity between the version of the map information that the position specifying means of the own vehicle uses for map matching and the version of the map information that the position specifying means of the other vehicle uses for map matching, You may consider that the reliability of the vehicle position specifying means is high. Map matching is to correct the position acquired based on the signal from the sensor or receiving unit so as to be close to the position on the road indicated by the map information, and the reliability of the map information that determines the corrected other vehicle position It can be considered that the higher the degree is, the higher the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle is. For example, when the map information of the own vehicle is the latest version, it is considered that the higher the similarity between the map information of the own vehicle and the version of the map information of the other vehicle, the higher the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle. Also good.

  The driving support means may execute driving support with a higher degree of emphasis as the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle is higher. The higher the reliability of the position identification means of other vehicles, the more likely the reliability of the positional relationship between the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position is, and driving assistance based on the positional relationship between the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position is more likely. It can be said that there is a greater possibility of being able to do it properly. Thus, when there is a high possibility that the driving assistance can be appropriately performed, the driving assistance can be emphasized. On the other hand, it is possible to prevent emphasis on inappropriate driving assistance.

  Furthermore, the driving support means indicates the possibility that the own vehicle and the other vehicle come into contact when the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position are close to each other and the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle is equal to or greater than a threshold value. You may be alerted. When the other vehicle position and the own vehicle position are close, and the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle is equal to or greater than the threshold value, there is a high possibility that the own vehicle and the other vehicle are truly approaching. There is a high possibility that the vehicle and other vehicles will make a real contact. Therefore, when there is a high possibility that the host vehicle and the other vehicle will truly come into contact with each other, it is possible to give a warning indicating the possibility that the host vehicle and the other vehicle will contact each other. As a result, the driver's attention can be strongly attracted. On the other hand, the driving support means refers to the possibility that the own vehicle and the other vehicle come into contact when the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position are close and the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle is less than the threshold. You may not be alerted. As a result, when the possibility of true contact between the host vehicle and the other vehicle is small, an alert that does not mention the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and the other vehicle can be made, and the driver is unnecessarily nervous. Can be prevented.

  Furthermore, as in the present invention, the method of switching the content of driving assistance based on the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle can also be applied as a program or method. In addition, the system, program, and method as described above may be realized as a single device, or may be realized by using components shared with each unit provided in the vehicle when realized by a plurality of devices. It can be assumed and includes various aspects. For example, it is possible to provide a driving support apparatus, method, and program provided with the above-described means. Further, some changes may be made as appropriate, such as a part of software and a part of hardware. Furthermore, the invention can be realized as a recording medium for a program for controlling the system. Of course, the software recording medium may be a magnetic recording medium, a magneto-optical recording medium, or any recording medium to be developed in the future.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Navigation apparatus, 10, 110 ... Navigation apparatus, 20, 120 ... Control part, 21, 121 ... Navigation program, 21a, 121a ... Position calculation part, 21b ... Own vehicle position acquisition part, 21c ... Other vehicle position acquisition part, 21d ... Driving support unit, 30, 130 ... Recording medium, 30a, 130a ... Map information, 30b ... Similar model information, 31b ... Map information, 41, 141 ... GPS receiver, 42, 142 ... Vehicle speed sensor, 43, 143 ... Gyro sensor 44... User I / F unit 45 45 Communication I / F unit 120 Control unit 130 Recording medium

Claims (9)

Other vehicle position acquisition means for acquiring the other vehicle position, which is the position of the other vehicle specified by the position specifying means provided in the other vehicle, via inter-vehicle communication between the host vehicle and the other vehicle;
Own vehicle position acquisition means for acquiring the own vehicle position which is the position of the own vehicle specified by the position specifying means provided in the own vehicle;
Driving support means for executing driving support based on a positional relationship between the host vehicle position and the other vehicle position;
The driving support means switches the content of the driving support based on the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle.
Driving support system. The driving support means acquires a comparison result between the position specifying means of the own vehicle and the position specifying means of the other vehicle as an index of reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle, and based on the comparison result, Switch the content of driving assistance,
The driving support system according to claim 1. The driving support means considers that the greater the degree of similarity between the position specifying means of the host vehicle and the position specifying means of the other vehicle, the higher the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle.
The driving support system according to claim 2. The driving support means includes at least one of position calculation logic and map information used by the position specifying means of the own vehicle, and at least one of position calculation logic and map information used by the position specifying means of the other vehicle. It is considered that the higher the similarity is, the higher the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle is.
The driving support system according to claim 3. The driving support means, the greater the degree of similarity between the version of map information used by the position specifying means of the host vehicle for map matching and the version of map information used by the position specifying means of the other vehicle for map matching, Considering that the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle is high,
The driving support system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The driving support means performs the driving support with a high degree of emphasis as the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle is higher.
The driving support system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The driving support means includes
When the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position are close to each other, and the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle is equal to or higher than a threshold value, a warning indicating the possibility that the own vehicle and the other vehicle are in contact with each other And
Note that when the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position are close to each other and the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle is less than a threshold, the possibility that the own vehicle and the other vehicle are in contact with each other is not noted Arouse,
The driving support system according to any one of claims 1 to 6. Other vehicle position acquisition step of acquiring the other vehicle position that is the position of the other vehicle specified by the position specifying means provided in the other vehicle via inter-vehicle communication between the own vehicle and the other vehicle;
A host vehicle position acquisition step of acquiring a host vehicle position that is the position of the host vehicle specified by the position specifying means provided in the host vehicle;
A driving support step for performing driving support based on a positional relationship between the host vehicle position and the other vehicle position,
In the driving support step, the content of the driving support is switched based on the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle.
Driving support method. Other vehicle position acquisition function for acquiring the other vehicle position, which is the position of the other vehicle specified by the position specifying means provided in the other vehicle, via inter-vehicle communication between the host vehicle and the other vehicle;
A host vehicle position acquisition function for acquiring a host vehicle position that is a position of the host vehicle specified by a position specifying unit provided in the host vehicle;
A program for causing a computer to realize a driving support function for executing driving support based on a positional relationship between the own vehicle position and the other vehicle position,
With the driving support function, the computer switches the content of the driving support based on the reliability of the position specifying means of the other vehicle.
Driving assistance program.

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