JP2017083223A - Distance measurement device and traveling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide data for determining an obstacle by a simple calculation that only involves dividing distance measurement data acquired at all scan angles of a detection area into subareas of a plurality of scan angles, and comparing the value of distance measurement data in each subarea with a prescribed threshold.SOLUTION: A distance measurement device 1 scans a detection area of a first prescribed angle and thereby acquires information for up to an object M to be measured, for each of second prescribed angles. The distance measurement device 1 comprises: a by-subarea distance measurement data acquisition unit 17 for dividing a detection area of a first prescribed angle into a plurality of subareas of a third prescribed angle each, and acquiring distance measurement data per second prescribed angle for each subarea; a by-subarea threshold information storage unit 18 in which at least one threshold of distance measurement data is stored for each subarea; and a by-subarea measurement point calculation unit 19 for calculating, for each subarea, the number of measurement points per distance area based on the threshold on the basis of the value and threshold of distance measurement data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a distance measuring device and a traveling device, and more particularly to a distance measuring device capable of determining an obstacle in a detection area by a simple calculation and a traveling device including the distance measuring device.

  An autonomous traveling device (also referred to as an automatic traveling device) has been developed that determines its own operation using sensor information and acts autonomously. For example, an optical distance measuring device (ranging sensor) can measure a distance to an object existing in the measurement range and can acquire a one-dimensional or two-dimensional distance data map, so that it can travel autonomously. The device is used as a safety device for detecting and avoiding obstacles.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a laser radar device of a vehicle range finder includes a scanner for two-dimensionally scanning laser light and a control circuit. The control circuit is arranged at the left and right ends of the detection area of the scanner. It is judged whether there is a distribution where the light receiving level rises toward the end and does not reach the peak, and further, it is judged whether the distance values in each detection area are substantially equal, and whether there is an object in the vicinity of the detection area Judgment.

JP 2007-240384 A

  When the self-propelled robot detects an obstacle with the two-dimensional laser radar device, a program is used that decelerates or stops when the obstacle is detected within the defined area. When these area detection functions are incorporated in the sensor in hardware, the response time is not a big problem, but when processing with the processor installed in the robot, the processing capacity of the processor is limited. There are many. The two-dimensional laser radar device emits a laser beam radially and outputs distance measurement data at each angle. As data, distance measurement data (radial distance) and angle (laser emission direction) polar coordinate system data Is obtained. For this reason, for example, when a rectangular area is assumed as the detection area, the calculation load becomes heavy when converted into a two-dimensional XY coordinate system. In the case of a robot that moves at high speed, it is necessary to output the detection determination result at a rate corresponding to the moving speed. Therefore, if the response speed is delayed due to determination calculation, a collision with an obstacle is caused. In the laser radar device disclosed in Patent Document 1, distance measurement data corresponding to the scan position is acquired. However, since it is necessary to determine the distribution of the distance measurement data, it is desirable to make the processing lighter. .

  The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and distance measurement data acquired at all scan angles with respect to a detection area to be distance-measured is divided into a plurality of scan angle sub-areas. A distance measuring device that can provide data for determining an obstacle by simple calculation by simply comparing the value of distance measuring data with a predetermined threshold, and a traveling device equipped with the distance measuring device are provided. That is the purpose.

  In order to solve the above problems, a first technical means of the present invention is a distance measuring device that acquires information up to the object to be measured at every second predetermined angle by scanning an area of a first predetermined angle. The first predetermined angle area is divided into a plurality of third predetermined angle sub-areas, and distance measurement data for each second predetermined angle is obtained for each sub-area. A distance data acquisition unit; a threshold information storage unit for each sub-area storing a threshold value of at least one distance measurement data for each sub-area; and the distance measurement from the distance data acquisition unit for each sub-area for each sub-area A sub-area-specific measurement point number calculation unit that calculates the number of side points for each distance area based on the threshold value, based on the data value and the threshold value from the sub-area-specific distance measurement data acquisition unit, To do

  According to a second technical means, in the first technical means, the threshold value is different for each sub-area.

  According to a third technical means, in the first or second technical means, the subarea is provided so as to be symmetric with respect to a central axis that bisects the first predetermined angle. It is a feature.

  According to a fourth technical means, in any one of the first to third technical means, the third predetermined angle is different for each sub-area.

  According to a fifth technical means, in any one of the first to fourth technical means, the distance measuring device is a two-dimensional laser laser.

  A sixth technical means is a traveling device including the distance measuring device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

  A seventh technical means is a sixth technical means, and includes a drive unit that drives the traveling device and a control unit that controls the drive unit, and the control unit calculates the number of measurement points for each sub-area. An obstacle determination unit is provided that determines normal running, slowing down, or stopping based on the number of side points for each distance area based on the threshold value from the unit.

  According to an eighth technical means, in the seventh technical means, according to the traveling state, the obstacle determination unit performs normal traveling based on the number of side points for each distance area based on the threshold value of the specific sub-area. It is characterized by determining slow speed or stopping.

  According to a ninth technical means, in the sixth or seventh technical means, the obstacle determining unit determines normal running, slowing down or stopping without using a side score based on distance measurement data within a predetermined distance. It is characterized by doing.

  According to the present invention, the distance measurement data acquired by scanning the detection area to be distance measurement is divided into a plurality of sub-areas for each scan angle, and the value of the distance measurement data in each sub-area and a predetermined threshold value It is possible to obtain data for determining an obstacle simply by comparing. For this reason, it is possible to determine an obstacle in the detection area with simple calculation without coordinate conversion, and obstacle detection can be realized even with a low-speed and small-scale microcomputer.

It is a block diagram which shows one structural example of the traveling apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is an external view of the traveling apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the detection area of the ranging apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the relationship between the ranging data of each subarea in the ranging apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and a threshold value. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the measurement pitch of the ranging apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and the distance between measurement points. It is a figure for demonstrating the detection area in the distance measuring device which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the traveling apparatus carrying the ranging device concerning the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to a distance measuring device and a traveling device of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the configurations denoted by the same reference numerals in different drawings are the same, and the description thereof may be omitted.

  The traveling device according to the present invention includes an obstacle determination device that determines an obstacle using a distance measuring device, and reliably detects the obstacle and prevents erroneous detection. This traveling device is a moving body that moves in a facility such as a factory or a public facility, or a site such as those facilities or a parking lot, or a moving body such as an automobile or a motorcycle traveling on a public road. In particular, a mobile body that automatically moves within a site or facility includes a so-called autonomous traveling device having an autonomous traveling type control mechanism. A moving body based on driving by a driver such as an automobile also has autonomous driving control so that autonomous driving or autonomous driving as driving assistance for the driver becomes possible. In addition, the moving body on which the obstacle determination device is mounted can be used not only for the purpose of transporting people and objects, but also for monitoring the surroundings while moving. It can also be called.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a traveling device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an external view of the traveling device shown in FIG. The traveling device 1 includes a distance measuring device 10 and an obstacle determination unit 20. Moreover, the traveling device 1 includes a drive unit (not shown) for driving the travel device and a control unit (not shown) for controlling the drive unit. The obstacle determination unit 20 of the traveling device shown in FIG. 1 can be normally incorporated in the control unit of the traveling device 1.

  The distance measuring device 10 measures the distance to the object M within a certain measurement space region (measurement range) by scanning the measurement light two-dimensionally in the vertical and horizontal directions and receiving the reflected light. To do. That is, it can be said that the distance measuring device 10 is an area sensor in this measurement range. Typical examples of such a distance measuring device 10 include 3D-LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) and a laser range finder. However, if the measurement direction is limited, the vertical direction (/ A 2D-LIDAR installed so as to scan in the horizontal direction can also be adopted. In this case, the measurement space area as described above can be covered by arranging such 2D-LIDARs at predetermined intervals in the horizontal direction (/ vertical direction). The laser range finder is a distance measuring sensor that employs the TOF method. By providing one or two scanning axes, two-dimensional plane measurement and three-dimensional measurement are possible. LIDAR can also be said to be a kind of laser range finder.

  In addition to this, light such as infrared light is emitted from the light emitting unit without scanning light, and a two-dimensional light receiving sensor is used as a light receiving element. You may make it measure the distance to the target object. Examples of the two-dimensional light receiving sensor include a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) and a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor Image Sensor). An example of such a distance measuring device is a TOF camera that emits pulses of near-infrared LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) and reads the arrival time of reflected light with a CCD to obtain a three-dimensional point image. Although the distance measuring device of the present invention can be configured as a three-dimensional measuring device, a two-dimensional measuring device will be described as an example in order to simplify the explanation.

  The distance measuring device 10 according to the present embodiment includes a scanning control unit 11, a light emitting unit 12, an optical mechanism unit 13, an optical window 14, a light receiving unit 15, a subarea determination unit 16, a subarea-specific ranging data acquisition unit 17, and a subarea. It has a separate threshold information storage unit 18 and a subarea-specific measurement point calculation unit 19.

  The scanning control unit 11 controls the output of the measurement light from the light emitting unit 12 and drives and controls the optical mechanism unit 13. The optical mechanism unit 13 includes an optical path adjustment unit such as a mirror, and scans (scans and drives) the optical path of measurement light emitted from the light emitting unit 12 and guides reflected light to the light receiving unit 15. The optical window 14 is for passing the measurement light emitted from the light emitting unit 12 and the reflected light thereof. The light receiving unit 15 receives the reflected light from the object to be measured M and outputs an output signal obtained by photoelectric conversion. The sub area determination unit 16 determines a sub area described later from the scan angle of the optical mechanism unit 13. Note that the sub-area may be determined from the drive signal from the scanning control unit 11 to the optical mechanism unit 13 without using the scan angle of the optical mechanism unit 13.

  The sub-area distance measurement data acquisition unit 17 calculates the distance to the object to be measured M for each sub-area based on the output signal photoelectrically converted by the light receiving unit 15 and the area information from the sub-area determination unit 16. Output as information measurement results. The sub-area threshold information storage unit 18 stores a distance measurement data threshold for each sub-area. Then, the sub-area-specific number-of-points calculation unit 19 calculates the sub-area-specific distance data from the sub-area-specific distance data acquisition unit 17 and the sub-area-specific distance information from the sub-area-specific threshold information storage unit 18. The data threshold is compared, and the number of measurement points for each distance area based on the threshold is calculated for each sub-area. The obstacle determination unit 20 determines the presence / absence of an obstacle from the number of points measured in the distance area for each subarea from the number-of-subareas measurement point calculation unit 19 as described later.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the traveling device 1 including the distance measuring device 10 and the obstacle determination unit 20 detects the obstacle and avoids a collision with the obstacle to automatically travel. Configured as a moving body. The illustrated traveling device 1 includes four wheels 31 attached to a main body 30 and is provided with a drive unit that causes the traveling device 1 to travel and a control unit that controls the traveling device 1. In this example, the distance measuring device 10 is attached to the main body unit 30, and a unit constituting the obstacle determination unit 20 is mounted on a control unit provided inside the main body unit 30. Moreover, the drive part of the traveling apparatus 1 is comprised by the motor and / or engine etc. for rotationally driving the several wheel 31, for example. Furthermore, the traveling device 1 is not limited to the illustrated wheels 31 and may be driven by, for example, a crawler.

  A control unit (not shown) of the traveling device 1 controls the drive unit so as to perform an operation of avoiding a collision with an obstacle based on the determination result by the obstacle determination unit 20. As will be described in detail later, when the obstacle determination unit 20 determines that the object is in any sub-area of the measurement space region, the information is output to the control unit, where the object (obstacle) For example, control is performed such that the traveling direction of the traveling device 1 that is traveling is changed, the vehicle is decelerated, or stopped before an obstacle. Based on this control, the drive unit can be operated to change the traveling direction, decelerate, stop, and the like, thereby avoiding collision with an obstacle.

  In addition, the mobile body can be moved along the planned route by providing a storage unit for storing map information, a position information acquisition unit, and the like. This position information acquisition unit includes GPS (Global Positioning System), Russia's GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System), EU's Galileo, China's Hokuto etc. GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), and Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System: QZSS), India's IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System), and other units that acquire the position of a moving body.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the detection area of the distance measuring device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 explains the relationship between the distance measurement data of each sub-area and the threshold value in the distance measuring device shown in FIG. FIG. The distance measuring device 10 is installed in the traveling device 1. In this embodiment, the entire detection area of 270 ° is scanned so that the left and right angles are, for example, 135 ° with respect to the traveling direction of the traveling device 1. Is configured to do. Specifically, the scanning control unit 11 scans the measurement light from the light emitting unit 12 by rotating the mirror of the optical mechanism unit 13. You may combine a some mirror so that the incident angle of the measurement light to a mirror may become large and the spot of measurement light may not become large. The scanning period is 67 ms (15 Hz), for example. The measurement light is emitted from the optical window 14 at a forward tilt angle of about 4 °. Thereby, the measurement light is about 20 cm above the ground at a point 5 m from the traveling device 1.

  The scanning control unit 11 controls the light emitting unit 12 to emit measurement light continuously or intermittently at least during a scanning period in the range of 270 ° which is a detection area. Similarly, the light receiving unit 15 receives the reflected light from the measurement object M during the scanning period in which the measurement light is irradiated in the range of 270 ° which is the detection area. The timing of light reception can be, for example, once per 1 ° scan angle of the optical mechanism unit 13.

  In addition, when irradiating measurement light intermittently, measurement light is irradiated every 1 degree of scanning angles, and the light-receiving part 15 receives the reflected light. When the measurement light is continuously irradiated, the light receiving unit 15 is configured to receive the reflected light at every scan angle of 1 °. These scanning speed and light reception timing are the resolution of the distance measuring device. In the present embodiment, distance measurement data is obtained every 1 ° with respect to a detection area of 270 °, and 271 distance measurement data are obtained per scan. Here, the scan angle 270 ° of the present embodiment corresponds to the first predetermined angle of the present invention, and 1 °, which is the angle information acquisition point (measurement pitch) to the object to be measured, is the second predetermined angle. Equivalent to.

  If the distance measuring device scans a detection area of 270 °, for example, it is divided into nine sub-areas of sub-areas 101 to 109 every 30 °, and a distance threshold is set in each sub-area. The detection of an obstacle is determined based on the number of measurement points of distance measurement data shorter than a predetermined threshold. Here, in this embodiment, the division angle of 30 ° for each sub-area corresponds to the third predetermined angle of the present invention. The number of distance measurement data (number of side points) per scan in each of the sub-areas 101 to 109 is 30 or 31.

  A predetermined threshold value is set for each of the sub-areas 101 to 109. Hereinafter, this threshold value will be described taking the subarea 105 shown in FIG. 4 as an example. The sub-area 105 is a sub-area located in front of the traveling direction of the traveling device 1, and has a scanning angle of 30 ° as a whole at 15 ° left and right with respect to the traveling direction. Further, it is assumed that only the sub-area 105 has 31 side scores. For the sub-area 105, a first threshold value L1 and a second threshold value L2 are provided for the distance measurement data, and these threshold values are stored in the sub-area-specific threshold information storage unit 18. The optical window 14 to the first threshold L1 are the closest area 105A of the sub-area 105 (the portion indicated by dark hatching in FIG. 4), and the first threshold L1 to the second threshold L2 are the proximity area. As 105B (part shown by thin hatching in FIG. 4), each distance area is set as an area exceeding the second threshold L2 as a remote area 105C. The number of side points is calculated.

  That is, the sub-area-specific number-of-points calculation unit 19 determines whether the value of each distance measurement data is within the closest area 105A or the proximity area 105B for the 31 distance measurement data obtained per scan. Then, the number of side points, which is the number of distance measurement data in the closest area 105A and the proximity area 105B, is calculated for each scan and output to the obstacle determination unit 20. In FIG. 4, the closest area is indicated by dark hatching, and the adjacent area is indicated by thin hatching. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the nearest area has the same value as the first threshold value L <b> 1 in each of the sub-areas 101 to 109 as shown concentrically. However, in the proximity area, the central sub-area 105 has a large value as the second threshold value L2, and the second threshold value is set smaller as the distance from the center increases. Thereby, the size of the proximity area is changed depending on the position of the sub area with respect to the traveling direction of the traveling device 1, and the information of the object to be measured up to a farther distance is used as the sub area is closer to the traveling direction. Is possible.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the station pitch and the distance between stations in the distance measuring apparatus shown in FIG. Since the measurement light is emitted radially as shown in FIG. 5, the closer the distance is, the smaller the object is detected at many measurement points. On the other hand, if the distance is long, even a large object can detect a few points. For example, when distance measurement data is obtained at every scan angle of 1 °, that is, when the measurement pitch is 1 °, the distance between the measurement points at the point where the distance from the optical window 14 of the traveling device 1 is 0.7 m away is Although it is 2.4 cm, the distance between the measuring points is 19 cm at a point 5.5 m away, and the distance between the measuring points is 35 cm at a point 10 m away. For this reason, it is necessary to change a reference for determining whether the traveling device 1 is decelerated or stopped according to the number of distance measurement data (number of measurement points) for each distance area based on the threshold value provided in each sub-area.

  Then, the obstacle determination unit 20 determines whether or not the traveling device 1 is decelerated based on the number of measurement points in the adjacent area in the predetermined sub-area, and determines whether or not to stop from the number of measurement points in the closest area. . For this reason, in this embodiment, the closest area of the distance areas is used as a stop area, and the proximity area is used as a deceleration area. Further, the number of measurement points in the remote area is not used to determine whether the traveling device 1 is decelerated or stopped. Returning to FIG. 4, for example, when the first threshold value L1 of the sub-area 104 is 0.7 m and the second threshold value L2 is 5.5 m, the number of measurement points in the closest area 105A of less than 0.7 m is 5 or more. In this case, the obstacle determination unit 20 outputs a signal for stopping the traveling device 1. When the number of measurement points in the proximity area 105B of 0.7 m or more and less than 5.5 m is 3 or more, the obstacle determination unit 20 outputs a signal for decelerating the traveling device 1.

  Similarly, for the other sub-areas other than the sub-area 104, the number of measurement points for performing stop or deceleration determination is set. When the stop determination is issued in one subarea, the traveling device 1 is stopped even if a different determination is made in the other subarea, so the obstacle determination unit 20 determines the stop of the travel device 1. Is output immediately. Note that the stop determination has priority over the deceleration determination.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the distance measurement data acquired by scanning the detection area to be the distance measurement target is divided into a plurality of sub-areas for each scan angle, and the value of the distance measurement data in each sub-area Data for obstacle determination is obtained simply by comparing with a predetermined threshold. For this reason, it is possible to determine an obstacle in the detection area with simple calculation without coordinate conversion, and obstacle detection can be realized even with a low-speed and small-scale microcomputer.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a detection area in the distance measuring apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, the point that the scan angle of the detection area is 270 ° is the same as in the first embodiment, but the sub-area is symmetric with respect to the central axis X that bisects the scan angle 270 °. It is provided as follows. In the example shown in FIG. 6, it is divided into four subareas, and each of the subarea 201 and the subarea 204 has a scan angle of 90 ° and is provided symmetrically with respect to the central axis X. . Further, each of the sub area 202 and the sub area 203 has a scanning angle of 45 ° and is provided symmetrically with respect to the central axis X.

  Such a sub-area setting method is used when there is no need for information such as whether there is an obstacle on the left or right side of the traveling direction of the traveling device 1. Therefore, in the second embodiment, only the index information such as how far each sub-area is from the front center is stored, and the position information of the sub-area is retained even when the number of sub-area divisions increases. Increase of the memory capacity for this can be prevented. Note that adjacent subareas need not have the same size (scan angle), and the subareas having a symmetrical positional relationship with respect to the central axis X need only have the same size.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a traveling device equipped with a distance measuring device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, for each of the sub-areas 101 to 109, thresholds for the stop area and the deceleration area are set as distance areas, and the obstacle determination unit 20 decelerates or decreases according to the number of side points of each distance area of all the sub-areas. In the present embodiment, the determination of the stop or the stop is made by using only a specific subarea according to the traveling state of the traveling device 1.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, when the traveling device 1 is traveling straight, even if the stop determination is made in the subareas 106 and 107 due to the obstacle 40, the first threshold L1 in the subareas 106 and 107 is obtained. Depending on the size, there is no possibility of colliding with the obstacle 40 even if the traveling device 1 is moved straight. For this reason, in this embodiment, for example, when traveling straight, only the information of the sub-area 105 located at the front center is used to determine whether the traveling device 1 is decelerated or stopped.

  In addition, when the traveling device is going to turn right, for example, the traveling device 1 uses the information of the sub-areas 104 and 103 located in front of the right side in the traveling direction in addition to the sub-area 105 at the front center in the traveling direction. It is desirable to determine whether to slow down or stop. Thus, in the present embodiment, according to the running state, the normal running, slowing down, or stopping is determined based on the number of side points for each distance area based on the threshold value of the specific sub-area. It is possible to reduce the calculation load.

(Fourth embodiment)
The traveling device 1 is used as a self-propelled robot even in the rain or snow. At that time, distance measurement data at a position very close to the optical window 14 is observed due to water droplets and snow particles adhering to the optical window 14. When this distance measurement data is handled as the number of side points, for example, when the number of side points is five or more in the closest area 105A of the sub-area 105 shown in FIG. 1 is stopped due to snow particles adhering to the optical window 14. In order to avoid this, in the present embodiment, when distance measurement data is obtained within a predetermined distance, it is treated as an adhering object, and this distance measurement data is not used for obstacle determination (ignored). In both cases, the number of neglected side points is subtracted from the number of side points for obstacle determination (for example, 5 in the case of a stop).

  From the optical window. For example, when there are two distance measurement data detected within 0.12 m, the obstacle determination unit 20 counts the number of other distance measurement data without using the two distance measurement data. When the number of side points for stop determination is 3 (= 5-2), in addition to the distance measurement data detected within 0.12 m, three side points are counted in the closest area of the sub-area. In this case, a stop determination is issued. If there are five or more distance measurement data detected within 0.12 m, it is determined that the sub-area cannot be determined. For this determination, the sub-area-specific number-of-points calculation unit 19 of the distance measuring device 10 falls within a threshold value for determining as an adhering substance so that ranging data within a predetermined distance can be handled as an adhering substance. A certain number of side points is separately counted and output to the obstacle determination unit 20.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Traveling apparatus, 10 ... Distance measuring device, 11 ... Scan control part, 12 ... Light emission part, 13 ... Optical mechanism part, 14 ... Optical window, 15 ... Light-receiving part, 16 ... Subarea determination part, 17 ... By subarea Distance data acquisition unit, 18 ... Sub-area-specific threshold information storage unit, 19 ... Sub-area-specific measurement point calculation unit, 20 ... Obstacle determination unit, 30 ... Body part, 31 ... Wheel, 40 ... Obstacle, 101-109 , 201 to 204... Sub-area.

Claims (9)

A distance measuring device that acquires information up to an object to be measured at every second predetermined angle by scanning a detection area of a first predetermined angle,
The first predetermined angle detection area is divided into a plurality of sub-areas each having a third predetermined angle, and distance measurement data for each sub-area is acquired for each sub-area. A data acquisition unit;
A sub-area threshold information storage unit storing at least one threshold of the distance measurement data for each sub-area;
For each subarea, based on the distance measurement data value from the subarea-specific distance measurement data acquisition unit and the threshold value from the subarea-specific distance measurement data acquisition unit, for each distance area based on the threshold value Number of measurement points by sub-area that calculates the number of side points,
A distance measuring device comprising:   The distance measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the threshold value is different for each subarea.   3. The distance measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sub-area is provided so as to be symmetric with respect to a central axis that bisects the first predetermined angle. 4.   The distance measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third predetermined angle is different for each subarea.   The distance measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the distance measuring device is a two-dimensional laser laser.   A traveling device comprising the distance measuring device according to claim 1. The travel device according to claim 6, further comprising: a drive unit that drives the travel device; and a control unit that controls the drive unit;
The control unit includes an obstacle determination unit that determines normal driving, slowing down, or stopping based on the number of side points for each distance area based on the threshold value from the sub-area-specific measurement point calculation unit. Traveling device.   The obstacle determination unit determines normal running, slowing down, or stopping based on the number of side points for each distance area based on the threshold value of the specific sub-area according to a running state. Item 8. The traveling device according to Item 7. The traveling device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the obstacle determination unit determines normal traveling, slowing down, or stopping without using a side score based on distance measurement data within a predetermined distance.

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