JP2017207932A - Passage safety device, and traffic accident occurrence prevention method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a vehicle, a two-wheeled barrow, a pedestrian, and the like to safely pass at an intersection having no traffic light.SOLUTION: A passage safety device generates a will-image representing a passage-will as to whether an own vehicle is about to stop or about to advance so as to be projected on the road surface, and the will-image on the road surface is updated from the appearance by which the will-image is updated on the road surface by reading the will-image projected on the road surface by the vehicle and taking into consideration a result thereof. By so doing, the will-image on the road surface is updated, and whether or not the passage-will of the own vehicle is conveyed to the other vehicle can be also confirmed. This can reduce the necessity of predicting the action of the other vehicle, and thereby suppressing the occurrence of the traffic accident.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for preventing the occurrence of a traffic accident associated with the passage of a vehicle.

When passers-by, such as vehicle drivers, pedestrians, or motorcycle drivers, pass on the road, other passers-by can avoid the collision with other passers-by and smoothly pass the road. It is to pass while predicting the behavior of. If the prediction is wrong, the risk of causing a traffic accident increases.
In particular, since the traffic of a passerby is congested at an intersection, it is difficult to predict the behavior of other passers-by and the risk of a traffic accident occurring increases. Therefore, traffic lights are installed at many intersections. At an intersection where there is a traffic light, a passer should just follow the traffic light, so there is no need to predict the behavior of other passers and the risk of a traffic accident occurring can be suppressed.

However, traffic lights are not installed at all intersections. Therefore, at an intersection where there is no traffic light, a situation occurs in which the behavior of another vehicle must be predicted.
Therefore, a technique has been proposed in which other vehicles are informed of the existence of the own vehicle and whether the own vehicle is accelerating or decelerating by irradiating a laser beam from the vehicle toward the road surface ( Patent Document 1). In this way, for example, even when a plurality of vehicles are matched at an intersection, the actions of other vehicles can be recognized with each other, and it is expected that the occurrence of a traffic accident can be suppressed.

JP 2003-231450 A

However, in the proposed technique described above, it is still necessary to predict the behavior of other vehicles, and thus there is a problem that the occurrence of traffic accidents cannot be suppressed.
This is due to the following reason. Certainly, with the proposed technology, displaying information on the road surface can inform other vehicles of the existence of the host vehicle and the acceleration / deceleration state of the host vehicle, but the host vehicle displays this information on the road surface. However, other vehicles do not always stop based on that information. In the first place, just because information is displayed on the road surface, it does not necessarily mean that the other vehicle grasps the information. This is true for other vehicles as well. Eventually, when information was presented on the road surface, there was no change in the point that the behavior of other vehicles had to be predicted, and therefore, the occurrence of traffic accidents could not be suppressed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and allows a vehicle driver, a two-wheeled vehicle driver, a pedestrian and other passers to pass safely even at intersections without traffic lights. The purpose is to provide technology.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the traffic safety device and the traffic accident prevention method according to the present invention generate an intention image representing a traffic intention about whether the host vehicle is about to stop or move, and Project above. And the intention image which the other vehicle projected on the road surface is read, and the intention image of the own vehicle is updated in consideration of the result.

  In this way, by reading the intention image on the road surface, it is possible to grasp the traffic intention of the other vehicle, and the intention image of the own vehicle is transmitted to the other vehicle because the intention image on the road surface is updated. It can also be confirmed whether or not. For this reason, since the need to predict the behavior of other vehicles is reduced, the occurrence of traffic accidents can be suppressed. Furthermore, if the updated intention image is further updated, it becomes possible to match the intention to pass with other vehicles, and as a result, the occurrence of a traffic accident can be greatly suppressed.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the vehicle 1 carrying the traffic assistance apparatus 100 of 1st Example. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the traffic assistance apparatus 100 of 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the condition which two vehicles and the pedestrian put together in the intersection. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated a mode that communication of intention is aimed at by projecting a will image on a road surface in the situation where two vehicles and a pedestrian matched in an intersection. It is a flowchart which shows the first half part of the traffic assistance process which the traffic assistance apparatus 100 of 1st Example performs. It is a flowchart which shows the latter half part of the traffic assistance process which the traffic assistance apparatus 100 of 1st Example performs. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the condition where two vehicles and two pedestrians put together at the intersection. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the intention image which displays the intention of a pedestrian priority with respect to the detected pedestrian. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated a mode that the intention image containing the traffic intention to pass the intersection when the pedestrian is not detected at the intersection and the distance to the intersection is projected. It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the intention image showing the traffic intention of the own vehicle 1, and a traffic order. It is explanatory drawing which illustrates a mode that the presence or absence of matching is judged between the intention image of the own vehicle, and the intention image of another vehicle. It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the state which matched between the intention image of the own vehicle, and the intention image of another vehicle. It is explanatory drawing which shows the rough internal structure of the traffic assistance apparatus 150 of the modification of 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing which illustrates a mode that a traffic order is determined in consideration of the number of the vehicles which follow, when a vehicle sets together at an intersection. It is explanatory drawing which shows the vehicle 1 carrying the traffic assistance apparatus 200 of 2nd Example. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the traffic assistance apparatus 200 of 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows the first half part of the traffic assistance process which the traffic assistance apparatus 200 of 2nd Example performs. It is a flowchart which shows the latter half part of the traffic assistance process which the traffic assistance apparatus 200 of 2nd Example performs. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the intention image which has a code | cord | chord information display area.

Hereinafter, examples will be described in order to clarify the contents of the present invention described above.
A. First Example:
A-1. Device configuration :
FIG. 1 shows a rough configuration of a vehicle (hereinafter, the host vehicle 1) on which the traffic support device 100 of the first embodiment is mounted. The own vehicle 1 is a so-called automatic driving vehicle and is equipped with an automatic driving device 10. The automatic driving device 10 grasps the situation around the host vehicle 1 based on the situation in front taken by the in-vehicle camera 13, the current position read from the navigation device 14, and map information. Furthermore, the surrounding situation can also be grasped by communicating with other vehicles using the wireless communication device 11. Then, the host vehicle 1 is automatically driven by performing a handle operation, an accelerator operation, and a brake operation of the host vehicle 1 in accordance with the surrounding situation.
In this embodiment, it is assumed that the position of the pedestrian is detected by using an image taken by the in-vehicle camera 13. However, the method of detecting the position of the pedestrian is not limited to this, and the position of the pedestrian may be detected using a surrounding monitoring sensor (for example, a radar using millimeter waves) mounted on the vehicle. it can.

The own vehicle 1 is also equipped with a laser beam scanning device 12.
The laser beam scanning device 12 has a function of blinking the laser beam while scanning the irradiation direction of the laser beam at high speed. By blinking the laser beam at an appropriate timing according to the scanning of the laser beam, the laser beam scanning device 12 An arbitrary image can be projected on the surface.
Here, the description will be made on the assumption that an image is projected using the laser beam scanning device 12. However, if an arbitrary image can be projected onto a road surface or the like, another device such as a so-called projector can be used instead of the laser beam scanning device 12. It can also be used.
As shown in FIG. 1, the traffic support device 100 of the first embodiment is connected to an automatic driving device 10, an in-vehicle camera 13, and a laser beam scanning device 12.

FIG. 2 shows a rough internal structure of the traffic support apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in the figure, the traffic support apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment includes a traffic intention acquisition unit 101, a intention image projection unit 102, a intention image update unit 103, a target intersection acquisition unit 104, and a reading result output unit 105. And an intention image reading unit 106.
Note that these “parts” are abstract concepts in which the inside of the traffic support apparatus 100 is classified for convenience in terms of functions, and the traffic support apparatus 100 is physically divided into these “parts”. It does not represent that. Therefore, these “units” can be realized as a computer program executed by the CPU, can be realized as an electronic circuit including an LSI, or can be realized as a combination thereof.

The target intersection acquisition unit 104 is connected to the automatic driving device 10 and acquires information regarding whether or not the target intersection exists from the automatic driving device 10. Here, the “target intersection” is an intersection that exists within a predetermined range (for example, within 10 meters) in the traveling direction of the host vehicle 1 and that is not provided with a traffic light.
The automatic driving device 10 is connected to the navigation device 14 (see FIG. 1), and can grasp the presence or absence of the target intersection based on the map information stored in the navigation device 14. Therefore, the target intersection acquisition unit 104 acquires information regarding the presence or absence of the target intersection from the automatic driving device 10. If the target intersection exists, information to that effect is output to the travel intention acquisition unit 101 and the intention image reading unit 106.

When the traffic intention acquisition unit 101 receives information indicating that the target intersection exists, the traffic intention acquisition unit 101 acquires information regarding the traffic intention of the host vehicle 1 from the automatic driving device 10. Here, “intention to pass” is information indicating whether the automatic driving apparatus 10 is about to stop before the target intersection or is about to pass through the target intersection.
In the following description, it is assumed that the intention to pass through the target intersection is information including the direction of travel (ie, straight ahead, right turn, left turn, etc.), but will it simply stop or proceed? It can also be set as information indicating.
In addition, here, the passage intention acquisition unit 101 will be described as acquiring the passage intention from the automatic driving apparatus 10 when receiving information indicating that the target intersection exists, regardless of the presence or absence of the target intersection. For example, you may make it acquire a traffic intention with a fixed period.

  The intention image projection unit 102 uses the laser beam scanning device 12 by generating a intention image representing the traffic intention and outputting the intention image to the laser beam scanning device 12 when the passage intention is acquired by the passage intention acquisition unit 101. Project the intention image on the road surface.

When the intention image reading unit 106 receives information from the target intersection acquisition unit 104 that the target intersection exists, the intention image reading unit 106 acquires a captured image by the in-vehicle camera 13 and projects another vehicle on the road surface from the captured image. The intention image (hereinafter, the intention image of another vehicle) is read out. Then, the read intention image of the other vehicle is output to the reading result output unit 105. At this time, the content to be output to the read result output unit 105 may be a travel intention (that is, a travel intention of another vehicle) represented in the intention image of the other vehicle.
Then, the reading result output unit 105 outputs the content acquired from the intention image reading unit 106 to the automatic driving device 10.

In this way, when the information on the intention image of the other vehicle (or the intention of passing the other vehicle represented by the intention image) is output to the automatic driving device 10, the intention of passing is again transmitted from the automatic driving device 10 using the passage intention acquisition unit 101. get. As described above, since the information on the intention to pass other vehicles is transmitted to the automatic driving device 10, the automatic driving device 10 can review its own intention to pass in consideration of the information. Therefore, the traffic intention acquisition unit 101 acquires the traffic intention of the host vehicle 1 from the automatic driving device 10 again in order to confirm the traffic intention determined by the automatic driving device 10 in consideration of the traffic intention of other vehicles. . Then, the intention to pass the own vehicle 1 obtained in this way is output to the intention image update unit 103.
The passage intention acquisition unit 101 passes a predetermined time after the reading result output unit 105 outputs information on the intention image of the other vehicle (or the intention of passage of the other vehicle represented by the intention image) to the automatic driving device 10. Then, the intention of passing the automatic driving device 10 may be acquired. In this way, it is possible to avoid acquiring the intention to travel from the automatic driving apparatus 10 before the automatic driving apparatus 10 reviews the intention to travel in consideration of the traffic intention of another vehicle.

  When the automatic driving device 10 acquires the traffic intention of the host vehicle 1 that has been reviewed in consideration of the traffic intention of another vehicle, the intention image update unit 103 generates an intention image representing the traffic intention and transmits the intention image to the laser beam scanning device 12. By outputting, the intention image projected on the road surface is updated.

  The traffic support device 100 of the first embodiment is equipped with the above functions. By mounting such a traffic support device 100 on the own vehicle 1 and other vehicles, not only traffic accidents with other vehicles but also traffic accidents between two-wheeled vehicles or pedestrians and the own vehicles. Occurrence can be suppressed. Hereinafter, an outline of this reason will be described.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, consider a case where two vehicles and a pedestrian come together at an intersection without a traffic light. For the vehicle A, it is not known whether the vehicle B stops. In addition, there is a possibility that the vehicle B stops with the intention of giving way to a pedestrian, but it is not known whether the vehicle B really stops. The same applies to the vehicle B. That is, the vehicle B does not know whether the vehicle A stops. Furthermore, it is not known to the pedestrian whether the vehicle A and the vehicle B will stop.
For this reason, for any of the vehicle A, the vehicle B, and the pedestrian, the other party's behavior must be predicted. And if you are unpredictable, you run the risk of encountering a traffic accident.

  Even in such a case, if the traffic support apparatus 100 of the first embodiment is mounted on the vehicle A or the vehicle B, it is possible to express its own intention to pass by projecting the intention image on the road surface of the intersection. . If both the vehicle A and the vehicle B are equipped with the traffic support device 100, it is possible to communicate with each other by communicating each other's traffic intentions and re-expressing their traffic intentions based on the results. it can.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4A, the vehicle A projects an intention image a1 representing its own travel intention, and the vehicle B projects an intention image b1 representing its own travel intention. For this reason, the vehicle A can recognize the traffic intention of the vehicle B by reading the intention image b1 projected by the vehicle B. Similarly, the vehicle B can recognize the traffic intention of the vehicle A by reading the intention image a1 projected by the vehicle A.
The vehicle A recognizes the intention of passing the vehicle B, the vehicle B recognizes the intention of passing the vehicle A, updates its own intention to pass, and projects an intention image representing the result on the road surface. To do. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4B, the vehicle A projects the intention image a <b> 2 on the road surface in consideration of the traffic intention of the vehicle B. This intention image a1 is different from the intention image a1 shown in FIG. 4 (a) when the vehicle A changes its own traffic intention by considering the traffic intention of the vehicle B. When the intention to pass is not changed, the intention image a2 is the same image as the intention image a1.

Similarly, the vehicle B projects the intention image b2 on the road surface in consideration of the vehicle A's intention to pass. Note that the intention image b2 may be the same image as the intention image b1 or a different image depending on whether or not the vehicle B changes its own intention to pass by considering the vehicle A's intention to pass. Can happen.
In this way, the vehicle A and the vehicle B can communicate with each other using the intention image projected on the road surface. Therefore, the vehicle A and the vehicle B encounter a traffic accident because they misread the other party's intention and entered the intersection. It is possible to avoid the danger of doing.

  Moreover, a pedestrian can also recognize that the vehicle A and the vehicle B aim at communication using the intention image on the road surface. Of course, when a motorcycle or the like is present at the intersection, a driver of the motorcycle or the like can also be recognized. For this reason, since a pedestrian (or a driver such as a two-wheeled vehicle) can also recognize the intention of passing the vehicle A and the vehicle B, the vehicle A or the vehicle B misreads the intention and enters the intersection and encounters a traffic accident. The danger of doing can be avoided.

  Below, in order to implement | achieve the above effects, the traffic assistance process which the traffic assistance apparatus 100 of 1st Example performs is demonstrated.

A-2. Traffic support processing of the first embodiment:
FIGS. 5 and 6 show flowcharts of the traffic support processing executed by the traffic support device 100 of the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 5, when the traffic support process is started, first, the presence or absence of an intersection, a traffic light, or another vehicle existing within a predetermined distance from the host vehicle 1 is detected (S101).
As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the navigation device 14 and the wireless communication device 11 are mounted on the host vehicle 1 of the first embodiment, and the current position of the host vehicle 1 from the navigation device 14, By reading out the map information, it is possible to obtain information on intersections and traffic signal positions existing around the host vehicle 1. In addition, by using the wireless communication device 11 to receive radio waves from other vehicles existing around the host vehicle 1, information on the presence or absence of the other vehicle and the location of the other vehicle can be acquired. In S101, based on the information on the positions of the intersections, traffic lights, and other vehicles acquired in this way, the intersections, traffic lights, and other vehicles existing within a predetermined distance toward the front in the traveling direction of the host vehicle 1 are detected.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not an intersection is detected within a predetermined distance from the host vehicle 1 (S102). As a result, when an intersection is detected within a predetermined distance (S102: yes), it is determined whether or not a traffic light is detected within a predetermined distance (S103). If no traffic light is detected within a predetermined distance (S103: no), it is further determined whether another vehicle is detected within a predetermined distance (S104).

  When no intersection is detected within a predetermined distance from the host vehicle 1 (S102: no), or when an intersection is detected (S102: yes), and there is a traffic light at the intersection (S103: yes), When an intersection without a traffic light is detected (S103: no), but there is no other vehicle at the intersection (S104: no), the process returns to S101 and is again within a predetermined distance from the host vehicle 1. After detecting an existing intersection, traffic light, and other vehicle, the above-described series of determinations (S102 to S104) are repeated.

On the other hand, an intersection without a traffic signal is detected within a predetermined distance from the host vehicle 1 (S102: yes, and S103: no), and further, another vehicle is detected at the intersection (S104: yes). First, the presence / absence of a pedestrian existing within a predetermined detection distance from the intersection is detected (S105).
As described above with reference to FIG. 1, the host vehicle 1 of the present embodiment is equipped with the automatic driving device 10, and the automatic driving device 10 analyzes an image obtained by photographing the front situation with the in-vehicle camera 13. It is possible to detect whether or not there is a pedestrian at the intersection. Further, based on the position where the intersection is captured in the captured image or the position where the pedestrian is captured, the approximate position of the intersection with respect to the host vehicle 1 or the approximate position of the pedestrian can be obtained. Therefore, it can be determined whether or not the distance from the intersection to the pedestrian is within a predetermined detection distance based on the position where the intersection and the pedestrian are shown in the image.

FIG. 7 illustrates a state where two vehicles A and B and two pedestrians a and pedestrians b at the intersection.
When a pedestrian a located near the intersection tries to cross the intersection without temporarily stopping, if any of the vehicles A and B passes through the intersection, the vehicle passing the intersection and the pedestrian a There is a risk of causing a traffic accident at the intersection. Therefore, the vehicles A and B need to be temporarily stopped so that a pedestrian a close to the intersection can pass through the intersection safely.
On the other hand, even if pedestrian b walks toward the intersection without pausing, pedestrian b is far from the intersection and cannot immediately pass through the intersection. There is no risk of causing.
Therefore, in the traffic support process of the present embodiment, the following process is performed when the pedestrian is within the detection distance.

It is determined whether or not a pedestrian has been detected within a predetermined detection distance from the intersection (S106), and if a pedestrian is detected (S106: yes), the fact that there is a pedestrian is output to the automatic driving device 10. Then (S120), the pedestrian priority is projected on the road surface (S121).
As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the traffic support device 100 generates a intention image representing the priority of pedestrians and outputs the intention image to the laser beam scanning device 12, thereby using the laser beam scanning device 12. The intention image can be projected on the road surface.
FIG. 8 illustrates an intention image including a pedestrian priority. In the illustrated intention image, an intention to give priority to a pedestrian is expressed using a human figure and a character.

When the intention image indicating the priority of pedestrians is thus projected on the road surface (S121), the process returns to S105 to detect again pedestrians within the detection distance from the intersection (S105) and determine whether or not a pedestrian has been detected. (S106).
And if a pedestrian is detected (S106: yes), as mentioned above, after outputting that the pedestrian exists to the automatic driving device 10, and projecting a pedestrian priority intention image (S120, S121) Then, the process returns to S105 again to execute the series of steps described above. While the pedestrian is detected at the intersection (S106: yes), the traffic support device 100 continues to project the intention image indicating that the pedestrian has priority by repeating such an operation.
In this embodiment, the intention image is projected on the road surface only after another vehicle is detected (S104: yes). However, if a pedestrian is detected even if no other vehicle is detected. The intention image may be projected toward the pedestrian.

  In the above explanation, it is assumed that the pedestrian priority is continuously projected on the road surface until the pedestrian is not detected within the detection distance from the intersection. However, the pedestrian priority may continue to be projected on the road until the pedestrian has crossed the intersection. Whether or not the pedestrian has crossed the intersection, for example, by recording the position of the pedestrian, you can see how the pedestrian moves with respect to the intersection. You can easily detect that you're done.

In the above, the process which the traffic assistance apparatus 100 performs when a pedestrian exists in an intersection (S106: yes) was demonstrated.
On the other hand, when a pedestrian is not detected at the intersection (S106: no), the intention to pass and the distance to the intersection are acquired from the automatic driving device 10 (S107). Here, as described above, the intention to pass indicates whether the vehicle is going to stop before the intersection in addition to the direction of going straight through the intersection, such as going straight, turning right, turning left, etc. Information. The detection distance to the intersection may be a distance to the center of the intersection or a distance until the vehicle enters the intersection.

Next, the acquired intention to travel and the distance to the intersection are projected on the road surface (S108).
As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, when the traffic support device 100 acquires the traffic intention and the distance to the intersection from the automatic driving device 10, the traffic support device 100 generates a traffic image indicating the traffic intention and the distance to the intersection. The intention image is projected onto the road surface by using the laser beam scanning device 12 by outputting to the laser beam scanning device 12.
FIG. 9A illustrates an intention image in which the intention to pass and the distance to the intersection are displayed. In the intention image shown in the figure, a number representing the distance to the intersection and an arrow representing the direction of traffic to be passed are displayed.

The host vehicle 1 and other vehicles project the intention image in which the distance to the intersection and the direction of traffic are displayed on the road surface. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9B, the intention image b1 projected by the own vehicle 1 and the intention image a1 projected by the other vehicle A are projected on the road surface of the intersection.
The own vehicle 1 reads the intention image a1 projected by the other vehicle A, so that the other vehicle A is going straight through the intersection from the left side, and the vehicle A exists at a distance of 4.7 meters from the intersection. Can recognize. Similarly, for the other vehicle A, the other vehicle A reads the intention image b1 projected by the own vehicle 1 to indicate that the own vehicle 1 is going straight through the intersection, or a distance of 2.3 meters to the intersection. Can be recognized. In this way, by reading the intention image projected on the road surface, it is possible to recognize how far the own vehicle 1 and the other vehicle are from the intersection and in which direction the intersection is going to pass.

Therefore, the traffic support device 100 reads the intention image projected by the other vehicle on the road surface (S109), and outputs the read traffic intention of the other vehicle and the distance to the intersection of the other vehicle to the automatic driving device 10 (S110). ). Then, the automatic driving device 10 determines the intention of passing the own vehicle 1 and the order of passing the own vehicle 1 using the received intention of passing the other vehicle and the distance to the intersection of the other vehicle, and the driving support device 100. Output to.
The traffic support device 100 receives the traffic intention and the traffic order of the host vehicle 1 thus determined by the automatic driving device 10 (S111 in FIG. 6), generates an intention image representing the traffic intention and the traffic order, and generates a laser beam. Projection is performed on the road surface using the scanning device 12 (S112).

FIG. 10 illustrates an intention image representing the traffic intention and the traffic order of the host vehicle 1. In FIG. 10, the intention to travel is represented by the direction of the arrow indicating the direction of traffic at the intersection and the line displayed on the arrow indicating the intention to stop. The traffic order is represented by the numeral 1 to the right of the arrow.
In S112, the intention image shown in FIG. 9A (that is, the own intention to travel and the distance to the intersection) is represented before the intention image of FIG. 10 representing the intention to travel and the order of traffic is displayed on the road surface. Intention image). Therefore, the intention image on the road surface is updated by displaying the intention image illustrated in FIG. 10 in S112 of FIG.
As described above, in this embodiment, the distance to the intersection of the host vehicle 1 and the other vehicle and the direction of travel are used in order to determine the traffic intention and the traffic order of the host vehicle 1. However, in order to determine the traffic intention and the traffic order, in addition to the distance to the intersection and the traffic direction, the vehicle type and the vehicle speed can be used, and information such as the vehicle type and the vehicle speed may be included in the intention image.

Next, the traffic support device 100 reads the intention image projected by the other vehicle on the road surface using the in-vehicle camera (S113), and outputs the read result to the automatic driving device 10 (S114).
As a result, the automatic driving device 10 of the host vehicle 1 can recognize the intention of passing the other vehicle and the passing order of the other vehicle itself.

  Subsequently, the traffic support device 100 determines whether or not the content represented in the intention image of the host vehicle 1 is consistent with the content displayed in the intention image of the other vehicle (S115). . As described above, the traffic support device 100 reads the intention image displayed by the other vehicle on the road surface, and outputs the result to the automatic driving device 10 of the host vehicle 1 (S114). Furthermore, since the automatic driving device 10 determines the traffic intention and traffic order of the host vehicle 1, the automatic driving device 10 determines the traffic intention and traffic order of the host vehicle 1 and the traffic intention and traffic order of other vehicles. It can be determined whether or not consistency is achieved. Therefore, in S115, it is determined by making an inquiry to the automatic driving device 10 from the passage support device 100 and acquiring the result as to whether or not matching is achieved.

FIG. 11 illustrates a method in which the automatic driving apparatus 10 determines whether there is a match.
In the example shown in FIG. 11A, the first order is displayed in both the intention image aa projected by the vehicle A and the intention image ba projected by the vehicle B. In this way, when the traffic order displayed on the intention image overlaps, it can be determined that the matching is not achieved.
In the example shown in FIG. 11B, the intention image ab projected by the vehicle A displays the first order of travel, and the intention image bb projected by the vehicle B displays the second order of travel. Yes. Since the traffic order does not overlap between the vehicle A and the vehicle B, it can be determined that there is a match.

  In the example shown in FIG. 11, any vehicle goes straight through the intersection, but either (or both) vehicles may turn right or left. In such a case, it may be determined whether or not the intention images are aligned in consideration of not only whether or not the traffic order is overlapping but also the traffic direction of each vehicle.

In S115 of FIG. 6, as described above, it is determined whether or not the content of the intention image of the own vehicle 1 is matched with the content of the intention image of the other vehicle (S115). As a result, when the match is not achieved (S115: no), the process returns to S105 in FIG. 5, the presence / absence of a pedestrian at the intersection is detected, and the subsequent series of processes described above is started.
On the other hand, when the alignment is achieved (S115: yes), it is considered that the intersection can be smoothly passed by following the order of passing the intention image projected on the road surface. In view of this, a display to confirm the intention of passing with the content displayed in the intention image is added to the intention image (S116).

FIG. 12 illustrates an intention image to which a display indicating that the intention to pass is confirmed based on the content displayed in the intention image. The intention image a1 and the intention image b1 illustrated in FIG. 12 are rectangles representing that the intention to pass is confirmed with the content displayed in the intention image with respect to the intention image illustrated in FIG. Is added.
In the intention image of the vehicle A, a horizontal line indicating the intention of stopping is displayed on the arrow in FIG. 11B, but a horizontal line indicating the intention of stopping is not displayed in FIG. This is because the intention image in FIG. 12 is an intention image that is displayed when it is determined that the vehicle A can pass through the intersection.

In the situation of S116 in FIG. 6 in which the fact that the vehicle starts to pass is added to the contents of the intention image, the contents of the intention images of the host vehicle 1 and the other vehicle are consistent, and the order of passage shown in the intention image is followed. You can pass through the intersection smoothly. Accordingly, a vehicle whose traffic order represented by the intention image is ahead of the host vehicle 1 passes through the intersection before the host vehicle 1.
Therefore, it is determined whether or not there is a vehicle whose traffic order is ahead of the host vehicle 1 (S117). If there is a vehicle whose order of traffic of the host vehicle 1 is earlier (S117: yes), the determination of S117 is performed again, and it is determined whether or not there is a preceding vehicle of the order of travel of the host vehicle 1. By doing so, the vehicle 1 is in a standby state until the turn in which the vehicle 1 passes through the intersection comes.
If it is determined that there is no vehicle whose traffic order is earlier than that of the host vehicle 1 while repeating such a process (S117: no), the fact that the vehicle can pass through the intersection is output to the automatic driving device 10. (S118). As a result, the automatic driving apparatus 10 passes the intersection by automatically driving the host vehicle 1.

Thereafter, it is determined whether or not to end the above-described traffic support process (S119). For example, when the automatic driving apparatus 10 continues driving, it is determined that the traffic support process is also continued (S119: no). In this case (S119: no), the process returns to S101 in FIG. 5 at the top of the traffic support process of the present embodiment, and again detects the presence of an intersection, a traffic light, and another vehicle within a predetermined distance. The following series of processes is started.
On the other hand, for example, when the automatic driving device 10 has arrived at the destination, it is determined that the driving is ended, or the driver of the own vehicle 1 forcibly ends the driving of the own vehicle 1. It is determined that the process is to be terminated (S119: yes), and the above-described passage support process is terminated.

  As described above, in the traffic support process according to the present embodiment, the intention image indicating the traffic intention of the host vehicle 1 is projected onto the road surface, whereby the traffic intention of the host vehicle 1 is transmitted to the other vehicle, and the other vehicle projects onto the road surface. The intention of passing another vehicle can be read from the intention image. The own vehicle 1 and the other vehicle can update the contents of the intention image in consideration of the read intention to pass, and the intention vehicle is communicated between the own vehicle 1 and the other vehicle by repeatedly updating the intention image. be able to. For this reason, since it is not necessary to drive by estimating the trend of other vehicles, it is possible to avoid the danger of encountering a traffic accident and to pass smoothly.

  Furthermore, the intention image projected by the vehicle on the road surface can be recognized by a pedestrian or a two-wheeled vehicle driver. For this reason, a pedestrian and a driver of a two-wheeled vehicle can also recognize the process of trying to communicate between vehicles. As a result, pedestrians and motorcycle drivers can recognize how the vehicle is going to move, so they can avoid the danger of encountering a traffic accident and can pass smoothly. Become.

A-3. Modification of the first embodiment:
In the first embodiment described above, the existence of the following vehicle is not taken into consideration when the vehicles that are arranged at the intersection are intended to communicate with each other. However, in reality, there may be a following vehicle in the host vehicle 1 or another vehicle. In the case where there is a large difference between the number of subsequent vehicles of the host vehicle 1 and the number of subsequent vehicles of other vehicles, from the viewpoint of realizing smooth traffic, priority is given to the one with the larger number of subsequent vehicles. It may happen that it is desirable to pass.
Therefore, in the traffic support device 150 of the modified example of the first embodiment described below, the presence of the host vehicle 1 and a subsequent vehicle of another vehicle is also considered.

  FIG. 13 shows a rough internal structure of the traffic support device 150 according to a modification of the first embodiment. The traffic support apparatus 150 according to the modification of the first embodiment is greatly different from the traffic support apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 2 in that a subsequent number acquisition unit 151 is added. . Hereinafter, the traffic support device 150 according to a modification of the first embodiment will be briefly described with a focus on differences from the first embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the traffic support apparatus 150 according to the modification of the first embodiment also includes a traffic intention acquisition unit 101, a intention image projection unit 102, a intention image update unit 103, a target intersection acquisition unit 104, A reading result output unit 105 and an intention image reading unit 106 are provided. These basic functions are the same as those in the first embodiment.
That is, the target intersection acquisition unit 104 acquires information regarding whether or not a target intersection exists from the automatic driving device 10. As described above, the “target intersection” is an intersection that exists within a predetermined range in the traveling direction of the host vehicle 1 and that is not provided with a traffic light.
When the traffic intention acquisition unit 101 receives information indicating that the target intersection exists from the target intersection acquisition unit 104, the traffic intention acquisition unit 101 acquires information regarding the traffic intention of the host vehicle 1 from the automatic driving device 10.
The intention image projection unit 102 projects an intention image on the road surface by generating an intention image corresponding to the intention to pass and outputting the intention image to the laser beam scanning device 12.

Here, in the modified example of the first embodiment, unlike the first embodiment described above, when the intention image projection unit 102 generates the intention image, by acquiring information of the subsequent number from the subsequent number acquisition unit 151, Then, an intention image including information on the subsequent number is generated.
The subsequent number acquisition unit 151 is connected to the wireless communication device 11, and whether or not the own vehicle 1 exists at the head of the vehicle train by performing inter-vehicle communication with other vehicles existing around the own vehicle 1. Determine whether. And when the own vehicle 1 exists in the head of a vehicle row | line, the number of vehicles (namely, subsequent number) following the own vehicle 1 is acquired. If there is no subsequent vehicle, the number of subsequent vehicles is “0”.

When the intention image reading unit 106 receives the information indicating that the target intersection exists from the target intersection acquisition unit 104, the intention image reading unit 106 reads the intention image of the other vehicle from the images captured by the in-vehicle camera 13. In addition, the intention image of the other vehicle read at this time includes information on the number of subsequent vehicles.
The reading result output unit 105 outputs the content read by the intention image reading unit 106 to the automatic driving apparatus 10. Thereafter, when the traffic intention acquisition unit 101 acquires the traffic intention from the automatic driving device 10, the intention image update unit 103 generates a intention image according to the traffic intention and outputs the intention image to the laser beam scanning device 12. The intention image projected on is updated.
Here, in the modification of the first embodiment, when the intention image update unit 103 generates the intention image for update, the subsequent number is acquired from the subsequent number acquisition unit 151. Then, an intention image including information on the subsequent number is generated. Therefore, every time the intention image projected on the road surface is updated, the information on the number of subsequent vehicles is also updated.

  Since the traffic support device 150 of the modified example of the first embodiment has the above-described function, even if there is a subsequent vehicle after the host vehicle 1 or another vehicle, the number of subsequent vehicles is taken into consideration. By determining the traffic order, smooth traffic can be realized.

For example, as shown in FIG. 14 (a), at the intersection where there is no traffic light, two vehicles, the vehicle A1 and the vehicle B1, are in a balance, and there are five vehicles following the vehicle A1, and the vehicle B1 follows. Consider the case where there are two vehicles. FIG. 14 (a) shows after the order of passage is determined using the intention image projected on the road surface by the vehicle A1 and the vehicle B1 at the head of the train.
In FIG. 14 (a), the portion surrounded by the broken line around the intersection is enlarged and shown in FIG. 14 (b). The intention images shown in FIGS. 14A to 14C are basically the same as FIG. 12 illustrating the intention image of the first embodiment. However, the intention images of the vehicle train including the leading vehicle are the same. The difference is that the number of vehicles and the number of passing vehicles are displayed.

FIG. 14B shows an intention image to be displayed on the road surface when the vehicle A1 and the vehicle B1 are matched at the intersection. The intention image a11 is an intention image displayed by the vehicle A1, and the intention image b11 is an intention image displayed by the vehicle B1.
First, the intention image a11 will be described. First, the arrow in intention image a11 represents the direction of traffic of vehicle A1. In addition, the denominator of the fraction “5/5” displayed in the intention image a11 represents the number of trains of the vehicle A1, and the numerator represents the number of vehicles attempting to pass through the intersection in the train. ing. Since they are lined up after the vehicle A1, it is clear that they are going through the intersection, so the denominator number and the numerator number are the same. Here, the number of trains of the vehicle A1 represents the number including the vehicle A1.
Similarly for the intention image b11, the arrow in the intention image b11 represents the direction of travel of the vehicle B1, and the fractional denominator displayed in the intention image b11 represents the number of trains of the vehicle B1, The numerator represents the number of vehicles trying to pass through the intersection in the train.

Thus, in the modified example of the first embodiment, when the vehicle A1 and the vehicle B1 make a match at the intersection, the intention image (here, the intention image a11) including not only its own intention to pass but also the number of trains. And intention image b11).
Then, the vehicle A1 can recognize that there are two vehicle trains of the vehicle B1 by reading the intention image b11 of the vehicle B1. Further, the vehicle B1 can recognize that the number of the trains of the vehicle A1 is five by reading the intention image a11 of the vehicle A1.

From the viewpoint of facilitating traffic, a lot of vehicles are lined up in one lane in this way, but when there are only a few vehicles in the other lane, many vehicles are lining up. It is considered desirable to pass through the intersection first from the side of the road.
Therefore, in the situation shown in FIG. 14B, the vehicle A1 determines that the traffic order of its own train is first, and the vehicle B1 determines that the traffic order of its own train is second.

However, just because the number of vehicles on the vehicle A1 side is large, if all the vehicles in the vehicle on the vehicle A1 side have to wait, it is not good for vehicles arranged on the vehicle B1 side. It will be fair.
Therefore, although the vehicle A1 has the first traffic order, among the five vehicles forming the train, only the first two vehicles pass first, and the fraction in the intention image a11 is set to “2 / Change to 5 ”. This display indicates that the top two of the five vehicles forming the train pass first. Note that the number of vehicles that pass first is determined based on the number of vehicles that form the vehicle train of the vehicle B1.
In addition, although the vehicle B1 has the second traffic order, it is assumed that the two vehicles forming the train pass all at once, and the fraction “2/2” indicating that is shown in the intention image b11. A horizontal bar indicating that the vehicle will stop is added before the arrow indicating the direction of travel. The intention image projected on the road surface is updated as described above.

  Then, the updated intention image a12 and intention image b12 are read (corresponding to S113 and S114 in FIG. 6), and it is determined whether or not they are aligned (corresponding to S115). The fact that the intention of passing is confirmed with the displayed content is added to the display on the road surface (corresponding to S116). As a result, the intention image a11 of the vehicle A1 and the intention image b11 of the vehicle B1 illustrated in FIG. 14B are updated to the intention image a12 and the intention image b12 illustrated in FIG. In the intention image a12 and the intention image b12 shown in FIG. 14 (c), a display to the effect that the vehicle A1 and the vehicle B1 have decided to pass is added.

  In the example shown in FIG. 14, the number of vehicles A1 is five, and the number of vehicles B1 is two. In any vehicle, the number of vehicles forming the vehicle is small. It was supposed to be. However, for any vehicle train, the number of vehicles forming the train may increase. For example, the number of trains of the vehicle A1 may be 20, and the number of trains of the vehicle B1 may be 15. In such a case, it is too unfair for the vehicles in the vehicle B1 side if 15 vehicles from the beginning of the vehicle in the vehicle A1 side pass through the intersection first as in the modification described above. Become. Therefore, in such a case, a predetermined number of vehicles (for example, five vehicles) pass from the vehicle train on the vehicle A1 side first, and then the same predetermined number of vehicles pass from the vehicle train on the vehicle B1 side, Alternatively, a predetermined number of vehicles may pass through the vehicle train on the vehicle A1 side again.

As described above, in this modified example, the intention image including the information on the number of the following vehicles can be projected on the road surface, and before the second vehicle passing through the intersection, the intersection follows the leading vehicle. The number of vehicles passing through can be determined.
For this reason, even when there is a subsequent vehicle after the host vehicle 1 or another vehicle, smooth traffic can be realized by determining the traffic order in consideration of the number of the subsequent vehicles.

B. Second embodiment:
In the first embodiment described above, the host vehicle 1 has been described as a so-called automatic driving vehicle on which the automatic driving device 10 is mounted. However, the host vehicle 1 is not necessarily an autonomous driving vehicle. Below, the own vehicle 1 demonstrates the traffic assistance apparatus 200 of 2nd Example mounted in what is called a manually operated vehicle.

B-1. Device configuration :
FIG. 15 shows a rough configuration of the host vehicle 1 equipped with the traffic support device 200 of the second embodiment.
As shown in the drawing, the in-vehicle camera 13, the navigation device 14, the laser beam scanning device 12, and the like are mounted on the own vehicle 1 of the second embodiment as in the first embodiment described above. Further, the host vehicle 1 of the second embodiment is also equipped with a monitor 16 and a speaker 17 and can display various images and output sound to the driver. In addition, the own vehicle 1 of the second embodiment is also equipped with a setting button 15 that is operated by the driver to convey his / her intention to the travel support device 200.
In this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the position of the pedestrian is detected by using an image taken by the in-vehicle camera 13. However, the method of detecting the position of the pedestrian is not limited to this, and the position of the pedestrian may be detected using a surrounding monitoring sensor (for example, a radar using millimeter waves) mounted on the vehicle. it can.

FIG. 16 shows a rough internal structure of the traffic support apparatus 200 of the second embodiment. As shown in the figure, the travel support apparatus 200 of the second embodiment includes a setting intention acquisition unit 201, a intention image projection unit 202, a intention image update unit 203, a target intersection acquisition unit 204, and a reading result notification unit. 205, an intention image reading unit 206, a recommended action determination unit 207, and a determination database 208.
These “parts” are also an abstract concept in which the inside of the traffic support apparatus 200 is classified for convenience from the viewpoint of functions, and the traffic support apparatus 100 is physically divided into these “parts”. It does not represent that.

The target intersection acquisition unit 204 is connected to the navigation device 14 and acquires information regarding whether or not the target intersection exists from the navigation device 14. As described above, the “target intersection” is an intersection that exists within a predetermined range in the traveling direction of the host vehicle 1 and that is not provided with a traffic light. And when the target intersection exists, while outputting the information to that effect to the setting intention acquisition part 201, the image and audio | voice which prompt the driver to set a traffic intention using the setting button 15, Output is performed using the monitor 16 and the speaker 17.
When the driver sets the intention to pass by operating the setting button 15, the setting intention acquisition unit 201 acquires the set intention to pass and outputs it to the intention image projection unit 202. The intention image projection unit 202 projects the intention image on the road surface by generating an intention image corresponding to the driver's intention to pass and outputting the intention image to the laser beam scanning device 12.

When the intention image reading unit 206 receives the information indicating that the target intersection exists from the target intersection acquisition unit 204, the intention image reading unit 206 reads the intention image of the other vehicle from the images captured by the in-vehicle camera 13, and sends it to the reading result notification unit 205. Output.
When the reading result notification unit 205 receives the intention image of the other vehicle, the reading result notification unit 205 displays it on the monitor 16 to notify the driver. Alternatively, it is also possible to acquire the traffic intention represented by the intention image of the other vehicle (that is, the traffic intention of the other vehicle) and notify the driver of the traffic intention of the other vehicle using the monitor 16 or the speaker 17.

Further, when the recommended action determination unit 207 acquires the intention of passing the other vehicle from the reading result notification unit 205 and acquires the driver's intention of passing the vehicle 1 from the setting intention acquisition unit 201, the recommended action determination unit 207 refers to the determination database 208. Thus, the recommended action recommended for the driver of the host vehicle 1 is determined. In the judgment database 208, various judgment standards such as traffic regulations are stored as a database. For this reason, the recommended action determination unit 207 determines the recommended action for the driver of the host vehicle 1 by referring to the judgment database 208 based on the intention of passing other vehicles, the driver's intention of passing the host vehicle 1, and the like. can do.
The reading result notifying unit 205 acquires the recommended behavior from the recommended behavior determining unit 207 when notifying the passing intention of the other vehicle acquired from the intention image of the other vehicle, and notifies the passing intention and the recommended behavior of the other vehicle. You can also

When the driver recognizes the intention of passing another vehicle from the information thus notified using the monitor 16 or the speaker 17, the driver reviews his / her intention to pass in consideration of the content, and if necessary, the setting button 15. Use to set the contents. Then, the setting intention acquisition unit 201 acquires the content and outputs it to the intention image update unit 203.
The intention image update unit 203 generates an intention image according to the acquired driver's intention to pass and outputs the intention image to the laser beam scanning device 12. By doing so, the intention image projected on the road surface is updated.

  The traffic support apparatus 200 of the second embodiment described above can suppress the occurrence of traffic accidents with other vehicles, two-wheeled vehicles, and pedestrians even when the host vehicle 1 is a so-called manually operated vehicle. It is. Hereinafter, the traffic support process implemented by the traffic support apparatus 200 of 2nd Example is demonstrated.

B-2. Traffic support processing of the second embodiment:
FIGS. 17 and 18 show a flowchart of the traffic support process executed by the traffic support device 200 of the second embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 17, in the traffic support process of the second embodiment, as in the traffic support process of the first embodiment described above, when the traffic support process is started, first, within a predetermined distance from the own vehicle 1. The presence / absence of existing intersections, traffic lights, and other vehicles are detected (S201).

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not an intersection is detected within a predetermined distance from the host vehicle 1 (S202). As a result, when an intersection is detected within a predetermined distance (S202: yes), it is determined whether a traffic light is detected within a predetermined distance (S203). If no traffic light is detected within a predetermined distance (S203: no), it is further determined whether another vehicle is detected within a predetermined distance (S204).

  When no intersection is detected within a predetermined distance from the host vehicle 1 (S202: no), or when an intersection is detected (S202: yes), and there is a traffic light at the intersection (S203: yes) When an intersection without a traffic light is detected (S203: no), but there is no other vehicle at the intersection (S204: no), the process returns to S201 and again within a predetermined distance from the host vehicle 1. After detecting the existing intersections, traffic lights, and other vehicles, the above-described series of determinations (S202 to S204) are repeated.

  On the other hand, an intersection without a traffic light is detected within a predetermined distance from the host vehicle 1 (S202: yes, and S203: no), and further, another vehicle is detected at the intersection (S204: yes). First, the presence / absence of a pedestrian existing within a predetermined detection distance from the intersection is detected (S205).

Then, the driver is notified that an intersection and another vehicle have been detected, and it is determined whether or not a pedestrian has been detected within a predetermined detection distance from the intersection (206). If a pedestrian is detected (S206: yes), the traffic support device 200 notifies the driver that a pedestrian is present (S220), and displays the pedestrian priority on the road surface (S221).
As described above with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16, the traffic support device 200 is equipped with the monitor 16 and the speaker 17, and displays various images and outputs sound to the driver. The driver can be notified that an intersection and another vehicle have been detected and that a pedestrian is present in the vicinity of the intersection.
Similarly to the first embodiment, the traffic support device 200 generates a intention image representing the priority of pedestrians illustrated in FIG. 8 and outputs the intention image to the laser beam scanning device 12, thereby causing the laser beam scanning device 12 to be output. The intention image can be projected on the road surface using.

When the intention image indicating the priority of the pedestrian is thus projected onto the road surface (S221), the process returns to S205 to again detect the pedestrian within the detection distance from the intersection and determine whether the pedestrian has been detected (S106). . When a pedestrian is detected (S206: yes), as described above, the fact that there is a pedestrian is notified to the transferee (S220), and the pedestrian priority is displayed on the road surface (S221), and again. Returning to S205, the series of steps described above are executed. While the pedestrian is detected at the intersection (S206: yes), the traffic support device 200 repeats S205, S206, S220, and S221 to continuously project that the pedestrian is given priority on the road surface. .
In the present embodiment as well, as in the first embodiment described above, the intention image is projected on the road surface only after another vehicle is detected (S204: yes), but no other vehicle is detected. However, if a pedestrian is detected, the intention image may be projected toward the pedestrian.

  Further, in this embodiment as well as the first embodiment described above, in the above description, it is assumed that the pedestrian priority is continuously projected on the road surface until the pedestrian is not detected within the detection distance from the intersection. However, the pedestrian priority may continue to be projected on the road until the pedestrian has crossed the intersection. Whether or not the pedestrian has crossed the intersection, for example, by recording the position of the pedestrian, you can see how the pedestrian moves with respect to the intersection. You can easily detect that you're done.

In the above, the process performed by the traffic support device 200 when a pedestrian is detected within a predetermined detection distance from the intersection (S206: yes) has been described.
On the other hand, when a pedestrian is not detected within a predetermined detection distance from the intersection (S206: no), the traffic support device 200 requests the driver to set the traffic intention (S207). Here, as described above, the intention to pass is information indicating whether the vehicle is going to stop before the intersection, or whether it is going to go to the target intersection, in addition to the direction of traveling straight ahead, right turn, left turn, etc. is there. Note that the traffic intention to request the driver to set in S207 only needs to include information on the direction of traveling through the intersection required in S209, and the traffic intention to request the setting in S207 is the direction of traveling in the intersection. It may be limited to information.
As described above with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16, the traffic support device 200 includes the setting button 15, and the driver can set the traffic intention by operating the setting button 15. The traffic support device 200 outputs, using the monitor 16 and the speaker 17, an image and sound that prompts the driver to set a traffic intention using the setting button 15.

Next, the distance from the navigation device 14 to the intersection is acquired, and the driver's intention to pass is acquired from the setting button (S208). The detection distance to the intersection may be a distance to the center of the intersection or a distance until the vehicle enters the intersection.
Subsequently, the acquired driver's intention to pass and the distance to the intersection are projected on the road surface (S209). Similar to the first embodiment, the intention support device 200 illustrated in FIG. 8 generates the intention image and projects the intention image on the road surface using the laser beam scanning device 12.

And the display which the other vehicle projected on the road surface is read using the vehicle-mounted camera 13 (S210), and recommended action is determined based on the read result (S211 of FIG. 18). As described above with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16, by using the read intention of passing the other vehicle and the driver's intention of passing the vehicle 1 acquired in S <b> 208, by referring to the determination database 208, The recommended action recommended for the driver of the vehicle 1 is determined.
When the recommended action is determined, the driver is notified of the read intention of the other vehicle and the recommended action using the monitor 16 and the speaker 17 to request the driver to input the intention of passing (S212). Of the information on the intention to pass, information on the direction of traveling through the intersection of the host vehicle 1 has been acquired from the driver using the setting button 15 in S208 described above. The traffic intention information that requests input in S212 only needs to include the traffic order information between the host vehicle 1 and the other vehicle, and the traffic intention that requires input may be limited to the traffic order.
As described above, in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, in order to determine the traffic intention and the traffic order of the host vehicle 1, the distance to the intersection of the host vehicle 1 and the other vehicle and the direction of travel are determined. Using. However, in order to determine the traffic intention and the traffic order, in addition to the distance to the intersection and the traffic direction, the vehicle type and the vehicle speed can be used, and information such as the vehicle type and the vehicle speed may be included in the intention image.

  Next, the driver obtains the intention to travel set using the setting button, generates an intention image based on the obtained intention to travel, and projects the intention image on the road surface (S213). The intention image projected on the road surface may be an intention image including the direction of travel and the order of traffic illustrated in FIG. 10 as in the first embodiment.

Subsequently, the intention image projected on the road surface by the other vehicle is read (S214), and it is determined whether or not the content of the intention image of the own vehicle 1 is matched with the content of the intention image of the other vehicle (S215). . As a result, if the matching is not achieved (215: no), the monitor 16 and the speaker 17 are notified using the monitor 16 and the speaker 17 that the set traffic order needs to be reviewed (S222). Then, returning to S211, based on the result obtained in S214, the recommended action is determined as described above, and the above-described series of processes is started.
On the other hand, when matching is achieved (S215: yes), it is considered that the intersection can be smoothly passed by following the order of passage of the intention image projected on the road surface. Therefore, a display indicating that the vehicle starts to pass is added to the intention image (S216). Similar to the first embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 12, it is possible to indicate that the vehicle starts to pass by adding a rectangular frame line to the intention image.

  And it is judged using a picked-up image whether the vehicle whose traffic order is ahead of the own vehicle 1 exists (S217). When there is a vehicle whose traffic order of the own vehicle 1 is earlier (S217: yes), the driver is notified using the monitor 16 and the speaker 17 so as to wait for traffic at the intersection (S223). When the notification is made, the process returns to S217 to determine whether or not there is a vehicle whose traffic order is earlier than that of the host vehicle 1. That is, it can be determined that there is no preceding vehicle in the traffic order of the host vehicle 1 (S217: no). There is a vehicle whose traffic order is earlier than the host vehicle 1 in S217 until the traffic order becomes the number of the host vehicle 1. It is repeatedly determined whether or not to notify the driver to wait for the passage of the intersection in S223.

  On the other hand, when there is no vehicle whose traffic order is ahead of the own vehicle 1 (S217: no), the driver is notified that the vehicle can pass through the intersection (S218). The driver operates the host vehicle 1 and the host vehicle 1 starts to pass through the intersection. Thereafter, it is determined whether or not to end the above-described traffic support process (S219). If it can be determined that the traffic support process is to be terminated (S119: yes), the traffic support process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when it is determined not to end the traffic support process (S219: no), the process returns to S201 in FIG. 16 at the top of the traffic support process of the present embodiment, and again, an intersection within a predetermined distance, a traffic light, and Then, the presence or absence of another vehicle is detected, and the above-described series of processes is started.

As described above, in the traffic support process of the present embodiment, the traffic intention of the host vehicle 1 is expressed by projecting the intention image representing the traffic intention of the host vehicle 1 on the road surface, as in the traffic support process of the first embodiment. It is possible to read the intention of passing the other vehicle from the intention image transmitted to the other vehicle and projected on the road surface by the other vehicle. The own vehicle 1 and the other vehicle can update the contents of the intention image in consideration of the read intention to pass, and the intention vehicle is communicated between the own vehicle 1 and the other vehicle by repeatedly updating the intention image. be able to. For this reason, the danger of encountering a traffic accident can be avoided without misreading the trends of other vehicles, and the vehicle can pass smoothly.
Furthermore, not only vehicle drivers but also pedestrians and motorcycle drivers approaching intersections can easily read vehicle trends from intention images projected on the road surface, thus avoiding the danger of encountering traffic accidents. And can pass smoothly.

C. Modified example:
In the first embodiment, the modified example of the first embodiment, and the second embodiment described above, the content displayed in the intention image is represented in a manner that can be recognized by a pedestrian.
However, it is not necessary to display all information displayed on the intention image in a manner that can be recognized by a pedestrian or a two-wheeled vehicle driver. For example, in the intention image of the modified example of the first embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 14B and FIG. 14C, the number of vehicles following the leading vehicle is displayed in the intention image with a number. Yes. Since the number of subsequent vehicles displayed in the intention image is not necessarily necessary information for a pedestrian or a two-wheeled vehicle driver, it is not necessary to display it in a manner that can be recognized by the pedestrian.

  Moreover, although it does not directly relate to the safety of pedestrian traffic and there is little need for pedestrians to recognize, there is information that is effective when shared between vehicles. For example, information on the position of a pedestrian approaching an intersection at a position that can be easily detected from the own vehicle but difficult to detect from the other vehicle, or conversely, can be easily detected from the other vehicle but difficult to detect from the own vehicle. The information of the position of the pedestrian who approaches the intersection at the position is given. In addition, the traveling direction and position of the two-wheeled vehicle, the vehicle type and vehicle speed of a subsequent vehicle such as a large vehicle or a small vehicle, or the surrounding situation such as a sign may be considered as examples of information.

  Therefore, in this modified example, as illustrated in FIG. 19, the pedestrian does not need to be recognized, but if the information is shared between the recognized vehicles, significant information is encoded and displayed in the code information display area at the edge of the intention image. indicate. In this way, a large amount of information can be displayed on the intention image by expressing the significant information as encoded between the recognized vehicles. The position of the code information display area can be changed as appropriate. For example, the wavelength of the light projected on the lower part of the intention image, the background pattern of the intention image, the code information display area, and other figures and characters may be changed.

In addition, pedestrians cannot easily read information that is less likely to be recognized by pedestrians that are coded in the intention image, but information that is not coded can easily be read. I can do things. In this way, information that is highly necessary for a pedestrian or motorcycle driver to recognize can be easily recognized.
Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 19, if a code information display area is provided so as to surround a portion where information that can be recognized by a pedestrian or a motorcycle driver is displayed, the code information display area exists. As a result, the intention image itself is easily noticeable. As a result, the attention of the pedestrian or the two-wheeled vehicle driver can be attracted to the intention image, so that the pedestrian or the two-wheeled vehicle driver can easily recognize the highly necessary information.

  While various embodiments and various modifications have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention.

1 ... own vehicle, 10 ... automatic driving device, 11 ... wireless communication device,
12 ... Laser beam scanning device, 15 ... Setting button, 100 ... Traffic support device,
101 ... Passing intention acquisition unit, 102 ... Intention image projection unit, 103 ... Intention image update unit,
104 ... target intersection acquisition unit, 105 ... reading result output unit, 106 ... intention image reading unit,
150: Traffic support device, 151: Subsequent number acquisition unit, 200: Traffic support device,
201 ... setting intention acquisition unit, 202 ... intention image projection unit, 203 ... intention image update unit,
204 ... target intersection acquisition unit, 205 ... reading result notification unit, 206 ... intention image reading unit,
207 ... recommended action determination unit, 208 ... judgment database, a1 ... intention image,
b1 ... intention image.

Claims (8)

A traffic safety device (100, 150, 200) mounted on the host vehicle (1) for preventing the occurrence of a traffic accident associated with the traffic of the host vehicle,
An intention image projection unit (102, 202) that generates an intention image representing a traffic intention about whether the host vehicle is about to stop or is about to travel and projects the intention image onto a road surface in a direction in which the host vehicle travels When,
An intention image reading unit (106, 206) for reading the intention image projected on the road surface by another vehicle existing around the own vehicle;
An intention image updating unit (103, 203) for updating the intention image projected on the road surface based on the traffic intention of the host vehicle determined in consideration of the traffic intention represented by the intention image of the other vehicle. Traffic safety device. The traffic safety device according to claim 1,
A target intersection acquisition unit (104, 204) that acquires the presence / absence of a target intersection that is within a predetermined range toward the direction in which the host vehicle travels and is not installed with a traffic light;
The intention safety image projection unit, the intention image reading unit, and the intention image updating unit execute respective operations when the target intersection exists. The traffic safety device according to claim 1 or 2,
The host vehicle is equipped with an automatic driving device (10) that automatically acquires the surrounding situation and automatically drives the vehicle,
A traffic intention acquisition unit (101) for acquiring information on the traffic intention of the host vehicle from the automatic driving device;
Based on the intention image of the other vehicle read by the intention image reading unit, a reading result that outputs either the intention image of the other vehicle or the intention of passing represented by the intention image of the other vehicle to the automatic driving device An output unit (105), and
The intention image projection unit projects the intention image based on the traffic intention of the host vehicle acquired by the traffic intention unit.
The intention image updating unit updates the intention image by acquiring the intention of passing the host vehicle determined by the automatic driving device in consideration of the intention of passing the other vehicle. . The traffic safety device according to claim 3,
The own vehicle is equipped with a wireless communication device (11) that wirelessly communicates with the other vehicle,
By wirelessly communicating with the other vehicle, it is determined whether or not the host vehicle is present at the head of the vehicle train. If the host vehicle is present at the head of the vehicle train, the vehicle following the host vehicle is determined. A subsequent number acquisition unit (151) for acquiring the subsequent number of other vehicles;
The intention image projection unit projects the intention image including the succeeding number when the host vehicle is present at the head of a train,
The reading result output unit, when the subsequent number is included in the intention image of the other vehicle, outputs information including the subsequent number to the automatic driving device,
The intention image update unit updates the intention image by acquiring the intention of passing the host vehicle determined by the automatic driving device in consideration of the intention of passing the other vehicle and the subsequent number of vehicles. A traffic safety device. The traffic safety device according to claim 1 or 2,
A setting intention acquisition unit (201) for acquiring a setting intention which is the intention to pass set by the driver of the host vehicle;
Based on the intention image of the other vehicle read by the intention image reading unit, either the intention image of the other vehicle or the passing intention represented by the intention image of the other vehicle is given to the driver of the own vehicle. A reading result notifying unit (205) for notifying,
The intention image projection unit projects the intention image based on the setting intention,
The intention image update unit updates the intention image based on the setting intention acquired by the setting intention acquisition unit after the notification of the intention to pass represented by the intention image of the other vehicle. Safety device. The traffic safety device according to claim 5,
The reading result notifying unit notifies the driver of the own vehicle of the intention to pass indicated by the intention image of the other vehicle,
A recommended action for determining a recommended action that is a recommended driving action for the host vehicle based on the driver's intention to pass through the intention image of the other vehicle and the driver's intention to pass through the driver's intention to pass. A determination unit (207);
The reading result notifying unit notifies the recommended action to the driver of the host vehicle in addition to the intention to pass indicated by the intention image of the other vehicle. The traffic safety device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The intention image projection unit projects the intention image in which vehicle information related to the host vehicle is encoded,
The intention image reading unit reads the intention image of the other vehicle and reads the vehicle information of the other vehicle encoded in the intention image,
The said intention image update part updates the said intention image based on the traffic intention of the said own vehicle determined also considering the vehicle information of the said other vehicle. The traffic safety apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. A traffic accident prevention method for preventing the occurrence of a traffic accident associated with the passage of the vehicle,
Obtaining a willingness to pass about whether the host vehicle is about to stop or about to proceed;
Generating an intention image representing the intention to pass and projecting it on a road surface in a direction in which the host vehicle travels;
A step of reading the intention image projected on the road surface by another vehicle existing around the host vehicle;
The traffic intention of the host vehicle determined in consideration of the traffic intention represented by the intention image of the other vehicle is acquired, and the intention image projected on the road surface is updated based on the acquired traffic intention of the host vehicle. A method for preventing the occurrence of traffic accidents.

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