JP2017117092A - Vehicle control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle control device capable of securing a driver a sufficient preparation period when switching from automatic driving to manual driving under various situations.SOLUTION: The vehicle control device uses a cloud server 10 capable of communicating with a vehicle capable of switching between an automatic driving mode and a manual driving mode on the basis of a vehicle state. The vehicle control device comprises: means 12 for obtaining mode switching information at another vehicle from a cloud system; means 14 for determining whether or not a mode switching position at the other vehicle identified on the basis of the mode switching information is on a path of a host vehicle; and means 16 for notifying a driver in order to prompt the driver to make preparations for switching operation at timing before the host vehicle reaches the mode switching position if the mode switching position is on the path.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control device used for a vehicle capable of automatic driving.

  In recent years, attention has been focused on automatic driving control for automatically driving a vehicle. In the automatic driving control, the vehicle control is automatically performed according to the vehicle state and the surrounding situation without involving the driver. However, depending on the vehicle state and the surrounding situation, it may not be preferable to deal with the automatic driving. As one means for dealing with such a case, for example, in Patent Document 1, during automatic driving, by using an autonomous sensor and vehicle-to-vehicle / road-to-vehicle communication, a vehicle running state, a vehicle surrounding situation, and It is disclosed that when a driver's state is acquired and it is determined that a condition for performing automatic driving set in advance is not satisfied, the driver is notified to cancel the automatic driving.

JP 2014-106854 A

  When shifting to manual driving in a vehicle in which automatic driving is being performed, it is important for the driver of the vehicle to secure a preparation period necessary to cope with the shift. However, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, preparation notification for canceling automatic driving is performed based on autonomous sensors, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and the like. In some cases, it is difficult to secure a sufficient preparation period for the migration.

  At least one embodiment of the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and a vehicle control device capable of ensuring a sufficient preparation period for a driver when switching from automatic driving to manual driving under various circumstances. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above problems, a vehicle control apparatus according to at least one embodiment of the present invention is a vehicle control apparatus that uses a cloud system that can communicate with a vehicle that can switch between an automatic driving mode and a manual driving mode based on a vehicle state. Based on the mode switching information acquisition means for acquiring mode switching information related to the switching operation from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode in another vehicle, and the mode switching information acquired by the mode switching information acquisition means. Determining a mode switching position at which the switching operation is performed in the other vehicle, determining whether the mode switching position is on a route of the own vehicle, and determining the mode switching position by the determining means. To urge the preparation for the switching operation at the timing before the vehicle reaches the mode switching position when the vehicle is on the route And a notifying means for notifying the driver.

  According to this configuration, the position where the switching operation from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode can be specified based on the mode switching information of the other vehicle collected by the cloud system. And when the said position exists on the path | route of the own vehicle, it notifies to a driver so that the preparation of switching operation | movement may be encouraged at the timing before the own vehicle arrives at a mode switching position. As a result, the driver can recognize in advance that the mode switching is performed in the host vehicle.

1 is a schematic diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of an automatic driving system including a vehicle control device according to at least one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram functionally showing the internal configuration of the cloud server of FIG. 1. It is a flowchart which shows the control content implemented with the cloud server of FIG. 2 for every process.

  Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, etc. of the components described in the embodiments or shown in the drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, but are merely illustrative examples. Absent.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of an automatic driving system 1 including a vehicle control device according to at least one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 shows a traveling path 4 composed of upper and lower lanes on which a plurality of vehicles 2 travel. A large number of vehicles 2 including the vehicles 2a, 2b, and 2c shown in FIG. 1 are traveling on the traveling path 4, and each of them is equipped with an automatic driving device. In the automatic driving device, an automatic driving mode in which at least a part of the driving operation originally performed by the driver itself can be automatically selected and a manual driving mode in which the driver himself performs the driving operation can be selected. The mode can be switched by the driver operating a switch provided in the room.
In addition, in the some vehicle 2 shown by FIG. 1, the vehicle in which the automatic driving | operation control apparatus is not mounted may be mixed.

In the automatic operation mode, an automatic operation is realized by performing automatic full vehicle speed tracking control and lane keeping control in an ECU (not shown) which is a control unit of the vehicle 2. In the automatic full vehicle speed tracking control, the vehicle 2 travels according to a predetermined target vehicle speed, and detects, for example, an object in front of the host vehicle using a millimeter wave radar mounted on the vehicle, or detects the travel speed of the host vehicle using a vehicle speed sensor. By detecting, a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle is recognized, and the speed is adjusted so as to ensure an appropriate inter-vehicle distance. On the other hand, in the lane keeping control, the travel path 4 is recognized by a camera mounted on the vehicle 2 and the vehicle 2 is automatically steered so as to travel in the lane included in the recognized travel path 4. .
For details of auto-cruise control and lane keep control, see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-97677.

  When the automatic driving mode is selected in this way, the vehicle travels basically without the driver performing the driving operation. However, when the automatic driving mode is not suitable, Thus, switching to the manual operation mode is performed. In the example of FIG. 1, there is shown a case where the vehicle is switched from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode before the vehicle due to the presence of a broken vehicle or lane restrictions at the point 6. Such automatic mode switching is performed based on the determination result in the control regardless of the driver's intention, but in the manual operation mode, it is necessary for the driver to perform the driving operation unlike the automatic operation mode. For this reason, it is necessary to notify the driver to that effect before switching the mode. By recognizing the notification in advance, the driver makes preparations for shifting to the manual operation mode.

  Here, the switching condition from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode includes various factors relating to the vehicle 2 in the automatic operation mode as determination parameters. For example, in areas such as service areas on highways, parking areas, interchanges and junctions where vehicles are expected to flow out to the main line, and in lane control areas based on road construction, uncertainties for vehicles in the automatic driving mode increase. To do. In addition, if there is a lane restriction due to a faulty vehicle on the road 4 or the end of a traffic jam, or if the sensors used in the automatic operation mode reach the detection performance limit due to bad weather, there are uncertain factors for the vehicle. Increase. Therefore, in the automatic driving device mounted on the vehicle 2, when it is determined that the manual driving mode is more appropriate than the automatic driving mode by setting a switching condition for detecting such a situation. Are automatically switched to the manual operation mode.

  Information necessary for determining such a switching condition includes, for example, reading data stored in a storage unit such as an SD card, a USB memory, a hard disk, or an optical disk in advance, or a detection result of sensors provided in the vehicle 2. Get based on. For example, relatively steady events such as the above-mentioned areas such as service areas on the highway, parking areas, interchanges and junctions where vehicles are expected to flow out to the main line, and lane control areas based on road construction, It is possible to predict relatively well based on information stored in the storage means such as map information and road infrastructure information.

However, since the information stored in the storage means relates to an area specified in advance, and the information update frequency is relatively long, an unsteady (sudden) event (for example, lane regulation by a faulty vehicle on the road 4) (For example, point 6 in FIG. 1), sensor detection performance limit due to bad weather, end of traffic congestion, sensor detection performance limit in complicated traffic environment, or control limit due to sudden interruption of low-speed car, etc.) In addition to road infrastructure information, it is possible to detect to some extent using autonomous sensors mounted on vehicles, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, or cloud data, but it is difficult to predict the occurrence location in advance. There are cases. In such a case, there is a problem that the driver cannot be notified with a margin before reaching the mode switching position, and the driver's response is delayed at the time of mode switching.
Such a problem can be solved based on the configuration described below.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic driving system 1 includes a cloud server 10 arranged in a base station that manages the operation of the vehicle 2. The cloud server 10 manages the operation on the road 4 by communicating with each vehicle 2 on the road 4. For communication between each vehicle 2 and the cloud server 10, so-called telematics is applied, and information is transmitted and received via the Internet. However, other communication methods may be employed.

  Information transmitted and received between the vehicle 2 and the cloud server includes vehicle operation information (including driver information during vehicle operation) and vehicle operation instruction information (including driver instruction information) 2 includes mode switching information that is generated when the automatic operation device mounted in 2 shifts from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode. The mode switching information includes vehicle identification information and information regarding the mode switching position at which the transition from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode has been performed. It is possible to grasp where the automatic operation mode has shifted to the manual operation mode.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram functionally showing the internal configuration of the cloud server 10 of FIG. The cloud server 10 is composed of an electronic computing device such as a computer, and mode switching information acquisition means 12 that acquires mode switching information from each vehicle 2 and the mode switching position specified based on the mode switching information is the own vehicle. Determination means 14 for determining whether or not the vehicle is on the route, and notification means 16 for notifying the driver in order to prompt the driver of the vehicle to prepare for the switching operation.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the control contents executed by the cloud server 10 of FIG. 2 for each process. Here, in order to explain in an easy-to-understand manner along the case, when the mode switching is predicted at the point 6 in the vehicle (own vehicle) 2a of FIG. The case where it processes so that prior notification may be performed at the timing before the vehicle 2a arrives at the point 6 using communication is described as an example.

First, the cloud server 10 recognizes the vehicle 2 existing in the jurisdiction area (step S1). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the entire area shown in FIG. 1 is a jurisdiction area, and the cloud server 10 performs recognition by communicating with each vehicle 2 traveling in the area.
Subsequently, the cloud server 10 acquires mode switching information from each vehicle 2 by the mode switching information acquisition unit 12 through communication with the vehicle recognized in step S1 (step S2). As described above, the mode switching information includes the vehicle identification information and information on the mode switching position at which the transition from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode has been performed. Thus, it is possible to grasp which vehicle 2 has shifted from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode. Thereby, the mode switching information regarding the point 6 is acquired from the vehicles 2b and 2c under the situation of FIG.

  Subsequently, based on the mode switching information acquired in step S2, the cloud server 10 identifies the mode switching position (point 6) where the switching operation has been performed in each of the other vehicles (vehicles 2b and 2c other than the notification target). (Step S3). Here, in step S3, the mode switching position to be notified may be specified based on the single mode switching information obtained from the specific vehicle 2, but a large number of mode switching information obtained from the plurality of vehicles 2 is used. The mode switching position may be specified by statistically processing. In the latter case, a position at which mode switching is likely to occur can be obtained based on mode switching information in a plurality of vehicles 2, so that the reliability when notifying the driver as described later is effectively improved. Can be made.

  Subsequently, the determination unit 14 determines whether or not the mode switching position specified in step S3 is on the route of the own vehicle (notification target vehicle) (step S4). When the determination means 14 determines that the mode switching position is on the route (step S4: YES), the notification means 16 prompts the preparation for the switching operation at a timing before the host vehicle reaches the mode switching position. Therefore, the driver is notified (step S5). The timing at which the notification by the notification means is made is, for example, when the arrival period calculated based on the distance to reach the mode switching position and the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor is equal to or shorter than a predetermined period. As a result, the driver can ensure a sufficient preparation period for mode switching.

  On the other hand, when the determination unit 14 determines that the mode switching position is not on the route (step S4: NO), the notification unit 16 ends the process without notifying the driver (end).

  When it is predicted that the vehicle 2a in the automatic operation mode is switched to the manual operation mode as described above, the own vehicle is set to the mode switching position (point 6) based on the mode switching information in the other vehicle. You will be notified before you reach. Such notification may include, for example, various information described below.

  The mode switching information acquired in step S2 includes identification information for distinguishing whether the mode switching occurring in the other vehicle is automatic or intentional by the driver. May be. In this case, when obtaining the mode switching position in step S3, the calculation is performed based only on the information corresponding to the automatic mode switching (that is, the information corresponding to the mode switching by the intentional operation of the driver is excluded). By doing so, more reliable mode switching prediction can be performed.

  When different specifications are included in the automatic driving devices adopted in the plurality of vehicles 2, when obtaining the mode switching position in step S3, only the mode switching information of the automatic driving devices having the same specifications is used (that is, different). More reliable mode switching prediction can be performed by performing calculation (excluding the mode switching information of the automatic driving device of the specification).

  Moreover, the determination means 14 may notify based on the time-sequential change of a mode switching position by acquiring the mode switching position calculated | required by step S3 continuously in time. For example, when the mode switching position is moving over time, a future mode switching position of the host vehicle is predicted based on the movement tendency, and a notification corresponding to the prediction result is made. Good.

  Further, the notification content by the notification means 16 may be changed stepwise depending on the possibility of future mode switching. Further, in step S2, by acquiring information related to the factor of mode switching that has occurred in each vehicle 2, in step S5, the driver is notified of what factor mode switching is predicted based on. You may do it. In this case, since the driver can obtain information about the prediction factor of the mode switching, the driver can prepare more effectively for the mode switching that will occur in the future.

  As described above, in at least one embodiment of the present invention, the position at which the switching operation from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode is performed based on the mode switching information of the other vehicle collected by the cloud server 10 is specified. be able to. And when the said position exists on the path | route of the own vehicle, it notifies to a driver so that the preparation of switching operation | movement may be encouraged at the timing before the own vehicle arrives at a mode switching position. As a result, the driver can recognize in advance that the mode switching is performed in the host vehicle.

  The present disclosure can be used for a vehicle control device used for a vehicle capable of automatic driving.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle control system 2 Vehicle 4 Traveling path 10 Cloud server 12 Mode switching information acquisition means 14 Judgment means 16 Notification means

Claims (1)

A vehicle control device using a cloud system capable of communicating with a vehicle capable of switching between an automatic driving mode and a manual driving mode based on a vehicle state,
Mode switching information acquisition means for acquiring mode switching information related to switching operation from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode in another vehicle;
Based on the mode switching information acquired by the mode switching information acquisition means, a mode switching position where the switching operation is performed in the other vehicle is specified, and whether or not the mode switching position is on the route of the host vehicle. Determination means for determining whether or not
A notification means for notifying a driver to prompt the preparation for the switching operation at a timing before the vehicle reaches the mode switching position when the mode switching position is on the route by the determination means;
A vehicle control device comprising:

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