JP2017015409A - Road surface detection device, mobile body, road surface detection method, and road surface detection program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a road surface detection device capable of identifying a slope of a road surface by estimating an inclination of the road surface.SOLUTION: A mobile body 1 is provided with; a ranging sensor 11 for measuring detected distance to a detection target; a road surface information generation unit 30a configured to generate road surface information indicative of a road surface condition based on measurements made by the ranging sensor 11; a road surface information correction unit 30b configured to estimate an inclination of the road surface and correct the road surface information; an obstacle determination unit 30c configured to make obstacle determination to determine presence or absence of an obstacle in a detection range; and an invalid range setting unit 30d for setting an invalid range, within the detection range, where the obstacle determination is deemed invalid.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a road surface detection device and a moving body that include a distance measuring sensor that measures a distance to a road surface, and a road surface detection method and a road surface detection program thereof.

  Conventionally, in a moving body that autonomously travels on a road surface, an obstacle is detected by a sensor or the like to control the operation. In such a moving body, a road surface is detected in addition to an obstacle, and it is determined whether or not the vehicle is in a travelable area. For example, it has been proposed to provide an environment map generation control device on a moving body, and the environment map generation control device determines a road surface state and generates an environment map in which a movable or non-movable region is registered. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2014-182591 A

  The environmental map generation control device for a moving body described in Patent Document 1 irradiates a pulsed laser toward a flat road by distance measuring means, compares the received pulse width with the calculated visual field width of the flat road, An environmental map is generated by determining the road surface condition. Thus, in patent document 1, the misperception that a flat road is an obstacle is prevented by generating an environment map. By the way, when generating an environmental map based on the pulse width, it is feared that an uphill or an obstacle will be confused. Therefore, it is required to detect the road surface by a different method.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and a road surface detection device, a moving body, a road surface detection method, and road surface detection capable of grasping the road surface gradient by estimating the road surface inclination. The purpose is to provide a program.

  A road surface detection device according to the present invention transmits a detection wave to a detected object, receives a reflected wave from the detected object, and measures a detection distance to the detected object; and A road surface information generating unit that generates road surface information indicating a state of a road surface in a detection range where the detection wave is transmitted based on a distance measurement result of the distance measuring sensor, and an inclination of the road surface based on the road surface information Based on the road surface information, a road surface information correction unit that corrects the road surface information, an obstacle determination unit that determines whether there is an obstacle in the detection range, and the road surface information. And an invalid area setting unit for setting an invalid area where the obstacle determination is invalid.

  In the road surface detection device according to the present invention, the road surface information is set with a plurality of measurement points arranged along a predetermined scanning direction, and the distance measurement sensor detects the distance measurement sensor for each measurement point. The road surface information correction unit is configured to output a reference detection altitude, and the road surface information correction unit estimates the inclination of the road surface from the transition of the detection altitude along the scanning direction.

  In the road surface detection device according to the present invention, the distance measurement sensor irradiates the detection wave toward a road surface separated from a position where the distance measurement sensor is provided in a top view, and the scanning direction is the upper surface. It is good also as a structure which corresponds with the irradiation direction of the said detection wave in view.

  In the road surface detection device according to the present invention, the distance measurement sensor irradiates the detection wave toward a road surface separated from a position where the distance measurement sensor is provided in a top view, and the scanning direction is the upper surface. It is good also as a structure orthogonal to the irradiation direction of the said detection wave in view.

  In the road surface detection apparatus according to the present invention, the road surface information includes a plurality of measurement points arranged along two scanning directions, and one of the two scanning directions is the detection wave in top view. The other may be configured to be orthogonal to the irradiation direction of the detection wave in a top view.

  In the road surface detection device according to the present invention, the road surface information correction unit uses the measurement point with the lowest detected altitude for correcting the road surface information when there are a plurality of measurement points having the same position in the scanning direction. Also good.

  In the road surface detection device according to the present invention, the road surface information correction unit calculates an inclination straight line based on a detection distance and a detection height for each measurement point, and uses the inclination straight line to calculate an altitude for each measurement point. It is good also as composition which corrects.

  A moving body according to the present invention includes the road surface detection device according to the present invention and travels on a road surface.

  A road surface detection method according to the present invention includes a distance measuring sensor that transmits a detection wave to a detected object, receives a reflected wave from the detected object, and measures a detection distance to the detected object. A road surface detection method in the road surface detection device, wherein the road surface information generation unit generates road surface information indicating a road surface state in a detection range where the detection wave is transmitted based on a distance measurement result of the distance measurement sensor. A road surface information generation step for causing the road surface information correction unit to estimate the inclination of the road surface based on the road surface information and correcting the road surface information; and an obstacle determination unit for detecting the road surface information within the detection range. An obstacle determination step for making an obstacle determination as to whether there is an obstacle and an invalid area setting unit, based on the road surface information, an invalid area in which the obstacle determination is invalidated within the detection range Invalid area setting step to be set Characterized in that it comprises a flop.

  A road surface detection program according to the present invention causes a computer to execute each step of the road surface detection method according to the present invention.

  According to the present invention, by estimating the slope of the road surface, the slope of the road surface within the detection range can be grasped. Further, by correcting the road surface information, a road surface with a gradient can be regarded as a flat surface. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent erroneously detecting an inclined road surface as an obstacle or overlooking an obstacle with a wide range on the road surface as an invalid area.

It is a schematic side view of the moving body which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic top view of the moving body shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of the moving body shown in FIG. It is a schematic side view which shows the state in which the obstruction exists on a road surface. It is a schematic side view which shows the state whose road surface is an uphill. It is a schematic side view which shows the state whose road surface is a downhill. It is explanatory drawing which shows the arrangement | sequence of the measurement point in the road surface detection apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of road surface information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the detection range after the correction | amendment of FIG. 5A. It is explanatory drawing which shows the detection range after the correction | amendment of FIG. 5B. It is a flowchart which shows the processing flow of the road surface detection method of the road surface detection apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic front view which shows the state which the mobile body is located on the inclined road surface. It is a schematic top view of the moving body shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the arrangement | sequence of the measurement point in the road surface detection apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of road surface information. It is a schematic side view showing a state where the road surface is uphill and an obstacle is present. It is explanatory drawing which shows the virtual inclination straight line calculated from road surface information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the inclination straight line computed from road surface information.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a road surface detection device and a moving body according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 is a schematic side view of a moving body according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of the moving body shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a movement shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of a body.

  The moving body 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention transmits a detection wave KL to the road surface 100 (object to be detected), receives a reflected wave from the road surface 100, and measures a detection distance to the road surface 100. The road surface detecting device 10 provided with the distance measuring sensor 11 is provided and travels on the road surface 100. Specifically, the moving body 1 is a four-wheeled vehicle that moves along a preset route, and includes a distance measuring sensor 11, a drive unit 20, and a CPU 30. Moreover, the mobile body 1 may be provided with a rechargeable battery etc. as a part which supplies electric power with respect to each functional element. The rechargeable battery is, for example, a lithium ion battery, a nickel metal hydride battery, a Ni-Cd battery, a lead battery, a fuel cell, or an air battery, and mainly for performing a traveling function, a distance detecting function, a road surface determining function, and a communication function. Supply power.

  The drive unit 20 includes four wheels and a drive source such as a motor. The drive unit 20 is not limited to this, and the number of wheels may be changed, a belt or the like may be used, and the driving unit 20 may be configured to travel and adjust the traveling speed as appropriate. That's fine. The drive unit 20 is controlled in speed and direction of travel by the travel control unit 30e. In the following, for the sake of simplification of description, the front in the traveling direction X of the moving body 1 (the right side in FIGS. 1 and 2) may be omitted as the front. In addition, a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction X of the moving body 1 in the top view may be referred to as a width direction Y.

  The distance measuring sensor 11 is an optical sensor using LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and irradiates a laser beam as a detection wave KL over a wide range and receives reflected light (reflected wave) from an object. Accordingly, the distance measuring sensor 11 detects the position and distance of the road surface 100 and the obstacle 50 (see FIG. 4 described later). The distance measuring sensor 11 is not limited to laser light, and may detect by emitting infrared rays, visible light, ultrasonic waves, electromagnetic waves, or the like.

  The detection wave KL is emitted from the distance measuring sensor 11 so as to spread in a fan shape toward the front in the traveling direction X. That is, the detection range KH irradiated with the detection wave KL spreads in the height direction Z and spreads in the width direction Y as the distance from the distance measuring sensor 11 increases. Of the detection waves KL, the road surface 100 is irradiated with a detection wave KL heading downward and forward. Here, the mobile body 1 has an invalid area MR set in the detection range KH so that the road surface 100 is not erroneously detected as an obstacle 50. In the invalid region MR, it is not determined that the obstacle 50 exists regardless of the detection result of the object. In FIG. 1, a one-dot chain line is shown in the detection range KH, and a region below the one-dot chain line corresponds to the invalid region MR. Hereinafter, in order to distinguish from the invalid area MR, the detection range KH other than the invalid area MR may be referred to as an effective area.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the detection wave KL, measurement points ST are set corresponding to the transmitted direction. For each measurement point ST, a detection distance and a detection altitude based on the distance measuring sensor 11 are set. Is output. Specifically, the detection distance indicates the position of the measurement point ST in the traveling direction X and the width direction Y, and the detection altitude indicates the position of the measurement point ST in the height direction Z. In FIG. 2, four measurement points ST corresponding to the road surface 100 are shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number, position, etc. of the measurement points ST may be set as appropriate. Note that the measurement point ST is also set for a position where no object is present. In this case, a reflected wave cannot be received and a large value is output as the detection distance, so it is determined that there is no object.

  The CPU 30 stores a road surface information generation unit 30a, a road surface information correction unit 30b, an obstacle determination unit 30c, an invalid area setting unit 30d, and a travel control unit 30e as preinstalled programs, and executes the stored program. As a result, processing to be described later is executed. The CPU 30 is used in common by the moving body 1 and the road surface detection device 10. Although omitted in FIG. 3, the moving body 1 may be provided with a storage device for storing the detection result of the distance measuring sensor 11 and various settings such as the traveling speed.

  The road surface information generation unit 30a generates road surface information indicating the state of the road surface 100 in the detection range KH in which the detection wave KL is transmitted based on the distance measurement result of the distance measurement sensor 11. The road surface information correction unit 30b estimates the inclination of the road surface 100 based on the road surface information and corrects the road surface information. The obstacle determination unit 30c determines whether there is an obstacle 50 within the detection range KH. The invalid area setting unit 30d sets an invalid area MR in which the obstacle determination is invalidated within the detection range KH based on the road surface information. In addition, the road surface information regarding the distance measurement result of the distance measurement sensor 11 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  Although FIG. 1 shows a state in which the flat road surface 100 is detected, the moving body 1 is required to be able to cope with various road surfaces 100. Below, the state of the road surface different from FIG. 1 is demonstrated with reference to drawings.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a state where an obstacle exists on the road surface.

  FIG. 4 shows a state in which an obstacle 50 exists on the flat road surface 100. Since the obstacle 50 is located within the detection range KH (in particular, the effective region), it is determined that the obstacle 50 is present. Moreover, since the road surface 100 is located in the invalid area MR, the obstacle determination is invalidated. As a result, an accurate distance to the obstacle 50 can be grasped without erroneously detecting the road surface 100.

  FIG. 5A is a schematic side view showing a state where the road surface is an uphill.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the moving body 1 is positioned on a flat road surface 100, whereas the road surface 100 is an uphill 100 a in front of the moving body 1. Here, as in the case of the flat road surface 100 (for example, FIG. 1), when the invalid region MR is set, the uphill 100a is located above (the valid region) the invalid region MR. Therefore, the road surface 100 (uphill 100a) is erroneously detected as the obstacle 50. A countermeasure in this case will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 8A described later.

  FIG. 5B is a schematic side view showing a state where the road surface is a downhill.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the moving body 1 is positioned on a flat road surface 100, whereas the road surface 100 is a downhill 100 b in front of the moving body 1. An obstacle 50 exists on the downhill 100b. Here, as in the case of the flat road surface 100, when the invalid region MR is set, the downhill 100b is located in the invalid region MR, and thus is not erroneously detected. However, compared to FIG. 1, above the downhill 100b, since the wide range is the invalid region MR, the obstacle 50 is also included in the invalid region MR, and the presence of the obstacle 50 is ignored. A countermeasure in this case will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 8B described later.

  As described above, when the road surface 100 has an inclination, a defect may occur in the detection of the obstacle 50. Therefore, the mobile body 1 solves such a problem by performing correction based on the inclination of the road surface 100 and performing obstacle determination. Next, the correction method in the moving body 1 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an array of measurement points in the road surface detection device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The road surface detection device 10 generates a detection image indicating the presence or absence of the obstacle 50 in the detection range KH based on the distance measurement result of the distance measurement sensor 11. 50 positions are associated with each other. In the present embodiment, the detected image corresponds to a plane orthogonal to the traveling direction X of the moving body 1 and has a rectangular shape. That is, in the detected image, the measurement points ST corresponding to the respective coordinates (pixels) are arranged in a matrix strip. In FIG. 6, the horizontal axis corresponds to the width direction Y, and the vertical axis corresponds to the height direction Z. The origin at which the horizontal axis and the vertical axis intersect corresponds to the front of the moving body 1. It is located to the left of the moving body 1 as it proceeds in the negative direction of the horizontal axis with respect to the origin, and is located to the right of the moving body 1 as it proceeds in the positive direction of the horizontal axis. Moreover, it is located below the moving body 1 as it proceeds in the negative direction on the vertical axis with respect to the origin, and is located above the moving body 1 as it proceeds in the positive direction on the vertical axis.

  The road surface information generation unit 30a generates road surface information in which detection altitudes for each measurement point ST are arranged based on the detection image shown in FIG. Here, the road surface information generation unit 30a extracts a measurement point ST for generating road surface information from the detected image along a predetermined scanning direction. That is, the measurement points ST are divided into extracted measurement points STa extracted by the road surface information generation unit 30a and other unextracted measurement points STb. In the present embodiment, the scanning direction coincides with the traveling direction X, and the measurement point ST below the origin is set as the extraction measurement point STa along the vertical axis. Specifically, the extraction measurement points STa are arranged along the traveling direction X in a top view as shown in FIG. That is, the inclination of the road surface 100 in front of the moving body 1 is detected by comparing the detected altitudes at the measurement points ST at different distances in the traveling direction X with respect to the moving body 1.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of road surface information.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the road surface information generated by the road surface information generation unit 30a, and corresponds to the case where the road surface 100 is an uphill 100a in front of the moving body 1 as shown in FIG. 5A. . In FIG. 7, the horizontal axis indicates the distance from the moving body 1, and the vertical axis indicates the altitude relative to the moving body 1. As for the altitude, a position set in advance with respect to the moving body 1 may be used as the origin, and it is not necessary to match the road surface 100 and the origin. Also, the alternate long and short dash line shown in FIG. 7 indicates the invalid area MR, and the obstacle determination is invalidated for values below the invalid area MR.

  In FIG. 7, four extraction measurement points STa are located at coordinates corresponding to the detection distance DL and the detection height DH. The four extraction measurement points STa shown in FIG. 7 are arranged so that the altitude increases as the distance increases. The road surface information correction unit 30b calculates the inclined straight line SL based on the detection distance DL and the detection altitude DH of the extraction measurement point STa. Specifically, the inclined straight line SL is an approximate straight line calculated based on the extraction measurement point STa, and in this embodiment, the least square method is used. In addition, considering the ease of viewing the drawing, the number of extraction measurement points STa is four. However, the number of extraction measurement points STa is not limited to this, and the inclined straight line SL can be accurately calculated by increasing the number of extraction measurement points STa. it can. Further, the method of calculating the inclined straight line SL is not limited to the least square method, and other linear regression methods may be used. Furthermore, for outliers with extremely different detection distances DL or detection altitudes DH, the outliers may be removed to calculate the slope straight line SL.

  After calculating the inclined straight line SL, the road surface information correcting unit 30b flattens the inclined straight line SL like the corrected straight line HL. The correction straight line HL is parallel to the horizontal axis. That is, the extracted measurement point STa has an altitude corresponding to the correction line HL, and is corrected to the correction measurement point HT along the correction line HL. The corrected correction measurement point HT has a value lower than that of the invalid region MR. As described above, the road surface information correction unit 30b corrects the road surface information based on the extracted measurement point STa to road surface information based on the corrected measurement point HT.

  FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram illustrating the detection range after correction in FIG. 5A.

  FIG. 8A shows a state in which the road surface information is corrected by the road surface information correction unit 30b with respect to FIG. 5A. The invalid area setting unit 30d sets the invalid area MR along the slope of the uphill 100a based on the corrected road surface information. FIG. 8A shows a state in which the entire FIG. 5A is rotated, and the inclination of the road surface 100 and the position of the moving body 1 are not changed. That is, the moving body 1 corrects the front uphill 100a so as to be flat regardless of its own direction. As a result, the uphill 100a is within the invalid region MR, and erroneous detection can be prevented.

  FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram illustrating the detection range after correction in FIG. 5B.

  FIG. 8B is a state in which the road surface information is corrected by the road surface information correction unit 30b with respect to FIG. The invalid area setting unit 30d sets the invalid area MR along the slope of the downhill 100b based on the corrected road surface information. FIG. 8B shows a state in which the whole of FIG. 5B is rotated, and the inclination of the road surface 100 and the position of the moving body 1 are not changed. That is, as in FIG. 8A, the moving body 1 corrects the forward downhill 100b so that it appears to be flat regardless of the orientation of the moving body 1 itself. As a result, the invalid area MR is set along the downhill 100b, and oversight of the obstacle 50 can be prevented.

  The present embodiment can be applied even when the moving body 1 is located on an inclined road surface 100. For example, in the case shown in FIG. 8A, it can be considered that the moving body 1 is located on a downhill and the front is a flat road surface. In this case, since the distance measuring sensor 11 faces downward and the invalid area MR is set along the direction of the distance measuring sensor 11, there is a possibility that false detection may occur. Region MR can be set. Further, in the case shown in FIG. 8B, it can be considered that the moving body 1 is located on the uphill and the front is a flat road surface. Even in this case, the road surface information is corrected in the same manner.

  Next, a processing flow of the road surface detection method in the road surface detection device 10 (moving body 1) will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the road surface detection method of the road surface detection device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In step S01, road surface information is generated by the road surface information generation unit 30a. That is, road surface information is generated from the detection distance DL and the detection altitude DH output from the distance measuring sensor 11.

  In step S02, the road surface information correction unit 30b calculates an inclined straight line SL (for example, see FIG. 7).

  In step S03, the road surface information is corrected by the road surface information correction unit 30b. In addition, when the inclined straight line SL is flat, it is not necessary to correct.

  In step S04, the invalid area MR is set by the invalid area setting unit 30d. The invalid area MR may be set in parallel with the correction straight line HL, for example.

  In step S05, the obstacle determination unit 30c makes an obstacle determination, and then the process ends. That is, the presence or absence of the obstacle 50 is determined depending on whether or not the obstacle 50 (measurement point ST) is in the effective area.

  The moving body 1 repeats the processing flow described above, and performs the processing shown in steps S01 to S05 as needed, for example, according to the passage of time or the distance moved.

  The road surface detection method according to the present invention includes a distance measurement sensor 11 that transmits a detection wave KL to the road surface 100, receives a reflected wave from the road surface 100, and measures a detection distance DL to the road surface 100. A road surface detection method in the detection device 10, and road surface information indicating the state of the road surface 100 in the detection range KH in which the detection wave KL is transmitted to the road surface information generation unit 30 a based on the distance measurement result of the distance measurement sensor 11. A road surface information generation step for generating the road surface information, a road surface information correction unit 30b for estimating the inclination of the road surface 100 based on the road surface information and correcting the road surface information, and an obstacle determination unit 30c for detecting the range. The obstacle determination step for determining whether there is an obstacle 50 in KH and the invalid area setting unit 30d make the obstacle determination invalid in the detection range KH based on the road surface information. And a invalid area setting step for setting an invalid region MR is.

  Therefore, by estimating the inclination of the road surface 100, the inclination of the road surface 100 within the detection range KH can be grasped. Further, by correcting the road surface information, the inclined road surface 100 can be regarded as a flat surface. Accordingly, it can be prevented that the inclined road surface 100 is erroneously detected as the obstacle 50 or the obstacle 50 is overlooked with the wide area on the road surface 100 as the invalid region MR.

  In the road surface information, a plurality of measurement points ST arranged along a predetermined scanning direction are set. The distance measuring sensor 11 is configured to output a detection altitude DH based on the distance measuring sensor 11 for each measurement point ST. In the road surface information correction step, the inclination of the road surface 100 is estimated from the transition of the detected height DH along the scanning direction.

  The distance measuring sensor 11 irradiates the detection wave KL toward the road surface 100 separated from the position where the distance measuring sensor 11 is provided when viewed from above (for example, see FIG. 2). The scanning direction coincides with the irradiation direction (traveling direction X) of the detection wave KL in the top view. Therefore, the inclination of the road surface 100 along the irradiation direction at a position away from the distance measuring sensor 11 can be estimated. That is, the inclination of the road surface 100 along the traveling direction X of the moving body 1 can be corrected.

  The road surface information correction unit 30b calculates an inclined straight line SL based on the detected distance DL and detected height DH for each measurement point ST, and corrects the altitude for each measurement point ST using the inclined straight line SL. Therefore, by calculating the slope straight line SL, it is possible to alleviate a small error in distance measurement and grasp the slope of the road surface 100 in a wide range.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a road surface detection apparatus and a moving body according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Since the second embodiment has substantially the same shape as the first embodiment, the external view and the configuration diagram are omitted, and the components having substantially the same functions as those of the first embodiment are omitted. The same reference numerals are given and the description is omitted.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic front view showing a state where the moving body is located on an inclined road surface.

  FIG. 10 shows a state in which the moving body 1 is viewed from the front. The moving body 1 is located on a slope surface 100c inclined with respect to the width direction Y, and the road surface in front of the moving body 1 is horizontal. The horizontal plane 100d. The first embodiment estimates the inclination along the traveling direction X, while the second embodiment estimates the inclination along the width direction Y. In the state shown in FIG. 10, since the distance measuring sensor 11 located on the gradient surface 100c is inclined in the width direction Y with respect to the horizontal plane 100d, the horizontal plane 100d has different detection altitudes on the left side and the right side. DH is output. Therefore, a correction method in the width direction Y will be described below.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic top view of the moving body shown in FIG. 10, and FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an array of measurement points in the road surface detection device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, a plurality of measurement points ST are set along the auxiliary line AL parallel to the width direction Y, and these are set as the extraction measurement points STa. That is, in the detection image shown in FIG. 12, the lowest measurement point ST in the height direction Z is set as the extraction measurement point STa. Note that the measurement points ST to be extracted are not limited to this, and a plurality of measurement points ST along the width direction Y may be extracted with the coordinates in the height direction Z being constant.

  FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of road surface information.

  FIG. 13 shows an example of the road surface information generated by the road surface information generation unit 30a, and shows a case where the road surface 100 in front of the moving body 1 is inclined with respect to the width direction Y. In FIG. 13, the horizontal axis indicates the distance in the width direction Y with the front of the moving body 1 as the origin, and the vertical axis indicates the altitude relative to the moving body 1. That is, it is located to the left of the moving body 1 as it proceeds in the negative direction of the horizontal axis with respect to the origin, and is located to the right of the moving body 1 as it proceeds in the positive direction of the horizontal axis.

  The five extraction measurement points STa shown in FIG. 13 are arranged such that the height increases in the width direction Y in the positive direction. The extraction measurement point STa on the right side of the mobile body 1 has a detected height DH. The value is larger than the invalid area MR.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7 described above, the inclined straight line SL is calculated based on the detection distance DL and the detection height DH of the extraction measurement point STa. Then, the road surface information correction unit 30b calculates the slope straight line SL, and then flattens the slope straight line SL like the correction straight line HL so that the road surface information based on the extracted measurement point STa is changed to the road surface based on the correction measurement point HT. Correct to information. Thereby, the inclination of the road surface 100 along the width direction Y of the mobile body 1 can be corrected.

  In the second embodiment, the same processing flow as in the first embodiment may be performed, and correction may be performed based on the inclined straight line SL (see FIG. 13) in the width direction Y.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a road surface detection apparatus and a moving body according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since the third embodiment has substantially the same shape as the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the drawings are omitted, and the functions are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment and the second embodiment. Constituent elements equal to are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  In the first and second embodiments, the inclination along one of the traveling direction X and the width direction Y is corrected, whereas in the third embodiment, the traveling direction X and the width direction Y are corrected. The inclination along both is corrected. Specifically, as the road surface information, a plurality of measurement points ST arranged in two scanning directions are set. One of the two scanning directions coincides with the irradiation direction of the detection wave KL when viewed from above (traveling direction X), and the other is perpendicular to the irradiation direction of the detection wave KL when viewed from above (width direction Y). )doing. That is, in the present embodiment, an inclined straight line SL (see FIG. 7) along the traveling direction X and an inclined straight line SL (see FIG. 13) along the width direction Y are calculated, and two inclined straight lines SL are calculated. Is used to correct the altitude of the measurement point ST. Therefore, by setting the measurement points ST along the two scanning directions, it is possible to deal with the road surface 100 inclined in various directions.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a road surface detection apparatus and a moving body according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Since the fourth embodiment has substantially the same shape as the first to third embodiments, the external view and the configuration diagram are omitted, and the fourth embodiment is the same as the first to third embodiments. Constituent elements having substantially the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 14 is a schematic side view showing a state where the road surface is uphill and an obstacle is present, and FIG. 15A is an explanatory diagram showing a virtual inclination straight line calculated from road surface information.

  In FIG. 14, the front side of the moving body 1 is an uphill 100a, and an obstacle 50 is present on the uphill 100a. Hereinafter, for the sake of explanation, the distance from the moving body 1 to the obstacle 50 may be referred to as an obstacle distance DLa.

  Since the extraction measurement points STa are uphill 100a ahead, they are arranged such that the detection height DH increases as the detection distance DL increases. By the way, as shown in FIG. 14, since the detection wave KL is reflected by the obstacle 50 at the obstacle distance DLa, the coordinate on the horizontal axis is the obstacle distance DLa, and the altitude (the coordinate on the vertical axis). A plurality of different extraction measurement points STa are output. The virtual inclination straight line KSL calculated by combining the extracted measurement points STa up to the obstacle distance DLa and the extracted measurement points STa having the same horizontal coordinate and different altitudes is higher than the inclination up to the obstacle distance DLa. It becomes an inclined straight line. That is, when all the extracted measurement points STa are employed, the inclination is calculated including the obstacle 50, and therefore, it is estimated that the inclination is different from the actual road surface 100. Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, when the obstacle 50 exists in the detection range KH, the measurement point ST is selected and the calculation method of the inclined straight line SL is varied.

  FIG. 15B is an explanatory diagram illustrating an inclined straight line calculated from road surface information.

  When there are a plurality of measurement points ST having the same position in the scanning direction, the road surface information correction unit 30b uses the measurement point ST having the lowest detected height DH for correcting the road surface information. Specifically, among the extracted measurement points STa located at the obstacle distance DLa, the extracted measurement point STa having the lowest detected height DH is set as the adopted measurement point STa1, and the rest is set as the non-adopted measurement point STa2. As a result, the inclined straight line SL is calculated based on the extraction measurement point STa up to the obstacle distance DLa and the adopted measurement point STa1. That is, when calculating the inclined straight line SL, the adopted measurement point STa1 is used, and the non-adopted measurement point STa2 is ignored. Accordingly, since there is a deviation from the altitude of the road surface 100 when there is an obstacle 50 in the detection range KH, the inclination of the road surface 100 can be accurately estimated by adopting only the appropriate measurement point ST. Can do.

  In the present embodiment, the inclination along the traveling direction X has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the measurement point ST may be selected when calculating the inclination in the width direction Y. That is, when there are a plurality of extraction measurement points STa having the same position in the width direction Y but different in detection height DH, similarly, the extraction measurement point STa having the lowest detection height DH may be set as the adopted measurement point STa1.

  It should be noted that the embodiment disclosed herein is illustrative in all respects and does not serve as a basis for limited interpretation. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is not interpreted only by the above-described embodiment, but is defined based on the description of the scope of claims. Moreover, all the changes within the meaning and range equivalent to a claim are included.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile body 10 Road surface detection apparatus 11 Ranging sensor 20 Drive part 30 CPU
30a Road surface information generation unit 30b Road surface information correction unit 30c Obstacle determination unit 30d Invalid area setting unit 30e Travel control unit 50 Obstacle 100 Road surface KH detection range X Travel direction Y Width direction Z Height direction

Claims (10)

A ranging sensor that transmits a detection wave to the object to be detected, receives a reflected wave from the object to be detected, and measures a detection distance to the object to be detected;
A road surface information generating unit that generates road surface information indicating a road surface state in a detection range in which the detection wave is transmitted based on a distance measurement result of the distance sensor;
Based on the road surface information, a road surface information correction unit that estimates the slope of the road surface and corrects the road surface information;
An obstacle determination unit for determining whether there is an obstacle within the detection range; and
A road surface detection device comprising: an invalid area setting unit configured to set an invalid area in which the obstacle determination is invalid within the detection range based on the road surface information. The road surface detection device according to claim 1,
In the road surface information, a plurality of measurement points arranged along a predetermined scanning direction are set.
The distance measuring sensor is configured to output a detection altitude based on the distance measuring sensor for each measurement point,
The road surface information correction unit estimates the inclination of the road surface from the transition of the detected height along the scanning direction. The road surface detection device according to claim 2,
The distance measuring sensor irradiates the detection wave toward a road surface separated from a position where the distance measuring sensor is provided in a top view;
The road surface detection device characterized in that the scanning direction coincides with the irradiation direction of the detection wave in a top view. The road surface detection device according to claim 2,
The distance measuring sensor irradiates the detection wave toward a road surface separated from a position where the distance measuring sensor is provided in a top view;
The scanning direction is orthogonal to the irradiation direction of the detection wave in a top view. The road surface detection device according to claim 3 or 4,
The road surface information is set with a plurality of measurement points arranged along two scanning directions,
One of the two scanning directions is coincident with the irradiation direction of the detection wave in a top view, and the other is orthogonal to the irradiation direction of the detection wave in a top view. Road surface detection device. The road surface detection device according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
The road surface information correcting unit, when there are a plurality of measurement points having the same position in the scanning direction, uses the measurement point with the lowest detected altitude for correcting the road surface information. The road surface detection device according to any one of claims 2 to 6,
The road surface information correction unit calculates an inclined straight line based on a detection distance and a detected altitude for each measurement point, and uses the inclined straight line to correct the altitude for each measurement point. apparatus.   A moving body comprising the road surface detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and traveling on a road surface. A road surface detection method in a road surface detection device including a distance measuring sensor that transmits a detection wave to a detection object, receives a reflected wave from the detection object, and measures a detection distance to the detection object. There,
A road surface information generation step for generating road surface information indicating a road surface state in a detection range where the detection wave is transmitted based on a distance measurement result of the distance sensor,
A road surface information correcting step for estimating an inclination of the road surface based on the road surface information and correcting the road surface information;
An obstacle determination step for causing the obstacle determination unit to determine whether there is an obstacle within the detection range; and
An invalid area setting step of causing an invalid area setting unit to set an invalid area in which the obstacle determination is invalid within the detection range based on the road surface information.   A road surface detection program for causing a computer to execute each step according to claim 9.

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