JP2017100608A - Automatic driving system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic driving system for enabling safer automatic driving by properly grasping a situation around a vehicle.SOLUTION: The automatic driving system includes: a travel state acquisition part for acquiring a traveling state of a vehicle; an area information acquisition part for acquiring area information including a condition of a road within a prescribed area around the present position of the vehicle; a peripheral situation acquisition part for acquiring a situation around the vehicle including the existence/nonexistence of other vehicles; a risk degree setting part for setting the degree of risk around the vehicle on the basis of the traveling state the area information and the peripheral situation; and a control part for executing automatic driving control for controlling the traveling of vehicle instead of a driving operation of the vehicle by a driver on the basis of the degree of risk.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic driving system for a vehicle.

  The so-called automatic driving technology that automatically drives the vehicle without requiring the driver's active operation is in the spotlight. In automatic driving, comfortable driving can be realized by a sensor that detects the state inside and outside the vehicle and a comprehensive driving process using the detection result.

  Car navigation devices mounted on vehicles, GPS receivers, vehicle-to-vehicle communication devices that communicate between vehicles, road-to-vehicle communication devices that communicate between vehicles and equipment installed on the roadside, radars, cameras, etc. The state of surrounding vehicles existing in the vicinity of the own vehicle is detected, and based on the detected state of the surrounding vehicle, the degree of risk that the surrounding vehicle will encounter a traffic accident is predicted by the surrounding vehicle, and the predicted degree of risk Has been disclosed (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-067235 A

  In Patent Document 1, control close to automatic driving is performed in the form of “driving intervention”. However, it is merely determined whether or not to pay attention to the surrounding vehicle from the state of the own vehicle and the state of the surrounding vehicle, and other surrounding states of the own vehicle are not used for the determination. The attention level is also set for the surrounding vehicle, and is not set for other situations. Therefore, it cannot be said that the state around the own vehicle is sufficiently grasped.

  Against the background of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic driving system capable of appropriately grasping the surrounding state of a vehicle and capable of safer automatic driving.

  An automatic driving system for solving the above problems includes a traveling state acquisition unit that acquires a traveling state of a vehicle, and an area information acquisition unit that acquires area information including road conditions in a predetermined area around the current position of the vehicle. And a surrounding situation acquisition unit that obtains the surrounding situation of the vehicle including the presence or absence of other vehicles, and a risk that sets the danger level around the vehicle based on the driving situation, area information, and surrounding situation A setting unit, and a control unit that executes automatic driving control for controlling traveling of the vehicle based on the degree of risk, instead of driving the vehicle by the driver.

  With the above configuration, by reflecting requirements (that is, area information) other than the surrounding situation and the running situation, it is possible to set a more appropriate risk level not only in the surrounding vehicle but also around the vehicle. As a result, the state around the vehicle can be sufficiently grasped, and a safer driving route can be selected and automatic driving can be performed.

The figure which shows the structure of an automatic driving | operation system. The figure which shows the structure of an operation control apparatus. The flowchart which shows a risk setting process. The figure which shows the example of a default risk map. The figure which shows the example of a risk map when the vehicle is drive | working a general road. The figure which shows the example of a risk map when the vehicle is drive | working the highway. The figure which shows the example of the automatic driving | operation based on a risk map. The figure which shows the example of the automatic driving | operation based on a risk map following FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic driving system 1 includes a driving control device 100 mounted on a vehicle 10, a sensor group 200 connected to the driving control device 100, a surrounding state detection unit 210, a car navigation device (hereinafter, “ 220, a communication device 230, an actuator group 300, an operation panel 400, and a display 500.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the operation control apparatus 100 includes a control unit 111 including a known CPU and peripheral circuits, a memory 112 that stores a control program and data necessary for control, a sensor group 200, an ambient condition detection unit 210, and a car navigation system 220. , An electronic control unit including a communication device 230, an input circuit 113 that enables a signal input from the operation panel 400 to be processed by the control unit 111, an actuator group 300, and a driver circuit 114 that controls driving of the display 500. ECU). The control unit 111 executes the control program stored in the memory 112, thereby realizing the function of the automatic driving system.

  The control unit 111 is a risk setting unit and a control unit of the present invention. Further, the input circuit 113 is a traveling state acquisition unit, an area information acquisition unit, a surrounding state acquisition unit, a date / time information acquisition unit, a traffic state acquisition unit, and a weather information acquisition unit of the present invention.

Returning to FIG. 1, the sensor group 200 includes at least one of the following, and detects the traveling state of the vehicle 10.
A vehicle speed sensor 201 that detects the speed of the vehicle 10, for example, including a well-known wheel speed sensor.
An accelerator sensor 202 that detects the operation state of the accelerator pedal.
A brake sensor 203 that detects the operation state of the brake pedal.
A steering angle sensor 204 that detects a steering angle.
A shift position sensor 205 that detects the position of the shift lever (hereinafter abbreviated as “shift position”).
An air pressure sensor 206 that detects the air pressure of each wheel.

The surrounding situation detection unit 210 includes at least one of the following, and detects the surrounding situation of the vehicle 10.
A front camera 212a (or rear camera 212b) that acquires a front image (or rear image) of the vehicle 10.
A front laser radar 214a (or rear laser radar 214b) that detects the presence or speed of a vehicle ahead (or a vehicle behind the vehicle 10).

  The driving control device 100 uses the sensor group 200 and the surrounding state detection unit 210 to acquire information related to the traveling state and driving operation of the vehicle 10, traffic conditions around the vehicle 10, and information related to other vehicles.

The actuator group 300 includes at least one of the following.
A throttle actuator 302 that adjusts the engine output by adjusting the throttle opening.
A brake actuator 304 that decelerates (or stops) the vehicle 10 by pressing the brake pad against the brake surface.
A steering actuator 306 for changing the traveling direction (that is, the steering angle) of the vehicle 10.

  Based on the map information obtained from the car navigation system 220, the driving control device 100 relates to information regarding a predetermined area including the current position where the vehicle 10 is traveling (for example, residential area, urban area, commercial area) and road conditions. Information (for example, general roads, highways, straight roads, curved roads, tunnels, bridges, number of lanes, width) is acquired. These pieces of information to be acquired are collectively referred to as area information. The current position of the vehicle 10 may be included in the area information.

  The above-described configuration corresponds to “the road condition includes at least one of the road type, the width, and the number of lanes”. With this configuration, it is possible to set a more appropriate risk level by reflecting road conditions such as general roads and highways.

  Furthermore, the driving control apparatus 100 acquires information related to the traveling state of the other vehicle by performing inter-vehicle communication using the communication device 230. Further, by performing road-to-vehicle communication using the communication device 230, information on the presence / absence of a traffic light and information displayed on the traffic light is acquired. The communication device 230 may be connected to a public communication network, and various types of information may be acquired from a known Web server.

  The driving control apparatus 100 performs a process of automatically driving the vehicle 10 by controlling the operation of the actuator group 300 based on various information obtained from the various sensors described above (200 to 230). Details of the automatic operation are described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-089801.

  The operation panel 400 is provided with a manual / automatic switching SW 402 (see FIG. 2) for setting the “driving method” of the vehicle 10 to either “manual driving” or “automatic driving”. / Automatic switch SW402 is operated by the driver of vehicle 10. When the operation control device 100 detects that the manual operation is switched to the automatic operation, the operation control device 100 starts a process of automatically driving the vehicle 10. Further, the display 500 displays the control status of the driving operation during driving.

  FIG. 3 shows a risk setting process included in the control program stored in the memory 112 and executed by the control unit 111 at a predetermined timing. This process is executed on the assumption that the manual / automatic switching SW 402 is switched from manual operation to automatic operation.

  First, the traveling state of the vehicle 10 is acquired from the sensor group 200 (S11). Next, area information is acquired from the car navigation system 220 (S12).

  Next, the surrounding state of the vehicle 10 is acquired from the surrounding state detection unit 210 (S13). In addition to the presence of other vehicles, the surrounding situation may include the number of road lanes and the width of a road that are obtained by image processing of images captured by the cameras (212a, 212b).

  Next, the current risk map stored in the memory 112 is read (S14). When the current risk map is not stored, a default risk map stored separately is read.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a default risk map. In the risk level map, a predetermined range (for example, several to several tens of meters) around the vehicle 10 is set as a risk level setting area. The setting area is defined by a coordinate system in which the width direction of the vehicle 10 is the X axis and the traveling direction is the Y axis. The left side in the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 in the width direction is the positive direction of the X axis, and the reverse direction of the traveling direction is the positive direction of the Y axis. Then, the coordinate space is divided into areas having a predetermined size such as 1 m square, and a risk level is set for each area. The risk level is divided into four levels of levels 0 to 3, with the highest risk level being level 0, decreasing in the order of 1, 2, and the lowest being level 3.

  The above-mentioned configuration is “the risk setting unit divides the coordinate space defined by the width direction and the traveling direction of the vehicle into regions of a predetermined mesh size and predicts the risk for each divided region” It corresponds to. With this configuration, it is possible to set a fine risk level.

  FIG. 4 shows a risk map when the vehicle 10 is stopped. The rear and rear sides of the vehicle 10 have more blind spots than the front and front sides, so the risk is set high. The degree of danger is set to the highest level immediately behind the vehicle 10.

Returning to FIG. 3, the following parameters are reflected in the default risk map and stored in the memory 112 (S15).
(Based on driving conditions)
The speed of the vehicle 10: Reflects the detection state of the vehicle speed sensor 201. When the speed is high, the area in front of the vehicle 10 is expanded (a new mesh is added) in the risk setting area. Also, increase the risk of front and front sides.
-Traveling direction of the vehicle 10: Reflects the detection state of the shift position sensor 205. For example, if the shift position detected by the shift position sensor 205 is “D (drive)”, it is determined to be forward, and if it is “R (reverse)”, it is determined to be reverse. When the vehicle 10 is moving forward, the degree of danger behind the vehicle 10 is increased. Moreover, when the vehicle 10 is moving backward, the forward risk is increased. That is, the degree of danger in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 is increased. Moreover, you may expand the setting area of the danger degree of the advancing direction of the vehicle 10. FIG.

  The above-described configuration corresponds to “the traveling state includes at least one of the speed of the vehicle and the traveling direction of the vehicle”. With this configuration, it is possible to set a more appropriate risk level by reflecting the traveling situation.

(Based on road conditions)
・ Types of roads: It is classified as a general road (generally the maximum speed is 60 km / h or less) and an expressway or a motorway (generally called “highway”). Enlarge the setting area. Alternatively, the degree of risk is increased at the front and front sides of the vehicle 10 and further at the rear.
(Based on surrounding conditions)
Ambient condition: Reflects the detection state of the ambient condition detection unit 210. When an object (for example, another vehicle or an obstacle on the road) exists around the vehicle 10, the risk level of the region including the direction from the vehicle 10 toward the object is increased.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a risk map when the vehicle 10 is traveling on a general road. FIG. 6 shows an example of a risk map when the vehicle 10 is traveling on a highway. In the example of FIG. 5, the degree of danger immediately behind the vehicle 10 is lowered as compared with FIG. 4.

In FIG. 6, the risk level is set as follows.
Considering the possibility that there is a slow vehicle ahead of the vehicle 10, increase the degree of danger ahead.
Considering the possibility of a fast vehicle approaching from the rear of the vehicle 10, the rear risk level is increased.
-If the vehicle deviates from the lane, there is a possibility of abnormally approaching another vehicle or a structure (sound insulation wall, separation zone, etc.).

  Returning to FIG. 3, the acquired various information is reflected in the above-described risk map and stored in the memory 112. One or more of these pieces of information are used in combination. Of course, this information need not be used at all.

  Date and time information is acquired and reflected in the risk map (S16). For example, since the GPS signal includes date and time information, it is acquired from the car navigation system 220. For example, at night, the degree of danger is increased compared to the daytime. The degree of danger may be increased uniformly, or the blind spot area and the distance of the vehicle 10 may be increased with priority. Alternatively, day / night discrimination may be performed by acquiring the daylight / sunset time of an area in which the vehicle 10 is traveling stored in advance from the car navigation system 220 or the memory 112. The degree of danger may be set in the commuting time zone and other time zones. The degree of risk may be set according to the day of the week (weekdays / saturdays and holidays).

  The above-described configuration corresponds to “a date and time information acquisition unit that acquires date and time information of a predetermined area, and the risk level setting unit reflects the date and time information to the risk level”. With this configuration, a more appropriate risk level can be set by reflecting the day of the week or the time zone.

  The traffic situation is acquired and reflected in the risk map (S17). The traffic situation is acquired by road-to-vehicle communication or communication with a website via the communication device 230. Further, the traffic situation includes at least traffic information about an area in front of which the vehicle 10 is traveling. For example, when the running road is congested, the risk in the vicinity of the vehicle 10 (for example, within several meters) is increased regardless of the speed of the vehicle 10. This is to cope with a sudden speed change of the preceding vehicle, a sudden lane change of the side vehicle, and an abnormal approach of the rear vehicle.

  The above-described configuration is equivalent to “having a traffic condition acquisition unit that acquires the traffic condition of a predetermined area, and the risk level setting unit reflects the traffic condition in the risk level”. With this configuration, it is possible to set a more appropriate risk level by reflecting traffic conditions such as traffic jams.

  Weather information is acquired and reflected in the risk map (S18). Weather information about at least an area in front of which the vehicle 10 is traveling is acquired by road-to-vehicle communication or communication with a website via the communication device 230. For example, the risk level of the front and front sides of the vehicle 10 is increased according to the conditions of rain, snow, fog, and wind.

  The above-described configuration corresponds to “a weather information acquisition unit that acquires weather information of a predetermined area, and the risk level setting unit reflects the weather information in the risk level”. With this configuration, it is possible to set a more appropriate risk level by reflecting the weather.

  Next, the travel route of the vehicle 10 is searched based on the set risk (S19). The search may be executed by the car navigation system 220 or may be executed by the control unit 111. Finally, a control command is output to the actuator group 300 via the driver circuit 114 so as to travel on the searched travel route to perform automatic operation control (S20). In addition, information relating to the searched travel route is also output to the car navigation system 220.

  The automatic driving while the vehicle 10 is traveling on the highway will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. 7 and 8, the vehicle 10 is represented as “own vehicle”, and the other vehicle is represented as “other vehicle”. As shown in FIG. 7, when another vehicle approaches the rear of the vehicle 10, a travel route that searches for a lower risk in a certain area of the other vehicle is searched with reference to the risk map, and the route is Run.

  FIG. 8 shows a state in which the vehicle 10 has moved from the state of FIG. The danger level of the area where the other vehicle is traveling has increased from 3 to 0.

  The automatic operation based on the risk map described above is also effective when the tire pressure detected by the air pressure sensor 206 falls below a predetermined value (puncture or burst). For example, when it is necessary to stop immediately on the shoulder of the road, the risk of the right side (opposite side of the road side) and the rear side of the vehicle 10 is increased, and the vehicle 10 travels forward or leftward.

  Although the embodiments have been described above, these are merely examples, and are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art are possible without departing from the scope of the claims. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic driving system 10 Vehicle 100 Operation control apparatus 111 Control part (risk degree setting part, control part)
113 Input circuit (running condition acquisition part, area information acquisition part, surrounding situation acquisition part, date and time information acquisition part, traffic condition acquisition part, weather information acquisition part)
200 Sensor Group 210 Ambient Condition Detection Unit 230 Communication Device

Claims (7)

A driving status acquisition unit for acquiring the driving status of the vehicle;
An area information acquisition unit that acquires area information including road conditions in a predetermined area around the current position of the vehicle;
An ambient situation acquisition unit that acquires the situation of the surroundings of the vehicle, including the presence or absence of other vehicles;
A risk setting unit configured to set a risk level around the vehicle based on the travel status, the area information, and the surrounding status;
Based on the degree of risk, instead of the driving operation of the vehicle by the driver, a control unit that executes automatic driving control for controlling traveling of the vehicle;
An automatic driving system comprising:   The automatic driving system according to claim 1, wherein the road condition includes at least one of a road type, a width, and the number of lanes.   The risk level setting unit divides a coordinate space defined by a width direction and a traveling direction of the vehicle into areas having a predetermined mesh size, and sets a risk level for each of the divided areas. 2. The automatic driving system according to 2.   The automatic driving system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the traveling state includes at least one of a speed of the vehicle and a traveling direction of the vehicle. A date and time information acquisition unit for acquiring date and time information of the predetermined area;
The automatic operation system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the risk level setting unit reflects the date and time information on the risk level. A traffic condition acquisition unit for acquiring the traffic condition of the predetermined area;
The automatic driving system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the risk setting unit reflects the traffic situation in the risk. A weather information acquisition unit for acquiring weather information of the predetermined area;
The automatic operation system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the risk level setting unit reflects the weather information on the risk level.

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