JP2018195159A - Information processing device, information notification method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information processing device, an information notification method, and a program which realize a technique capable of profitably utilizing information, which is collected during travel of a certain vehicle, to other vehicles and persons around the vehicle.SOLUTION: An information processing device 100 includes a surrounding information acquisition section 110 and a notification processing section 120. The surrounding information acquisition section 110 acquires information on a person and another movable body located around a movable body equipped with the information processing device 100. On the basis of the information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition section 110, the notification processing section 120 estimates a contact risk degree between the person and another movable body located around the movable body equipped with the information processing device 100. Further, when the estimated contact risk degree satisfies a criterion, the notification processing section 120 performs notification processing toward the periphery of the movable body equipped with the information processing device 100.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information notification method, and a program.

  When driving a vehicle, the driver is obliged to drive safely.

  An example of technology for supporting safe driving is disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. In the following Patent Document 1, beacon information indicating each position is exchanged between a driver terminal of a vehicle and a pedestrian terminal, and information indicating danger according to the relative distance between the vehicle and the pedestrian is shown. A system for outputting to a terminal is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-201113

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various sensors are mounted on vehicles, and various information indicating surrounding conditions can be collected during traveling. Information collected while a vehicle is running can be useful information for other vehicles and people around it to avoid the danger of contact. In the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above, information indicating a situation around a certain vehicle is not notified.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for beneficially utilizing information collected by a certain vehicle while traveling to other vehicles and people around it. And

The invention described in claim 1
An information processing apparatus mounted on a moving body,
A surrounding information acquisition unit for acquiring information of a person and other moving bodies located around the moving body;
Based on the information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit, the contact risk between the person and the other mobile object is estimated, and when the estimated contact risk satisfies a standard, the contact risk is directed to the periphery of the mobile object. A notification processing unit for executing notification processing,
Is an information processing apparatus.

The invention according to claim 14
An information notification method executed by a computer,
Obtaining information about a person and other moving objects located around the moving body;
Based on the acquired information, the contact risk between the person and the other mobile object is estimated, and when the estimated contact risk satisfies a standard, a notification process is executed toward the periphery of the mobile object. Process,
Is an information processing method.

The invention according to claim 15 is:
Computer
Means for acquiring information of a person and other moving objects located around the moving body; and
Based on the acquired information, the contact risk between the person and the other mobile object is estimated, and when the estimated contact risk satisfies a standard, a notification process is executed toward the periphery of the mobile object. means,
It is a program to make it function as.

It is a block diagram which shows notionally the functional structure of the information processing apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the hardware constitutions of information processing apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of information processing apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the estimation process of the contact risk by a notification process part. It is a figure which illustrates the blind spot area | region of a person produced by the object located between the other vehicles of the person detected around the 1st vehicle. It is a figure which illustrates the blind spot area | region of the other vehicle produced by the object located between the other vehicles of the person detected around the 1st vehicle. It is a block diagram which shows notionally the function structure of the information processing apparatus in 3rd Embodiment.

[Overview]
The information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a moving body (for example, a vehicle equipped with the information processing apparatus, a flying object such as a drone, a ship, a robot, and a person or an animal wearing the information processing apparatus). ) Is detected, and the risk of contact between these moving objects is estimated. Then, the information processing apparatus according to the present invention determines whether to perform notification processing toward the surroundings based on the estimated contact risk. This notification process is a process for reducing the risk of contact between a person and another moving body, and thereby, a contact accident between the person and another moving body can be suppressed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and the description will be omitted as appropriate. Further, unless otherwise specified, each block in the block diagram represents a functional unit configuration, not a hardware unit configuration. In the following embodiments, the information processing apparatus according to the present invention is described as an in-vehicle apparatus. However, the information processing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to an in-vehicle apparatus. As described above, the information processing apparatus can be accompanied by any moving body other than the vehicle. That is, it can be mounted on a drone, a ship, a robot, or the like, or can be mounted on a device worn by a person or animal. Therefore, the term “vehicle” in the following description can be read as “moving body”.

[First Embodiment]
[Function configuration]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 in the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 100 includes a surrounding information acquisition unit 110 and a notification processing unit 120.

  The surrounding information acquisition unit 110 acquires information of a person or other moving body (another vehicle) located around a vehicle including the information processing apparatus 100 (hereinafter also referred to as “own vehicle”). The surrounding information acquisition unit 110 can use any information that the host vehicle acquires in order to grasp the surrounding situation during driving. For example, the surrounding information acquisition unit 110 uses an output from a remote sensing device (for example, Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging), millimeter wave radar, sonar, camera, etc., not shown) to detect people and other vehicles. It is possible to acquire information related to an object located around the host vehicle including it. In this case, the surrounding information acquisition unit 110 can identify a target object such as a person or another vehicle from the objects detected by the remote sensing device described above using a known object recognition method. . In addition, the surrounding information acquisition unit 110 is, for example, a terminal owned by a surrounding person, a communication device mounted on another surrounding vehicle, or an information distribution device installed on a road (for example, near an intersection). By performing wireless communication with the vehicle, it is possible to acquire information indicating the positions and movements (movement direction, movement speed, etc.) of persons around the host vehicle and other vehicles. In the following description, a case in which information on a person or other vehicle located around the host vehicle is acquired using a remote sensing device is mainly exemplified.

  The notification processing unit 120 estimates the degree of contact risk between the detected person and the other vehicle based on the information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 110. And the notification process part 120 performs a notification process toward the circumference | surroundings of the own vehicle, when the estimated contact risk degree satisfy | fills a reference | standard. This notification process is a process for reducing the risk that a person detected on the basis of information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 110 and another vehicle come into contact. The notification processing unit 120 executes notification processing toward at least one of a person detected around the host vehicle and another vehicle. The notification processing unit 120 can execute notification processing for a person using, for example, an outward speaker device or a projector device (both not shown) provided in the host vehicle. In addition, the notification processing unit 120 can also send alarm information for notifying the approach of a vehicle toward, for example, a terminal (for example, a mobile phone or a smartphone) owned by a surrounding person. Moreover, the notification process part 120 can perform the notification process toward other vehicles, for example by vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Specific contents of the notification process executed by the notification processing unit 120 will be described later.

  According to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, first, when a person and another vehicle are detected around the host vehicle, the contact risk between the person detected around the host vehicle and the other vehicle is estimated. . Then, based on the estimated contact risk, a notification process for reducing the risk of contact between the person detected around the host vehicle and the other vehicle is executed for the person or the other vehicle. . By this notification process, it is possible to guide the surrounding person or the driver of another vehicle to recognize the danger of contact that cannot be recognized and to take an action to avoid contact.

  Hereinafter, the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention will be described in more detail.

[Hardware Configuration of Information Processing Apparatus 100]
Each functional component of the information processing apparatus 100 may be realized by hardware (for example, a hard-wired electronic circuit) that realizes each functional component, or a combination of hardware and software (for example: It may be realized by a combination of an electronic circuit and a program for controlling it). Hereinafter, the case where each functional component of the information processing apparatus 100 is realized by a combination of hardware and software will be further described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 100. The computer 200 is a computer that implements the information processing apparatus 100. The computer 200 is, for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) mounted on the vehicle. The computer 200 may be a computer designed exclusively for realizing the information processing apparatus 100 or a general-purpose computer.

  The computer 200 includes a bus 202, a processor 204, a memory 206, a storage device 208, an input / output interface 210, and a network interface 212. The bus 202 is a data transmission path through which the processor 204, the memory 206, the storage device 208, the input / output interface 210, and the network interface 212 exchange data with each other. However, the method of connecting the processors 204 and the like is not limited to bus connection. The processor 204 is an arithmetic processing unit realized using a microprocessor, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or the like. The memory 206 is a main storage device realized using a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like. The storage device 208 is an auxiliary storage device realized using a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, or the like. However, the storage device 208 may be configured by hardware similar to the hardware configuring the main storage device such as RAM.

  The storage device 208 stores a program module for realizing each functional component (the surrounding information acquisition unit 110 and the notification processing unit 120) of the information processing apparatus 100. The processor 204 reads out the program module to the memory 206 and executes it, thereby realizing the function of the information processing apparatus 100.

  The input / output interface 210 is an interface for connecting the computer 200 to peripheral devices. In FIG. 2, a sensing device 300 for remote sensing and an output device 400 for notification processing are connected to the input / output interface 210. The sensing device 300 for remote sensing is, for example, a Lidar, millimeter wave radar, sonar, camera or the like. A plurality of sensing devices 300 for remote sensing may be connected to the input / output interface 210. In this case, the plurality of sensing devices 300 for remote sensing may be the same type of device or a combination of different types of devices. The output device 400 for notification processing is, for example, a speaker device or a projector device. A plurality of notification processing output devices 400 may be connected to the input / output interface 210. In this case, the plurality of notification processing output devices 400 may be the same type of device, or may be a combination of different types of devices.

  The network interface 212 is an interface for connecting the computer 200 to a communication network. This communication network is, for example, a CAN (Controller Area Network), a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or the like. For example, the computer 200 can acquire information such as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle via the CAN. Further, when the network interface 212 is compatible with the short-range wireless communication standard or the medium-range wireless communication standard, the computer 200 passes the detection device 300 for remote sensing, the output device 400 for notification processing, and the network interface 212. It may be connected. Further, when the network interface 212 is compatible with the short-range wireless communication standard or the medium-range wireless communication standard, the computer 200 communicates with a portable terminal held by a person located around the first vehicle 500, and the portable Information necessary for the above-described processing can be acquired from the terminal. Further, the computer 200 can acquire information necessary for the above-described processing by performing inter-vehicle communication with other vehicles via the network interface 212.

[Operation example]
An operation example of the information processing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the information processing apparatus 100. The processing illustrated in FIG. 3 is repeatedly executed with the surrounding information acquisition unit 110 acquiring a scanning result around the host vehicle (processing in S102) as a trigger.

  First, the surrounding information acquisition part 110 acquires the result of having scanned the surroundings of the own vehicle using the sensing device 300 for remote sensing (S102). For example, the surrounding information acquisition unit 110 may actively acquire a scanning result around the host vehicle by issuing an instruction to the sensing device 300 for remote sensing, or may spontaneously acquire from the sensing device 300 for remote sensing. It is also possible to passively obtain the scanning result around the own vehicle transmitted in a passive manner.

  The surrounding information acquisition unit 110 determines whether or not both a person and another vehicle exist around the own vehicle using the scanning result around the own vehicle acquired in the process of S102 (S104). In addition, the surrounding information acquisition part 110 can detect a person and other vehicles from the scanning result of the surroundings of the own vehicle acquired by the process of S102 using various known object recognition methods.

  When at least one of the person and the other vehicle is not detected around the host vehicle (S104: NO), the subsequent processing is not executed. In this case, the surrounding information acquisition unit 110 and the notification processing unit 120 stand by until the next scanning result is acquired from the sensing device 300 for remote sensing.

  On the other hand, when both the person and the other vehicle are detected around the host vehicle (S104: YES), the notification processing unit 120 detects the person and the other vehicle detected based on the information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 110. Is estimated (S106). For example, the notification processing unit 120 can estimate the degree of contact risk between a person and another vehicle as follows.

  First, the notification processing unit 120 predicts the time-series transition of the positions of the persons around the first vehicle 500 and the other vehicles based on the information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 110. In other words, the notification processing unit 120 is based on the information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 110 and how the persons around the first vehicle 500 and other vehicles move from the current time to a time after a predetermined time. Predict. The notification processing unit 120 can predict the behavior of the person and the other vehicle based on the scanning result of the person or the other vehicle by the detection device 300 for remote sensing. As an example, the notification processing unit 120 determines the behavior of a person or another vehicle (for example, in which direction the person walks / runs, the other vehicle tries to pass the own vehicle based on the scanning result of the camera). Or the like). Then, the notification processing unit 120 applies the position transition model corresponding to each of the predicted behavior of the person and the other vehicle to each of the detected position of the person and the detected position of the other vehicle, so that the time series transition of the position of the person is performed. And the time series transition of the position of other vehicles can be predicted. The position transition model is stored in the memory 206 or the storage device 208 as a model defined in advance for each action (person walking / running / road crossing, overtaking other vehicles, etc.), for example. Not limited to this, the notification processing unit 120 predicts the position transition of the person and the other vehicle in real time based on the latest scanning result (for example, from a predetermined time before to the current time) by the sensing device 300 for remote sensing. Then, the result may be used as a position transition model. In addition, the information processing apparatus 100 uses, for example, a position transition model or person when the other vehicle overtakes or overtakes based on the transition of the position of the person or the other vehicle actually measured by the remote sensing device 300 or the like. A processing unit (not shown) for learning various behavior patterns such as a position transition model when the vehicle crosses the road may be further provided.

  Then, the notification processing unit 120 estimates the contact risk between the person and the other vehicle based on the correspondence between the predicted time series transition of the position of the person and the predicted time series transition of the position of the other vehicle. Specifically, the notification processing unit 120 determines a point in time when the positions of the person and the other vehicle are closest to each other based on the predicted time-series transition of the positions of the person and the other vehicle. The contact risk can be estimated according to the distance (eg, FIG. 4).

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the contact risk level estimation processing by the notification processing unit 120. In FIG. 4, V ₁ , V ₂ , and P indicate the own vehicle, another vehicle, and a person, respectively. The arrows respectively extending from the person P and the other vehicle V ₂ shows the notification processing unit 120 predicts the predicted time series transition of the person P and the other vehicle V ₂ of each position. The line A extending from the vehicle V ₂ shows the predicted position transition model for the other vehicle V _2. A line B extending from the person P indicates a position transition model predicted for the person P.

Notification processing unit 120 may be obtained by the position transition model A of the other vehicle V ₂ illustrated in FIG. 4, for example, as follows. First, the notification processing unit 120 turns on the direction indicator that keeps the latest behavior of the other vehicle V ₂ (for example, approaching the host vehicle V ₁ , keeping the right side position in the lane for a certain period of time). based on it, etc. are), the other vehicle V ₂ it can be determined that such trying overtaking. In response to this determination, the notification processing unit 120 reads the “overtaking” position transition model stored in advance in the memory 206 or the storage device 208. Such flow, the notification processing unit 120 may be obtained as indicated by line A in FIG. 4, the position transition model of the other vehicle V _2.

  Further, the notification processing unit 120 can obtain the position transition model B of the person P illustrated in FIG. 4 as follows, for example. First, the notification processing unit 120 determines that the person P is about to cross the road based on the latest behavior of the person P (changes in the face and body direction of the person P, movements of hands and feet, etc.). In response to this determination, the notification processing unit 120 reads the position transition model of “person crossing the road” stored in advance in the memory 206 or the storage device 208. Alternatively, the notification processing unit 120 may predict a behavior (position transition model) when the person P crosses the road based on the most recent behavior change of the person P (for example, the movement direction and the movement speed of the person P). ) May be calculated. By such a flow, the notification processing unit 120 can obtain a position transition model of the person P as indicated by a line A in FIG.

Then, the notification processing unit 120 calculates the distance d _i between the person P and the other vehicle V ₂ i seconds after the current time, as indicated by the dotted arrow in the figure. In the position transition model A of the vehicle V _{2 and} the position transition model B of the person P illustrated in FIG. 4, the person P and the other vehicle V ₂ are closest to each other at a time point n seconds after the current time. In this case, the notification processing unit 120, using the distance d _n between the person P and the other vehicle V ₂ after n seconds from the current time to estimate the contact risk of the person P and the other vehicle V _2. As an example, the notification processing unit 120, using the distance function or table that defines the relationship between the contact risk with the contact risk can be estimated in accordance with the distance d _n. In this case, the functions and tables are stored in advance in the memory 206 and the storage device 208, for example. Also, further use functions or table movement speed of the other vehicle V ₂ as a parameter for determining the contact risk may be prepared. In this case, as the moving speed of the other vehicle V ₂ is high, the contact degree of risk is determined using the function or table is increased. Also in this case, the notification processing unit 120 may obtain the moving speed of the other vehicle V ₂ by the inter-vehicle communication with another vehicle V _2, and the moving speed of the vehicle V _1, the vehicle V ₁ and other based on the change in the positional relationship between the vehicle V ₂ may calculate a relative moving speed of the other vehicle V _2.

  Then, the notification processing unit 120 determines whether or not the estimated contact risk satisfies a predetermined criterion (S108). For example, the predetermined reference is stored in advance in the memory 206 or the storage device 208 as a predetermined threshold for the contact risk estimated in the process of S106 described above. The notification processing unit 120 can determine whether or not the contact risk estimated in the process of S106 satisfies the criterion based on the comparison result between the contact risk estimated in the process of S106 and a predetermined threshold. .

  When the contact risk estimated in the process of S106 does not satisfy the standard (S108: NO), the notification process described below is not executed. On the other hand, when the contact risk estimated in the process of S106 satisfies the standard (S108: YES), the notification processing unit 120 performs a notification process for reducing the risk of contact between a person and another vehicle around the host vehicle. (S110). For example, the notification processing unit 120 can execute notification processing as described below.

  As an example, the notification processing unit 120 analyzes and analyzes the attributes of the person (for example, the direction of the person, the position of the person, the height of the person, etc.) based on the scanning result of the person by the detection device 300 for remote sensing. The contents of the notification process can be determined using the attribute. Specifically, the notification processing unit 120 can output predetermined sound information (such as a voice message or a warning buzzer notifying that the vehicle is approaching from behind) from a speaker device corresponding to the direction in which the person is present. Thereby, the person located around the own vehicle can easily discriminate | determine that the output sound information is what was directed with respect to self. In addition, the notification processing unit 120 uses a projector device or a laser irradiator in front of the position of the person (the ground in front of the person's traveling direction) to draw a picture, character, or figure (for example, a stop line figure). Can be projected. As a result, it is possible to easily inform a person located around the host vehicle what action should be taken now to avoid contact with another vehicle. In addition, the notification processing unit 120 selects the notification processing using the projector device so that the child can easily understand when the height of the person is low (that is, when the person is likely to be a child). Can be executed.

[Second Embodiment]
The degree of contact risk between the person and the other vehicle may vary depending on the situation (for example, the size of the blind spot of the person and the other vehicle). Therefore, the notification processing unit 120 may have a configuration in which a criterion for determining that notification processing is necessary is changed according to such a situation. This embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except for the following points.

[Function configuration]
In the present embodiment, the notification processing unit 120 calculates a blind spot area of each of the person and the other vehicle, which is generated by a person around the first vehicle 500 and another object located between the other vehicles. Here, “a person around the first vehicle 500 and another object positioned between the other vehicles” refers to, for example, the own vehicle, a vehicle detected around the first vehicle 500 (the above-described other vehicle). Except), buildings, street trees, signs, or traffic lights. For example, as shown below, the notification processing unit 120 determines the blind spots of the person and the other vehicle based on the positional relationship between the person, the other vehicle, and another object located between the person and the other vehicle. Can be calculated.

  First, from the position information (including a person and other vehicles) of each object detected based on information acquired by the notification processing unit 120, for example, the surrounding information acquisition unit 110, and the position information and posture of the host vehicle Then, information indicating the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the objects (including persons and other vehicles) located around the host vehicle is generated. This “information indicating the positional relationship” is, for example, in the coordinate system using the position of the host vehicle as a reference point, for each object (person and other vehicles detected based on the information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 110). (Including map information) plotting each position.

<Calculation of human blind spot area>
In the generated map information, the notification processing unit 120 uses the position information of the person as a reference point, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, depending on an object located between other vehicles of the person detected around the first vehicle 500. The resulting blind spot area of the person is calculated. For example, in the generated map information, the notification processing unit 120 draws a straight line from the position of the person in the whole direction (at an appropriate angle interval) starting from the position of the person, and the object ( The object closest to the person on the straight line drawn from the person is detected. Then, the notification processing unit 120 can determine the area behind the detected object (the area behind the object when the position of the person is the starting point) as a blind spot area for the person.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a blind spot area of a person caused by an object located between other vehicles of the person detected around the first vehicle 500. In the example of FIG. 5, V ₁ , V ₂ , and P indicate the own vehicle, another vehicle, and a person, respectively. In the example of FIG. 5, the host vehicle V ₁ corresponds to “a person detected around the first vehicle 500 and another object positioned between other vehicles”. In FIG. 5, a region B _p indicated by hatching indicates a blind spot region that is generated when the field of view of the person P is blocked by the own vehicle V ₁ corresponding to the “other object”. The notification processor 120, the vehicle, the person, and by using other vehicle information for each height direction, the blind area B _p can generate information indicating spatially.

<Calculation of blind area of other vehicle>
In the generated map information, the notification processing unit 120 uses the position information of the other vehicle as a reference point, for example, an object located between the other vehicles of the person detected around the first vehicle 500 as shown in FIG. To calculate the blind spot area of the other vehicle. The notification processing unit 120 can obtain the blind spot area of the other vehicle in the same manner as the method of obtaining the blind spot area of the person.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a blind spot area of another vehicle that is generated by an object located between the other vehicles of the person detected around the first vehicle 500. In the example of FIG. 6, V ₁ , V ₂ , and P indicate the own vehicle, another vehicle, and a person, respectively. In the example of FIG. 6, the host vehicle V ₁ corresponds to “a person detected around the first vehicle 500 and another object positioned between other vehicles”. In FIG. 6, a region B _V indicated by hatching indicates a blind spot region that is generated when the driver's field of view of the other vehicle V ₂ is blocked by the host vehicle V ₁ corresponding to the “other object”. Incidentally, as described above, the notification processing unit 120, the vehicle, the person, and by using other vehicles each in the height direction information, the blind area B _V can generate information indicating spatially.

<Contact risk or standard correction>
Furthermore, the notification processing unit 120 of the present embodiment determines the contact risk level or the contact risk level when at least one of the person and the other vehicle detected around the first vehicle 500 is located in the other blind spot area. Correct the criteria for comparison. In the example of FIG. 5, the person P is located in a blind spot area of the other vehicle V ₂ generated by an object (here, the own vehicle V ₁ ) located between the person P and the other vehicle V ₂ . In the example of FIG. 6, the other vehicle V ₂ is located in a blind spot area of the person P generated by an object (here, the own vehicle V ₁ ) located between the person P and the other vehicle V ₂ . In this case, since the person P and the other vehicle V ₂ in viewing difficult positional relationship with each other, the person P with the other vehicle V ₂ and the risk of contact with said to be high. Therefore, when such a state is detected, the notification processing unit 120 estimates the contact risk level higher or lowers the reference for comparison with the contact risk level. As a result, it is possible to accurately determine the state of high contact risk and execute the notification process.

<Notification processing>
When at least one of the person and the other vehicle is located in the other blind spot area, it can be said that at least one of the parties is in a situation where it is difficult for the other to notice the other, and therefore the risk of contact is higher. In such a case, in order to reduce the risk of contact, the notification processing unit 120 determines whether at least one of the person and the other vehicle detected around the first vehicle 500 is located in the other blind spot area. Depending on whether or not, the content of the notification process may be changed. For example, when at least one of the person detected around the first vehicle 500 and at least one of the other vehicles is located in the other blind spot area, the notification processing unit 120 generates a sound or display content that emphasizes danger more. Can be changed. More specifically, the notification processing unit 120 can notify the direction in which an object with a risk of contact is coming by a voice message (for example, a message such as “Please pay attention to the right”). In addition, the notification processing unit 120 can notify the direction in which an object at risk of contact is coming by a display message or an arrow projected from the projector. In addition, the notification processing unit 120 can increase the volume of the sound output from the speaker device and the size of the display content to be projected using the projector. In this way, in a situation where there is a high risk of contact between a person and another vehicle, it becomes possible to more accurately convey the risk of contact to surrounding persons who are parties and drivers of other vehicles. .

  Further, the notification processing unit 120 analyzes the attributes of the person (for example, the height of the person) based on the scanning result of the person by the detection device 300 for remote sensing, and uses the analyzed attributes to identify the person and other vehicles. It may be configured to correct the range of the blind spot area of another vehicle caused by another object located between the two. For example, it is assumed that a person attribute such as “height is low (or“ child ”)” is obtained as a result of the notification processing unit 120 analyzing the result of scanning of the person by the sensing device 300 for remote sensing. In this case, a short person is more difficult to see from other vehicles (easy to enter a blind spot). In view of such circumstances, when the attribute of a person such as “height is low” is obtained, the notification processing unit 120 is configured so that it is easy to determine that the person is located in the blind spot area of the other vehicle. The blind spot area may be enlarged and corrected. As a result, it is possible to accurately determine the state of high contact risk and execute the notification process.

[Hardware configuration]
The information processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment has the same hardware configuration (for example, FIG. 2) as that of the first embodiment. The storage device 208 of the present embodiment further stores a program module that realizes the function of the notification processing unit 120 described above, and the processor 204 executes the program module to realize the function of the present embodiment described above. Is done.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the contact risk or the reference for the contact risk is corrected based on the blind spots of the person and the other vehicle that are generated by the object positioned between the person and the other vehicle. As a result, it is possible to detect a situation in which it is possible to determine that the risk of contact between a person and another vehicle is higher, and to execute the notification process accurately.

[Third Embodiment]
When the estimation accuracy of the contact risk level is low for some reason, the notification process by the information processing apparatus 100 is executed even though there is no particular problem, and the person or other vehicle may be confused on the contrary. . Therefore, each processing unit of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is configured to function when there is a high possibility that notification processing is necessary.

[Function configuration]
FIG. 7 is a block diagram conceptually showing the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 in the third embodiment. The information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment further includes a control unit 130 in addition to the configurations of the above-described embodiments. The control unit 130 activates the surrounding information acquisition unit 110 and the notification processing unit 120 when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

  For example, when the host vehicle is stopped (or temporarily stopped), another vehicle may pass or overtake from the side of the host vehicle. In such a case, since the own vehicle creates blind spots for the person and the other vehicle, the contact risk between the person and the other vehicle increases. Therefore, the control unit 130 may be configured to activate the surrounding information acquisition unit 110 and the notification processing unit 120 when the host vehicle is stopped. For example, the control unit 130 can determine whether the host vehicle is stopped (or temporarily stopped) as follows. First, the control unit 130 transmits information indicating the speed of the host vehicle, information indicating the engine speed, or various control signals (for example, control signals generated according to the operation of the transmission, brake pads, etc.) Control signal generated by stepping on, control signal generated by pulling the side brake, etc.). And the control part 130 can judge whether the own vehicle is stopping from the acquired information or various control signals. For example, when the speed of the host vehicle is 0 and the gear is set to parking, the control unit 130 can determine that the host vehicle is stopped. Further, for example, when the speed of the host vehicle is 0 and the engine is rotating, the control unit 130 can determine that the host vehicle is temporarily stopped.

  In addition, when the traveling speed of the host vehicle is slower than that of surrounding vehicles, the possibility of overtaking or overtaking by another vehicle increases. In addition, in autonomous driving, which has been researched in recent years, a program is set up to keep the legal speed, so depending on the situation, the traveling speed may be slower than the surrounding manually driven vehicle, and it may be overtaken or overtaken by other surrounding vehicles. Is likely to occur. When another vehicle overtakes or overtakes the own vehicle, the own vehicle becomes a blind spot of the other vehicle, and the risk that the person in the blind spot contacts the other vehicle increases. Therefore, the control unit 130 activates the surrounding information acquisition unit 110 and the notification processing unit 120 when the traveling speed of the host vehicle is lower than the reference speed or when the host vehicle is traveling in the automatic driving mode. It may be configured. In the former case, the control unit 130 acquires information indicating the speed of the host vehicle via the CAN, and compares it with a reference speed stored in the memory 206 or the storage device 208 separately, whereby the traveling speed of the host vehicle is determined as a reference. It can be determined whether or not the speed is below. Note that the control unit 130 may use the moving speed of surrounding vehicles as a reference speed. In this case, the control unit 130 can acquire the speed of the surrounding vehicle by predicting from the change in the positional relationship between the moving speed of the own vehicle and the other vehicle by inter-vehicle communication. In the latter case, the control unit 130 acquires information indicating the traveling mode of the host vehicle via the CAN, and the host vehicle travels in the automatic driving mode depending on whether the information is information indicating the automatic driving mode. It can be determined whether or not.

  In the vicinity of the pedestrian crossing, there is a high possibility that pedestrians cross the road. And if the two conditions “the driving speed of the host vehicle is slower than the surrounding vehicles” and the “traveling in the vicinity of the pedestrian crossing” overlap, the person who the host vehicle tries to cross the road The dead angle of each of the other vehicles going out in front of the host vehicle is increased, and the contact risk between the person and the other vehicle is further increased. Therefore, the control unit 130 activates the surrounding information acquisition unit 110 and the notification processing unit 120 when the host vehicle is located within the reference distance from the pedestrian crossing and the traveling speed of the host vehicle is equal to or lower than the reference speed. It may be configured. In this case, the control unit 130 first acquires position information of the host vehicle. The control unit 130 can acquire the position information of the host vehicle using, for example, a known self-position estimation method based on Bayesian estimation or GPS (Global Positioning System). Then, the control unit 130 compares the acquired position information of the own vehicle with map information separately stored in the memory 206 or the storage device 208, and determines whether or not the own vehicle is located within the reference distance from the pedestrian crossing. Can be judged. Further, as described above, the control unit 130 can determine whether the traveling speed of the host vehicle is equal to or lower than the reference speed.

[Hardware configuration]
The information processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment has the same hardware configuration (for example, FIG. 2) as that of the first embodiment. The storage device 208 of the present embodiment further stores a program module that realizes the function of the control unit 130 described above, and the processor 204 executes the program module to realize the function of the present embodiment. The

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the ambient information acquisition unit 110 and the notification processing unit 120 are activated when a predetermined condition that can determine that the necessity of the notification processing is high is satisfied. As a result, the information processing apparatus 100 can be controlled to execute the notification process when it is truly necessary.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment and the Example were described with reference to drawings, these are illustrations of this invention and can also employ | adopt various structures other than the above.

  Further, in the plurality of flowcharts used in the above description, a plurality of steps (processes) are described in order, but the execution order of the steps executed in each embodiment is not limited to the description order. In each embodiment, the order of the illustrated steps can be changed within a range that does not hinder the contents. Moreover, each above-mentioned embodiment can be combined in the range in which the content does not conflict.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Information processing apparatus 110 Ambient information acquisition part 120 Notification processing part 130 Control part 200 Computer 202 Bus 204 Processor 206 Memory 208 Storage device 210 Input / output interface 212 Network interface 300 Detection device 400 Output device

Claims (15)

An information processing apparatus mounted on a moving body,
A surrounding information acquisition unit for acquiring information of a person and other moving bodies located around the moving body;
Based on the information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit, the contact risk between the person and the other mobile object is estimated, and when the estimated contact risk satisfies a standard, the contact risk is directed to the periphery of the mobile object. A notification processing unit for executing notification processing,
An information processing apparatus comprising: The notification processing unit
Based on the information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit, predict the time-series transition of the position of the person and the other moving body,
Based on the correspondence between the predicted time series transition of the position of the person and the predicted time series transition of the position of the other mobile body, the contact risk is estimated.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The notification processing unit
Calculating a blind spot area of each of the person and the other moving body, which is caused by another object located between the person and the other moving body;
When at least one of the person and the other moving body is located in the other blind spot area, the contact risk or the reference is corrected.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The notification processing unit analyzes the attribute of the person and uses the analyzed attribute to generate a blind spot area of the other moving body that is generated by another object positioned between the person and the other moving body. Determine the range of
The information processing apparatus according to claim 3. The notification processing unit
Calculating a blind spot area of each of the person and the other moving body, which is caused by another object located between the person and the other moving body;
The content of the notification process is changed depending on whether or not at least one of the person and the other moving body is located in the other blind spot area,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The notification processing unit analyzes the attribute of the person, and determines the content of the notification process using the analyzed attribute.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The notification processing unit analyzes the position of the person as the attribute of the person, and performs the notification process toward the analyzed position of the person.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 6. A control unit that activates the surrounding information acquisition unit and the notification processing unit when a predetermined condition is satisfied;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The control unit activates the surrounding information acquisition unit and the notification processing unit when the moving body is stopped.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 8. The control unit activates the surrounding information acquisition unit and the notification processing unit when the moving body is temporarily stopped.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 9. The control unit activates the surrounding information acquisition unit and the notification processing unit when the traveling speed of the moving body is equal to or lower than a reference speed.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10. The control unit activates the surrounding information acquisition unit and the notification processing unit when the moving body is located within a reference distance from a pedestrian crossing and the traveling speed of the moving body is a reference speed or less,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 11. The control unit activates the surrounding information acquisition unit and the notification processing unit when the moving body is traveling in an automatic operation mode,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 12. An information notification method executed by a computer,
Obtaining information about a person and other moving objects located around the moving body;
Based on the acquired information, the contact risk between the person and the other mobile object is estimated, and when the estimated contact risk satisfies a standard, a notification process is executed toward the periphery of the mobile object. Process,
An information processing method including: Computer
Means for acquiring information of a person and other moving objects located around the moving body; and
Based on the acquired information, the contact risk between the person and the other mobile object is estimated, and when the estimated contact risk satisfies a standard, a notification process is executed toward the periphery of the mobile object. means,
Program to function as.

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