JP2017130104A - Composure degree determination device, composure degree determination method and drive support system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a composure degree determination device, a composure degree determination method and a drive support system determining a composure degree with respect to a drive operation without giving troublesomeness to a driver.SOLUTION: A composure degree determination device 10 comprises: a behavior detection part; a peripheral state detection part; a composure degree estimation part; and a composure degree determination part. The behavior detection part detects a behavior of a driver D of an own vehicle C. The peripheral state detection part detects a peripheral state of the own vehicle S1. The composure degree estimation part estimates a composure degree candidate to a drive operation of a driver based on at least one of the behavior and the peripheral state S2. The composure degree determination part estimates a composure degree with respect to the drive operation based on a behavior S3 detected by the behavior detection part after the composure degree estimation part estimates the composure degree candidate and the composure degree candidate estimated by the composure degree estimation part S4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a margin determination device, a margin determination method, and a driving support system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a driver state estimation device that acquires information on the pulse of a driver who is driving a vehicle and estimates the state of the driver based on the change in the pulse has been disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-22738 A

  However, in the above-described driver state estimation device, it is necessary to attach a sensor for acquiring a pulse to the driver, and the driver may feel annoying the wearing of the sensor.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and provides a margin determination device, a margin determination method, and a driving support system that can determine a margin for driving operation without bothering the driver. The purpose is to do.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the margin determination apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a behavior detection unit, a surrounding state detection unit, a margin estimation unit, and a margin determination unit. The behavior detection unit detects the behavior of the driver of the host vehicle. The surrounding situation detection unit detects the surrounding situation of the host vehicle. The margin estimation unit estimates a margin candidate for the driving operation of the driver based on at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation. The margin determination unit calculates a margin for driving operation based on the behavior detected by the behavior detection unit after estimating the margin candidate estimated by the margin estimation unit and the margin candidate estimated by the margin estimation unit. judge.

  According to one aspect of the embodiment, the margin for driving operation can be determined without bothering the driver.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a margin determination method according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a margin determination system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the driving support system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of margin estimation information. FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example of margin determination information. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the margin determination system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a computer that realizes the function of the margin determination apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a margin determination device, a margin determination method, and a driving support system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited by embodiment shown below.

  The outline of the margin determination method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a margin determination method according to the present embodiment. In addition, the margin determination method according to the present embodiment is executed by, for example, the margin determination apparatus 10 mounted on the vehicle C.

  For example, the margin determination device 10 detects the behavior of the driver D based on signals input from a sensor (not shown) or various devices installed in the vehicle C, and acquires the surrounding situation of the vehicle C. Sensors and various devices (not shown) include, for example, an imaging device that captures the state of the driver D such as a camera and a state around the vehicle C, and a sensor that acquires the driving operation of the vehicle C such as a vehicle speed sensor and a steering sensor. .

  Here, the behavior of the driver D includes the gesture of the driver D's body movement, face orientation, utterance, driving operation such as accelerator operation, brake operation, turn signal operation, steering wheel operation, horn operation, etc. It is. Further, the surrounding situation includes the situation related to surrounding vehicles such as the number and position of other vehicles around the vehicle C, the trends of other vehicles such as passing and horning from other vehicles to the vehicle C, or the number of pedestrians around the running road. Information on pedestrians such as location and location.

  The margin determination device 10 detects the behavior and the surrounding situation based on a signal input from a sensor or the like (not shown) disposed on the vehicle C instead of the driver D, and determines the margin, thereby determining the margin. The driver's D margin can be detected without bothering D.

  Here, for example, if the margin determination device 10 determines the state of the driver from the behavior of the driver D, there is a risk of erroneous determination. In this case, for example, even when the driver D erroneously performs the horn operation, when the margin determination device 10 detects the horn operation as the behavior of the driver D, for example, the margin of the driver D is frustrated. It will be determined as a state. In this case, the driver D is determined to be in an irritated state even when the driver D is not actually in an irritated state.

  Therefore, the margin determination device 10 estimates a margin candidate for the driving operation of the driver D based on at least one of the behavior of the driver D and the surrounding situation of the vehicle C. Furthermore, the margin determination device 10 determines the margin based on the behavior of the driver D detected after estimating the margin candidate and the margin candidate. In other words, the margin determination apparatus 10 determines the margin in consideration of the behavior of the driver D after estimation from the margin candidate.

  Thereby, the margin determination device 10 can accurately determine the margin for the driving operation of the driver D without bothering the driver D.

  Subsequently, a margin determination method performed by the margin determination apparatus 10 will be specifically described. As shown in FIG. 1, the margin determination device 10 detects the behavior of the driver D at time t1 and acquires the surrounding situation of the vehicle C (step S1). Subsequently, the margin determination device 10 estimates a margin candidate for the driving operation of the driver D based on at least one of the behavior of the driver D and the surrounding situation of the vehicle C (step S2).

  Here, when the detected behavior of the driver D is a horn operation or when a surrounding situation such as a horn being sounded from another vehicle is acquired, the margin determination device 10 is, for example, irritating a margin candidate. Estimate as

  Subsequently, at time t2, the margin determination device 10 detects the behavior of the driver D after estimating the margin candidate (step S3), and the driving of the operator D based on the behavior and the estimation candidate. A margin for the operation is determined (step S4).

  In step S4, when the estimation candidate is in an irritated state, for example, the margin determination apparatus 10 detects a behavior such as sounding a horn on another vehicle as the behavior of the driver D after estimating the margin candidate. The margin for driving operation is determined as an irritation state. On the other hand, when the estimated behavior of the driver D does not change before and after the estimation, it is not determined that the driver is in an irritated state.

  As described above, the margin determination device 10 estimates the margin candidate based on the behavior of the driver D and the detection result of the surrounding situation, and the behavior of the driver D after estimating the margin candidate and the margin candidate. The margin for the driving operation of the driver D is determined. Thereby, the margin determination device 10 can accurately determine the margin for the driving operation of the driver D without bothering the driver D.

  Next, a configuration example of the margin determination system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the margin determination system 1 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the margin determination system 1 includes, for example, at least one margin determination device 10 and a margin determination server 50. FIG. 2 shows an example in which there are a plurality of margin determination devices 10. Each margin determination device 10 and the margin determination server 50 are connected to each other via a wireless communication network so that they can communicate with each other, and can transmit and receive information to and from each other.

  2 is disposed in each of the vehicles C1, C2,..., CN (N is a natural number of 1 or more; hereinafter also referred to as the vehicle C), and the vehicles C1, C2,. ... And determining the margins of drivers D1, D2,..., DN (hereinafter also referred to as driver D) driving the CN. Further, the margin determination device 10 acquires the behavior of the driver D and the surrounding situation of the vehicle C, and outputs them to the margin determination server 50.

  When the margin determination server 50 acquires the behavior of the driver D and the surrounding situation of the vehicle C from the margin determination apparatus 10, the margin determination server 50 manages information such as the behavior and the surrounding situation acquired for each margin determination apparatus 10, for example. Remember. Further, the margin determination server 50 outputs information managed in response to a request from the margin determination apparatus 10 to the margin determination apparatus 10. Thus, the margin determination apparatus 10 can reduce the processing load of the margin determination apparatus 10 by determining the margin via the margin determination server 50.

  Hereinafter, the driving support system 100 including the margin determination system 1 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.

  First, a configuration example of the driving support system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the driving support system 100 according to the present embodiment. The driving support system 100 includes the above-described margin determination system 1, the navigation device 30, the surrounding state sensor group 5, the behavior detection sensor group 6, and the notification unit 7. In FIG. 3, for simplicity of explanation, the case where there is one margin determination device 10 is illustrated, but the margin determination system 1 includes a plurality of margin determinations as illustrated in FIG. 2. An apparatus 10 may be included.

  The margin determination device 10 includes an acquisition unit 11, a communication unit 12, and a control unit 20. In addition, the margin determination device 10 is connected to the surrounding state sensor group 5, the behavior detection sensor group 6, and the navigation device 30. Further, as described above, the margin determination device 10 is connected to the margin determination server 50 via the communication network 2 so as to communicate with each other.

  The surrounding situation sensor group 5 includes at least one sensor for acquiring the surrounding situation of the vehicle C. Such sensors include, for example, sensors that detect the presence or absence of an object existing around the vehicle C, such as a millimeter wave radar or an optical sensor, and the distance to the object. Such sensors include a camera that mounts an image sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) to capture the surroundings of the vehicle C, a microphone that acquires surrounding sounds, and the like. The surrounding state sensor group 5 outputs the result detected by the sensor to the margin determination device 10 as a surrounding sensor signal.

  The behavior detection sensor group 6 includes at least one sensor for detecting the behavior of the driver D. Such sensors include, for example, an accelerator sensor, a brake sensor, and a steering sensor as sensors that detect the driving operation of the driver D. Further, as a sensor for acquiring the state of the driver D, for example, a camera that is disposed inside the vehicle C and images the driver D, a microphone that acquires sound generated by the driver D, and the like are included. The behavior detection sensor group 6 outputs the result detected by the sensor to the margin determination device 10 as a behavior sensor signal. The peripheral sensor signal and the behavior sensor signal are also collectively referred to as a sensor signal.

  The obtaining unit 11 obtains sensor signals from the surrounding situation sensor group 5 and the behavior detection sensor group 6 to obtain the surrounding situation of the vehicle C and the behavior of the driver D. Such peripheral situations include, for example, the distance between the vehicle C and another vehicle, the driving operation of the other vehicle, and the like. The acquisition unit 11 can also acquire operation history of the driver D with respect to the navigation device 30 and information on the current location of the vehicle C from the navigation device 30. Then, the acquisition unit 11 outputs information including the acquired sensor signal to the control unit 20. In addition, the acquisition part 11 shall acquire a sensor signal from the surrounding condition sensor group 5 and the behavior detection sensor group 6 with a predetermined period.

  The control unit 20 detects the behavior of the driver D of the vehicle C and / or the surrounding situation of the vehicle C based on the sensor signal acquired by the acquisition unit 11, and determines a margin for the driving operation of the driver D. The control unit 20 includes, for example, a microcomputer having a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM), an input / output port, and various circuits. The CPU of such a microcomputer realizes control to be described later by reading and executing a program stored in the ROM.

  The control unit 20 includes a surrounding state detection unit 21, a behavior detection unit 22, an information acquisition unit 23, a margin estimation unit 24, and a margin determination unit 25. The functions of the surrounding state detection unit 21, the behavior detection unit 22, the information acquisition unit 23, the margin estimation unit 24, and the margin determination unit 25 are realized by, for example, the CPU calling and executing the program. .

  Note that the surrounding state detection unit 21, the behavior detection unit 22, the information acquisition unit 23, the margin estimation unit 24, and the margin determination unit 25 are each partially or entirely ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate). Array) or the like.

  The surrounding situation detection unit 21 detects the surrounding situation of the vehicle C based on the surrounding sensor signal input from the surrounding situation sensor group 5 via the acquisition unit 11. The surrounding situation detection unit 21 outputs the surrounding situation as a detection result to the information acquisition unit 23.

  The surrounding state detection unit 21 calculates an inter-vehicle distance between another vehicle around the vehicle C and the vehicle C based on, for example, a radar value of a millimeter wave radar or a captured image around the vehicle C included in the surrounding sensor signal. The surrounding situation detection unit 21 detects the surrounding situation according to the calculated inter-vehicle distance. The surrounding situation detection unit 21 detects, for example, a driving operation of another vehicle as the surrounding situation. Specifically, the surrounding situation detection unit 21 drives other vehicles when, for example, the calculated inter-vehicle distance decreases discontinuously, or when another vehicle whose inter-vehicle distance is a predetermined value or less appears in front of the vehicle C. As an operation, a sudden interruption operation of another vehicle is detected.

  Further, the driving operation of the other vehicle is not limited to the interruption operation. For example, the peripheral sensor signal includes a signal related to sound acquired by a microphone provided in the vehicle C. When the surrounding situation detection unit 21 detects a horn from another vehicle or a siren sound of an emergency vehicle from a signal related to the sound, as a surrounding situation, the horn operation of the other vehicle or an approaching action of the emergency vehicle is detected from the sound. It is detected as a driving operation of the vehicle.

  Further, for example, the surrounding sensor signal includes a sensor value detected by an optical sensor arranged behind the vehicle C. For example, when the surrounding state detection unit 21 detects light from the other vehicle behind the vehicle based on a sensor value input from the optical sensor, the surrounding state detection unit 21 detects passing of the vehicle C from the other vehicle behind as the surrounding state.

  The behavior detection unit 22 detects the behavior of the driver D based on the behavior sensor signal input from the behavior detection sensor group 6 via the acquisition unit 11. Specifically, the behavior detection unit 22 first detects the vehicle state based on the behavior sensor signal. The behavior detection unit 22 detects the current accelerator opening degree, steering angle, and the like of the vehicle C based on sensor values such as an accelerator sensor and a steering sensor as the vehicle state. The behavior detection unit 22 outputs the detected vehicle state (accelerator opening, steering angle, etc.) to the information acquisition unit 23.

  Subsequently, the behavior detection unit 22 detects the behavior of the driver D based on the detected vehicle state. Specifically, for example, the behavior detection unit 22 acquires an average value of the accelerator opening degree during normal times from the margin determination server 50, and compares the average value with the accelerator opening degree of the vehicle C using the average value as a threshold value. As a result of the comparison, when the state where the speed of the current vehicle C is equal to or higher than the threshold value continues for a certain period or longer, the behavior detection unit 22 detects the behavior of the driver D that “the accelerator operation is rougher than normal”.

  In addition, the behavior detection unit 22 acquires, for example, the average value of the regular departure times of the vehicle C from the margin determination server 50 as a threshold value, and compares the current departure time of the vehicle C with the threshold value. As a result of the comparison, when the current departure time is later than the threshold value, the behavior detection unit 22 detects the behavior of the driver D that “the departure time is later than the steady departure time”.

  On the other hand, as a result of the comparison, when the current departure time is earlier than the threshold value, the behavior detection unit 22 detects the behavior of the driver D that “the departure time is earlier than the steady departure time”.

  In addition, the behavior detection unit 22 detects the movement of the face and the body of the driver D as the behavior of the driver D based on, for example, a captured image obtained by imaging the driver D included in the behavior sensor signal. Such body movement includes, for example, movements such as shaking the body, hitting a handle, biting a nail, and smoking a cigarette. As described above, the behavior detection unit 22 detects the operation of the driver D as the behavior of the driver D based on the behavior sensor signal.

  Alternatively, when the behavior detection sensor group 6 includes a smoke detection sensor having a vehicle air cleaning function (not shown), when the smoke detection sensor detects cigarette smoke, the driver D smokes as a behavior of the driver D. You may make it detect a behavior. Further, when the behavior detection sensor group 6 includes a microphone arranged in the vehicle C, the behavior detection unit 22 emits the driver D based on a signal input from the microphone of the behavior detection sensor group 6. The behavior of hitting the steering wheel and the utterance of the driver D may be detected by acquiring the sound and analyzing the sound.

  In addition, the behavior detection unit 22 can also detect a behavior for an operation performed by the driver D on the navigation device 30 based on information acquired from the navigation device 30 via the acquisition unit 11. Here, the operation on the navigation device 30 is, for example, an operation such as destination setting or travel route setting. The behavior detection unit 22 detects a behavior such as “execution of a reconstruction method of a travel route many times by a navigation device” when an operation for a predetermined period is performed a predetermined number of times or more.

  Moreover, the behavior detection part 22 can also detect the action other than the vehicle C of the driver | operator D as a behavior. Specifically, the behavior detection unit 22 acquires the sensor value and position information of the G sensor included in a terminal device (not shown) possessed by the driver D via the communication network 2 at a predetermined period, and acquires the acquired sensor. The behavior of the driver D outside the vehicle C is detected based on the value and position information. Specifically, for example, when the position of the terminal device approaches the vehicle C while the sensor value of the G sensor is maintained at a predetermined value or more, the behavior detection unit 22 sets the vehicle C as the behavior of the driver D. Detect that you ran and got on. The behavior detection unit 22 outputs the detected behavior to the information acquisition unit 23.

  The information acquisition unit 23 acquires the surrounding situation and the behavior of the driver D from the surrounding situation detection unit 21 and the behavior detection unit 22. Moreover, the information acquisition part 23 acquires the positional information on the vehicle C from the navigation apparatus 30 via the acquisition part 11 and the behavior detection part 22, for example. The information acquisition unit 23 generates acquisition information that associates the acquired surrounding situation and the behavior of the driver D with the time and position information at which the surrounding situation is acquired, and the margin estimation unit 24 and the margin determination unit 25. Output to. Moreover, the information acquisition part 23 acquires a vehicle state from the behavior detection part 22, produces | generates the vehicle state information which matched the time which acquired the acquired vehicle state and this vehicle state, and via the communication part 12 with acquisition information. To the margin determination server 50.

  The information acquisition unit 23 outputs the acquired surrounding situation and the behavior of the driver D to the margin estimation unit 24. Further, the information acquisition unit 23 outputs the behavior of the driver D after the margin estimation unit 24 estimates the margin candidate to the margin determination unit 25.

  The margin estimating unit 24 estimates a margin candidate for the driving operation of the driver D based on at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation. Specifically, the margin estimation unit 24 sends the communication unit 12 to the margin determination server 50 when the behavior of the driver D and / or the surrounding situation of the vehicle C are input from the information acquisition unit 23. In this way, a margin candidate corresponding to at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation is inquired.

  As a result of the inquiry, the margin estimation unit 24 acquires a margin candidate corresponding to at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation from the margin determination server 50 via the communication unit 12, and operates the acquired margin candidate. It is estimated as a margin candidate of the person D.

  The margin estimation unit 24 associates the time at which the behavior and / or the surrounding situation corresponding to the estimated margin candidate is detected with the margin candidate estimated as the time at which the margin candidate is estimated, to the margin determination unit 25. Output.

  The margin determination unit 25 is based on the behavior detected by the behavior detection unit 22 after the margin estimation unit 24 estimates the margin candidate and the margin candidate estimated by the margin estimation unit 24. The margin for driving operation is determined.

  Specifically, first, when a margin candidate is input from the margin estimation unit 24, the margin determination unit 25 estimates the margin candidate from the information acquisition unit 23 and then the behavior detection unit 22. Get the behavior detected by.

  For example, when the margin determination unit 25 acquires the time corresponding to the margin candidate from the margin estimation unit 24, the margin determination unit 25 acquires the behavior detected within a predetermined period from the acquired time from the information acquisition unit 23. For example, the behavior is acquired from the information acquisition unit 23 by designating a predetermined period from the time acquired by the margin determination unit 25. Alternatively, by notifying the information acquisition unit 23 of the time acquired by the margin determination unit 25, the behavior acquired during the predetermined period from the time when the information acquisition unit 23 received the notification is output to the margin determination unit 25. You may do it.

  Subsequently, the margin determination unit 25 makes an inquiry about the margin corresponding to the estimated behavior to the margin determination server 50 via the communication unit 12. Then, the margin determination unit 25 acquires the margin from the margin determination server 50 via the communication unit 12.

  Here, for example, the margin determination unit 25 compares the margin candidate estimated by the margin estimation unit 24 with the margin acquired from the margin determination server 50. As a result of the comparison, when the margin candidate matches the margin corresponding to the estimated behavior, the margin determination unit 25 determines the margin candidate as the margin.

  On the other hand, the margin determination unit 25 does not determine the margin required when the margin candidate and the margin corresponding to the estimated behavior do not match, and maintains, for example, the margin determined last time. Alternatively, the determination result may be “not determined” or “not determined”. This is because if the margin candidate and the margin do not match, it is highly likely that the margin candidate is erroneously determined. Therefore, the margin determination unit 25 can suppress erroneous determination of the margin. The margin determination unit 25 outputs the determined margin to the margin determination server 50 and the navigation device 30.

  Next, a configuration example of the margin determination server 50 will be described. The margin determination server 50 includes a communication unit 51, a control unit 60, and a storage unit 70. The communication unit 51 is communicably connected to the margin determination device 10 via the communication network 2.

  The control unit 60 includes, for example, a microcomputer having a central processing unit (CPU), a read only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM), an input / output port, and various circuits. The CPU of such a microcomputer realizes control to be described later by reading and executing a program stored in the ROM.

  The control unit 60 includes a history information generation unit 61, an extraction unit 62, and a margin information update unit 63. The functions of the history information generation unit 61, the extraction unit 62, and the margin information update unit 63 are realized, for example, by the CPU calling and executing the program.

  The history information generating unit 61, the extracting unit 62, and the margin information updating unit 63 may be partially or entirely configured by hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). Good.

  The history information generation unit 61 acquires acquisition information generated by the information acquisition unit 23 of the margin determination device 10, vehicle state information, and a margin that is a determination result of the margin determination unit 25. The history information generation unit 61 generates the history information 71 by associating the vehicle state information or the acquired information with the margin, and stores the history information 71 in the storage unit 70.

  The history information 71 includes, for example, vehicle state information and behavior history information. The vehicle state information is information associated with, for example, the vehicle state, time, and margin. The behavior history information is information associated with, for example, the behavior of the driver D, the surrounding situation, the traveling position of the vehicle C, the time, the weather, the determination result of the margin determination device 10, and the like.

  When the history information generation unit 61 acquires the vehicle state information, the acquisition information, and the margin, the history information generation unit 61 associates the margin with the vehicle state information or the acquisition information so that the time of the vehicle state information or the acquisition information matches the margin. To generate vehicle state information and behavior history information.

  When there are a plurality of margin determination devices 10 connected to the margin determination server 50, the history information generation unit 61 generates history information 71 for each margin determination device 10, and the generated history information 71 is stored in the margin information determination unit 50. It is stored in association with the degree determination device 10.

  The extraction unit 62 extracts information corresponding to the inquiry received from the margin determination apparatus 10 via the communication unit 51 from the margin information 72 and outputs the information to the margin determination apparatus 10 via the communication unit 51 or the like. The margin information 72 is, for example, information in which margin candidates, margins, behaviors, and surrounding conditions are associated with each other, and includes margin estimation information and margin determination information.

  Such margin estimation information is information in which margin candidates are associated with behaviors and surrounding situations, and is information extracted by the extraction unit 62 in response to an inquiry from the margin estimation unit 24. The margin determination information is information in which the margin is associated with the behavior and the surrounding situation, and is information extracted by the extraction unit 62 in response to an inquiry from the margin determination unit 25. Here, a specific example of the margin information 72 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B.

  FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of margin estimation information. FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example of margin determination information. As shown in FIG. 4A, the margin estimation information is, for example, information associated with “candidate ID”, “behavior or surrounding situation”, “margin candidate”, and “link destination ID”. is there. The margin determination information shown in FIG. 4B is information in which “link ID” and “behavior after estimation” are associated with each other.

  The “candidate ID” is an ID assigned for each “behavior or surrounding situation”. The “behavior or surrounding situation” is the behavior of the driver D or the surrounding situation of the vehicle C. The “margin candidate” indicates a margin candidate for the driving operation of the driver D according to the behavior or the surrounding situation, and there are irritation, impatience, and room. The “link destination ID” indicates an ID linked to the “link ID” of the margin determination information illustrated in FIG. 4B.

  For example, when the extraction unit 62 receives an inquiry about at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation of the driver D from the margin estimation unit 24, the margin corresponding to at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation is obtained from the margin estimation information. Candidates and link destination IDs are extracted.

  For example, when the inquired behavior is “execution of horn operation for a predetermined time or more”, the extraction unit 62 responds to the “irritation” that is a margin candidate corresponding to the behavior and the surrounding situation, and the irritation. The link ID “1-7” is extracted. Then, the extraction unit 62 outputs the extracted margin candidate and the link ID to the margin estimation unit 24.

  When the margin candidate and the link destination ID are input, the margin estimation unit 24 estimates the margin candidate as a margin candidate for the driver D. Further, the margin estimating unit 24 inputs the acquired margin candidate and the link destination ID to the margin determining unit 25.

  Further, the margin estimation unit 24 estimates a margin candidate based on the behavior of the driver D outside the vehicle C as indicated by the candidate ID “A3” as the behavior. Thereby, the margin estimation part 24 can determine the margin candidate of the driver D also from the behavior of the driver D outside the vehicle C.

  Further, the margin estimation unit 24 performs driving operations of other vehicles such as horns from other vehicles, passing from other vehicles, and sudden interruptions from other vehicles, as indicated by candidate IDs “B1 to B3” as surrounding situations. Based on this, a margin candidate is estimated. As a result, the margin candidate can be estimated not only by the behavior of the vehicle C but also by the driving operation of the other vehicle, so that the margin candidate can be accurately determined.

  In this case, the margin estimation unit 24 determines a margin candidate based on the distance between the vehicle C and another vehicle. Thereby, since the margin determination part 25 can estimate a margin candidate also from the distance of the vehicle C and another vehicle, it can determine a margin candidate accurately.

  When the margin candidate and the link destination ID are input, the margin determination unit 25 acquires the behavior detected by the behavior detection unit 22 from the information acquisition unit 23 after the margin estimation unit 24 estimates the margin candidate. . Subsequently, the margin determination unit 25 inquires of the extraction unit 62 via the communication unit 51 about the margin corresponding to the behavior.

  Upon receiving the behavior inquiry from the margin determination unit 25, the extraction unit 62 extracts a link ID corresponding to the behavior from the margin determination information, and outputs the extracted link ID to the margin determination unit 25.

  When the link ID is input, the margin determination unit 25 compares the link destination ID and the link ID described above. As a result of the comparison, when the link destination ID and the link ID match, the margin determination unit 25 determines the margin candidate as the margin, and when the link destination ID and the link ID do not match, for example, the margin The degree candidate is not determined as a margin. This is because there is a high possibility of erroneous determination when the link destination ID and the link ID do not match.

  Here, the margin determination unit 25 determines the margin based on the driving operation of the driver D as the behavior after estimation, as indicated by the link IDs “1 to 4 and 8, 9” in FIG. 4B. Thus, the margin determination unit 25 can determine the margin with high accuracy by determining the margin based on the driving operation of the driver D.

  Further, the extraction unit 62 calculates a value in a normal state of the vehicle state (accelerator opening degree, steering angle, etc.) in response to an inquiry from the behavior detection unit 22. Specifically, for example, the extraction unit 62 extracts the vehicle state at normal times from the vehicle state information, and calculates an average value for each vehicle state. A value obtained by giving a certain width to the calculated average value is a value in normal times. The extraction unit 62 outputs the calculated normal value to the behavior detection unit 22.

  Here, “normal” means, for example, a case where the margin is determined to be “clear”. Alternatively, when the margin determination unit 25 determines a margin including “normal”, it may be determined as “normal”.

  For example, when an inquiry about the value of the accelerator opening during normal times is received from the behavior detecting unit 22, the extracting unit 62 calculates the average value of the accelerator opening determined to be “clear”. Further, when an inquiry about the departure time in normal times is received, for example, the average time at which “departure” at which the margin is determined to be “clear” is calculated.

  The margin information update unit 63 updates the margin information 72 based on the history information 71. Specifically, the margin information update unit 63 first performs a statistical process on the history information 71 for the behavior and the surrounding situation for each margin. As a result of the statistical processing, the margin information updating unit 63 adds the common behavior and the surrounding situation to the margin information 72 when detecting the behavior and the surrounding situation common to each margin.

  Specifically, in the statistical result in the case where the margin is frustrating, it is assumed that many “tongues” are detected as a common behavior of the driver D in addition to “accelerator operation is rougher than normal”. In this case, the margin information update unit 63 adds one link ID of the margin determination information shown in FIG. 4B and adds “tongue” to the behavior after the estimation of the added link ID. The link ID corresponding to the tongue is added to the link destination ID corresponding to the frustration of the allowance estimation unit 72A shown. In this way, the margin information update unit 63 updates the margin information 72, so that the margin determination apparatus 10 can accurately determine the margin.

  The storage unit 70 stores, for example, the history information 71 and the margin information 72 described above as information necessary for processing performed by the control unit 20 of the margin determination apparatus 10, and stores various processing results. The storage unit 70 is a semiconductor memory device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a flash memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk or an optical disk.

  The navigation device 30 operates as a support device that supports the driving operation of the driver D based on the operation of the driver D and the determination result of the margin determination unit 25 of the margin determination device 10. Further, the navigation device 30 includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna (not shown), can acquire the position information of the vehicle C, and can output the position information to the margin determination device 10. Further, the navigation device 30 stores a map database in a storage unit (not shown), and stores the determination result of the margin determination device 10 and the position information to which the determination result is input in association with the map database.

  The navigation device 30 includes an operation unit 31, a route setting unit 32, and a notification information generation unit 33.

  The operation unit 31 is an input device that receives a setting operation such as destination setting or travel route setting for the navigation device 30 of the driver D or the passenger of the vehicle C. The navigation device 30 outputs the accepted setting operation to the margin determination device 10.

  The route setting unit 32 sets the travel route of the vehicle C based on the operation of the driver D input from the operation unit 31. Here, as described above, for example, when the navigation device 30 stores the map information and the margin as a map database in association with each other, the route setting unit 32 indicates that the margin determination device 10 determines the driver D as the margin. The travel route is set while avoiding the section where the vehicle has fallen, that is, the section determined to be, for example, irritation or impatience.

  Specifically, for example, the route setting unit 32 avoids a section including a position determined as irritation or impatience more than a predetermined number of times from the above-described map database. For example, the route setting is performed by lowering the priority of the section determined to be frustrated or impatient more than a predetermined number of times. Further, the route setting unit 32 may preferentially select a section including a position determined to be more than a predetermined number of times, that is, increase the priority and set the travel route. Also, if you are forced to drive in or around a section that has been determined to be frustrated or impatient, make a suggestion to drop in to a facility (for example, a resting place) that has a higher margin before entering the section or the vicinity. May be.

  As a result, the navigation device 30 can present the traveling route that can travel with ease and avoid irritation and scorching to the driver D, and supports the driver D for safe and comfortable traveling. be able to. Further, the navigation device 30 can provide a comfortable driving environment to the driver D.

  The notification information generation unit 33 generates notification information in accordance with the current driver D margin determined by the margin determination device 10. The notification information generation unit 33 generates notification information with a small amount of information when the margin for the driving operation of the driver D decreases.

  This is because if the margin for the driving operation of the driver D is small, the driver D may feel bothered by the notification information when the information amount of the notification information is large, which may hinder the driving operation. When the margin for the driving operation of the driver D is reduced, such as “frustration” or “impatience”, the notification information is notified without reducing the information amount of the notification information without disturbing the driving operation of the driver D. be able to.

  On the other hand, when the margin for the driving operation of the driver D is large, that is, when it is “clear”, the driver D can be notified of a lot of information by increasing the information amount of the notification information. Thus, the notification information can be more appropriately notified to the driver D by generating the notification information according to the margin of the driver D.

  In addition, when the margin input from the margin determination device 10 is in an irritated state, the notification information generating unit 33 superimposes music having an effect of suppressing the irritating, for example, on the guidance voice such as guidance on the travel route. You may decide to produce the made information information. Or you may make it produce | generate the audio | voice information which has the effect which suppresses irritation, such as making the guidance audio | voice calm, as alerting | reporting information. Thus, since the notification information generation part 33 produces | generates notification information according to the margin of the driver | operator D, it can provide the comfortable driving environment with respect to the driver | operator D. FIG.

  The notification unit 7 notifies the driver D of the notification information generated by the notification information generation unit 33 of the navigation device 30. The notification unit 7 includes a display unit, a speaker, and the like. When such a display unit is configured by a touch panel display, for example, the operation surface of the touch panel display functions as the operation unit 31 of the navigation device 30.

  Next, a processing procedure of margin determination processing executed by the margin determination apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the margin determination apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. In addition, the process shown below is repeatedly performed by the control part 20 of the margin determination apparatus 10. FIG.

  First, the behavior detection unit 22 of the margin determination device 10 detects the behavior of the driver D based on information input from the surrounding state sensor group 5 via the acquisition unit 11 (step S101). Subsequently, the surrounding state detection unit 21 acquires the surrounding state of the vehicle C based on information input from the surrounding state sensor group 5 via the acquisition unit 11 (step S102).

  Subsequently, the margin estimation unit 24 estimates a margin candidate based on the behavior of the driver D and / or the surrounding situation of the vehicle C (step S103). Subsequently, the behavior detection unit 22 detects the behavior of the driver D after the margin estimation unit 24 estimates the margin candidates (step S104).

  The margin determination unit 25 determines the margin based on the behavior detected in step S104 and the margin candidate estimated by the margin estimation unit 24 (step S105).

  Note that the order of processing in steps S101 and S102 is not limited and may be executed simultaneously. Steps S101 and S102 may be executed at a predetermined cycle regardless of whether or not the processes of steps S103 to S105 are being executed while the margin determination process is being executed.

  The margin determination apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment can be realized by a computer 600 having a configuration shown as an example in FIG. FIG. 6 is a hardware configuration diagram illustrating an example of a computer that realizes the function of the margin determination apparatus 10.

  The computer 600 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 610, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 620, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 630, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 640. The computer 600 also includes a media interface (I / F) 650, a communication interface (I / F) 660, and an input / output interface (I / F) 670.

  The computer 600 may include an SSD (Solid State Drive), and the SSD may execute a part or all of the functions of the HDD 640. Further, an SSD may be provided instead of the HDD 640.

  The CPU 610 operates based on a program stored in at least one of the ROM 620 and the HDD 640 and controls each unit. The ROM 620 stores a boot program executed by the CPU 610 when the computer 600 starts up, a program depending on the hardware of the computer 600, and the like. The HDD 640 stores a program executed by the CPU 610, data used by the program, and the like.

  The media I / F 650 reads programs and data stored in the storage medium 680 and provides them to the CPU 610 via the RAM 630. The CPU 610 loads such a program from the storage medium 680 onto the RAM 630 via the media I / F 650, and executes the loaded program. Alternatively, the CPU 610 executes a program using such data. The storage medium 680 is, for example, a magneto-optical recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), an SD card, or a USB memory.

  The communication I / F 660 receives data from other devices via the network 690 and sends the data to the CPU 610, and transmits the data generated by the CPU 610 to other devices via the network 690. Alternatively, the communication I / F 660 receives a program from another device via the network 690, sends the program to the CPU 610, and the CPU 610 executes the program.

  The CPU 610 controls a display unit such as a display (not shown), an output unit such as a speaker, and an input unit such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a button via the input / output I / F 670. The CPU 610 acquires data from the input unit via the input / output I / F 670. In addition, the CPU 610 outputs the generated data to the display unit or the output unit via the input / output I / F 670.

  For example, when the computer 600 functions as the input device 1, the CPU 610 of the computer 600 executes a program loaded on the RAM 630, so that the surrounding state detection unit 21, behavior detection unit 22, information acquisition unit 23, margin The functions of the estimation unit 24 and the margin determination unit 25 are realized.

  For example, the CPU 610 of the computer 600 reads these programs from the storage medium 680 and executes them, but as another example, these programs may be acquired from other devices via the network 690. Further, the HDD 640 can store information stored in the storage unit 20.

  As described above, the margin determination apparatus 10 according to the embodiment includes the behavior detection unit 22, the surrounding state detection unit 21, the margin estimation unit 24, and the margin determination unit 25. The behavior detection unit 22 detects the behavior of the driver D of the host vehicle. The surrounding situation detection unit 21 detects the surrounding situation of the host vehicle. The margin estimating unit 24 estimates a margin candidate for the driving operation of the driver D based on at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation. The margin determination unit 25 is configured to perform a driving operation based on the behavior detected by the behavior detection unit 22 after estimating the margin candidate estimated by the margin estimation unit 24 and the margin candidate estimated by the margin estimation unit 24. Estimate the margin for.

  Therefore, according to the margin determination apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the margin for driving operation can be determined without bothering the driver D.

  By the way, although the margin determination apparatus 10 mentioned above illustrated about the case where the margin with respect to the driving | operation operation of the driver | operator D was determined via the margin determination server 50, it is not restricted to this. That is, the margin determination device 10 may include a part or all of the functions of the margin determination server 50. The margin determination server 50 may include a part or all of the functions of the margin determination apparatus 10.

  In addition, although the above-described margin determination device 10 is illustrated as a case where the driver's D margin is determined as a “clear” state, a “impaired” state, or an “irritated” state, the present invention is not limited to this, and “tense” The margin including the state and the “sleepiness” state may be determined.

  Further effects and modifications can be easily derived by those skilled in the art. Thus, the broader aspects of the present invention are not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described above. Accordingly, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Margin determination system 10 Margin determination apparatus 20 Control part 21 Peripheral condition detection part 22 Behavior detection part 23 Information acquisition part 24 Margin degree estimation part 25 Margin degree determination part 30 Navigation apparatus 50 Margin degree determination server 60 Control part 61 History information Generation unit 62 Extraction unit 63 Margin information update unit 70 Storage unit 71 History information 72 Margin information

Claims (7)

A behavior detection unit for detecting the behavior of the driver of the host vehicle;
A surrounding situation detector for detecting the surrounding situation of the host vehicle;
A margin estimating unit that estimates a margin candidate for the driving operation of the driver based on at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation;
Based on the behavior detected by the behavior detection unit after the margin estimation unit estimates the margin candidate and the margin candidate estimated by the margin estimation unit, a margin for the driving operation is determined. A margin determination device comprising: a margin determination unit that performs the following. The surrounding state detection unit
Detect driving operation of other vehicles as the surrounding situation,
The margin estimation unit
The margin determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the margin candidate is estimated based on the driving operation of the other vehicle detected by the surrounding state detection unit. The surrounding state detection unit
Detecting the surrounding situation according to the distance between the host vehicle and another vehicle,
The margin estimation unit
The margin determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the margin candidate is estimated based on the distance. The behavior detector is
Detecting the driving operation of the driver as the behavior;
The margin determination unit
The margin determination apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the margin is determined based on the driving operation. The behavior detector is
Detecting the behavior of the driver outside the vehicle as the behavior,
The margin estimation unit
The margin determination apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the margin candidate is estimated based on the behavior of the driver outside the host vehicle. A margin determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A route setting unit for setting a travel route of the host vehicle,
The route setting unit
The driving support system, wherein the travel route is set so as to avoid the travel route in a section in which the margin determination device determines that the margin is decreased. A behavior detection process for detecting the behavior of the driver of the vehicle;
A surrounding state detection step of detecting a surrounding state of the host vehicle;
A margin estimation step for estimating a margin candidate for the driving operation of the driver based on at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation;
A margin for the driving operation is determined based on the behavior detected by the behavior detection step after the margin estimation step estimates the margin candidate and the margin candidate estimated by the margin estimation step. A margin determination method comprising: a margin determination step to perform.

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