JP2019061478A - Information sharing method and information sharing system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information sharing method and an information sharing system for separately managing temporary traffic influence information and continuous traffic influence information as traffic influence information which affects traffic.SOLUTION: In a vehicle 1, a traffic influence information generation section 140 of a control unit 2 generates traffic influence information on the basis of external environment information recognized by an external environment recognition unit 103, and the traffic influence information is classified by a traffic influence information classification section 140a to store the classified traffic influence information in a storage section 24a. The generated traffic influence information is transmitted to another vehicle by an inter-vehicle communication via a communication unit 25a, and additionally transmitted to a server via a communication unit 24c.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an information sharing method and information sharing system shared among vehicles, for example.

  Some navigation devices mounted on vehicles can provide guidance using traffic information acquired from other vehicles or servers. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a navigation device that acquires information in real time from a mobile terminal located near an accident site by inter-vehicle communication, and displays a travelable lane. Patent Document 2 describes a vehicle traffic information display system that acquires accident information of a preceding vehicle and highlights the accident information as the approach speed to the preceding vehicle is faster.

JP, 2015-224929, A JP, 2016-224553, A

  However, in the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2, although accident information can be used as traffic information in addition to map information, it is only accident information that can be used. For example, there are events other than accident information, such as road construction, which are not reflected in map information, but which affect traffic, but such information was not reflected as traffic information. Furthermore, there are two types of events that affect traffic: temporary ones that can be resolved in a short time, such as traffic restrictions resulting from accidents, and continuous ones that require a long time, such as road repair work. Temporary ones have a small scope of influence, and it is unreasonable to treat them in line with continuous ones.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and an information sharing method and information for separately managing temporary traffic influence information and continuous traffic influence information as traffic influence information affecting traffic. It aims to provide a sharing system.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration.

That is, it is an information sharing method of sharing traffic influence information among information processing devices of a plurality of vehicles,
Classify acquired traffic impact information into temporary traffic impact information and continuous traffic impact information,
An information sharing method comprising: sharing each of the temporary traffic influence information and the continuous traffic influence information according to travel information of each vehicle.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to separately manage temporary traffic influence information and continuous traffic influence information as traffic influence information affecting traffic.

It is an explanatory view showing composition of a vehicle system. It is a block diagram showing control composition of vehicles. It is a figure which shows the example of the obstacle on the road. It is a flowchart of processings, such as traffic influence information generation by the information system of vehicles. It is a flowchart of a delivery procedure of temporary traffic influence information by a server. It is a flowchart of the information presentation procedure by the navigation apparatus of a vehicle. It is a flowchart of the path determination procedure of the automatic driving | operation of a vehicle.

First Embodiment
Configuration of Control Device for Vehicle FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, which controls a vehicle 1. In FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 is schematically shown in a plan view and a side view. The vehicle 1 is a sedan-type four-wheeled passenger car as an example.

  The control device of FIG. 1 includes a control unit 2. The control unit 2 includes a plurality of ECUs 20 to 29 communicably connected by an in-vehicle network. Each ECU includes a processor represented by a CPU, a storage device such as a semiconductor memory, an interface with an external device, and the like. The storage device stores programs executed by the processor, data used by the processor for processing, and the like. Each ECU may include a plurality of processors, storage devices, interfaces, and the like. That is, the ECU can also be called an information processing apparatus.

  Hereinafter, the function etc. which each ECU20-29 takes charge of is demonstrated. The number of ECUs and the functions to be in charge can be appropriately designed, and can be subdivided or integrated as compared with the present embodiment.

  The ECU 20 executes control related to automatic driving of the vehicle 1. In automatic driving, at least one of steering of the vehicle 1 and acceleration / deceleration is automatically controlled.

  The ECU 21 controls the electric power steering device 3. The electric power steering apparatus 3 includes a mechanism for steering the front wheels in response to a driver's driving operation (steering operation) on the steering wheel 31. Further, the electric power steering device 3 includes a motor for assisting a steering operation or a driving force for automatically steering the front wheels, a sensor for detecting a steering angle, and the like. When the driving state of the vehicle 1 is automatic driving, the ECU 21 automatically controls the electric power steering device 3 in response to an instruction from the ECU 20 to control the traveling direction of the vehicle 1.

  The ECUs 22 and 23 perform control of detection units 41 to 43 that detect the surrounding situation of the vehicle and perform information processing of detection results. The detection unit 41 is a camera for capturing an image in front of the vehicle 1 (hereinafter, may be referred to as a camera 41), and in the case of the present embodiment, two are provided on the roof front of the vehicle 1. By analyzing the image captured by the camera 41, it is possible to extract the contour of the target and extract the lane line (white line etc.) on the road.

  The detection unit 42 is a lidar (laser radar) (hereinafter, may be referred to as a lidar 42), detects a target around the vehicle 1, or measures the distance to the target. In the case of the present embodiment, five lidars 42 are provided, one at each of the front corners of the vehicle 1, one at the center of the rear, and one at each side of the rear. The detection unit 43 is a millimeter wave radar (hereinafter, may be referred to as a radar 43), detects a target around the vehicle 1, and measures the distance to the target. In the case of the present embodiment, five radars 43 are provided, one at the center of the front of the vehicle 1, one at each of the front corners, and one at each of the rear corners.

  The ECU 22 performs control of one camera 41 and each lidar 42 and information processing of detection results. The ECU 23 controls the other camera 42 and each radar 43 and performs information processing of detection results. The reliability of the detection results can be improved by providing two sets of devices for detecting the surrounding environment of the vehicle, and by providing different types of detection units such as cameras, lidars and radars, analysis of the environment around the vehicle Can be done in many ways.

  The ECU 24 controls the gyro sensor 5, the GPS sensor 24b, and the communication device 24c, and performs information processing of a detection result or a communication result. The gyro sensor 5 detects the rotational motion of the vehicle 1, for example, the angular velocity around the longitudinal axis of the vehicle 1, or in addition to that, the angular velocity around the vertical and horizontal axes. The ECU 24 can also acquire the yaw rate (yaw angular velocity) of the vehicle 1 from the detection result of the gyro sensor 5. The course of the vehicle 1 can be determined from the detection result of the gyro sensor 5, the wheel speed, and the like. The GPS sensor 24 b detects the current position of the vehicle 1. The communication device 24 c performs wireless communication with a server that provides map information and traffic information, and acquires such information. The ECU 24 can access the database of map information built in the storage unit 24a, and the ECU 24 performs a route search from the current location to a destination.

  The ECU 25 includes a communication device 25a for inter-vehicle communication. The communication device 25a performs wireless communication with other vehicles in the vicinity to exchange information between the vehicles. The communication device 25a can also be used to acquire the above-described external information.

  The ECU 26 controls the power plant 6. The power plant 6 is a mechanism that outputs a driving force for rotating the drive wheels of the vehicle 1 and includes, for example, an engine and a transmission. The ECU 26 controls the output of the engine in response to the driver's driving operation (accelerator operation or acceleration operation) detected by the operation detection sensor 7a provided on the accelerator pedal 7A, for example, or the vehicle speed detected by the wheel speed sensor 7c. The transmission gear is switched based on information such as When the driving state of the vehicle 1 is automatic driving, the ECU 26 automatically controls the power plant 6 in response to an instruction from the ECU 20 to control acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle 1.

  The ECU 27 controls a lamp including a turn indicator (winker). The lighting apparatus includes a head lamp (headlight) including the low beam 10 and the high beam 11, a fog lamp 12, a tail lamp 13, a brake lamp 14, a position lamp provided in the vicinity of the headlamp, and the like. In the case of the example of FIG. 1, the respective lighting devices are provided at the front or rear of the vehicle 1 as a pair of right and left. As a brake lamp, for example, a high mount brake lamp may be provided in a cabin or at a central portion of a trunk cover.

  The ECU 28 controls the input / output device 9. The input / output device 9 outputs information to the driver and accepts input of information from the driver. The voice output device 91 reports information to the driver by voice. The display device 92 notifies the driver of the information by displaying an image. The display device 92 is disposed, for example, on the surface of the driver's seat, and constitutes an instrument panel or the like. In addition, although an audio | voice and a display were illustrated here, you may alert | report information by a vibration or light. Further, information may be notified by combining a plurality of voice, display, vibration, or light. Furthermore, depending on the level of information to be notified (for example, the degree of urgency), the combination may be different or the notification mode may be different.

  The input device 93 is disposed at a position where the driver can operate, and is a switch group or a touch panel that gives an instruction to the vehicle 1, but a voice input device may also be included. The ECU 28 provides a navigation function using the display device 92, the audio output device 91, the input device 93, and the like. The navigation function includes, for example, a function of displaying a map centering on the current position of the vehicle 1, road conditions and the like, and guiding a traveling route and notes by voice.

  The ECU 29 controls the brake device 10 and a parking brake (not shown). The brake device 10 is, for example, a disc brake device, and is provided on each wheel of the vehicle 1 and decelerates or stops the vehicle 1 by adding resistance to the rotation of the wheel. The ECU 29 controls the operation of the brake device 10 in response to the driver's driving operation (brake operation) detected by the operation detection sensor 7b provided on the brake pedal 7B, for example. When the driving state of the vehicle 1 is automatic driving, the ECU 29 automatically controls the brake device 10 in response to an instruction from the ECU 20 to control the deceleration and stop of the vehicle 1. The brake device 10 and the parking brake can also be operated to maintain the vehicle 1 in the stopped state. In addition, when the transmission of the power plant 6 is provided with a parking lock mechanism, it can be operated to maintain the vehicle 1 in the stopped state.

Configuration of Driving Support System FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of a driving support system for controlling the automatic driving of the vehicle 1 and the like. The driving support system is configured to connect the control unit 2 with the sensors and the control system of the driving device. The control unit 2 may be configured around, for example, a computer, a program that it executes, and a memory. Hereinafter, a control configuration for automatic operation centering on the control unit 2 will be briefly described.

  In FIG. 3, a traveling driving force output device 72, a brake device 76, and a steering device 74 are connected to the control unit 2 as a control system of the driving device. Further, external environment information regarding the external environment, such as an image around the vehicle 1 and information regarding an obstacle, is input to the automatic driving control device 112 from sensors including the camera 41, the radar 42, and the rider 43. A device for detecting an external environment may be referred to as an external detection unit.

  In addition to the external detection unit, the control unit 2 is also connected to a host vehicle state detection unit such as a gyro sensor 5 that detects the attitude of the vehicle 1. An output signal indicating the detected state is input to the control unit 2. The description of the other configuration shown in FIG. 1 will be omitted.

  The control unit 2 sets the planned traveling route and controls traveling based on the traveling state information and the external environment information. In the control unit 2, the vehicle state recognition unit 101 specifies the state of the vehicle 1 itself based on, for example, signals of acceleration, yaw rate, direction or road surface state input from the gyro sensor 5. For example, the vehicle position recognition unit 102 collates the vehicle position specified from the GPS signal with the map information 132 to specify the vehicle position on the map. For example, traffic influence information registered in association with each position on the map can be identified.

  The external environment recognition unit 103 can process information such as an image related to the external environment of the vehicle detected by the camera 41, the radar 42, and the lidar 43 to recognize the external environment. The external environment includes, for example, an obstacle called a risk and a safe travelable area. An obstacle is not only recognized as an obstacle, but also its type.

  For example, when a vehicle is stopped in a lane of a road and a red light or a uniform police officer is recognized beside it, it can be recognized as a traffic restricted area due to an accident. Alternatively, when an obstacle other than a vehicle is recognized on the lane, it can be recognized as a falling object. Also, if there is a section where the lane is closed by a cone or a guardrail, it is recognized as a construction section. In addition, there is a vehicle that stops in a form blocking a part of the lane, and if the hazard lamp can be recognized, it can be recognized as a temporary stop or parked vehicle. Such recognition may be performed by pattern matching, for example, or realized by machine learning using artificial intelligence to learn situations such as accidents and construction that are not listed on the map but affect the traffic. You may In addition, the information which is not published on the map but which indicates the condition affecting the traffic is also referred to as traffic influence information in this embodiment.

  The autonomous driving control unit 112 includes an action plan determination unit 1121 and a traveling control unit 1122. The action plan determination unit 1121 uses, for example, information input from the vehicle position recognition unit 102 and the external environment recognition unit 103 to travel along the determined travel route, and performs actions such as traveling, steering, and braking. Decide. The traveling control unit 1122 controls the braking device 76, the steering device 74, and the traveling driving force output device 72 such as an engine or a motor according to the determined action plan.

  The storage unit 24 a is a memory or a storage, and stores map information 132 used for operation control and a database of traffic influence information 133. In addition, a travel route to a designated destination can also be stored. The traffic influence information 133 is further divided into temporary traffic influence information 133a and continuous traffic influence information 133b. The temporary traffic influence information 133a and the continuous traffic influence information 133b are classified based on whether the influence on the traffic is temporary or long period or indefinite period. This classification is performed by the traffic influence information generation unit 140 that generates the traffic influence information. The classified traffic impact information is shared by different groups of vehicles. In the present embodiment, different groups are groups depending on the present area or groups depending on the vehicle type.

  The traffic influence information generation unit 140 generates traffic influence information based on the external environment information recognized by the external environment recognition unit 103, classifies it by the traffic influence information classification unit 140a, and stores it in the storage unit 24a. The classification of traffic influence information may be performed according to how long the traffic influence information lasts (that is, the type), and does not necessarily have to be based on information indicating an accurate period. For example, in the case of closing due to a traffic accident, passing of an emergency vehicle, on-street parking or stopping such as a courier service, etc., it may be classified as temporary traffic influence information. On the other hand, road construction and guardrails may be classified as pending traffic influence information. Also, for example, the construction period may be read from a signboard such as road construction to determine whether it is temporary or continuous. An example of traffic influence information is shown in FIG. The vehicle 311 detects an obstacle with the camera 41 or the rider 43 when passing through the traffic restriction site 301 due to an accident, recognizes the traffic restriction due to the accident through image recognition, and displays temporary traffic influence information indicating that effect. Generate Also, for example, when the vehicle 312 or the vehicle 314 recognizes the guardrail 302, it generates continuous traffic influence information based thereon. In addition, even if it is the road where the lane was divided like FIG. 3, the obstacle of an opposite lane may be recognized and traffic influence information regarding an opposite lane may be generated. The generated traffic influence information is transmitted, for example, to another vehicle by inter-vehicle communication via the communication unit 25a, and additionally, is transmitted to the server (not shown) via the communication unit 24c. Also, traffic influence information generated by another vehicle can be received via the server.

  The navigation system 150 generates navigation information and the like. The navigation information generation unit 151 determines a planned route from the current location to the set destination. Further, it generates map information indicating the position of the vehicle changing during traveling or generates voice information to be output. The generated information is displayed or output by the output devices 91 and 92. The input device 93 is a device for input such as setting of a destination to the navigation system 150 and input to a user interface. The output devices 91 and 92 and the input device 93 are used not only for the navigation system but also for other input and output.

  As described above, the control unit 2 which is the center of the autonomous driving system realizes the autonomous driving by controlling each device of the vehicle 1 based on the external environment information acquired by the sensor, the communication, and the like. The navigation system can also indicate the current location and provide a route to a destination.

Process of Generating Traffic Influence Information FIG. 4 shows a process of generating traffic influence information by the traffic influence information generation unit 140. This process is performed, for example, by the ECU 24 in hardware. This procedure is executed while acquiring external environment information while the vehicle 1 is traveling or the like. That is, the process of FIG. 4A is repeatedly executed while acquiring external environment information.

  First, external environment information is acquired from the external environment recognition unit 103, and traffic influence information is generated based on, for example, an image recognition result as described above (S401). The generated traffic influence information associates and stores the position information of the position at which the external environment information that is the basis of the traffic influence information is acquired and the acquired self-time (S403). The time information may not be associated if the generated time is unnecessary. Further, information indicating the cause of the generation of the traffic influence information may be further associated. The cause is, for example, traffic restriction due to an accident. The traffic influence information may also include information indicating the degree of influence. The degree of influence may be, for example, information indicating that only one traffic lane can not pass, that alternate traffic, or that traffic can not pass at all.

  Next, it is determined whether the stored traffic influence information is temporary (S405). As described above, whether temporary or continuous is determined, for example, according to the type of event identified from the recognized image. This type is as described above, and it is determined that an accident, an emergency vehicle, a delivery vehicle, etc. are temporary. In this example, it is judged whether or not it is the temporary traffic influence information, and the traffic influence information which can not be judged as temporary is regarded as continuous, so the criteria to be classified continuously may not be particularly But of course there may be.

  If it is determined to be temporary traffic influence information, the target traffic influence information is classified into temporary traffic influence information, and is stored together with identification information indicating that effect (S407). The temporary traffic influence information is transmitted by inter-vehicle communication to another vehicle or the like passing near the vehicle 1 (S409). Furthermore, temporary traffic influence information is also transmitted to a server (not shown) (S411). Note that transmission of temporary traffic influence information by inter-vehicle communication may be performed continuously, for example, until reaching a point at a certain distance from the point at which the temporary traffic influence information is generated, or until a certain time elapses. .

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the information is not temporary traffic influence information, the target traffic influence information is classified into continuous traffic influence information, and is stored together with identification information indicating that effect (S413). Next, it is determined whether the continuous traffic influence information is already included (S415), and if it is already included, the processing is terminated without transmitting to the server. In this case, the continuous traffic influence information stored in step S403 and classified in step S413 may be deleted. If, for example, the type of the traffic influence information (for example, construction, guardrail, etc.) recognized and the position information match the existing traffic influence information already possessed, it is judged as the information already possessed. Good. If it is determined in step S415 that the information is not already included, the traffic influence information is transmitted to the server (S411). It is determined whether temporary traffic influence information already has only continuous traffic influence information, in this example, at the time of transmission from the server as described later in this example. However, it may be determined whether or not the temporary traffic influence information already has the information, and the temporary traffic influence information may be transmitted to the server only when it is not acquired. In this case, the transmission by inter-vehicle communication may be performed without determining the duplication. In addition, continuous traffic influence information is not transmitted by inter-vehicle communication in order to be distributed to all vehicles for which information such as traffic information has been provided from the server via the server. However, continuous traffic influence information may also be transmitted by inter-vehicle communication.

  Traffic influence information is generated by the above procedure, classified into temporary traffic influence information and continuous traffic influence information, and each of them is stored. It also sends it to the server with saving. The transmission destination server is a server that provides traffic information and the like to the vehicle. Traffic influence information is shared with other vehicles via a server or by inter-vehicle communication. Here, the temporary traffic influence information and the continuous traffic influence information are different in the shared range. Continuous traffic impact information is distributed to all vehicles that receive traffic information from the server, without particular restrictions on distribution destinations. Meanwhile, temporary traffic influence information is distributed to a predetermined area including the geographical position where the situation indicated by the information has occurred. This is because temporary traffic impact information indicates obstacles etc. that have temporary impact on traffic, and it is expected to be resolved early, so the timing at which the point concerned is affected This is because it is considered sufficient to notify nearby vehicles that may pass by.

  The processing procedure by the vehicle which received traffic influence information in FIG. 4 (B) is shown. This process is performed, for example, by the ECU 24 in hardware. In FIG. 2, it may be executed by the traffic influence information generation unit 140. Traffic influence information is received from a server or from another vehicle by inter-vehicle communication. When traffic influence information is received, it is determined whether it is temporary traffic influence information (S421), and is stored as the determined type of traffic influence information (S423, S425). Traffic influence information generated by other vehicles in this manner can also be temporarily or continuously classified and stored as traffic influence information 133.

● Delivery procedure of temporary traffic influence information by server Figure 5 shows the delivery procedure of temporary traffic influence information by the server. The server is configured using, for example, a general-purpose computer having a CPU and a memory, and provides map information, traffic information, weather information and the like to the vehicle, and receives traffic influence information from the vehicle and distributes it to the vehicle. In addition, information such as the position of the vehicle and the planned traveling route may be collected from each vehicle. Here, the continuous traffic influence information is distributed to all the vehicles whose information is provided by the server. Therefore, even traffic impact information acquired in Tokyo, for example, will be distributed nationwide. Meanwhile, temporary traffic influence information is distributed to limited vehicles according to the procedure of FIG.

  In FIG. 5, the server determines whether new temporary traffic information has been received (S501), and if received, determines whether the server holds the same type of traffic influence information of the same point already distributed. (S503). If not, it is determined as traffic influence information indicating a newly generated obstacle, and a vehicle to be distributed is determined (S505). In step S505, as a delivery destination vehicle, a point at which temporary traffic influence information is generated is assumed to be a vehicle expected to pass at an affected timing. Vehicles that are expected to pass are, for example, vehicles that are within a certain range from that point and vehicles that are traveling on a road passing that point.

  When limiting by area, for example, the area including the position information associated with the traffic influence information to be distributed is determined as the area to be distributed. The area may be, for example, a pre-divided area, but if the location information associated with the traffic influence information is close to the area boundary (ie within a predetermined distance from the area boundary), a plurality of areas across the boundary will be distributed It may be taken as such. The region may be determined, for example, in units of prefectures or based on the coverage of each base station of the communication system to which the communication unit 24c belongs. In this case, it may be determined that the service range including the point where the cause of the traffic influence information to be distributed is generated and the service range adjacent thereto. If the area to be distributed is determined, information identifying the vehicle in the area, that is, the communication unit 24c, is acquired from the communication network to which it belongs, and the vehicle is set as a transmission target. In addition, if it is a communication system which can perform transmission which designated the area, specification of a position of a mobile (vehicle) etc. may be entrusted to a communication system.

  In addition, even when a vehicle traveling on a road is targeted, it is possible to determine a vehicle in the area in the manner described above by targeting an area including the road passing through the cause point.

  The temporary traffic influence information is transmitted to the vehicle to be distributed determined in step S505 (or the communication unit 24c of the vehicle) (S507).

  Thus, temporary traffic impact information is shared only in the area where it occurred. In FIG. 5, the distribution of the duplicated information is avoided in step S503, but step S503 may not be performed. In this way, traffic influence information generated by a plurality of vehicles may be delivered redundantly from the same cause, but for example, it is sufficient to organize the duplicated information by the vehicles that have received the temporary traffic influence information. Also, the server may delete the received and stored temporary traffic influence information, for example, after a certain period of time from its generation. By deleting, if the cause of the deleted temporary traffic influence information has not been eliminated, the temporary traffic influence information can be distributed again. As a result, even if vehicles within the distribution target area change due to movement, temporary traffic influence information can be distributed to vehicles newly flowing into the distribution target area. By repeating this, the server can repeatedly deliver temporary traffic influence information limited to the area where it occurred until the cause is resolved. In this case, the period from generation of temporary traffic influence information to deletion may be determined, for example, from the number of vehicles flowing into the area per unit time, for example, several minutes to several hours, etc. You may Further, as described above, temporary traffic influence information may be delivered only once, and in this case, it is not necessary to periodically delete the temporary traffic influence information.

  Alternatively, all temporary traffic impact information newly received may be distributed without performing the determination of duplication in step S503, and the temporary traffic impact information once delivered may be deleted after step S507. Good. By doing this, it is possible to eliminate the possibility of erroneous determination of duplication in step S503, and, unless the cause of the temporary traffic influence information is eliminated, the temporary traffic influence information is applied to vehicles in the corresponding area. You can keep delivering. The periodic deletion of the temporary traffic influence information may also be performed in the vehicle that generated or received it. As a result, unnecessary traffic influence information can be eliminated to suppress resource consumption.

Generation of Navigation Information FIG. 6 shows a procedure for generating navigation information based on map information, current location information, and traffic influence information. This procedure is performed, for example, by the ECU 28 in hardware, and is performed, for example, by the navigation information generation unit 151 in software.

  FIG. 6A shows a procedure for visual display of map information. In FIG. 6A, first, map information at the current time point is acquired (S601). The map information to be acquired may be, for example, a predetermined spread centered on the current location. Traffic influence information of a point falling within the range of the acquired map information is extracted from the storage unit 24a (S603), a map is drawn, and a symbol indicating the traffic influence information is drawn thereon (S605). Thereafter, the map information is displayed, for example, centering on the current location (S607). This is repeated regularly, and the map and traffic influence information according to the advancing of a vehicle are displayed. The traffic impact information displayed here includes both temporary traffic impact information and continuous traffic impact information.

  FIG. 6B shows an output procedure of guidance information by voice. First, traffic influence information which is in the traveling direction of the set planned traveling route to the destination and is within a predetermined distance is extracted (S611). In addition, since the planned travel route is not set at the time of manual driving instead of automatic driving, traffic influence information within a predetermined distance in the traveling direction from the current point is extracted in that case. Then, voice information corresponding to the extracted traffic influence information is synthesized (S613). For example, if the cause of the traffic influence information is traffic restriction due to an accident, a voice indicating that is synthesized. The voice information corresponding to the cause of the traffic influence information may be stored in advance in the storage unit 24a and may be acquired. Thereafter, the synthesized voice is output. The procedure of FIG. 6 (B) is also periodically performed. Traffic influence information is reflected also in navigation information by the procedure of FIG.

Determination of Driving Route FIG. 7 shows a procedure for determining a driving route during automatic driving. This procedure is also executed by the navigation information generation unit 151 in this example. First, map information from the current location to the destination set is acquired (S701), and traffic influence information included in the acquired map information range is extracted (S703). Then, the travel route is determined based on the map information and the traffic influence information (S705). At this time, if the traffic influence information indicates that, for example, a certain road is impassable, steps S701, S703, and S705 are executed again to determine a route bypassing the road. Thereafter, travel control is performed according to the determined travel route, and travel is performed by automatic driving (S 707). In addition, during traveling by automatic driving, as in the generation of navigation information in FIG. 6, based on traffic influence information appearing in the traveling route, an action plan is generated such as avoiding a traffic-restricted lane, for example. Drive according to your plan.

  As described above, traffic influence information is generated based on external environment information acquired by a camera or sensor, and it is classified and stored as continuous traffic influence information and temporary traffic influence information. By classifying the information in this manner and making the geographical distribution range different, it is possible to suppress useless distribution of the traffic influence information, and to reduce the communication load, the communication amount, and the necessary storage capacity. In particular, since the performance such as the storage capacity of the in-vehicle device is limited, the device can function efficiently.

  Furthermore, in generating the action plan, the action plan is not generated using temporary traffic influence information present at a point far from the current position. Further, even when there is no possibility that temporary traffic influence information already exists when the vehicle passes, no unnecessary detour is set. Thus, by classifying temporary traffic influence information as continuous traffic influence information, it is possible to generate an appropriate action plan without involving traffic influence information that does not affect the host vehicle.

<Other Embodiments>
In step S505 in FIG. 5, temporary traffic influence information is distributed to vehicles in the area or route where the cause has occurred. However, the transmission target may be determined based on other criteria. For example, it may be determined in accordance with the type of vehicle, and in this case, for example, temporary traffic influence information may be transmitted to a large vehicle having a large influence. As for the information of the vehicle type, since the server communicating with the vehicle acquires the information about the vehicle, for example, the identification information of the communication unit 24c can be associated with the vehicle type, and the temporary traffic influence information is Can be sent.

Summary of the Embodiments The embodiments described above are summarized as follows.
(1)
An information sharing method for sharing traffic influence information among information processing devices of a plurality of vehicles,
Classify acquired traffic impact information into temporary traffic impact information and continuous traffic impact information,
An information sharing method comprising: sharing each of the temporary traffic influence information and the continuous traffic influence information according to travel information of each vehicle.
With this configuration, it is possible to divide and manage the traffic influence information indicating the state affecting the traffic into the temporary traffic influence information and the continuous traffic influence information, and to suppress the amount of information to be shared.

(2)
The information sharing method according to (1),
The travel information of the vehicle is a planned travel path,
The information sharing method according to claim 1, wherein the temporary traffic influence information is shared by vehicles expected to pass through a point on the temporary traffic influence information.
With this configuration, it is possible to suppress the amount of information to be shared by limiting and sharing temporary traffic influence information to the affected vehicles.

(3)
(2) The information sharing method described in (2),
The travel information of the vehicle is position information of the vehicle,
The information sharing method according to claim 1, wherein the temporary traffic influence information is shared by vehicles located within a predetermined range from a point where the temporary traffic influence information is applied.
With this configuration, it is possible to suppress the amount of information to be shared by limiting and sharing temporary traffic influence information to vehicles in an affected area.

(4)
(2) The information sharing method described in (2),
The temporary traffic influence information is shared by vehicles expected to pass through the point on the temporary traffic influence information until a time when the traffic influence is predicted to disappear. Information sharing method.
With this configuration, it is possible to suppress the amount of information to be shared by limiting and sharing temporary traffic influence information while it has an influence.

(5)
(3) The information sharing method described in (3),
The temporary traffic influence information is shared by vehicles existing at points which can pass through the temporary traffic influence information point until a time when traffic influence is predicted to be eliminated. Information sharing method.
With this configuration, it is possible to suppress the amount of information to be shared by limiting and sharing temporary traffic influence information while it has an influence.

(6)
The information sharing method according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein
Classification of the temporary traffic influence information of the traffic influence information and the continuous traffic influence information is performed by a vehicle which has acquired the traffic influence information from external environment information of the vehicle,
A method of sharing information, wherein each of the temporary traffic influence information and the continuous traffic influence information is distributed by the vehicle according to travel information of each vehicle.
According to this configuration, the load on the server can be reduced by classifying the traffic influence information by the vehicle that has acquired it.

(7)
The information sharing method according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein
The traffic influence information is distributed to another vehicle by a vehicle acquired from the external environment information of the vehicle before being classified.
The classification of the temporary traffic influence information and the continuous traffic influence information of the traffic influence information is performed by a vehicle which receives the traffic influence information and is subjected to a condition indicated by the traffic influence information. How to share information.
According to this configuration, the load on the server can be reduced by classifying the traffic influence information by the vehicle that has received it.

(8)
The information sharing method according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein
An information sharing method characterized in that each of the temporary traffic influence information and the continuous traffic influence information is shared by different groups of vehicles according to travel information of each vehicle.
With this configuration, temporary traffic influence information and continuous traffic influence information are shared by different groups of vehicles, contributing to the creation of an efficient action plan and resource control.

(9)
An information sharing system that shares traffic influence information among multiple vehicles,
The information processing device of the vehicle generates traffic influence information based on the acquired external environment information,
The traffic impact information is classified into temporary traffic impact information and continuous traffic impact information,
An information sharing system characterized by sharing each of the temporary traffic influence information and the continuous traffic influence information according to travel information of each vehicle.
With this configuration, it is possible to divide and manage the traffic influence information indicating the state affecting the traffic into the temporary traffic influence information and the continuous traffic influence information, and to suppress the amount of information to be shared.

20-29 ECU, 14a storage unit, 24c communication unit, 41 camera

Claims (9)

An information sharing method for sharing traffic influence information among information processing devices of a plurality of vehicles,
Classify acquired traffic impact information into temporary traffic impact information and continuous traffic impact information,
An information sharing method comprising: sharing each of the temporary traffic influence information and the continuous traffic influence information according to travel information of each vehicle. The information sharing method according to claim 1, wherein
The travel information of the vehicle is a planned travel path,
The information sharing method according to claim 1, wherein the temporary traffic influence information is shared by vehicles expected to pass through a point on the temporary traffic influence information. The information sharing method according to claim 2,
The travel information of the vehicle is position information of the vehicle,
The information sharing method according to claim 1, wherein the temporary traffic influence information is shared by vehicles located within a predetermined range from a point where the temporary traffic influence information is applied. The information sharing method according to claim 2,
The temporary traffic influence information is shared by vehicles expected to pass through the point on the temporary traffic influence information until a time when the traffic influence is predicted to disappear. Information sharing method. The information sharing method according to claim 3, wherein
The temporary traffic influence information is shared by vehicles existing at points which can pass through the temporary traffic influence information point until a time when traffic influence is predicted to be eliminated. Information sharing method. The information sharing method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein
Classification of the temporary traffic influence information of the traffic influence information and the continuous traffic influence information is performed by a vehicle which has acquired the traffic influence information from external environment information of the vehicle,
A method of sharing information, wherein each of the temporary traffic influence information and the continuous traffic influence information is distributed by the vehicle according to travel information of each vehicle. The information sharing method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein
The traffic influence information is distributed to another vehicle by a vehicle acquired from the external environment information of the vehicle before being classified.
The classification of the temporary traffic influence information and the continuous traffic influence information of the traffic influence information is performed by a vehicle which receives the traffic influence information and is subjected to a condition indicated by the traffic influence information. How to share information. The information sharing method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein
An information sharing method characterized in that each of the temporary traffic influence information and the continuous traffic influence information is shared by different groups of vehicles according to travel information of each vehicle. An information sharing system that shares traffic influence information among multiple vehicles,
The information processing device of the vehicle generates traffic influence information based on the acquired external environment information,
The traffic impact information is classified into temporary traffic impact information and continuous traffic impact information,
An information sharing system characterized by sharing each of the temporary traffic influence information and the continuous traffic influence information according to travel information of each vehicle.