JP2018063630A - Driving support apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a driving support apparatus capable of performing control in which a characteristic part having a large influence on a perception of a driver is properly considered in an optical flow of the driver.SOLUTION: A driving support apparatus includes: sensible optical flow calculating means 4 for calculating a sensible optical flow by extracting a feature point whose visual sensibility is equal to or greater than a certain value from an image ahead of a vehicle for a driver; movement direction sensible amount calculation means 5 for calculating a movement direction sensible amount which is an amount reflecting a vehicle traveling direction perceived by the driver on the basis of the sensible optical flow; and driving support control means 6 for controlling the vehicle based on the movement direction sensible amount. When there is a deviation between the sensible amount in the moving direction and the traveling direction of the vehicle, a reaction force generated by steering reaction force generating means 7 is given to the steering in the direction in which the sensible amount in the moving direction is biased, and an addition of a balance index by balance index adding means 8 and a suppression of a field of view by visual field suppressing means 9 are executed in order to eliminate the deviation of the sensible amount in the moving direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support device that supports driving of a vehicle such as an automobile.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a driving support device that executes driving support control of a vehicle such as an automobile based on a driver's optical flow is known. For example, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-41021), attention is paid to the fact that in a speed control device that controls the speed of a moving object, the divergent component of the driver's optical flow and the driver's sense of speed are large. Thus, there has been disclosed an invention in which the driver feels a sense of discomfort and fear by performing driving control so that the sum of the divergent components of the optical flow is constant. Further, in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-201256), in the in-vehicle information display device, an information display that slides in along the driver's optical flow is displayed on the display, thereby providing a large amount to the driver. An invention that can provide information accurately and promptly is disclosed.

JP2012-41021 JP2014-201256

  By the way, the driver's optical flow spreads radially in front of the driver, but the entire optical flow does not act equally on the driver's visual sensation, and it is visually noticeable to the driver. It is thought that the characteristic part with a large has a great influence on the driver's feeling. However, there has been no conventional driving support apparatus that considers the bias to the driver's perception in such an optical flow.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is driving that can appropriately perform control in consideration of features that have a great influence on the driver's perception in the driver's optical flow. It is to provide a support device.

In order to achieve the above object, the following solution is adopted in the present invention. That is, as described in claim 1,
In a driving support device that supports driving of a vehicle driver,
Forward view detection means for detecting the forward view image of the driver;
A sensory optical for calculating a driver's sensory optical flow by extracting a portion where a value indicating visual saliency for the driver is equal to or greater than a predetermined value from the front view video detected by the front view detection means. A flow calculator,
Driving assistance control means for executing driving assistance control based on the sensory optical flow.

  According to the above-described solution method, the driving support control is performed based on the sensory optical flow obtained by extracting feature points having a large visual saliency for the driver from the driver's forward view image. Compared with the case of using physical optical flow (optical flow calculated from the entire feature points of the forward-viewing image) that does not take into account the sense of driving, it is possible to perform control closer to the driver's sense and more appropriate driving support Control can be performed.

  Preferred embodiments based on the above solution are as described in claims 2 and below in the claims. That is, a sensory optical flow correcting means for correcting the sensory optical flow based on a spatial spread of the sensory optical flow is provided. In this case, since the appropriate correction in consideration of the spatial extent of the sensory optical flow is added to the movement direction sense amount, the movement direction sense amount more appropriately reflects the driver's sense.

  Based on the sensory optical flow, there is provided a movement direction sense amount calculating means for calculating a movement direction sense amount that is an amount representing the traveling direction of the vehicle felt by the driver, and the driving support control means includes the movement direction sense amount. The driving support control is executed based on the amount (corresponding to claim 3). In this case, since the control is performed based on the movement direction sense amount, the problem based on the gap between the vehicle traveling direction felt by the driver and the actual vehicle traveling direction can be appropriately prevented or eliminated.

  The driving support control means controls the vehicle so that the driver does not perform an unnecessary driving operation due to the deviation when a deviation between the traveling direction of the vehicle and the sense amount in the moving direction occurs. (Corresponding to claim 4). In this case, since the driver's feeling coincides with the vehicle traveling direction, unnecessary driving operation due to the deviation of the driver's feeling is eliminated, the vehicle behavior is stabilized, and driving stability is enhanced.

  The driving support control means performs control to add a reaction force to the steering toward the biased side when the movement direction sense amount is biased to the left or right with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle. Corresponding to claim 5). In this case, a reaction force is applied to the steering operation toward the direction in which the amount of movement direction sense that tends to be unnecessary is biased, so the driver is unaware of the bias in the amount of movement direction sense. By the way, it is possible to prevent an unintended vehicle behavior from occurring by operating the steering toward the bias side. As a result, the vehicle behavior and the driver's intention are easily matched, and the ease of operation is improved. Further, correction for unconscious steering operation becomes unnecessary, and driving fatigue is reduced.

  The driving support control means performs driving support control for eliminating the divergence when a divergence between the traveling direction of the vehicle and the movement direction sense amount occurs (corresponding to claim 6). In this case, the divergence between the traveling direction of the vehicle and the sense amount of the moving direction itself is eliminated, so that the direction in which the driver turns the consciousness coincides with the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the sense of security in driving improves.

  The driving support control means adjusts the driver's field of view so as to eliminate the deviation of the movement direction sense amount when the movement direction sense amount is biased to the left or right with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle. (Corresponding to claim 7). In this case, the driver's field of view (optical flow) itself is adjusted (the balance index is displayed or a part of the driver's field of view is hidden). As a result, it becomes easier to collect necessary information in the direction of travel, and as a result, driving safety is improved.

  The movement direction sensation amount is a synthesis of vectors constituting the sensory optical flow (corresponding to claim 8). In this case, the moving direction sensation amount appropriately reflecting the driver's feeling can be calculated by a calculation method that is not too complicated.

  According to the present invention, since the driving support control is executed based on the sensory optical flow and the movement direction sense amount in consideration of the driver's sense, the driver's perception (the vehicle traveling direction felt by the driver) is appropriately set. Considering driving assistance is possible.

The block block diagram which shows an example of the control system of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the display of the balance parameter | index at the time of using a light spot projection mechanism. Explanatory drawing for demonstrating the calculation method of the sensory optical flow and movement direction sense amount using a radar chart. Explanatory drawing for demonstrating the calculation method of the sensory optical flow and movement direction sense amount using a radar chart. The flowchart which shows the control procedure of an example of the driving assistance control of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control system of a vehicle (for example, an automobile) provided with the driving support apparatus of the present embodiment. As shown, the control system includes a controller (control unit) U configured using a microcomputer. Detection signals from a vehicle CAN (Controller Area Network) 1, a driver sensing camera 2, and a vehicle forward monitoring camera 3 are input to the controller U.

  From the vehicle CAN1, various detection signals relating to the driving state (vehicle speed, rudder angle, brake state, etc.) of the vehicle are input to the controller U. The driver sensing camera 2 is a photographing unit that detects the state of the driver of the vehicle (mainly the direction of the driver's line of sight). The vehicle front monitoring camera 3 is a photographing unit that photographs a situation in front of the vehicle.

  The controller U includes a sensory optical flow calculation unit 4, a movement direction sensory amount calculation unit 5, and a driving support control unit 6. Here, the optical flow is a velocity field of the entire image of the outside world projected on the retina of the human (driver), and spreads radially from the expansion center (vanishing point) O in front of the driver. The optical flow analyzes the vehicle front image from the vehicle front monitoring camera 3 while considering the direction of the driver's line of sight detected by the driver sensing camera 2, thereby changing the feature points on the image (luminance and color). It can be calculated as a vector field representing the change in In the present specification, the optical flow calculated from the entire vehicle front image is referred to as a physical optical flow.

  On the other hand, the sensory optical flow calculation means 4 has a feature point (for example, a luminance of a predetermined value or more) having a visual saliency of a certain level or more from the vehicle front image detected by the vehicle front monitoring camera 3. A characteristic point that is particularly noticeable to the driver) is extracted, and a sensory optical flow is calculated as an optical flow based only on such a characteristic point having visual saliency. That is, in the driving support device of the present invention, a part of the physical optical flow that is considered to have a great influence on the driver's sense is taken out as a sensory optical flow, and based on this sensory optical flow. Driving assistance is implemented.

  Based on the sensory optical flow calculated by the sensory optical flow calculation unit 5, the movement direction sensory amount calculation unit 5 calculates the movement direction sensory amount as a vector amount representing the vehicle traveling direction felt by the driver. As will be described in detail later, the movement direction sensation amount is a summation (combination) of vectors constituting the sensory optical flow, or a correction in consideration of the spatial spread of the sensory optical flow is added to this vector summation. Obtained as a vector quantity.

  The driving support control means 6 is in a case where there is a difference between the movement direction sense amount and the actual vehicle traveling direction (that is, when the vehicle traveling direction felt by the driver is different from the actual vehicle traveling direction). The driving support control is executed so that the driving is not hindered due to this deviation.

  Specifically, the driving support control means 6 controls the steering reaction force generating means 7 (for example, a power steering device) to steer the moving direction sense amount in a direction deviating from the actual vehicle traveling direction. Steering reaction force is generated against. For example, when the movement direction sensation amount is a leftward vector like the movement direction sensation amounts 14 and 26 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the driver is influenced by the movement direction sensation amount and the steering wheel is moved to the left side. Since it tends to be cut, a reaction force is generated in response to the steering operation toward the left side. As a result, it is appropriately prevented that the driver unintentionally operates the steering toward the biased side due to the bias in the sense amount of the moving direction and unintended vehicle behavior occurs. In addition, since the vehicle behavior and the driver's intention are easily matched, the ease of operation is improved. Further, correction for unconscious steering operation becomes unnecessary, and driving fatigue is reduced.

  The driving support control means 6 performs driving support control for improving the deviation itself between the movement direction sense amount and the actual vehicle traveling direction by controlling the balance index adding means 8 or the visual field suppression means 9.

  Here, the balance index adding means 8 is a display device capable of displaying an index in a place that enters the driver's field of view, and includes, for example, a head-up display (HUD) or a light spot projection mechanism. The driving support control means 6 controls the balance index adding means 8 to thereby provide an index (additional sensory optical for balancing) on the side opposite to the side where the movement direction sense amount is biased with respect to the vehicle traveling direction. Flow) is displayed to increase the sensory optical flow on the side opposite to the side where the movement direction sense amount is biased, and to eliminate the bias in the movement direction sense amount. The obtained movement direction sense amount is made to coincide with the vehicle traveling direction. As a result, since the direction in which the driver turns his consciousness coincides with the vehicle traveling direction, a sense of security in driving can be improved.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the balance index display when the light spot projection mechanism provided on the front pillar P is used as the balance index adding means 8. As shown in FIG. 2A, the light spot projecting mechanism can display the right balance index dR or the left balance index dL by projecting the light spot on the windshield W of the vehicle. ing. In the driving support control, the right balance index dR or the left balance index dL is selectively displayed so that the balance index is displayed on the side opposite to the side where the movement direction sense amount is biased (the light spot is projected). . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2B, the right balance index dR or the left balance index dL projected on the windshield W is moved from the front toward the front along the vehicle traveling direction. The number of projections is increased, and this operation is repeated a predetermined number of times. Alternatively, a single right balance index dR or left balance index dL may be moved forward from the front side. Thus, an additional optical flow for balancing is generated by the balance index dR or dL.

  The visual field suppression means 9 is, for example, a variable window frame or the like, and is a means for suppressing the visual field itself on the side where the moving direction sense amount is biased (disappearing from the driver). Here, the variable window frame is a liquid crystal display unit with a variable transmittance provided in the ceramic part of the window frame, and the shape (thickness and inclination) of the window frame is changed by changing the transmittance of the liquid crystal. Is. The driving support control means 6 controls the visual field suppression means 9 so as to hide the visual feature point itself that causes the biased moving direction sense amount from the driver, thereby moving the movement direction sense with respect to the vehicle traveling direction. The deviation of the amount is eliminated, and the sense amount in the moving direction is made to coincide with the vehicle traveling direction. As a result, the direction in which the driver turns his line of sight coincides with the vehicle traveling direction, and it becomes easy to collect necessary information in the traveling direction, so that driving safety can be improved.

  Next, a specific method for calculating the movement direction sense amount will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 shows a case where the movement direction sense amount is obtained as the sum of sensory optical flows that are not particularly corrected. As shown in the figure, when calculating the amount of sense of movement direction, feature points having visual saliency of a certain level or more are extracted from the vehicle front image, and a feature point graphic 11 obtained by connecting these feature points on the radar chart is obtained. obtain. The sensory optical flow is calculated as a vector starting from the center point O (driver visual field center) of the radar chart and ending at the vertex of the feature point graphic 11. In the present embodiment, sensory optical flows 12 and 13 are created as vectors from the center point O toward the two vertices P1 and P2 of the feature point graphic 11. The movement direction sensation amount 14 is a vector obtained by combining these sensory optical flows 12 and 13.

  FIG. 4 shows a case where correction in consideration of the spatial spread of feature points having visual saliency is added to the sensory optical flow when the movement direction sense amount is obtained. As shown in FIG. 3, the feature point graphic 21 extracted from the vehicle front image has three vertices P3, P4, and P5, and the feature point graphic is on the vertices P4 and P5 side. An area D surrounded by 21 is generated. That is, on the vertices P4 and P5 side, the feature points (sensory optical flow) having visual saliency have a spread.

  In this case, vectors 22, 23, and 24 from the center point O of the radar chart to the vertices P3, P4, and P5 are obtained as sensory optical flow candidates. Of these, two vectors having a large length are used as sensory opticals. While being adopted as the flows 22 and 23, the sensory optical flow 23 is corrected in consideration of the influence of the sensory optical flow candidates 24 that have not been adopted. Specifically, the sensory optical flow is adjusted so that the sensory optical flow after correction increases as the area D generated around the sensory optical flow 23 (and sensory optical flow candidate 24) before correction increases. Correction is made to the size of the flow 23 to obtain a sensory optical flow 25 after correction. Thus, since the sensory optical flows 22 and 25 are obtained, the movement direction sense amount 26 is obtained by combining them.

  In the above description, the case where two sensory optical flows are divided into left and right has been described as an example. However, even in the case where sensory optical flows are divided into upper and lower parts, vectors are synthesized in exactly the same procedure. As a result, the amount of movement direction sense can be determined.

  Next, according to the flowchart of FIG. 5, the driving support control of this embodiment will be described in detail. In the driving support control, first, in step S1, the driver's gaze direction is measured by the driver sensing camera 2, and in step S2, the vehicle front landscape is measured by the front monitoring camera 3 (vehicle front image is acquired). To do. In step S3, various vehicle information (vehicle speed, rudder angle, etc.) is acquired through the vehicle CAN1.

  In step S4, feature points having visual saliency of a certain level or more for the driver are extracted from the vehicle front image measured by the front monitoring camera 3. In the subsequent step S5, it is determined whether or not a feature point having a certain visual saliency has been extracted. If it has not been extracted, one round of processing is terminated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that a feature point having a certain level or more of visual saliency has been extracted, the process proceeds to step S6, and the sensory is based on the extracted feature point having visual saliency. Calculate optical flow. In subsequent step S7, the sensory optical flow is corrected in consideration of the spatial extent of the sensory optical flow calculated in step S6. Further, in step S8, the movement direction sense amount is calculated from the sensory optical flow calculated in steps S6 and S7.

  In step S9, it is determined whether or not there is a deviation between the actual vehicle traveling direction obtained from the vehicle information acquired in step S3 and the movement direction sense amount. The process of one round is finished as it is.

  On the other hand, if there is a divergence between the vehicle traveling direction and the moving direction sense amount, the process proceeds to step S10, where it is determined whether or not driving assistance using the steering reaction force generating means 7 is to be executed, When driving assistance by force is not performed, the process proceeds to step S15. On the other hand, when performing driving support by steering reaction force, driving support control from step S11 to step S14 is executed.

  In step S <b> 11, the direction in which the steering reaction force is generated is determined based on the direction in which the movement direction sense amount is biased. In step S12, the steering reaction force generation amount is determined so that the minimum value that allows the driver to perceive the steering reaction force is the steering reaction force. In step S13, a steering reaction force is generated by the steering reaction force generation means 7 (power steering device). In step S14, the steering reaction force generation amount is corrected (increased or decreased) in accordance with the operation input of the driver, and the process proceeds to step S15. It should be noted that the correction of the steering reaction force generation amount in step S14 is executed as appropriate while the driving support by the steering reaction force is continued.

  In step S15, it is determined whether or not the driving support by the balance index adding means 8 is to be executed. When the driving support by the balance index is not performed, the one-round processing is finished as it is. On the other hand, in the case where the driving support based on the balance index is executed, the process proceeds to step S16, and the driving support control from step S16 to step S19 is executed.

  In step S16, the display location of the balance index is determined so that the balance index is displayed on the side opposite to the side on which the movement direction sense amount is biased. In step S17, the size of the balance index vector is determined using the minimum value perceivable as a sensory optical flow as a reference value. In step S18, the balance index is displayed by the balance index adding means 8 (HUD or light spot projection mechanism). In step S19, the magnitude of the balance index vector is corrected (increased or decreased) in accordance with the operation input, and the round of processing is terminated. The correction of the size of the vector index in step S19 is executed as appropriate while the driving support by the balance index is continued.

  Although not shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, driving support using the visual field suppression unit 9 is also executed as appropriate together with driving support using the steering reaction force generating unit 7 or the balance index adding unit 8. obtain.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, In the range described in the claim, an appropriate change is possible. For example, in the above embodiment, the left and right two vectors are extracted as the sensory optical flow. However, the present invention is not limited to such a form, and if necessary, three or more vectors are converted to the sensory optical flow. You may make it extract as a flow.

  The present invention can be used for a driving support device that supports driving of a vehicle such as an automobile.

U Controller 1 Vehicle CAN
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Driver sensing camera 3 Vehicle forward monitoring camera 4 Sensory optical flow detection means 5 Movement direction sense amount calculation means 6 Driving support control means 7 Steering reaction force generation means 8 Balance index addition means 9 Visual field suppression means P Front pillar W Front window glass dR Balance index on the right dL Balance index on the left O Center point 11 of the radar chart Feature point graphic 12 Sensory optical flow 13 Sensory optical flow 14 Movement direction sensory quantity 21 Feature point graphic 22 Sensory optical flow 23 Sensory before correction Optical flow 24 Sensory optical flow candidate 25 Corrected sensory optical flow 26 Movement direction sense amount

Claims (8)

In a driving support device that supports driving of a vehicle driver,
Forward view detection means for detecting the forward view image of the driver;
A sensory optical for calculating a driver's sensory optical flow by extracting a portion where a value indicating visual saliency for the driver is equal to or greater than a predetermined value from the front view video detected by the front view detection means. A flow calculator,
A driving assistance device comprising driving assistance control means for executing driving assistance control based on the sensory optical flow. In the driving support device according to claim 1,
A driving support device comprising sensory optical flow correction means for correcting the sensory optical flow based on a spatial spread of the sensory optical flow. In the driving assistance device according to claim 1 or 2,
Based on the sensory optical flow, comprising a movement direction sense amount calculation means for calculating a movement direction sense amount that is an amount representing the traveling direction of the vehicle felt by the driver,
The driving support control unit is configured to execute driving support control based on the movement direction sense amount. In the driving assistance device according to claim 3,
The driving support control means controls the vehicle so that the driver does not perform an unnecessary driving operation due to the deviation when a deviation between the traveling direction of the vehicle and the sense amount in the moving direction occurs. Driving assistance device. The driving support device according to claim 4,
The driving support control device performs control for adding a reaction force to the steering toward the biased side when the movement direction sense amount is biased to the left or right with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle. In the driving assistance device according to claim 3,
The driving support control device performs driving support control for eliminating the deviation when the deviation between the traveling direction of the vehicle and the movement direction sense amount occurs. The driving support device according to claim 6,
The driving assistance control means adjusts the driver's field of view so as to eliminate the deviation of the movement direction sense amount when the movement direction sense amount is biased to the left or right with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle. . In the driving assistance device according to any one of claims 3 to 7,
The driving assistance device, wherein the movement direction sensation amount is a synthesis of vectors constituting the sensory optical flow.

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