JP2019111867A - Vehicle control apparatus, vehicle control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control apparatus, a vehicle control method, and a program, which enable a vehicle itself to smoothly follow a preceding vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle control apparatus includes: a recognition part for recognizing other vehicles nearby a vehicle itself; and a drive control part for executing a travel-in-following to cause the vehicle itself to follow a preceding vehicle existing ahead of the vehicle itself, of other vehicles recognized by the recognition part. Further, in a case where the behavior of the preceding vehicle is unstable, the drive control part determines a slowest speed of speeds of the preceding vehicle varying amid the unstable behavior as a target speed of the vehicle itself for the travel-in-following.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a program.

  There is known a technology for causing a host vehicle to follow a front vehicle while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the front vehicle at a predetermined distance (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP, 2017-150422, A

  However, in the prior art, when the behavior of the leading vehicle changes, the speed of the host vehicle is frequently set to keep the distance between the leading vehicle constant as the behavior of the leading vehicle changes. It could have been changed. As a result, it may be difficult to make the host vehicle follow the front vehicle smoothly.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle control apparatus, a vehicle control method, and a program capable of causing a host vehicle to smoothly follow a preceding vehicle. To be

  (1): Following the traveling of the own vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle existing ahead of the own vehicle, among the other vehicles recognized by the recognition unit that recognizes the other vehicles around the own vehicle and the other vehicles recognized by the recognition unit A driving control unit for performing the driving operation, the driving control unit, when the behavior of the leading vehicle is in an unstable state, the velocity of the leading vehicle which has fluctuated in the unstable behavior The vehicle control device which determines the lowest speed as the target speed of the host vehicle at the time of the following movement.

  (2) In the vehicle control device according to (1), the state in which the behavior is unstable is an index indicating a degree of variation of a physical quantity obtained by observing the vehicle in front for more than a threshold It is a state of

  (3): In the vehicle control device according to (1) or (2), the operation control unit is configured such that the speed of the leading vehicle with the unstable behavior is lower than the target speed at the time of the following operation. Every time the vehicle is traveling, the target route during the follow-up is repeatedly updated to a lower velocity, and in the process of repeating the update of the target velocity, if the velocity of the vehicle becomes less than a predetermined velocity, It is something to change.

  (4): In the vehicle control device according to (1) or (2), the operation control unit is configured such that the speed of the leading vehicle with the unstable behavior is lower than the target speed at the time of the following operation. The vehicle speed is repeatedly updated by updating the target speed at the time of the follow-up to a lower speed each time the vehicle speed becomes lower than a predetermined speed in the process of repeating the update of the target speed. Change lanes to other lanes.

  (5) The recognition unit recognizes the other vehicle around the host vehicle, and the driving control unit controls the front traveling vehicle ahead of the host vehicle among the other vehicles recognized by the recognition unit. When the following movement which makes the vehicle follow is executed and the behavior of the forerunner vehicle is in an unstable state, the lowest velocity among the speeds of the forerunner vehicle fluctuated in the unstable behavior is used for the following A vehicle control method for determining a target speed of the host vehicle when traveling.

  (6): The on-vehicle computer follows the process of recognizing the other vehicle in the vicinity of the own vehicle and making the following vehicle follow the preceding vehicle in front of the own vehicle among the recognized other vehicles. If the process to be performed and the behavior of the leading vehicle are in an unstable state, the lowest speed among the speeds of the leading vehicle that has fluctuated in the unstable behavior is used as the self during the following operation. And a program for executing the process of determining the target speed of the vehicle.

  According to (1) to (6), the host vehicle can be made to follow the front vehicle smoothly.

It is a block diagram of vehicle system 1 using a vehicle control device of a 1st embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of a first control unit 120 and a second control unit 160. It is a figure which shows a mode that a target track | orbit is produced | generated based on a recommendation lane. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process performed by the automatic driving | operation control apparatus 100 of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the scene where the target speed Vtg is updated. It is a figure which shows an example of the scene where the target track | orbit which makes the forward vehicle PV overtake is produced | generated. It is a figure which shows an example of the scene where the path | route to the destination is changed. It is a figure which shows an example of a change of the target speed Vtg at the time of follow-up. It is a block diagram of the vehicle system 2 of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the automatic driving | operation control apparatus 100 and / or the driving | operation assistance control apparatus 300 of embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the vehicle control device will be described as being applied to a vehicle capable of autonomous driving (autonomous driving). In the automatic driving, for example, one or both of the steering and the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle is controlled to travel the vehicle without depending on the operation of the passenger who got on the vehicle. The automatic driving may include driving support such as ACC (Adaptive Cruse Control) and LKAS (Lane Keeping Assist).

First Embodiment
[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle system 1 using the vehicle control device of the first embodiment. The vehicle on which the vehicle system 1 is mounted (hereinafter referred to as the own vehicle M) is, for example, a vehicle such as a two-wheeled vehicle, a three-wheeled vehicle or a four-wheeled vehicle, and its drive source is an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or gasoline engine, an electric motor, Or it is a combination of these. When the motor is provided, the motor operates using the power generated by the generator connected to the internal combustion engine or the discharge power of the secondary battery or the fuel cell.

  The vehicle system 1 includes, for example, a camera 10, a radar device 12, a finder 14, an object recognition device 16, a communication device 20, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 30, a vehicle sensor 40, and a navigation device 50; It comprises an MPU (Map Positioning Unit) 60, a drive operator 80, an automatic drive control device 100, a traveling drive power output device 200, a brake device 210, and a steering device 220. These devices and devices are mutually connected by a multiplex communication line such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) communication line, a serial communication line, a wireless communication network or the like. The configuration shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and a part of the configuration may be omitted, or another configuration may be added.

  The camera 10 is, for example, a digital camera using a solid-state imaging device such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). One or more cameras 10 are attached to any part of a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a host vehicle M) on which the vehicle system 1 is mounted. When imaging the front, the camera 10 is attached to the top of the front windshield, the rear of the rearview mirror, or the like. For example, the camera 10 periodically and repeatedly captures the periphery of the vehicle M. The camera 10 may be a stereo camera.

  The radar device 12 emits radio waves such as millimeter waves around the host vehicle M and detects radio waves (reflected waves) reflected by the object to detect at least the position (distance and direction) of the object. One or more of the radar devices 12 are attached to any part of the host vehicle M. The radar device 12 may detect the position and the velocity of the object by a frequency modulated continuous wave (FM-CW) method.

  The finder 14 is a light detection and ranging (LIDAR). The finder 14 irradiates light around the host vehicle M and measures scattered light. The finder 14 detects the distance to the object based on the time from light emission to light reception. The light to be irradiated is, for example, pulsed laser light. One or more finders 14 are attached to any part of the host vehicle M.

  The object recognition device 16 performs sensor fusion processing on the detection result of a part or all of the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 to recognize the position, type, speed, etc. of the object. The object recognition device 16 outputs the recognition result to the automatic driving control device 100. In addition, the object recognition device 16 may output the detection results of the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 to the automatic driving control device 100 as it is, as necessary.

  The communication device 20 communicates with another vehicle m existing around the host vehicle M using, for example, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth (registered trademark), DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), or It communicates with various server devices via a wireless base station. The other vehicle m may be, for example, a vehicle on which automatic driving is performed as in the case of the host vehicle M, or may be a vehicle on which manual driving is performed, and there is no particular limitation. Unlike the above-described automatic driving, the manual driving means that the acceleration / deceleration and the steering of the own vehicle M are controlled in accordance with the operation of the occupant with respect to the driving operation element 80.

  The HMI 30 presents various information to the occupant of the host vehicle M, and accepts input operation by the occupant. The HMI 30 includes various display devices, speakers, a buzzer, a touch panel, switches, keys, and the like.

  The vehicle sensor 40 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the speed of the host vehicle M, an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration, a yaw rate sensor that detects an angular velocity around the vertical axis, and an azimuth sensor that detects the direction of the host vehicle M.

  The navigation device 50 includes, for example, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 51, a navigation HMI 52, and a path determination unit 53, and stores the first map information 54 in a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory. Hold The GNSS receiver 51 specifies the position of the host vehicle M based on the signal received from the GNSS satellite. The position of the host vehicle M may be identified or supplemented by an INS (Inertial Navigation System) using the output of the vehicle sensor 40. The navigation HMI 52 includes a display device, a speaker, a touch panel, keys and the like. The navigation HMI 52 may be partially or entirely shared with the above-described HMI 30. The route determination unit 53, for example, a route from the position of the host vehicle M specified by the GNSS receiver 51 (or an arbitrary position input) to the destination input by the occupant using the navigation HMI 52 (hereinafter referred to as The route on the map is determined with reference to the first map information 54. The first map information 54 is, for example, information in which a road shape is represented by a link indicating a road and a node connected by the link. The first map information 54 may include road curvature, POI (Point Of Interest) information, and the like. The on-map route determined by the route determination unit 53 is output to the MPU 60. The navigation device 50 may also perform route guidance using the navigation HMI 52 based on the on-map route determined by the route determination unit 53. The navigation device 50 may be realized by, for example, the function of a terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal owned by a passenger. In addition, the navigation device 50 may transmit the current position and the destination to the navigation server via the communication device 20, and acquire the on-map route returned from the navigation server.

  The MPU 60 functions as, for example, a recommended lane determination unit 61, and holds the second map information 62 in a storage device such as an HDD or a flash memory. The recommended lane determination unit 61 divides the route provided from the navigation device 50 into a plurality of blocks (for example, in units of 100 [m] in the traveling direction of the vehicle), and refers to the second map information 62 for each block. Determine the recommended lanes. The recommended lane determination unit 61 determines which lane to travel from the left. The recommended lane determination unit 61 determines the recommended lane so that the host vehicle M can travel on a reasonable route for traveling to a branch destination when a branch point, a junction point, or the like exists in the route.

  The second map information 62 is map information that is more accurate than the first map information 54. The second map information 62 includes, for example, information on the center of the lane or information on the boundary of the lane. Further, the second map information 62 may include road information, traffic regulation information, address information (address / zip code), facility information, telephone number information, and the like. The second map information 62 may be updated as needed by accessing another device using the communication device 20.

  The operating element 80 includes, for example, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a shift lever, a steering wheel, a modified steering wheel, a joystick and other operating elements. A sensor for detecting the amount of operation or the presence or absence of an operation is attached to the driving operation element 80, and the detection result is the automatic driving control device 100 or the traveling driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device. It is output to part or all of 220.

  The automatic driving control device 100 includes, for example, a first control unit 120 and a second control unit 160. Each component of the first control unit 120 and the second control unit 160 is realized, for example, when a hardware processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) executes a program (software). In addition, some or all of these components may be hardware (circuits) such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), etc. Circuit (including circuitry) or may be realized by cooperation of software and hardware.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the first control unit 120 and the second control unit 160. As shown in FIG. The first control unit 120 includes, for example, a recognition unit 130 and an action plan generation unit 140. The first control unit 120 implements, for example, a function by artificial intelligence (AI) and a function by a predetermined model in parallel. For example, in the “identify intersection” function, recognition of an intersection by deep learning etc. and recognition based on predetermined conditions (a signal capable of pattern matching, road marking, etc.) are executed in parallel, and both are performed. It is realized by scoring against and comprehensively evaluating. This ensures the reliability of automatic driving. What combined the camera 10, the object recognition apparatus 16, and the recognition part 130 is an example of a "detection part."

  The recognition unit 130 detects the position of an object in the vicinity of the host vehicle M, the state of the velocity, the acceleration, and the like based on information input from the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 via the object recognition device 16. recognize. The objects include other vehicles m and stationary obstacles. The position of the object is recognized as, for example, a position on an absolute coordinate with a representative point (such as the center of gravity or the center of the drive axis) of the host vehicle M as an origin, and is used for control. The position of the object may be represented by a representative point such as the center of gravity or a corner of the object, or may be represented by a represented region. The "state" of an object may include the acceleration or jerk of the object, or "action state" (e.g. whether or not you are changing lanes or trying to change). Further, the recognition unit 130 recognizes the shape of a curve through which the host vehicle M passes from now on the basis of the captured image of the camera 10. The recognition unit 130 converts the shape of the curve from the captured image of the camera 10 to a real plane, and for example, information indicating the shape of the curve which is expressed using two-dimensional point sequence information or a model equivalent thereto. Output to the action plan generation unit 140.

  The recognition unit 130 also recognizes, for example, a lane in which the host vehicle M is traveling (traveling lane). For example, the recognition unit 130 may use a pattern of road division lines obtained from the second map information 62 (for example, an array of solid lines and broken lines) and road division lines around the host vehicle M recognized from an image captured by the camera 10 The traveling lane is recognized by comparing with the pattern of. The recognition unit 130 may recognize the traveling lane by recognizing a runway boundary (road boundary) including not only road division lines but also road division lines, road shoulders, curbs, median dividers, guard rails and the like. . In this recognition, the position of the host vehicle M acquired from the navigation device 50 or the processing result by the INS may be added. The recognition unit 130 also recognizes road markings drawn on a road surface such as a temporary stop line, road signs, obstacles, red lights, toll plazas, and other road events.

  The recognition unit 130 recognizes the position and orientation of the host vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane when recognizing the traveling lane. The recognition unit 130 is, for example, a deviation of the reference point of the host vehicle M from the center of the lane, and an angle formed by a line connecting the center of the lane in the traveling direction of the host vehicle M It may be recognized as an attitude. Also, instead of this, the recognition unit 130 sets the position of the reference point of the host vehicle M with respect to any one side end (road segment or road boundary) of the travel lane relative to the host vehicle M with respect to the travel lane. It may be recognized as

  In addition, the recognition unit 130 may derive recognition accuracy in the above-described recognition processing, and output the recognition accuracy to the action plan generation unit 140 as recognition accuracy information. For example, the recognition unit 130 generates recognition accuracy information based on the frequency at which a road marking can be recognized in a fixed period.

  The action plan generation unit 140 includes, for example, an event determination unit 142, a target speed determination unit 144, a target steering angle determination unit 146, a track generation unit 148, and a vehicle behavior determination unit 150. For example, the event determination unit 142 basically travels in the recommended lane determined by the recommended lane determination unit 61, and further sequentially executes the events sequentially executed in the automatic driving so as to correspond to the surrounding situation of the host vehicle M. decide. Events include, for example, a constant-speed travel event that travels the same lane at a constant speed, a follow-up travel event that travels at a constant speed while following a leading vehicle, an overtaking event that overtakes a leading vehicle, and avoidance of approaching obstacles. To avoid braking and / or steering, curving events to drive a curve, passing events passing through certain points such as intersections, pedestrian crossings, crossings, etc., lane change events, merging events, bifurcation events, automatic stop There is an event, a takeover event for ending the automatic operation and switching to the manual operation.

  The target speed determination unit 144 determines the target speed Vtg of the host vehicle M for each event determined by the event determination unit 142. For example, in the case where the event determined by the event determining unit 142 is a follow-up traveling event, the target speed determining unit 144 determines that the distance D between the preceding vehicle PV and the host vehicle M is less than a predetermined distance Dth. The target velocity Vtg of the host vehicle M is determined according to the velocity of the traveling vehicle PV. The front traveling vehicle PV is another vehicle m existing in front of (in front of) the own vehicle M in the own lane among the one or more other vehicles m recognized by the recognition unit 130. For example, the target speed determination unit 144 determines the target speed Vtg as a speed that allows an error on the order of several [%] with respect to the speed of the leading vehicle PV, which is the same as the speed of the leading vehicle PV. Further, in the case where the event determined by the event determining unit 142 is a follow-up traveling event, the target speed determining unit 144 previously sets the inter-vehicle distance D between the leading vehicle PV and the host vehicle M to a predetermined distance Dth or more. The target velocity Vtg is determined within the range of a determined set velocity (for example, about 30 to 100 [km / h]). Further, when the event determined by the event determination unit 142 is another event different from the follow-up traveling event, the target velocity determination unit 144 exists around the legal velocity of the lane determined as the recommended lane and the surroundings of the host vehicle M. The target velocity Vtg is determined based on the velocity of the other vehicle m and the like.

  Further, the target speed determination unit 144 changes the determined target speed Vtg according to the determination result by the vehicle behavior determination unit 150 described later. The target velocity determination unit 144 may determine a target acceleration, a target jerk, and the like in addition to or instead of the target velocity Vtg.

  The target steering angle determination unit 146 determines the target steering angle θtg of the host vehicle M for each event determined by the event determination unit. For example, when the event determined by the event determining unit 142 is a constant-speed traveling event, a following traveling event, a curve traveling event, or the like, the target steering angle determination unit 146 detects the own lane of the lanes recognized by the recognition unit 130. Based on the line width of the vehicle, the target steering angle θtg of each track point is determined so that the host vehicle M travels in the center of the own lane. Further, when the event determined by the event determination unit 142 is an overtaking event, an avoidance event, a lane change event, a merging event, a branch event, etc., the target steering angle determination unit 146 is adjacent to the lane width of the own lane and the own lane. The target steering angle θtg is determined so as to bring the host vehicle M from the own lane to the adjacent lane based on the lane width of the adjacent lane, the size of the other object such as the other vehicle m, and the speed. The target steering angle determining unit 146 may change the determined target steering angle θtg according to the determination result by the vehicle behavior determining unit 150 described later.

  The track generation unit 148 generates a target track on which the vehicle M travels in the future, based on the target speed Vtg determined by the target speed determination unit 144 and the target steering angle θtg determined by the target steering angle determination unit 146. Do. The target trajectory includes the target velocity Vtg as a velocity component and the target steering angle θtg as a steering angle component.

  For example, the target trajectory is expressed as a sequence of points (track points) to be reached by the vehicle M. The track point is a point to be reached by the vehicle M for each predetermined traveling distance (for example, several [m]) in the road distance, and depending on the type of event, the relative positional relationship between the track points is It may be determined according to the target steering angle θtg of each track point. In addition to the target trajectory, the target velocity Vtg, the target acceleration, and the like for each predetermined sampling time (a second predetermined time Tb to be described later, for example, about 0 commas [sec]) Determined as the speed factor of Further, the track point may be a position to be reached by the vehicle M at the sampling time for each predetermined sampling time. In this case, information on velocity elements such as the target velocity Vtg and the target acceleration is expressed by the distance between the track points.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing how a target track is generated based on a recommended lane. As shown, the recommended lanes are set to be convenient to travel along the route to the destination. When the action plan generation unit 140 reaches a predetermined distance (may be determined according to the type of event) of the switching point of the recommended lane, it activates a passing event, a lane changing event, a branching event, a merging event and the like. When it is necessary to avoid an obstacle during the execution of each event, an avoidance trajectory is generated as illustrated.

  The vehicle behavior determination unit 150 determines whether the behavior of the other vehicle m recognized by the recognition unit 130 is in an unstable state. The state in which the behavior is unstable means, for example, that the index indicating the variation of the physical quantity per first predetermined time Ta of the other vehicle m is equal to or more than the threshold. The physical quantity is, for example, the velocity, the angular velocity, the amount of change in position, and the like. The velocity includes the velocity in the vehicle traveling direction, the velocity in the vehicle width direction, or the absolute velocity regardless of the direction. The amount of change in position includes, for example, the displacement of the position of the other vehicle m in the vehicle traveling direction and the displacement of the position of the other vehicle m in the vehicle width direction. The first predetermined time Ta is a time provided for observing the fluctuation of the physical quantity of the other vehicle m for a certain period. When it is determined by the vehicle behavior determination unit 150 that the behavior of the other vehicle m is in an unstable state, a speed factor such as the target speed Vtg is redetermined, and a new target track is generated.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 2, the second control unit 160 includes, for example, an acquisition unit 162, a speed control unit 164, and a steering control unit 166. The combination of the action plan generation unit 140, the speed control unit 164, and the steering control unit 166 is an example of the “operation control unit”.

  The acquisition unit 162 acquires information on the target trajectory (orbit point) generated by the trajectory generation unit 148, and stores the information in the memory.

  The speed control unit 164 and the steering control unit 166 control the travel driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering so that the vehicle M passes the target trajectory generated by the trajectory generation unit 148 as scheduled. The device 220 is controlled. For example, the speed control unit 164 controls the traveling drive power output device 200 or the brake device 210 so that the speed of the host vehicle M approaches the target speed Vtg included as a speed element in the target track stored in the memory. The steering control unit 166 controls the steering device 220 so that the steering angle of the host vehicle M approaches the target steering angle θtg included as a steering angle element in the target track stored in the memory. The processing of the speed control unit 164 and the steering control unit 166 is realized by, for example, a combination of feedforward control and feedback control. As an example, the steering control unit 166 combines feedforward control according to the curvature of the road ahead of the host vehicle M and feedback control based on the deviation from the target track.

  The traveling driving force output device 200 outputs traveling driving force (torque) for the vehicle to travel to the driving wheels. The traveling driving force output device 200 includes, for example, a combination of an internal combustion engine, a motor, and a transmission, and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that controls these. The ECU controls the above configuration in accordance with the information input from the second control unit 160 or the information input from the drive operator 80.

  The brake device 210 includes, for example, a brake caliper, a cylinder that transmits hydraulic pressure to the brake caliper, an electric motor that generates hydraulic pressure in the cylinder, and a brake ECU. The brake ECU controls the electric motor in accordance with the information input from the second control unit 160 or the information input from the drive operator 80 so that the brake torque corresponding to the braking operation is output to each wheel. The brake device 210 may include, as a backup, a mechanism for transmitting the hydraulic pressure generated by the operation of the brake pedal included in the drive operator 80 to the cylinder via the master cylinder. The brake device 210 is not limited to the configuration described above, and is an electronically controlled hydraulic brake device that controls the actuator according to the information input from the second control unit 160 to transmit the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder to the cylinder It is also good.

  The steering device 220 includes, for example, a steering ECU and an electric motor. The electric motor, for example, applies a force to the rack and pinion mechanism to change the direction of the steered wheels. The steering ECU drives the electric motor to change the direction of the steered wheels in accordance with the information input from the second control unit 160 or the information input from the drive operator 80.

Processing flow
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the automatic driving control apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. The processing of this flowchart is executed, for example, when the event determined by the event determination unit 142 (event executed by the action plan generation unit 140) is a follow-up traveling event. Also, the processing of this flowchart may be repeatedly executed, for example, each time the second predetermined time Tb elapses. The second predetermined time Tb is a time (Ta <Tb) longer than the first predetermined time Ta.

  First, the recognition unit 130 stands by until the front traveling vehicle PV is recognized (step S100), and when the front traveling vehicle PV is recognized, starts to observe the physical quantity (especially the speed) of the front traveling vehicle PV (step S102) .

  Next, the recognition unit 130 determines whether or not a first predetermined time Ta has elapsed since the observation of the physical quantity of the leading vehicle PV has been started. If the recognition unit 130 determines that the first predetermined time Ta has not elapsed since the start of the observation of the physical quantity of the leading vehicle PV, the processing returns to S102 and continues the observation of the physical quantity of the leading vehicle PV .

  On the other hand, when it is determined by the recognition unit 130 that the first predetermined time Ta has elapsed since the observation of the physical quantity of the leading vehicle PV has been started, the vehicle behavior determination unit 150 recognizes the recognition unit 130 over the first predetermined time Ta. It is determined whether the behavior of the leading vehicle PV is in an unstable state based on the variation of the physical quantity of the leading vehicle PV observed by the step S106 (step S106).

  For example, the vehicle behavior determination unit 150 determines that the average value of the speed of the leading vehicle PV in the first predetermined time Ta, the median value, and various index values such as variance are partially or entirely equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. In some cases, it is determined that the behavior of the front traveling vehicle PV is in an unstable state, and otherwise it is determined that the behavior of the front traveling vehicle PV is not in an unstable state (is in a stable state). If it is determined that the behavior of the front traveling vehicle PV is not in an unstable state, the processing of this flowchart ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined by the vehicle behavior determination unit 150 that the behavior of the front vehicle PV is in an unstable state, the target speed determination unit 144 determines that the speed observed as the physical quantity during the behavior determination of the front vehicle PV is The lowest velocity V _MIN is extracted from the (step S108).

Next, the target speed determination unit 144 determines whether the extracted minimum speed V _MIN is equal to or higher than the predetermined speed Vth (step S110). The predetermined speed Vth is, for example, the lower limit speed (for example, about 30 [km / h]) or other speed of the set speed at the time of follow-up traveling.

If the target velocity determination unit 144 determines that the extracted minimum velocity V _MIN is equal to or higher than the predetermined velocity Vth, whether the minimum velocity V _MIN is smaller than the target velocity Vtg included in the current target trajectory as a velocity component It is determined (step S112).

If it is determined that the minimum speed V _MIN is smaller than the current target speed Vtg, the target speed determination unit 144 determines (updates) the target speed Vtg of the host vehicle M as the minimum speed V _MIN (step S114). At this time, the target steering angle determination unit 146 may redetermine the target steering angle θtg. That is, when the behavior of the other vehicle m is in an unstable state, the target steering angle θtg, which is a steering angle element of the target track, is redetermined in addition to or instead of the speed element such as the target speed Vtg. It is also good.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which the target velocity Vtg is updated. In the scene of (a) in the figure, the behavior of the front traveling vehicle PV is stable, and in the scenes of (b) and (c), it is represented that the behavior of the front traveling vehicle PV is not stable. As in the case of (a), when the behavior of the front traveling vehicle PV is stable, the target speed determining unit 144 sets the target speed Vtg of the host vehicle M to, for example, the same speed as the speed V1 of the front traveling vehicle PV Decide on. On the other hand, when transitioning from the scene of (a) to the scene of (b), the leading vehicle PV is accelerating. In this case, the target speed determination unit 144 does not set the target speed Vtg of the host vehicle M to the minimum speed V2 of the preceding vehicle PV when accelerating, and the target speed Vtg (= V1) determined in the scene of (a) Maintain. When the scene of (a) changes to the scene of (c), the leading vehicle PV is decelerating. In this case, the target speed determination unit 144 determines the target speed Vtg of the host vehicle M as the minimum speed V3 of the preceding vehicle PV when decelerating.

Next, the track generation unit 148 newly generates a target track for the following travel with at least the target speed Vtg updated (step S116). Speed control unit 164 and steering control unit 166 are based on target speed Vtg, which is a speed element of the target track, and target steering angle θtg, which is a steering angle element, to output traveling driving force output device 200, brake device 210, and The steering device 220 is controlled to make the host vehicle M follow the front vehicle PV while traveling at a constant speed at the target speed Vtg (that is, the minimum speed V _MIN ).

On the other hand, when it is determined that the minimum speed V _MIN is larger than the current target speed Vtg, the target speed determination unit 144 omits the process of S114. That is, the target speed determining unit 144, without changing the target speed Vtg of the vehicle M to the minimum speed _{V MIN,} to maintain the target speed Vtg the current. In this case, the track generation unit 148 may output the previously generated target track to the speed control unit 164 and the steering control unit 166 without newly generating a target track. When the target steering angle θtg is changed although the target speed Vtg is not changed, the track generation unit 148 may newly generate a target track in which the target steering angle θtg is changed.

On the other hand, when it is determined in the process of S110 that the lowest speed V _MIN is less than the predetermined speed Vth, the action plan generating unit 140 once changes the host vehicle M to the adjacent lane, and the front traveling vehicle PV in the adjacent lane. A target trajectory to be passed is generated (step S118). The process of this flowchart is complete | finished by this.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which a target trajectory for passing the front vehicle PV is generated. For example, when the behavior of the leading vehicle PV is unstable while the host vehicle M is traveling in the lane L1, the minimum velocity V _MIN of the leading vehicle PV is determined to be the target velocity Vtg of the host vehicle M. Be done. At this time, the minimum speed V _MIN of the leading vehicle PV may be equal to or less than the predetermined speed Vth. In this case, the track generation unit 148 generates a target track from the lane L1 to the lane L2 in order to pass the front traveling vehicle PV equal to or lower than the predetermined speed Vth, and the host vehicle M passes the front traveling vehicle PV. A target trajectory from the lane L2 to the lane L1 is generated. This makes it possible to overtake the front traveling vehicle PV whose behavior is unstable and whose speed is low.

In the description of the above-described flowchart, when the lowest speed V _MIN is less than the predetermined speed Vth, it is assumed that not the target track for the follow-up travel but the target track for passing the front vehicle PV is generated. However, it is not limited to this. For example, when the inter-vehicle distance from the front traveling vehicle PV is less than the predetermined distance Dth, a target track may be generated that causes the front traveling vehicle PV to pass. Further, instead of generating a target track for passing the front vehicle PV when the minimum speed V _MIN is less than the predetermined speed Vth, the route to the destination may be changed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a scene where the route to the destination is changed. For example, in the case where the traveling lane is one lane when the lowest speed V _MIN of the front traveling vehicle PV whose behavior is unstable becomes equal to or less than the predetermined speed Vth, the own vehicle M is exemplarily shown in FIG. It may not be possible to change lanes to adjacent lanes. In this case, the action plan generation unit 140 outputs a request for route change to the navigation device 50 or the MPU 60. The navigation device 50 that has received this redetermines the route to the destination as another route, and the MPU 60 determines the recommended lane on the newly determined route. This changes the route to the destination. For example, when a route detouring to the lane L3 is determined as another route, the action plan generation unit 140 generates a target track for branching the host vehicle M to the lane L3, and switches the host vehicle M from the lane L1 to the lane L3. Make it change.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of change of the target speed Vtg at the time of follow-up traveling. The horizontal axis in the figure represents time, and the vertical axis represents velocity. Further, times t1 to t8 represent times sampled at every second predetermined time Tb.

For example, at the sampling time t1, since the degree of variation of the speed of the leading vehicle PV is less than the threshold, a representative speed such as the average value or the median of the speeds of the leading vehicle PV (the average speed V in the illustrated example) _AVE (t1)) is determined to be the target velocity Vtg until the next sampling time t2.

At the sampling time t2, since the degree of variation of the speed of the leading vehicle PV is equal to or higher than the threshold value, the lowest speed V _{MIN of the} lowest speeds among the speeds of the leading vehicle PV observed during the first predetermined time Ta t2) is extracted. At this time, when the lowest velocity V _MIN (t2) is compared with the current target velocity Vtg (for example, the average velocity V _AVE (t1)), the lowest velocity V _MIN (t2) is smaller than the lowest velocity V _MIN (t2). V _MIN (t2) is determined as the target velocity Vtg until the next sampling time t3.

At the sampling time t3, the degree of variation in the speed of the leading vehicle PV is less than the threshold, so the target speed Vtg (minimum speed V _MIN (t2)) determined at the sampling time t2 is maintained without being changed.

At the sampling time t4, since the degree of variation in the speed of the leading vehicle PV is equal to or higher than the threshold value, the lowest minimum speed V _MIN of the speeds of the leading vehicle PV observed in the first predetermined time Ta t4) is extracted. At this time, when the lowest velocity V _MIN (t4) is compared with the current target velocity Vtg (minimum velocity V _MIN (t2)), the lowest velocity V _MIN (t4) is smaller, so the lowest velocity V _MIN (t4) is determined as the target velocity Vtg until the next sampling time t5.

Similarly, at the sampling time t5, since the degree of variation of the speed of the leading vehicle PV is equal to or higher than the threshold, the lowest speed of the lowest speeds among the speeds of the leading vehicle PV observed in the first predetermined time Ta V _MIN (t5) is extracted. At this time, when the lowest velocity V _MIN (t5) is compared with the current target velocity Vtg (minimum velocity V _MIN (t4)), the lowest velocity V _MIN (t5) is smaller, so the lowest velocity V _MIN (t5) is determined as the target velocity Vtg until the next sampling time t6.

At the sampling time t6, although the degree of variation of the speed of the leading vehicle PV is equal to or higher than the threshold, the lowest speed V _{MIN of the} lowest speeds among the speeds of the leading vehicle PV observed in the first predetermined time Ta Since t6) is larger than the current target velocity Vtg (minimum velocity V _MIN (t5)), the target velocity Vtg is maintained unchanged.

Similarly, at the sampling time t7, although the degree of variation in the speed of the leading vehicle PV is equal to or higher than the threshold, the lowest speed among the speeds of the leading vehicle PV observed in the first predetermined time Ta is lowest. Since V _MIN (t7) is larger than the current target speed Vtg (minimum speed V _MIN (t5)), the target speed Vtg is maintained unchanged.

At the sampling time t8, since the degree of variation in the speed of the leading vehicle PV is equal to or higher than the threshold, the lowest speed V _{MIN of the} lowest speeds among the speeds of the leading vehicle PV observed during the first predetermined time Ta t8) is extracted. At this time, when the lowest velocity V _MIN (t8) is compared with the current target velocity Vtg (minimum velocity V _MIN (t5)), the lowest velocity V _MIN (t8) is smaller, so the lowest velocity V _MIN (t8) is determined as the target velocity Vtg until the next sampling time t9.

As described above, when the behavior of the leading vehicle PV is in an unstable state while repeating the processing of the above-described flowchart each time the second predetermined time Tb elapses, the target velocity Vtg of the host vehicle M is set to the leading vehicle In order to repeat changing to the lowest lowest speed V _MIN among the fluctuating speeds of PV, the own vehicle M follows the forerunner vehicle PV without approaching the forerunner vehicle PV whose behavior is unstable. be able to.

  In the example described above, when the behavior of the leading vehicle PV is in a stable state, the target speed Vtg is described as the target speed Vtg determined at the immediately preceding sampling time being maintained, but Without being limited thereto, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the target speed Vtg may be updated even if the behavior of the leading vehicle PV is stable. The predetermined condition is, for example, that the behavior of the leading vehicle PV is stable for a predetermined number of times at each sampling time.

  For example, assuming that the predetermined number of times is two times, in the example of FIG. 8, it is continuous that the behavior of the leading vehicle PV is stable at sampling times t6 and t7. In this case, at the sampling time t7, the target speed determination unit 144 determines the target speed Vtg up to the next sampling time t2 as a representative speed such as an average value or a median of the speeds of the leading vehicle PV. By this, when the behavior of the front traveling vehicle PV changes from the unstable state to the stable state, the own vehicle M, which has been made to follow while moving away from the front traveling vehicle PV, approaches the front traveling vehicle PV. it can. As a result, since the inter-vehicle distance with the leading vehicle PV becomes short, it is possible to suppress the interruption of another vehicle and the like, and it is possible to smoothly follow the traveling.

According to the first embodiment described above, of the other vehicle m recognized by the recognition unit 130 that recognizes the other vehicle m in the vicinity of the vehicle M and the other vehicle m recognized by the recognition unit 130, the vehicle is ahead of the vehicle M An action plan generating unit 140 that generates a target track for causing the running vehicle to follow the host vehicle M, a speed control unit 164 that controls acceleration and deceleration of the host vehicle M according to the target track generated by the action plan generating unit 140, and a target track And the action plan generation unit 140, when the behavior of the leading vehicle is in an unstable state, the leading Since the lowest speed V _MIN among the speeds in the above is determined as the target speed of the host vehicle M at the time of following traveling, the host vehicle can be made to follow the preceding vehicle smoothly.

Second Embodiment
The second embodiment will be described below. In the first embodiment described above, it has been described that automatic driving is performed to generate a target track and control acceleration / deceleration and steering of the host vehicle M. On the other hand, the second embodiment is different from the above-described first embodiment in that driving support such as ACC, LKAS, ALC (Auto Lane Change) is simply performed. Hereinafter, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and descriptions of functions and the like common to the first embodiment will be omitted.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a vehicle system 2 of the second embodiment. The vehicle system 2 according to the second embodiment includes, for example, the camera 10, the radar device 12, the finder 14, the object recognition device 16, the communication device 20, the HMI 30, the vehicle sensor 40, the driver control 80, and the travel driving force output device 200 described above. In addition to the braking device 210 and the steering device 220, the driving assistance control device 300 is provided. These devices and devices are mutually connected by a multiplex communication line such as a CAN communication line, a serial communication line, a wireless communication network or the like. The configuration shown in FIG. 9 is merely an example, and a part of the configuration may be omitted, or another configuration may be added.

  The HMI 30 according to the second embodiment includes, for example, a switch for starting follow-up (for example, ACC) (hereinafter, follow-up start switch) or a switch for starting a lane change (for example, ALC) (hereinafter, lane change start) Switches etc. Also, as a switch for starting follow-up, a blinker lever may be substituted instead of the lane change start switch.

  The driving support control device 300 includes, for example, a leading vehicle recognition unit 310, a lane recognition unit 320, a follow-up traveling control unit 330, and a lane change control unit 340. Each of these components is realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). In addition, some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including a circuit unit; circuitry) such as LSI, ASIC, FPGA, or GPU, or realized by cooperation of software and hardware. It may be done. The combination of the following control unit 330 and the lane change control unit 340 is another example of the “operation control unit”.

  The front vehicle recognition unit 310 recognizes the front vehicle PV based on information input from the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 via the object recognition device 16, for example.

  The lane recognition unit 320 recognizes lane markings of a road, for example, from an image captured by the camera 10, and among the recognized lane markings, the lane divided by the two lane markings closest to the host vehicle M is taken as its own lane Recognize as In addition, the lane recognition unit 320 may recognize, for example, an adjacent lane adjacent to the own lane. For example, the lane recognition unit 320 recognizes an area between the lane line near the host vehicle M next to the lane line of the host lane and the lane line of the host lane as the adjacent lane.

The follow-up traveling control unit 330 controls the traveling drive power output device 200 and the brake device 210, for example, when the follow-up traveling start switch is operated, and the forward traveling vehicle PV recognized by the forward traveling vehicle recognition unit 310 The host vehicle M is accelerated or decelerated within a preset vehicle speed range so as to keep the inter-vehicle distance to the vehicle M constant. At this time, the follow-up traveling control unit 330 determines whether or not the behavior of the leading vehicle PV to be followed is unstable, and if the behavior of the leading vehicle PV is unstable, the following movement control unit 330 The target velocity Vtg of the vehicle M at the time is determined to be the lowest velocity V _MIN which is the lowest of the fluctuating velocities of the leading vehicle PV. The follow-up traveling control unit 330 repeats updating of the target speed Vtg every time the second predetermined time Tb elapses. As a result, as in the first embodiment, the host vehicle M can follow the front vehicle PV without approaching the front vehicle PV whose behavior is unstable. When the target speed Vtg becomes equal to or lower than the lower limit speed of the set vehicle speed, the following movement control unit 330 may stop following movement.

  For example, when the lane change start switch or the winker lever is operated, the lane change control unit 340 controls the steering device 220 to change the host vehicle M to an adjacent lane. Further, the lane change control unit 340 causes the host vehicle M to be in the adjacent lane when the target speed Vtg becomes equal to or lower than the lower limit speed of the set vehicle speed when the following control is executed. You may change lanes. This makes it possible to overtake the front traveling vehicle PV whose behavior is unstable and whose speed is low.

According to the second embodiment described above, when performing driving assistance such as ACC, it is determined whether or not the behavior of the leading vehicle is in an unstable state, and the behavior of the leading vehicle is unstable. In this case, in order to determine the minimum speed V _MIN of the speed of the leading vehicle as the target speed of the host vehicle M at the time of ACC, the target vehicle smoothly follows the leading vehicle as in the first embodiment. It can be done.

[Hardware configuration]
The automatic driving control device 100 and / or the driving support control device 300 according to the above-described embodiment are realized by, for example, a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the automatic driving control device 100 and / or the driving assistance control device 300 according to the embodiment.

  The automatic driving control apparatus 100 and / or the driving support control apparatus 300 may include the communication controller 400-1, the CPU 400-2, the RAM (Random Access Memory) 400-3, the ROM (Read Only Memory) 400-4, the flash memory, the HDD A secondary storage device 400-5 such as a hard disc drive) and a drive device 400-6 are connected to each other by an internal bus or a dedicated communication line. A portable storage medium such as an optical disk is attached to the drive device 400-6. The program 400-5a stored in the secondary storage device 400-5 is expanded on the RAM 400-3 by a DMA controller (not shown) or the like, and is executed by the CPU 400-2 so that the automatic operation control apparatus 100 performs the first control. The unit 120 and the second control unit 160 are realized, and in the driving support control device 300, the fore-going vehicle recognition unit 310, the lane recognition unit 320, the follow-up traveling control unit 330, and the lane change control unit 340 are realized. Further, the program to be referred to by the CPU 400-2 may be stored in a portable storage medium attached to the drive device 400-6, or may be downloaded from another device via the network NW.

The above embodiment can be expressed as follows.
Storage for storing programs,
A processor, and
The processor executes the program to
Recognize other vehicles around your vehicle,
Performing a follow-up run for causing the own vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle existing ahead of the own vehicle among the recognized other vehicles,
When the behavior of the forerunner vehicle is in an unstable state, the lowest velocity of the velocity of the forerunner vehicle which has fluctuated in the unstable behavior is set as the target velocity of the own vehicle during the following movement. Configured to make decisions,
Vehicle control device.

Further, the above embodiment may be expressed as follows.
A recognition unit that recognizes other vehicles around the host vehicle;
The other vehicle recognized by the recognition unit includes a driving control unit that executes a following operation of causing the front vehicle to follow the front vehicle existing ahead of the own vehicle.
The operation control unit determines the lowest speed among the speeds of the preceding vehicle that has fluctuated in the process of passing a predetermined time, as the target speed of the host vehicle during the following operation.
Vehicle control device.

  As mentioned above, although the form for carrying out the present invention was explained using an embodiment, the present invention is not limited at all by such an embodiment, and various modification and substitution within the range which does not deviate from the gist of the present invention Can be added.

1, 2 ... vehicle system, 10 ... camera, 12 ... radar device, 14 ... finder, 16 ... object recognition device, 20 ... communication device, 30 ... HMI, 40 ... vehicle sensor, 50 ... navigation device, 60 ... MPU, 80 ... driving operator, 100 ... automatic driving control device, 120 ... first control unit, 130 ... recognition unit, 140 ... action plan generation unit, 142 ... event determination unit, 144 ... target speed determination unit, 146 ... target steering angle determination Unit 148 Track generation unit 150 Vehicle behavior determination unit 160 Second control unit 162 Acquisition unit 164 Speed control unit 166 Steering control unit 200 Travel driving force output device 210 Brake Device 220 Steering device 300 Driving support control device 310 Forward vehicle recognition unit 320 Lane recognition unit 330 Tracking control unit 340 Lane change control , M ... the vehicle, m ... other vehicles

Claims (6)

A recognition unit that recognizes other vehicles around the host vehicle;
The other vehicle recognized by the recognition unit includes a driving control unit that executes a following operation of causing the front vehicle to follow the front vehicle existing ahead of the own vehicle.
When the behavior of the leading vehicle is in an unstable state, the driving control unit sets the lowest speed among the speeds of the leading vehicle that has fluctuated in the unstable behavior to the speed during the following operation. Determined as target speed of own vehicle,
Vehicle control device. The state in which the behavior is unstable is a state in which the index indicating the degree of the variation of the physical quantity per predetermined time obtained by observing the leading vehicle is a threshold or more.
The vehicle control device according to claim 1. The operation control unit
Every time the leading vehicle with the unstable behavior reaches a lower speed than the target speed during the follow-up, the target speed during the follow-up is repeatedly updated to a lower speed.
In the process of repeatedly updating the target speed, if the speed of the host vehicle becomes lower than a predetermined speed, the travel route is changed.
The vehicle control device according to claim 1. The operation control unit
Every time the leading vehicle with the unstable behavior reaches a lower speed than the target speed during the follow-up, the target speed during the follow-up is repeatedly updated to a lower speed.
In the process of repeatedly updating the target speed, when the speed of the vehicle becomes less than a predetermined speed, the vehicle is changed to another lane.
The vehicle control device according to claim 1. The recognition unit recognizes other vehicles around the host vehicle,
The driving control unit executes follow-up traveling in which the host vehicle follows the front vehicle existing in front of the host vehicle among the other vehicles recognized by the recognition unit, and the behavior of the front vehicle is unstable. If the vehicle is in the unsteady state, the lowest speed among the speeds of the preceding vehicle that has fluctuated in the unstable behavior is determined as the target speed of the own vehicle during the following operation.
Vehicle control method. In-vehicle computers,
A process of recognizing other vehicles around the host vehicle;
A process of executing follow-up traveling in which the own vehicle follows the front vehicle existing ahead of the own vehicle among the recognized other vehicles;
When the behavior of the forerunner vehicle is in an unstable state, the lowest velocity of the velocity of the forerunner vehicle which has fluctuated in the unstable behavior is set as the target velocity of the own vehicle during the following movement. The process to decide
A program to run a program.

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