JP2019079442A - Vehicle controller - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicle controller which can improve the convenience of driving in a travel scene where a puddle is formed.SOLUTION: A vehicle controller 10 (150) comprises: object detection means 94 (160) for detecting objects including a puddle 112 present near a host vehicle 100 and other vehicle 110; and countermeasure control unit 82 (158) that performs countermeasure control for previously dealing with splashing of water of the puddle 112 by the other vehicle 110 when a trigger condition indicating an interrelationship between the detected puddle 112, the other vehicle 110, and the host vehicles 100 is satisfied.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control device that automatically performs at least partial travel control of a host vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technology (automatic driving technology or driving support technology) has been developed that automatically performs traveling control of a host vehicle at least partially. For example, various techniques have been proposed for appropriately dealing with a puddle formed on a road.

  In Patent Document 1, when raining is detected, the safety distance with another object (pedestrian or stopped vehicle) is set long to allow the water to bounce off the vehicle when passing through the puddle. A driving support device has been proposed which copes with the problem.

JP, 2006-264466, A

  However, the device proposed in Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the situation reverse to the above, specifically, the influence of water splashed by another vehicle on the vehicle.

  For example, unexpected droplets adhering to the vehicle may temporarily cause driver's poor visibility or false recognition of the external state, and may have to interrupt automatic driving that is continuing. Since the execution section of automatic driving is shortened by that amount, it can be said that the commercial property of the vehicle is impaired from the viewpoint of driving convenience.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle control device capable of improving the convenience of driving in a traveling scene in which a puddle is formed.

  The vehicle control device according to the present invention is a device that automatically performs traveling control of the host vehicle at least partially, and includes an object detection unit that detects an object including a puddle and another vehicle around the host vehicle; When the trigger condition indicating the correlation between the water reservoir and the other vehicle and the own vehicle detected by the object detection means is satisfied, the jumping up of the water in the water reservoir by the other vehicle is dealt with in advance And a coping control unit that performs coping control.

  As described above, when the trigger condition indicating the correlation between the puddle and the other vehicle and the host vehicle is satisfied, the splashing water is performed by performing the countermeasure control to cope with the splashing of the puddle water by the other vehicle in advance. This makes it possible to reduce the influence exerted on the traveling of the host vehicle, and to improve the driving convenience in the traveling scene in which the water pool is formed.

  Further, the trigger condition is a condition that indicates that the water in the water pool is caused to jump up by the passage of the other vehicle, and that the water splash may have a high possibility of affecting the traveling of the vehicle. It may be.

  The object detection means includes an external sensor for detecting an external condition of the vehicle, and an external recognition unit for recognizing an object based on the detection result of the external sensor, The control unit may perform coping control to suppress a decrease in detection accuracy by the external sensor or recognition accuracy by the external recognition unit.

  Further, the coping control unit starts driving the wiper operating on the detection surface of the external sensor, or increases the driving speed of the wiper compared to the case where the coping control is not performed, thereby reducing the detection accuracy. You may perform the coping control which suppresses these. As a result, it is possible to prevent in advance the phenomenon that the detection accuracy of the external sensor temporarily decreases due to the adhesion of water.

  In addition, the coping control unit suppresses the decrease in the recognition accuracy by increasing the frequency of execution of the recognition processing by the external recognition unit or increasing the amount of arithmetic processing as compared with the case where the coping control is not performed. Control may be performed. This makes it possible to compensate for the decrease in detection accuracy, and the object detection accuracy is generally maintained.

  In addition, the coping control unit suppresses the degradation of the recognition accuracy by restricting the determination that the object has been lost by the recognition processing by the external recognition unit as compared to the case where the coping control is not performed. The coping control may be performed. As a result, even after the influence of the splashed water is reduced and the detection performance is recovered, there is a high possibility that the tracking of the object can be continued without performing the recognition process again on the object.

  Further, the external sensor includes a plurality of types of sensors, and the coping control unit relatively increases the reliability of the type of sensor that is resistant to splashing water, and the reliability of the type of sensor that is vulnerable to splashing water. The response control may be performed to suppress the decrease in the recognition accuracy by relatively reducing This makes it possible to reduce the influence that the detection accuracy temporarily decreases depending on the type of sensor, and the detection accuracy of the object is generally maintained.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the vehicle control apparatus which concerns on this invention, the convenience of the driving | operation in the driving | running | working scene in which the puddle was formed can be improved.

It is a block diagram showing composition of a vehicle control device common to each embodiment of the present invention. It is a main functional block diagram of a vehicle control device in a 1st embodiment. 3 is a flowchart provided to explain the operation of the arithmetic device shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the driving | running | working scene in the periphery of the own vehicle. It is a figure showing an example of coping control in a 1st embodiment. It is a main functional block diagram of a vehicle control device in a 2nd embodiment. 7A and 7B are diagrams showing a first example of coping control according to the second embodiment. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing a second example of coping control in the second embodiment. FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B are diagrams showing a third example of coping control in the second embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a vehicle control device according to the present invention will be described and described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Overall Configuration of Vehicle Control Device 10 (150)]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle control device 10 (150) common to the embodiments of the present invention. The vehicle control device 10 (150) is incorporated in a vehicle (the own vehicle 100 such as FIG. 4), and performs operation control of the vehicle automatically or manually. The "automatic driving" is a concept including not only "complete automatic driving" in which all running control of the vehicle is automatically performed, but also "partial automatic driving" in which running control is partially and automatically performed.

  The vehicle control device 10 (150) comprises a control system group 12 for controlling the operation control of the vehicle, an apparatus group (hereinafter referred to as an input system apparatus group 14) having an input function of the control system apparatus 12, and a control system group And a device group (hereinafter, output system device group 16) that is responsible for the twelve output functions.

<Specific Configuration of Input Device Group 14>
The input device group 14 includes an external sensor 18 for detecting the state of the periphery (external world) of the vehicle, a communication device 20 for transmitting and receiving information to and from various communication devices outside the vehicle, and map information indicating a high accuracy map. Includes a high-accuracy map database (hereinafter referred to as map information DB 22) for acquiring a navigation system 24 for generating a travel route to a destination and measuring the travel position of the vehicle, and a vehicle sensor 26 for detecting the condition of the vehicle. Be

  The external sensor 18 includes one or more cameras 30 for imaging the external world, one or more radars 31 for detecting the distance and relative velocity between the vehicle and another object, and one or more LIDARs 32 (Light Detection and Ranging Light detection and ranging / Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging; laser image detection and ranging).

  The communication device 20 includes a first communication device 34 that performs inter-vehicle communication with another vehicle, and a second communication device 36 that performs road-to-vehicle communication with the roadside device. The navigation device 24 includes a satellite navigation system and a self-contained navigation system. The vehicle sensor 26 includes a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a yaw rate sensor, an inclination sensor, various sensors that detect the behavior of the vehicle, various sensors that detect the operation state of the vehicle, and various sensors that detect the state of the driver.

<Specific Configuration of Output Device Group 16>
The output system group 16 includes a driving force output device 40, a steering device 42, a braking device 44, and a notification device 46.

  The driving force output device 40 includes a driving force output ECU (Electronic Control Unit) and a driving source such as an engine or a driving motor. The driving force output device 40 generates a driving force in accordance with the operation of the accelerator pedal performed by the driver or the control instruction of the drive output from the control system device group 12.

  The steering device 42 includes an EPS (Electric Power Steering System) -ECU and an EPS actuator. The steering device 42 generates a steering force in response to a steering wheel operation performed by the driver or a steering control instruction output from the control system device group 12.

  The braking device 44 includes a brake ECU and a brake actuator. The braking device 44 generates a braking force in response to the operation of the brake pedal performed by the driver or the braking control instruction output from the control system group 12.

  The notification device 46 includes a notification ECU and an information transmission device (for example, a display device, an acoustic device, a haptic device, etc.). The notification device 46 performs notification (for example, provision of information through the five senses including audiovisual) to the driver in response to a notification instruction output from the control system device group 12 or another ECU.

<Specific Configuration of Control Device Group 12>
The control system device group 12 includes one or more ECUs, and includes an arithmetic device 50 (152) such as a processor and a storage device 52 such as a ROM or a RAM. The control system device group 12 realizes various functions by executing the programs stored in the storage device 52 by the arithmetic device 50 (152).

First Embodiment
Subsequently, the vehicle control device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

<Function block diagram>
FIG. 2 is a main functional block diagram of the vehicle control device 10 in the first embodiment. The arithmetic device 50 can execute various functions of the external world recognition unit 60, the vehicle position recognition unit 62, the action plan creation unit 64, the track generation unit 66, the vehicle control unit 68, and the driving mode switching unit 70. Is configured.

  The external world recognition unit 60 recognizes a situation and an object around the vehicle based on the information output from the external world sensor 18. The external world recognition unit 60 includes a puddle recognition unit 72, an other-vehicle recognition unit 74, and an external world state recognition unit 76.

  The own vehicle position recognition unit 62 recognizes an absolute position of a vehicle or a relative position on a high accuracy map (hereinafter also referred to as a own vehicle position) based on the map information DB 22 and information output from the navigation device 24.

  The action plan creation unit 64 creates an action plan (time series of events for each traveling section) according to the situation of the vehicle based on the recognition results of the external world recognition unit 60 and the vehicle position recognition unit 62, and as necessary Update the contents of the action plan. The action plan creation unit 64 includes a scene determination unit 78, a timing setting unit 80, and a coping control unit 82.

  The trajectory generation unit 66 generates a traveling trajectory (time series of target behavior) according to the action plan created by the action plan creation unit 64 based on the recognition results of the external world recognition unit 60 and the vehicle position recognition unit 62.

  The vehicle control unit 68 instructs an operation to the output system device group 16 (FIG. 1) based on the creation result of the action plan creation unit 64 or the creation result of the track generation unit 66. The vehicle control unit 68 includes a traveling control unit 84 that controls traveling of the vehicle, and a notification control unit 86 that controls notification to the driver.

  The driving mode switching unit 70 selects a plurality of driving modes including an "automatic driving mode" and a "manual driving mode" in accordance with a predetermined action (for example, mode selection switch, operation of an input device including a steering wheel) by the driver. It is configured to be switchable.

  The vehicle control device 10 further includes a wiper 90 that removes foreign matter adhering to the detection surface of the external sensor 18, and a wiper drive unit 92 that drives the wiper 90 in accordance with a control instruction from the arithmetic device 50. That is, the outside sensor 18, the outside recognition unit 60, the wiper 90, and the wiper driving unit 92 function as an object detection unit 94 that detects an object located around the vehicle.

<Operation of Vehicle Control Device 10>
The vehicle control device 10 in the first embodiment is configured as described above. Subsequently, the operation of the vehicle control device 10 when dealing with the water reservoir 112 (FIG. 4 etc.) will be described mainly with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3. Here, it is assumed that the host vehicle 100 equipped with the vehicle control device 10 travels by automatic driving.

  FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a traveling scene around the host vehicle 100. As shown in FIG. The vehicle 100 tries to go straight on the road 104 along the planned travel route 102 indicated by the dashed arrow. Here, the planned travel route 102 means a route on which the vehicle 100 tries to travel.

  The figure shows a road 104 in an area where an arrangement has been made for a car to travel "left". The road 104 is divided into two lanes by continuous linear lane marks 106. The road 104 includes a traveling lane 107 in which the vehicle 100 is traveling and an opposite lane 108 facing the traveling lane 107.

  The other vehicle 110 travels on the opposite lane 108 in a state of facing the host vehicle 100. Further, a puddle 112 partially covering the opposite lane 108 is formed at a substantially intermediate position between the vehicle 100 and the other vehicle 110.

  In step S1 of FIG. 3, the object detection unit 94 detects the outside of the host vehicle 100. Specifically, the external world recognition unit 60 recognizes a situation and an object around the host vehicle 100 based on the information output from the external world sensor 18.

  The water pool recognition unit 72 recognizes, for example, the presence, position, and size of the water pool 112 on the road 104 by recognizing reflection of a specular reflection light image that can be included in information output from the camera 30. Do.

  The other vehicle recognition unit 74 recognizes the presence / absence, position, size, and type of the other vehicle 110 traveling or stopped around the host vehicle 100 based on the information output from the camera 30, radar 31 or LIDAR 32, for example. At the same time, the distance between the own vehicle 100 and the other vehicle 110 and the relative speed are calculated.

  The external world state recognition unit 76, for example, based on the image information of the camera 30 or the map information (high accuracy map) read from the map information DB 22, the entire road environment, for example, the road shape, the road width, the position of the lane mark 106 The number of lanes, the lane width, the lighting state of the traffic light, the open / close state of the circuit breaker, etc. are recognized.

  In step S <b> 2, the object detection unit 94 checks whether the water pool 112 and the other vehicle 110 located in front of the host vehicle 100 have been detected at the same time. When the puddle 112 and the other vehicle 110 are not simultaneously detected (step S2: NO), the flowchart of FIG. 3 is ended as it is. On the other hand, when the own vehicle 100 reaches the detection position 114 and the puddle 112 and the other vehicle 110 are simultaneously detected for the first time (step S2: YES), the process proceeds to the next step S3.

  In step S3, the scene determination unit 78 evaluates the possibility that the water in the puddle 112 jumps up (hereinafter referred to as the jumping possibility) based on the detection result in step S1. Specifically, [1] there is a water reservoir 112 on the opposite lane 108, [2] the water reservoir 112 has a size equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and [3] the speed of the other vehicle 110 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. [4] If the other vehicle 110 travels on the puddle 112, it is evaluated that the jumping possibility is high.

  In step S4, the scene determination unit 78 determines, based on the evaluation result in step S3, whether or not the trigger condition indicating the interrelationship among the puddle 112, the other vehicle 110, and the host vehicle 100 is satisfied. In this “trigger condition”, it is determined that the jumping of the water of the water pool 112 occurs due to the passage of the other vehicle 110 and that there is a high possibility that the water droplets affect the traveling of the vehicle 100. It is a condition. The trigger condition may be that one or more individual conditions are satisfied, or the score indicating the height of the jumping possibility may be a threshold.

  For example, when the scene determination unit 78 is evaluated that the possibility of jumping is high and the vehicle 100 is expected to pass the other vehicle 110 at the position of the puddle 112, it is determined that the trigger condition is satisfied. Do.

  Alternatively, the scene determination unit 78 determines that the trigger condition is satisfied when it is evaluated that the possibility of jumping is high and the relationship of 0 ≦ (Tarv1−Tarv2) <Tth is satisfied. Here, the time Tarv1 is a required time until the host vehicle 100 reaches the position of the water reservoir 112. The time Tarv2 is the time required for the other vehicle 110 to reach the position of the puddle 112. The threshold Tth is a preset positive value (generally, about 1 to 3 seconds).

  When the trigger condition is not satisfied (step S4: NO), the flowchart of FIG. 3 is ended as it is. On the other hand, if the trigger condition is satisfied (step S4: YES), the process proceeds to the next step S5.

  In step S5, the timing setting unit 80 sets a timing for executing the countermeasure control (hereinafter, an execution timing). Specifically, the timing setting unit 80 executes the execution start position 116 (FIG. 5), which is the position of the vehicle 100 at which the countermeasure control is to be started, and the execution end position 118, which is the position of the vehicle 100 at which the countermeasure control is ended. Set Figure 5). Here, the execution start position 116 corresponds to a position before splashing of water occurs, and the execution end position 118 corresponds to a position after splashing of water occurs.

  In step S6, the coping control unit 82 determines whether the host vehicle 100 has reached the execution start position 116 set in step S5. If it has not reached yet (step S6: NO), the host vehicle 100 stays in step S6 until it reaches the execution start position 116. On the other hand, when own vehicle 100 reaches execution start position 116 (Step S6: YES), it progresses to the following Step S7.

  In step S7, the coping control unit 82 performs coping control (driving control of the wiper 90 in the first embodiment) to cope with the splashing of the water in the puddle 112 by the other vehicle 110 in advance. The term "in advance" also includes the meaning of "before the other vehicle 110 reaches the position of the puddle 112".

  This coping control is performed for the purpose of suppressing a decrease in detection accuracy by the external sensor 18. Specifically, the coping control unit 82 generates a control signal for driving the wiper 90 on the detection surface of the external sensor 18, and outputs the control signal to the wiper driving unit 92.

  As shown in FIG. 5, although the wiper 90 stopped its operation when the vehicle 100 is at the detection position 114, the wiper 90 starts driving when the vehicle 100 reaches the execution start position 116. Further, although the wiper 90 operates at the normal driving speed when the vehicle 100 is at the detection position 114, the high speed driving is started from the time when the vehicle 100 reaches the execution start position 116. Thus, even when splashing of water actually occurs, water droplets adhering to the detection surface of the external sensor 18 can be quickly removed.

  In step S8, the coping control unit 82 confirms whether or not the host vehicle 100 has reached the execution end position 118 set in step S5. If it has not reached yet (step S8: NO), the process returns to step S7, and steps S7 and S8 are sequentially repeated until the own vehicle 100 reaches the execution end position 118. On the other hand, if the own vehicle 100 has reached the execution end position 118 (step S8: YES), the process proceeds to the next step S9.

  In step S9, the coping control unit 82 ends coping control at the execution end position 118. Specifically, the countermeasure control unit 82 outputs the control signal of the wiper 90 to the wiper drive unit 92, so that the operation of the wiper 90 returns to the state before execution of the countermeasure control.

<Effect of Vehicle Control Device 10>
As described above, the vehicle control device 10 is a device that automatically performs traveling control of the host vehicle 100 at least partially, and includes [1] a puddle 112 and other vehicles 110 around the host vehicle 100. In the case where the trigger condition indicating the correlation between the object detection means 94 for detecting an object, [2] the detected water reservoir 112 and the other vehicle 110, and the own vehicle 100 is satisfied, And a coping control unit 82 that performs coping control to cope with splashing of water in advance.

  Further, in this vehicle control method, [1] the object detection unit 94 detects an object including the puddle 112 and the other vehicle 110 around the host vehicle 100 (step S1), [2] the detected puddle When the trigger condition indicating the interrelationship between the vehicle 112 and the other vehicle 110 and the vehicle 100 is satisfied (step S4: YES), the coping control unit 82 presupposes that the other vehicle 110 jumps up the water in the puddle 112. Coping control is performed (step S7).

  With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the influence of the rising water on the traveling of the vehicle 100, and to improve the driving convenience in the traveling scene in which the water pool 112 is formed.

  Note that the trigger condition described above is a condition that indicates that the water in the puddle 112 jumps up due to the passage of the other vehicle 110 and that there is a high possibility that the water droplets affect the traveling of the vehicle 100. It may be.

  Further, the object detection unit 94 includes an external sensor 18 for detecting an external state of the vehicle 100, and an external recognition unit 60 for performing recognition processing for recognizing an object based on the detection result of the external sensor 18. The coping control unit 82 may perform coping control to suppress a decrease in detection accuracy by the external sensor 18 or recognition accuracy by the external recognition unit 60.

  In particular, in the first embodiment, the coping control unit 82 starts driving the wiper 90 operating on the detection surface of the external sensor 18 or increases the driving speed of the wiper 90 compared to the case where coping control is not performed. Then, coping control may be performed to suppress a decrease in detection accuracy. Thereby, it is possible to prevent in advance the phenomenon that the detection accuracy of the external sensor 18 temporarily decreases due to the adhesion of water.

Second Embodiment
Subsequently, a vehicle control device 150 in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9B. The same reference numerals may be given to the same configuration or function as the first embodiment, and the description may be omitted.

<Function block diagram>
FIG. 6 is a main functional block diagram of the vehicle control device 150 in the second embodiment. The arithmetic unit 152 can execute various functions of the external world recognition unit 154, the vehicle position recognition unit 62, the action plan creation unit 156, the track generation unit 66, the vehicle control unit 68, and the driving mode switching unit 70. Is configured.

  The external world recognition unit 154 recognizes a situation and an object around the vehicle based on the information output from the external world sensor 18. Similar to the first embodiment, the external world recognition unit 154 includes a puddle recognition unit 72, another vehicle recognition unit 74, and an external world state recognition unit 76. The external world recognition unit 154 is configured to be able to change the execution mode of the recognition process in accordance with an instruction from the action plan creation unit 156 (more specifically, the handling control unit 158).

  The action plan creation unit 156 creates an action plan according to the situation of the vehicle based on the recognition results of the external world recognition unit 154 and the vehicle position recognition unit 62, and updates the contents of the action plan as necessary. The action plan creation unit 156 includes, in addition to the scene determination unit 78 and the timing setting unit 80, a coping control unit 158 having a different function from that of the first embodiment.

  Here, the outside sensor 18 and the outside recognition unit 154 function as an object detecting unit 160 that detects an object located around the vehicle. Unlike the configuration of the first embodiment (object detection unit 94), the object detection unit 160 does not include the wiper 90 and the wiper drive unit 92.

<Operation of Vehicle Control Device 150>
The vehicle control device 150 in the second embodiment is configured as described above. The vehicle control device 150 basically operates according to the flowchart of FIG. 3 when dealing with the water reservoir 112 (FIG. 4 and the like). However, it should be noted that the coping control unit 158 performs coping control different from that of the first embodiment (drive control of the wiper 90) in step S7.

(First example: change of recognition process)
In the first example, the coping control unit 158 performs coping control to suppress the decrease in recognition accuracy by instructing the external world recognition unit 154 to change the execution mode of the recognition process. Hereinafter, an example of a specific change method will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B.

  FIG. 7A is a diagram schematically showing the execution timing of the recognition process. Each solid line orthogonal to the time axis indicates the start point of the recognition process that is periodically performed. Here, the time point Ts is a time point when the execution of the countermeasure control is started (hereinafter, the execution start time point), and corresponds to a time point when the vehicle 100 is at the execution start position 116 (FIG. 5).

  As understood from this figure, before the start of coping control execution (t <Ts), the object recognition processing is performed with a relatively long execution cycle ΔTc1, that is, relatively low execution frequency. On the other hand, after the start of the countermeasure control execution (t ≧ Ts), the object recognition processing is performed with a relatively short execution cycle ΔTc2 (ΔTc2 <ΔTc1), that is, a relatively high execution frequency.

  FIG. 7B is a diagram schematically showing the execution time of the recognition process. Each solid line orthogonal to the time axis indicates the start point of the recognition process that is periodically performed. The execution start time point Ts is defined as in the case of FIG. 7A.

  As understood from the figure, before the start of coping control execution (t <Ts), the object recognition process is performed with a relatively short operation processing time ΔTp1, that is, a relatively small amount of operation processing. On the other hand, after execution of countermeasure control (ttTs), object recognition processing is performed with a relatively long operation processing time ΔTp2 (ΔTp2> ΔTp1), that is, a relatively large amount of operation processing.

  As described above, the coping control unit 158 suppresses the decrease in recognition accuracy by increasing the execution frequency of the recognition processing by the external world recognition unit 154 or increasing the amount of calculation processing as compared with the case where the coping control is not performed. The coping control may be performed. This makes it possible to compensate for the decrease in detection accuracy, and the object detection accuracy is generally maintained.

(Second example: Limitation of lost state judgment)
In the second example, the coping control unit 158 performs coping control to suppress a decrease in recognition accuracy by instructing the external world recognition unit 154 to limit the determination of the lost state. Hereinafter, an example of a specific change method will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B.

  8A and 8B are diagrams schematically showing the recognition result of the same object by the recognition process. The horizontal axis of the graph indicates time (t), and the vertical axis of the graph indicates the recognition state of the object ("possible" or "not good"). The execution start time point Ts is defined as in the case of FIGS. 7A and 7B.

  FIG. 8A shows the processing content in the case where an object is recognized before the start of execution of countermeasure control (t <Ts). Here, it is assumed that the external world recognition unit 154 recognizes an object for the first time at time t = Tap, and loses the object for the first time at time t = Tls after the “recognizable” state continues.

  For example, when the state where the "recognizing is not possible" continues for the holding time ΔT1 from the point when the object is lost (t = Tls), that is, it is determined that the object is lost at time t = Tls + ΔT1. Thereafter, the external world recognition unit 154 starts retrying the recognition process after the tracking of the object is completed.

  FIG. 8B shows the contents of processing when an object is recognized during execution of countermeasure control (t> Ts). Here, it is assumed that the external world recognition unit 154 recognizes an object for the first time at time t = Tap, and loses the object for the first time at time t = Tls after the “recognizable” state continues.

  For example, when the unrecognizable state continues for only the holding time ΔT2 (> ΔT1) from the point when the object is lost (t = Tls), that is, the object is determined to be lost at time t = Tls + ΔT2. . By prolonging the holding time ΔT2, a time margin for recovering the detection performance of the external sensor 18 is generated, and there is a possibility that the load of the arithmetic processing does not increase due to the retry of the recognition processing or the like.

  As described above, the coping control unit 158 suppresses the degradation of the recognition accuracy by restricting the determination that the object is lost by the recognition processing by the external world recognition unit 154 as compared to the case where the coping control is not performed. Coping control may be performed. As a result, even after the influence of the splashed water is reduced and the detection performance is recovered, there is a high possibility that the tracking of the object can be continued without performing the recognition process on the object again.

(Third example: change of sensor reliability)
In the third example, the coping control unit 158 performs coping control to suppress the decrease in recognition accuracy by instructing the external world recognition unit 154 to change the reliability of a plurality of types of sensors. Hereinafter, an example of a specific change method will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 9A and 9B.

  FIG. 9A is a diagram schematically showing input / output characteristics of the external world recognition unit 154. As shown in FIG. For example, when the external world sensor 18 includes n (n n 2) types of sensors, the external world recognition unit 154 receives n types of detection information (first to n-th detection information) as one input. It is considered as a computing unit that outputs For example, it is assumed that the same weighting factor Wi = C (i = 1 to n) is given to the first to n-th detection information when the reliability of the sensors is all equal.

  Here, due to the difference in detection method or device structure, there are some types of sensors that are strong in splashing water and some types that are weak in water. Therefore, in particular, it is assumed that the first and second sensors are types that are vulnerable to water splashing.

  FIG. 9B is a view schematically showing a time change of the weighting coefficient given to the sensor. The horizontal axis of the graph indicates time (t), and the vertical axis of the graph indicates the weighting factor W. The execution start time point Ts is defined as in the case of FIGS. 7A to 8B.

  The external world recognition unit 154 sets all the weighting coefficients Wi (i = 1 to n) to a constant value C before the start of execution of countermeasure control (t <Ts). However, the external world recognition unit 154 reduces the first weighting factor W1 by ΔC1 and reduces the second weighting factor W2 by ΔC2 at the execution start time t = Ts. Thereby, the reliability of the first and second detection information (sensors) can be relatively lowered.

  In addition, the external world recognition unit 154 may change the timing at which the weighting factor is restored according to the restoration degree of the detection performance of each sensor. In the example of this figure, the external world recognition unit 154 restores the weighting coefficient W1 of the first sensor whose recovery is expected to be early to the original value C at t = Te1, and the second sensor whose recovery is expected to be slow is The weighting factor W2 is returned to the original value C at t = Te2 (> Te1).

  As described above, when the external sensor 18 includes a plurality of types of sensors, the coping control unit 158 relatively increases the reliability of the type of sensor that is resistant to splashing of water, and the sensor of the type that is vulnerable to splashing of water. By relatively lowering the reliability, coping control may be performed to suppress a decrease in recognition accuracy. This makes it possible to reduce the influence that the detection accuracy temporarily decreases depending on the type of sensor, and the detection accuracy of the object is generally maintained.

<Effect of Vehicle Control Device 150>
As described above, the vehicle control device 150 is a device that automatically performs traveling control of the host vehicle 100 at least partially, and includes [1] a puddle 112 and other vehicles 110 around the host vehicle 100. When a trigger condition indicating an interrelationship among the object detection means 160 for detecting an object, [2] the detected water reservoir 112 and the other vehicle 110, and the own vehicle 100 is satisfied, And a coping control unit 158 that performs coping control to cope with splashing of water in advance.

  Further, in this vehicle control method, [1] the object detection means 160 detects an object including the puddle 112 and the other vehicle 110 around the host vehicle 100 (step S1), [2] the detected puddle When the trigger condition indicating the interrelationship between the vehicle 112 and the other vehicle 110 and the own vehicle 100 is satisfied (step S4: YES), the coping control unit 158 makes advance to the splashing of the water of the puddle 112 by the other vehicle 110. Coping control is performed (step S7).

  With this configuration, as in the case of the first embodiment, it is possible to reduce the influence of the rising water on the traveling of the vehicle 100, and improve the driving convenience in the traveling scene in which the water pool 112 is formed. It can be done.

[Supplement]
In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, Of course, it can change freely in the range which does not deviate from the main point of this invention. Or you may combine each structure arbitrarily in the range which a technical contradiction does not arise.

10, 150 Vehicle control device 12 Control device group 14 Input device group 16 Output device group 18 External sensor 20 Communication device 22 Map information DB 24 Navigation device 26 Vehicle sensor 40 Driving force Output device 42: Steering device 44: Braking device 46: Notification device 50, 152: Arithmetic device 52: Storage device 60, 154: External recognition unit 62: Vehicle position recognition unit 64, 156: Behavior plan creation unit 66: Trajectory generation Unit 68 Vehicle control unit 70 Driving mode switching unit 72 Puddle recognition unit 74 Other vehicle recognition unit 76 External state recognition unit 78 Scene determination unit 80 Timing setting unit 82, 158 Handling control unit 84 Driving Control part 86 ... notification control part 90 ... Wiper 92 ... Wiper drive part 94, 160 ... Object detection means 100 ... Own vehicle 102 ... Scheduled travel route 104 ... Road 106 ... Nmaku 107 ... driving lane 108 ... opposite lane 110 ... other vehicle 112 ... puddle 114 ... detection position 116 ... execution start position 118 ... run end position

Claims (7)

A vehicle control apparatus that automatically performs at least partial travel control of a host vehicle,
An object detection unit that detects an object including a puddle and other vehicles around the host vehicle;
When the trigger condition indicating the correlation between the water reservoir and the other vehicle and the own vehicle detected by the object detection means is satisfied, the jumping up of the water in the water reservoir by the other vehicle is dealt with in advance A coping control unit that performs coping control
A vehicle control apparatus comprising: In the vehicle control device according to claim 1,
The trigger condition is a condition that indicates that the water in the water pool is caused to jump up by the passage of the other vehicle, and that the water droplets may have a high possibility of affecting the traveling of the vehicle. A vehicle control device characterized by In the vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2,
The object detection means
An external sensor detecting the external state of the vehicle;
An external world recognition unit for performing recognition processing for recognizing an object based on the detection result of the external world sensor;
Is configured to include
The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coping control unit performs coping control to suppress a decrease in detection accuracy by the outside sensor or recognition accuracy by the outside recognition unit. In the vehicle control device according to claim 3,
The countermeasure control unit suppresses the decrease in the detection accuracy by starting the driving of the wiper operating on the detection surface of the external sensor or increasing the driving speed of the wiper as compared with the case where the countermeasure control is not performed. Vehicle control device characterized by performing coping control. In the vehicle control device according to claim 3,
The coping control unit controls the coping control to suppress the decrease in the recognition accuracy by increasing the execution frequency of the recognition processing by the external world recognition unit or increasing the calculation processing amount as compared with the case where the coping control is not performed. A vehicle control device characterized by performing. In the vehicle control device according to claim 3,
The coping control for suppressing the decrease in the recognition accuracy by limiting the determination that the object has been lost by the recognition processing by the external recognition part compared to the case where the coping control is not performed. A vehicle control apparatus characterized by performing. In the vehicle control device according to claim 3,
The external sensor consists of a plurality of types of sensors,
The coping control unit relatively lowers the reliability of the type of sensor that is resistant to splashing water and relatively lowers the reliability of the type of sensor that is vulnerable to splashing water, thereby reducing the recognition accuracy. A vehicle control device characterized in that coping control is performed.

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