JP2018185697A - Traveling assist device, imaging system, vehicle, and traveling assist system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide traveling assist device, an imaging system, a vehicle, and a traveling assist system which acquire information on a peripheral road and properly assist in driving at a point preceding a point where it is hard to pass.SOLUTION: In a traveling assist system 1, a traveling assist device 20 includes an input/output unit 21, a first processor 22, and a first communication unit 24. The input/output unit 21 acquires information on a position of a vehicle and traveling road information on a road on which the vehicle is traveling. The first processor 22 produces first information representing the position of the vehicle on the basis of the information on the position, and produces second information on the basis of the traveling road information. The first communication unit 24 transmits the first information to an information processing device 50, which exists outside the vehicle, under the control of the first processor 22, can receive as third information peripheral road information on a peripheral road of the position of the vehicle, and can transmit the second information. The first processor 22 produces information on whether the peripheral road is passable on the basis of the third information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present disclosure relates to a driving support device, an imaging system, a vehicle, and a driving support system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, devices and systems that support driving by providing information about obstacles that may come into contact with the host vehicle to vehicles traveling on a road are known.

  For example, can the vehicle driving support apparatus described in Patent Literature 1 pass along the side of an object based on the width of the own vehicle and the width of an object such as a parked vehicle when the vehicle travels on a narrow road? Determine whether or not.

JP 2005-182753 A

  However, in the prior art, since it can be determined that the vehicle cannot travel next to the object after traveling on the narrow road and encountering an object, information on the narrow road that is difficult to pass is acquired in advance and It was difficult to avoid intrusion or access.

  Therefore, the object of the present invention made by paying attention to these points is to provide a driving support device that appropriately supports driving at a point before acquiring information on surrounding roads and reaching a point where it is difficult to travel, and imaging A system, a vehicle, and a driving support system are provided.

  The travel support device according to the present disclosure includes an information acquisition unit, a processor, and a communication unit. The information acquisition unit acquires information regarding the position of the vehicle and travel path information regarding the road on which the vehicle is traveling. A processor produces | generates the 1st information which shows the position of a vehicle based on the information regarding a position, and produces | generates 2nd information based on travel route information. The communication unit transmits first information to an information processing device outside the vehicle under control of the processor, and can receive peripheral road information related to a road around the position of the vehicle as third information. Can be transmitted to an information processing apparatus outside the vehicle. A processor produces | generates the information regarding whether a surrounding road can pass based on 3rd information.

  An imaging system according to the present disclosure is an imaging system mounted on a vehicle, and includes a sensor, an imaging device, and a driving support device. The sensor outputs information regarding the position. The imaging device captures an image of a road on which the vehicle is traveling, and outputs travel path information relating to the road on which the vehicle is traveling. The travel support device includes an information acquisition unit, a processor, and a communication unit. The information acquisition unit acquires information on the position of the vehicle and travel path information. A processor produces | generates the 1st information which shows the position of a vehicle based on the information regarding a position, and produces | generates 2nd information based on travel route information. The communication unit transmits first information to an information processing device outside the vehicle under control of the processor, and can receive peripheral road information related to a road around the position of the vehicle as third information. Can be transmitted to an information processing apparatus outside the vehicle. A processor produces | generates the information regarding whether a surrounding road can pass based on 3rd information.

  The vehicle of the present disclosure includes a travel support device. The travel support apparatus includes an information acquisition unit, a processor, and a communication unit. The information acquisition unit acquires information related to the position and travel path information related to the road being traveled. A processor produces | generates the 1st information which shows a position based on the information regarding a position, and produces | generates 2nd information based on traveling path information. The communication unit is capable of transmitting first information to an external information processing apparatus under control of the processor, receiving peripheral road information related to a road around the position of the vehicle as third information, and receiving the second information from the vehicle Is configured to be able to transmit to an external information processing apparatus. A processor produces | generates the information regarding whether a surrounding road can pass based on 3rd information.

  A travel support system according to the present disclosure includes a travel support device mounted on a plurality of vehicles and an information processing device provided outside the plurality of vehicles. Each of the travel support devices includes an information acquisition unit, a first processor, and a first communication unit. The information acquisition unit acquires information regarding the position of the mounted vehicle and travel path information regarding the road on which the vehicle is traveling. The first processor generates first information indicating the position of the vehicle based on the information regarding the position, and generates second information based on the travel path information. The first communication unit transmits the first information to the information processing apparatus under the control of the first processor, and can receive the peripheral road information related to the road around the position of the vehicle as the third information, and the second information Can be transmitted to the information processing apparatus. The first processor generates information related to whether or not a surrounding road can pass based on the third information. The information processing apparatus includes a second communication unit, a storage unit, and a second processor. The second communication unit receives the first information and the second information from the vehicle, and transmits the third information to the vehicle. The storage unit stores a plurality of positions and surrounding road information respectively corresponding to the plurality of positions as fourth information. The second processor acquires the first information from the second communication unit, and based on the position of the vehicle included in the first information, a plurality of positions around the vehicle position from the fourth information stored in the storage unit The surrounding road information associated with is extracted as the third information. The second processor updates the fourth information stored in the storage unit based on the first information and the second information received from the respective driving support devices.

  According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the driving support device, the imaging system, the vehicle, and the driving support system appropriately drive at a point before acquiring information on the surrounding roads and reaching a difficult-to-pass point. Can help.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the driving support system. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a driving support device mounted on a vehicle. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a first example process by communication between a vehicle traveling on a road and the information processing apparatus. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a second example process by communication between a vehicle traveling on a road and the information processing apparatus. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing flow of the driving support device. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the warning information output process of FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the road width detection process of FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of the information processing apparatus.

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

  As shown in FIG. 1, a driving support system 1 according to one of a plurality of embodiments includes a driving support device 20 and an information processing device 50. There are a plurality of driving support devices 20 corresponding to the information processing device 50. In FIG. 1, only one of the plurality of driving support devices 20 is shown. For example, hundreds to millions of driving support devices 20 may exist for the information processing device 50. In addition to the driving support device 20 and the information processing device 50, the driving support system 1 may include a camera 10 and a position sensor 30 that are imaging devices as an information acquisition unit. Furthermore, the driving support system 11 may include a display device 40. The imaging system 2 includes a camera 10, a travel support device 20, and a position sensor 30. The imaging system 2 may further include a display device 40. The information processing apparatus 50 may be provided on a cloud computing system provided by a business operator.

  The camera 10, the driving support device 20, the position sensor 30, and the display device 40 are mounted on the vehicle 4 as shown in FIG. The camera 10, the driving support device 20, the position sensor 30, and the display device 40 may be connected to each other by a network 5 of the vehicle 4 such as a communication cable and a CAN (Control Area Network).

  “Vehicle” in the present disclosure includes, but is not limited to, automobiles and industrial vehicles. For example, the vehicle may include an airplane traveling on a runway. The automobile includes, but is not limited to, a passenger car, a truck, a bus, a two-wheeled vehicle, a trolley bus, and the like, and may include other vehicles that travel on the road. Industrial vehicles include industrial vehicles for agriculture and construction. Industrial vehicles include but are not limited to forklifts and golf carts. Industrial vehicles for agriculture include, but are not limited to, tractors, tillers, transplanters, binders, combines, and lawn mowers. Industrial vehicles for construction include, but are not limited to, bulldozers, scrapers, excavators, cranes, dump trucks, and road rollers. Vehicle power engines include, but are not limited to, internal combustion engines including diesel engines, gasoline engines, and hydrogen engines, and electrical engines including motors. Vehicles include those that travel by human power. The vehicle classification is not limited to the above. For example, an automobile may include an industrial vehicle capable of traveling on a road, and the same vehicle may be included in a plurality of classifications.

  The camera 10 is installed so as to capture an image of a traveling road ahead of the vehicle 4. In one of a plurality of embodiments, the camera 10 can be arranged in the vehicle interior of the vehicle 4 and image the outside of the vehicle 4 via the windshield of the vehicle 4. In another embodiment, the camera 10 may be fixed to any of the front bumper, fender grille, side fender, light module, and bonnet of the vehicle 4.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the camera 10 includes an optical system 11, an image sensor 12, a signal processing unit 13, an output unit 14, and the like.

  The optical system 11 is a lens that collects light so that the light incident on the optical system 11 is imaged by the imaging device 12. The optical system 11 may be composed of, for example, a fisheye lens or a super wide angle lens. The optical system 11 may be composed of a single lens or a plurality of lenses.

  The image sensor 12 is an image sensor that captures an image formed by the optical system 11. The imaging device includes a charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensor and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor. The image sensor 12 can acquire an image formed by the optical system 11 by converting it into an electrical signal.

  The signal processing unit 13 is one or more processors that process an electrical signal of an image acquired by the image sensor 12. The processor included in the signal processing unit 13 is, for example, a dedicated microprocessor formed to execute a specific function, or a processor that executes a specific function by reading a specific program.

  The signal processing unit 13 generates an image signal representing an image from the electrical signal acquired by the image sensor 12. Further, the signal processing unit 13 may perform arbitrary processing such as distortion correction, brightness adjustment, contrast adjustment, and gamma correction on the image.

  The output unit 14 outputs the image signal generated by the signal processing unit 13 to the driving support device 20. The output unit 14 can include a physical connector, a wireless communication device, and the like. Physical connectors include electrical connectors, optical connectors, and electromagnetic connectors. The wireless communication device includes a wireless communication device that conforms to each standard including Bluetooth and IEEE802.11 and an antenna. In one of the embodiments, the output unit 14 can be connected to the network 5 of the vehicle 4. The camera 10 can be connected to the driving support device 20 and the display device 40 via the network 5. The camera 10 and the driving support device 20 may be directly connected without passing through the network 5 of the vehicle 4.

  The driving support device 20 includes an input / output unit 21, a first processor 22 (processor), a first memory 23, a first communication unit 24 (communication unit), and the like.

  The input / output unit 21 can include a physical connector, a wireless communication device, and the like, like the output unit 14 of the camera 10.

  In one embodiment, the input / output unit 21 is connected to the network 5 of the vehicle 4, and can receive an image signal output by the camera 10 and information regarding the position detected by the position sensor 30. The camera 10 captures an image of a travel path during travel of the vehicle 4. The image signal output by the camera 10 includes travel path information regarding the road on which the vehicle 4 is traveling. The traveling road information is information relating to the road on which the vehicle 4 can travel while traveling. The travel path information is information acquired in real time in many cases. In the present embodiment, the traveling road information is an image obtained by capturing an image of a traveling road. The travel path information is used to generate second information described later. The input / output unit 21 can acquire the acquisition time when the travel route information is acquired. The acquisition time may be acquired from the camera 10. The acquisition time may be acquired from a clock of any device including the driving support device 20.

  Further, the input / output unit 21 can output information acquired, calculated, and generated by the first processor 22 to the display device 40. The input / output unit 21 can output warning information from the first processor 22.

  The input / output unit 21 functions as an information acquisition unit of the driving support device 20. The input / output unit 21 can function as an output unit of the driving support device 20.

  The first processor 22 controls the driving support device 20 as a whole. The process performed by the driving support device 20 can be regarded as a process performed by the first processor 22. The first processor 22 performs various calculations, determinations, and image processing. The first processor 22 can include a plurality of processors. The processor includes a general-purpose processor that reads a specific program and executes a specific function, and a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process. The dedicated processor includes an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The processor includes a programmable logic device (PLD). The PLD includes a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The first processor 22 may be one of SoC (System-on-a-Chip) and SiP (System In a Package) in which one or more processors cooperate.

  The first processor 22 generates first information indicating the position of the vehicle 4 based on the information regarding the position acquired from the position sensor 30. The first information can be position coordinates such as the latitude and longitude of the vehicle 4.

  The first processor 22 can control the start and stop of the camera 10 by transmitting a signal to the signal processing unit 13 of the camera 10. The first processor 22 generates second information based on the travel route information acquired from the camera 10. The second information includes the width of the running road. Information including the road width is called road width information. The second information includes information on the presence or absence of an object that may be an obstacle on the running road. When there is an object that can obstruct traffic, the second information can include information on the width of the object (hereinafter referred to as object width). Information including the presence / absence of an object and the object width is referred to as object information. The first processor 22 may determine whether the object is moving. The object information can include information on whether or not the object is moving. The road width information may include the road width of a road that can be traveled by removing the object width from the road width of the road being traveled. That is, the second information includes road width information and object information. The second information may include the acquisition time of the travel route information that is the source of the second information.

  The first processor 22 can recognize roads and obstacles from images captured by the camera 10. The first processor 22 may detect markers (eg, lane markings) on the road and determine both ends of the road. The first processor 22 can detect an edge from an image and recognize an object using a technique such as pattern matching. The first processor 22 estimates the distance from the vertical position on the image, and estimates the road width and the object width based on the distance and the number of pixels in the horizontal direction. The first processor 22 may acquire the road width using sonar sensors provided on the left and right side surfaces of the vehicle 4. The 1st processor 22 can acquire road width information and object information by arbitrary methods, without being restricted to these methods. For example, the first processor 22 may detect the road width and the object width based on the parallax between two images captured by the two cameras 10. Therefore, the camera 10 may be a stereo camera.

  The first processor 22 transmits / receives information to / from an external information processing apparatus 50 via the first communication unit 24. The first processor 22 transmits first information to the information processing apparatus 50 and receives surrounding road information related to roads around the position of the vehicle 4. The surrounding road information includes road width information and object information associated with a plurality of positions. The surrounding road information corresponding to the position on the road around the vehicle 4 is called third information. As will be described later, the third information is based on information obtained by aggregating the second information acquired and transmitted to the information processing apparatus 50 by a plurality of vehicles. The third information may include the acquisition time of the travel route information that is the source of the related second information. The third information may include information related to construction of a surrounding road, traffic jam, and the like in addition to road width information and object information. “Nearby roads” include roads that are running and roads that are branched from the roads that are running. The “periphery” can include a certain distance range centered on the position of the vehicle 4. The fixed distance range can be arbitrarily determined. The certain distance range may be 100 m, 1 km, 10 km, or the like. The certain distance range may change according to the amount of information that can be acquired as the third information. The “periphery” may include only the road on which the vehicle 4 may travel.

  Based on the third information, the first processor 22 generates information related to whether or not a surrounding road can pass. The first processor 22 can control images and characters displayed on the display device 40. The first processor 22 can cause the display device 40 to display information related to whether or not the surrounding road is passable. The first processor 22 may determine whether or not it can pass by itself. The first processor 22 can display the road width information on the display device 40 and assist the driver of the vehicle 4 in determining whether or not the vehicle can pass.

  The first processor 22 can activate the camera 10 and generate the second information based on the third information. The first processor 22 activates the camera 10 when it is determined from the third information that the road width of the running road is narrower than a predetermined width, or when there is a possibility that there is an object on the road. To get an image of the road ahead. The first processor 22 may generate second information from the image from the camera 10 and transmit the second information together with the first information to the information processing apparatus 50 via the first communication unit 24.

  The first processor 22 may activate the camera 10 without being based on the third information. If the first processor 22 determines that the road width has narrowed based on information other than the third information, the first processor 22 may activate the camera 10. For example, the first processor 22 may determine that there is a possibility that the vehicle 4 is decelerating because the road width is narrowed when the change per time in the position information from the position sensor 30 becomes small. Also in this case, the first processor 22 generates the second information and transmits it to the information processing apparatus 50. The first processor 22 activates the camera 10 when receiving a signal related to a driving operation peculiar when the road width is narrow from an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 45 of various devices mounted on the vehicle 4. One piece of information may be generated. Such driving operations include braking operation, steering operation, and the like by the driver of the vehicle 4. The first processor 22 may stop the camera 10 and stop generating the second information when the road width of the running road acquired from the camera 10 becomes wider than a predetermined value.

  The first memory 23 stores programs for various processes performed by the first processor 22 and information being calculated. The first memory 23 includes a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory. The first memory 23 includes a memory independent of the processor and a built-in memory of the processor. The first memory 23 stores information for determining whether or not the vehicle can pass, for example, information on the width of the vehicle 4 that is the host vehicle.

  The first communication unit 24 communicates with the information processing apparatus 50 via a network such as the Internet. The first communication unit 24 includes means for communicating with the outside of the vehicle 4. The first communication unit 24 includes, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark), DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) (registered trademark), IEEE802.11, GSM (global system for mobile communications) (registered trademark), LTE (Long Term Evolution). (Registered trademark) and a wireless communication device conforming to each standard including WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) (registered trademark). The wireless communication device includes at least one antenna.

  The first communication unit 24 can transmit the first information to the information processing apparatus 50 and receive the third information related to the road around the vehicle 4 under the control of the first processor 22. Based on the third information, when the road width is narrower than a predetermined width and the first processor 22 activates the camera 10, the first communication unit 24 can transmit the second information to the information processing device 50.

  The position sensor 30 is a sensor that is mounted on the vehicle 4 and detects the position of the vehicle 4. The position sensor 30 detects the absolute position. The absolute position can include latitude and longitude information. As the position sensor 30, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver can be adopted. The position sensor 30 may be a combination of a GPS receiver, a gyro sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, and the like. As the position sensor 30, a sensor of a navigation system provided in the vehicle 4 may be shared.

  The display device 40 displays information such as warning information output from the input / output unit 21 of the driving support device 20. The display device 40 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, an inorganic EL display, a plasma display (PDP), a field emission display (FED). Various flat panel displays such as an electrophoretic display and a twist ball display can be employed. The display device 40 can be arranged on a dashboard, an instrument panel, or the like of the vehicle 4. Further, HUD (Head Up Display) can be adopted as the display device 40. When HUD is adopted as the display device 40, the image can be projected on a windshield or a combiner disposed in front of the driver's seat. As the display device 40, a display device of another system such as a navigation system may be shared.

  The information processing apparatus 50 includes a second communication unit 51, a second memory 52, and a second processor 53. The information processing apparatus 50 may be realized by a single computer. The information processing apparatus 50 may be realized by a plurality of computers distributed in the cloud 3.

  The second communication unit 51 communicates with the driving support device 20 mounted on a number of vehicles including the vehicle 4. The second communication unit 51 corresponds to various communication means included in the first communication unit 24. The second communication unit 51 receives first information and second information from the vehicle 4. The second communication unit 51 can transmit the third information to the vehicle 4.

  The second memory 52 is a storage unit that stores programs for various processes performed by the second processor 53 and information being calculated. The second memory 52 includes a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory. The second memory 52 can include a memory independent of the second processor 53 and a built-in memory of the second processor 53. The second memory 52 can include a mass storage device using a magnetic memory, an optical memory, or the like. The magnetic memory may include, for example, a hard disk and a magnetic tape. The optical memory may include, for example, a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a BD (Blu-ray Disc), and the like. The second memory 52 can be a storage array device such as a disk array device. The second memory 52 stores the position on the road collected from many vehicles including the vehicle 4 and the road width information and object information of the road corresponding to the position. The second memory 52 may further store construction information and traffic jam information associated with a position on the road. Information such as road width information, object information, construction, and traffic jam associated with a position on the road stored in the second memory 52 is referred to as fourth information. The fourth information is wide-area information having a positional spread.

  The position stored as the fourth information is a position satisfying predetermined requirements such as a position where the road width has changed beyond a predetermined value, a position where an obstacle is present, construction information, a position determined to be inaccessible from traffic jam information, etc. Can do. The position stored as the fourth information may be arranged at predetermined intervals on the road.

  The second processor 53 is a processor that controls the entire information processing apparatus 50. The process performed by the information processing apparatus 50 can be regarded as the process performed by the second processor 53. The second processor 53 performs various calculations, determination processing, and operation of the second memory 52. The second processor 53 can include a plurality of processors. The processor includes a general-purpose processor that reads a specific program and executes a specific function, and a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process. The dedicated processor includes an application specific IC (ASIC). The processor includes a programmable logic device (PLD). PLD includes FPGA. The second processor 53 may be either SoC or SiP in which one or more processors cooperate.

  The second processor 53 can acquire the first information of the vehicle 4 via the second communication unit 51. When acquiring the first information of the vehicle 4, the second processor 53 extracts information corresponding to a plurality of positions around the position of the vehicle 4 as the third information from the fourth information stored in the second memory 52. . The second processor 53 transmits the third information to the first communication unit 24 of the travel support device 20 of the vehicle 4 via the second communication unit 51.

  The second processor 53 can acquire the second information of the vehicle 4 via the second communication unit 51. When the second information is acquired, the second processor 53 updates the fourth information according to the first information acquired at the same time as the second information and the second information. For example, the second processor 53 updates the road width information at a specific position to the latest information according to the second information. For example, the second processor 53 stores object information indicating that there is an object that may become a traffic obstacle at a specific position according to the second information. The second processor 53 may also acquire information such as construction and traffic jams from various information sources, and add the information to the fourth information in association with the position on the road.

  Next, a specific operation example of the driving support system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In the following description, the process performed by the driving support device 20 can be read as the process performed by the first processor 22. The process performed by the information processing apparatus 50 can be read as the process performed by the second processor 53.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the vehicle 4 travels on the road 61. The vehicle 4 travels sequentially from the position indicated by (1) in FIG. 3 to the positions indicated by (2), (3), and (4). The road 61 is partially narrow. Further, the object 62 is stationary on the road 61.

  When the vehicle 4 is at the position (1), the driving support device 20 transmits the first information to the information processing device 50. The information processing apparatus 50 transmits the third information including the road width information of the positions around the vehicle 4 to the travel support apparatus 20 of the vehicle 4 from the position information of the first information. The information processing apparatus 50 may determine the traveling direction of the vehicle 4 from the change in the position information included in the first information, and extract only the information on the peripheral position in front of the vehicle 4 from the fourth information. Further, the traveling direction may be included in the first information from the driving support device 20 instead of being determined by the information processing device 50.

  The third information includes road width information wider than a predetermined value of, for example, 5 m at the position (1). The third information includes information on a position in front of the vehicle 4 and a road width narrower than a predetermined value. In front of the vehicle 4, the road width is wider than the lateral width of the vehicle 4 stored in the first memory 23. For this reason, the driving support device 20 determines that it can pass through the road 61. In determining whether or not the vehicle can pass, the driving support device 20 may consider a margin for safety. At this time, the camera 10 is not yet activated in the vehicle 4. The vehicle 4 travels on the road 61 without operating the camera 10. The driving assistance device 20 may display on the display device 40 that the road width ahead is narrow.

  When the vehicle 4 is at the position (2), the first processor 22 recognizes that a point where the road 61 becomes narrower is approaching based on the third information, and causes the camera 10 to start acquiring images. When the vehicle 4 is in the position (3), the driving support device 20 detects the road width based on the image acquired from the camera 10. The driving support device 20 transmits the detected road width information to the information processing device 50 as the second information together with the first information.

  Note that the driving support device 20 may continuously transmit the second information to the information processing device 50 without receiving the third information from the information processing device 50 while the camera 10 is activated. Alternatively, the traveling support device 20 receives the third information from the information processing device 50 even while the camera 10 is being activated, and the traveling road width included in the third information is detected from the image of the camera 10. The second information may be transmitted only when it is different from the width of the road. The information processing apparatus 50 updates the fourth information included in the second memory 52 based on the received second information. As a result, the fourth information is kept up-to-date.

  When the vehicle 4 is at the position (3), the driving support device 20 can detect the front object 62 from the image of the camera 10. The driving support device 20 recognizes the width of the object 62, subtracts the width of the object 62 from the width of the road 61, and calculates a width in which the road 61 can pass. The width of the road 61, the width of the object 62, the width of the road that can be passed, and information that the object 62 is a stationary object are transmitted to the information processing apparatus 50 as second information.

  When the vehicle 4 is in the position (4), after passing the side of the object 62, if the road 61 exceeds the predetermined value for a predetermined period, the driving support device 20 stops the camera 10 and the second information Cancel transmission of.

  Next, another operation example of the driving support system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, the first vehicle 4a and the second vehicle 4b are different vehicles. The first vehicle 4 a is traveling on the travel path 71. The traveling road 71 is divided at an intersection 72 into a left turn road 73, a straight road 74, and a right turn road 75. The second vehicle 4 b travels on the straight path 74 before the first vehicle 4 a arrives at the intersection 72. The second vehicle 4 b faces the large vehicle 76 and retreats in a retreat space 74 a on the straight path 74. There is a construction site ahead of the right turn road 75.

  The second vehicle 4b facing the large vehicle 76 receives a braking operation and a steering operation when retreating to the retreat space 74a. The driving support device 20 of the second vehicle 4b acquires signals related to these operations from the ECU 45 and activates the camera 10. Based on the image from the camera 10, the travel support device 20 of the second vehicle 4 b acquires the road width of the straight path 74, the lateral width of the large vehicle 76, and the road width that can be passed. In this case, the road width that can be passed is narrower than the lateral width of the first vehicle 4a and the second vehicle 4b. The second vehicle 4b includes a large vehicle 76 on the straight road 74, a movement of the large vehicle 76, a road width of the straight road 74, a lateral width of the large vehicle 76, a road width that can be passed, and a large vehicle. Information on the acquisition time when 76 is detected is set as second information. The second vehicle 4 b transmits the first information that is position information and the second information to the information processing apparatus 50.

  The information processing device 50 receives the first information and the second information from the second vehicle 4 b and updates the fourth information stored in the second memory 52. The information processing apparatus 50 acquires information indicating that road construction is being performed on the right turn road 75 from an external information source. The information processing apparatus 50 may acquire construction information and road width information that can be passed from other vehicles that have passed through the right turn road 75 first. The construction information is associated with position information where construction on the right turn road is performed, and is stored in the second memory 52 as fourth information.

  The travel support device 20 of the first vehicle 4 a traveling on the travel path 71 transmits the first information to the information processing device 50 before the intersection 72 and receives the third information from the information processing device 50. The third information includes object information indicating that there is a moving large vehicle 76 in association with the position on the straight path 74, road width information including a road width that can be passed, and information on acquisition time when the large vehicle is detected. It is. The driving support device 20 can determine from the lateral width of the first vehicle 4 a stored in the first memory 23 that the large vehicle 76 hinders the traveling of the host vehicle. Further, the third information includes information on the construction being performed and the road width that can be passed in association with the position on the right turn road 75. The third information may include surrounding road information associated with other positions on the left turn path 73, the straight road 74, and the right turn path 75.

  The driving support device 20 of the first vehicle 4a displays warning information on the display device 40 via the input / output unit 21 based on the third information. A display screen 77 in FIG. 4 shows an image displayed on the display device 40. The display device 40 may include a display A, a display B, and a display C for each of the left turn road 73, the straight road 74, and the right turn road 75.

  In the display A, it is indicated that there is no object that obstructs traveling on the left turn road 73. Display B displays the presence of a moving object (large vehicle 76) that is an obstacle on the straight path 74 and the acquisition time of the moving object. In this case, the driver of the first vehicle 4a can see the display B and determine whether to proceed to the straight path 74. If the elapsed time from the acquisition time is long, it can be determined that the moving object has already turned the intersection 72 and is not on the straight path 74. If the elapsed time from the acquisition time is short, it can be determined that the moving object is still on the straight path 74. Such a determination may be made by the driving support device 20 instead of the driver. In that case, the display B may display “not going straight”, “can go straight”, or the like. When it is determined that the moving object is still on the straight path 74, the driving support device 20 may present on the display B the predicted position where the moving object is encountered when the vehicle travels straight on the intersection 72. The display C indicates that there is a construction site on the right turn road 75.

  Thus, the driving support system 1 collects the second information acquired from the plurality of vehicles 4 in the information processing device 50. The travel support device 20 of each vehicle 4 uses, as third information, information on the surrounding road including road width information, object information, construction information, traffic jam information, and the like from the information processing device 50 regarding the road in the direction in which the host vehicle will travel. get. This makes it possible to avoid roads and the like that are difficult to pass at points before the vehicle 4 reaches a point where it is difficult to pass.

  Next, an example of processing performed by the driving support device 20 and the information processing device 50 of the driving support system 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the driving support device 20 transmits the first information including the current position information to the information processing device 50 in a state where the camera 10 is not activated (step S101). As a response to the transmission of the first information in step S101, the driving support device 20 receives the third information including the position and road width information on the surrounding road from the information processing device 50 (step S102).

  The driving support device 20 determines whether or not there is an object that may become an obstacle in the direction in which the vehicle 4 can travel from the received third information (step S103). When there is an object that may become an obstacle (step S103: Y), the driving support device 20 executes a warning information output process (step S104). Details of the warning information output process are shown in FIG.

  In the warning information output process, the driving support device 20 first determines whether warning information related to the object has already been output (step S201). This is to avoid displaying the same warning information multiple times. If the warning information about the object has not been output yet, the driving support device 20 determines whether the object is moving or stopped (step S202). Information on whether or not the object is moving is included in the third information.

  In step S202, when an object that may become an obstacle has stopped (S202: N), the driving support device 20 determines whether the vehicle 4 can pass through the passable road width included in the third information. Judgment is made (step S203). The passable road width may be included in the third information as road width information. The driving support device 20 can determine that the vehicle cannot pass when the road width that allows passage is narrower than the lateral width of the vehicle 4 stored in the first memory 23. The driving support device 20 displays on the display device 40 whether or not the road on which the vehicle is traveling is allowed to pass (step S204).

  Note that when the road on which the vehicle 4 travels branches into a plurality of roads ahead, the travel support device 20 acquires third information for each branched road. The driving support device 20 can determine whether or not each branch road is allowed to pass.

  In step S202, when an object that may become an obstacle is moving (S202: Y), the driving support device 20 displays information such as the presence of the object, the width that can be passed, and the information acquisition time for the object. Then, it is displayed on the display device 40 (step S205). After the warning information is displayed in steps S204 and S205, the warning information output process in FIG. 6 ends.

  Returning to FIG. 5, when there is no obstacle in the traveling direction in Step S103 (Step S103: N), and after the warning information output process (Step S104), the traveling support device 20 has a narrow road width on the traveling road. (Step S105). Information on the road width of the running road is included in the third information. The driving support device 20 starts the road width detection process (step S106) when the road width during driving becomes narrower compared to a predetermined value. Details of the road width detection process are shown in FIG.

  In the road width detection process, the driving support device 20 activates the camera 10 (step S301). The driving support device 20 detects the road width information of the road that is running from the image acquired from the camera 10 (step S302).

  Subsequently, the driving support device 20 determines whether there is information to be updated in the road width information as compared with the information acquired as the third information (step S303). When there is update information (step S303: Y), the driving support device 20 transmits the position and road width information to the information processing device 50 as second information (step S304). When there is no update information (step S303: N), the driving support device 20 proceeds to the next process S305 as it is.

  The driving support device 20 repeats the processing from step S302 to S305 unless the road width is larger than the predetermined value for a predetermined period or longer (step S305: N). When the road width is wider than the predetermined value for a predetermined period or longer, the driving support device 20 stops the camera 10 and stops road width information acquisition during driving (step S306).

  Returning to FIG. 5, in step S105, when the road width of the running road is not narrower than the predetermined value (step S105: N), and when the road width detection process (S106) is finished, the driving support device 20 performs the next step. The process proceeds to S107. Unless a termination instruction is received in step S107 (step S107: N), the driving support device 20 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S101 to S107. When the predetermined end instruction is received (step S107: Y), the driving support device 20 ends the process. The predetermined end process includes when the driving support device 20 is turned off, when the vehicle 4 stops traveling, and the like.

  In FIG. 7, the driving support device 20 has been described as acquiring only road width information from the image of the camera 10 that is driving road information. In step S302 of FIG. 7, the driving support device 20 can also acquire object information. In step S303, the driving support device 20 can determine whether or not there is update information in the object information. When the object information includes update information, the driving support device 20 transmits the acquired object information to the information processing device 50.

  The driving support apparatus 20 may be configured to read and execute the program recorded in the non-transitory computer-readable medium, as shown in FIGS. Non-transitory computer readable media include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage media, optical storage media, magneto-optical storage media, and semiconductor storage media. Magnetic storage media includes magnetic disks, hard disks, and magnetic tapes. The optical storage medium includes an optical disc such as a CD, a DVD, or a BD. The semiconductor storage medium includes a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), a flash memory, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the information processing apparatus 50 receives information from a plurality of vehicles (step S401). The information processing apparatus 50 determines whether the acquired information includes the second information (step S402). When the received information does not include the second information (step 402: N), the information processing device 50 receives only the first information indicating the position from the driving support device 20. The information processing device 50 extracts, from the fourth information stored in the second memory 52, the third information including the road width information associated with the position and the position on the surrounding road for the position included in the first information ( Step S403). The information processing device 50 transmits the third information to the travel support device 20 that has transmitted the first information (step S404).

  In step S402, when the received information includes the second information (step S402: Y), the information processing apparatus 50 updates the position and road width information included in the fourth information stored in the second memory 52 ( Step S405). The information processing apparatus 50 associates information indicating the position included in the first information with the road width information included in the second information and stores the information in the second memory 52. Similarly, the information processing apparatus 50 can store object information in the second memory 52.

  After step S404 or step S405, the information processing apparatus 50 repeats the processes of steps S401 to S406 unless there is an end instruction (step S406: N). The information processing apparatus 50 can always operate. The information processing apparatus 50 ends the process when there is an end instruction (step S406: Y). The termination instruction for the information processing apparatus 50 includes a power stop of the information processing apparatus 50 and the like.

  According to the present embodiment, the information processing apparatus 50 can receive information associated with the position and the position from a large number of driving support apparatuses 20 mounted on the large number of vehicles 4 and can aggregate the information. . The driving support device 20 can acquire the position of the vehicle 4 and the peripheral road information of the peripheral position from the information processing device 50 and determine whether or not the road on which the vehicle is going to travel can be traveled. Therefore, the travel support system 1 of the present disclosure contributes to smooth road traffic. Further, the imaging system 2 of the present embodiment does not need to always operate the camera 10 and perform image recognition processing. Therefore, the computer resources of the camera 10 and the driving support device 20 can be used effectively. In addition, the driving support device 20 can determine with high certainty whether the road on which the vehicle 4 is about to enter can pass. Furthermore, the driving support device 20 can determine earlier whether the road on which it is traveling can pass forward or before reaching a point where it is difficult to travel.

  The above-described embodiment has been described as a representative example. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and substitutions can be made within the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the above-described embodiments and examples, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. For example, a plurality of constituent blocks described in the embodiments and examples can be combined into one, or one constituent block can be divided.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the camera 10 outputs an image obtained by capturing a running road to the travel support device 20 as travel path information. The driving support device 20 generates road width information and object information by image recognition from the road information captured by the camera 10. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. The signal processing unit 13 of the camera 10 may generate road width information and object information by image processing and transmit them to the driving support device 20. In this case, the road width information and the object information output from the camera 10 are the travel path information. In addition, the camera 10 may transmit intermediate information before processing the image to generate road width information and object information to the driving support device 20 as driving road information.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Driving assistance system 2 Imaging system 3 Cloud 4 Vehicle 4a 1st vehicle 4b 2nd vehicle 5 Network 10 Camera (imaging device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Optical system 12 Image pick-up element 13 Signal processing part 14 Output part 20 Running support apparatus 21 Input / output part (information acquisition part / output part)
22 First processor (processor)
23 1st memory 24 1st communication part (communication part)
30 position sensor 40 display device 50 information processing device 51 second communication unit 52 second memory (storage unit)
53 Second processor 61 Road 62 Object 71 Traveling road 72 Intersection 73 Left turn road 74 Straight road 75 Right turn road 76 Large vehicle 77 Display screen

Claims (13)

An information acquisition unit for acquiring information on the position of the vehicle and travel path information on the road on which the vehicle is traveling;
A processor that generates first information indicating the position of the vehicle based on the information related to the position, and generates second information based on the travel path information;
Under the control of the processor, the first information is transmitted to an information processing device outside the vehicle, and surrounding road information relating to a road around the position of the vehicle can be received as third information, and the second information A communication unit configured to be capable of transmitting information to an information processing device outside the vehicle,
The processor is a travel support device that generates information on whether or not the surrounding road is passable based on the third information.   The information acquisition unit further acquires an acquisition time of the travel route information, and the communication unit is configured to be able to transmit the acquisition time together with the second information to the information processing device. The driving support apparatus according to the description.   The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the second information includes road width information of the road that is running.   The said 2nd information contains the information of the presence or absence of the object which may become the obstruction | occlusion of the traffic on the said road of driving | running | working, and the width | variety of this object, when there exists this object. Driving support device.   The travel support device according to claim 4, wherein the second information further includes information on whether or not the object is moving.   The travel support device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the processor causes the information acquisition unit to start acquiring the travel route information based on the third information.   The third information includes a position on a road around the vehicle and road width information corresponding to the position, and the processor is configured to determine whether the road width of the road during the traveling of the vehicle is a predetermined value based on the third information. The travel support apparatus according to claim 6, wherein when the width becomes smaller than the width, the information acquisition unit starts acquisition of the travel path information.   The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising an output unit, wherein the processor outputs warning information to the output unit based on information regarding whether or not the surrounding road is passable.   The third information includes object information that includes information on a position of an object that may be an obstacle to traffic of the vehicle on a road around the position of the vehicle, a width of the object, and whether or not the object is moving. And the acquisition time of the object information, the processor generates information on whether or not the object is an obstacle to the traffic of the vehicle based on the third information. The driving support device according to one item.   The travel support device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the information processing device is arranged on a cloud computing system. An imaging system mounted on a vehicle,
A position sensor that outputs information about the position;
An imaging device that captures an image of a road on which the vehicle is traveling, and outputs travel path information on the road on which the vehicle is traveling;
An information acquisition unit that acquires information about the position of the vehicle and the road information, generates first information indicating the position of the vehicle based on the information about the position, and generates second information based on the road information. Under the control of the processor and the processor, the first information can be transmitted to an information processing device outside the vehicle, and surrounding road information relating to a road around the position of the vehicle can be received as third information. A communication unit configured to be capable of transmitting the second information to an information processing device outside the vehicle, wherein the processor relates to whether or not the surrounding road can pass based on the third information. An imaging system comprising a travel support device that generates information.   An information acquisition unit that acquires information related to the position and travel route information related to the road that is running, a processor that generates first information indicating the position based on the information related to the position, and generates second information based on the travel route information And the control of the processor transmits the first information to an external information processing device, and can receive peripheral road information related to a road around the position as third information, and the second information A travel support that includes a communication unit configured to be able to transmit to an information processing device outside the vehicle, and wherein the processor generates information on whether or not the surrounding road is passable based on the third information. Vehicle equipped with the device. A driving support device mounted on a plurality of vehicles;
An information processing device located outside the plurality of vehicles,
Each of the driving support devices
An information acquisition unit for acquiring information on the position of the mounted vehicle and road information on a road on which the vehicle is traveling;
A first processor that generates first information indicating the position of the vehicle based on the information related to the position, and generates second information based on the travel path information;
Under the control of the first processor, the first information is transmitted to the information processing apparatus, and surrounding road information related to a road around the position of the vehicle can be received as third information, and the second information is received. A first communication unit configured to be able to transmit to the information processing apparatus,
The first processor generates information on whether the surrounding road is passable based on the third information,
The information processing apparatus includes:
Second communication unit that receives the first information and the second information from the vehicle and transmits the third information to the vehicle, a plurality of positions, and surrounding road information respectively corresponding to the plurality of positions as fourth information A storage unit for storing;
The first information is acquired from the second communication unit, and based on the position of the vehicle included in the first information, a plurality of surroundings of the vehicle position from the fourth information stored in the storage unit A second processor for extracting neighboring road information associated with the position as third information;
With
The second processor is a driving support system that updates the fourth information stored in the storage unit based on the first information and the second information received from each of the driving support devices.

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