JP2019153276A - Information processing device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information processing device or the like making resolution of an opposite state of each vehicle efficient.SOLUTION: An information processing device of a first vehicle comprises: a detection part detecting an opposite of a second vehicle to the first vehicle; a determination part determining whether an opposite place is in a first segment which is in the front of a traveling direction of the first vehicle with respect to the opposite place, and the vehicles can pass each other; a calculation part calculating a first distance from the first segment to the opposite place; a communication part transmitting the first distance to the second vehicle in the case where the opposite place is not in the first segment, and receiving, from the second vehicle, a second distance from a second segment which is in the front of the traveling direction of the second vehicle with respect to the opposite place, and in which the vehicles can pass each other to the opposite place; a generation part generating traveling control information of the first vehicle in accordance with a result obtained by comparing the first distance with the second distance; and an output part outputting the traveling control information to a traveling control part of the first vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus and a program for a vehicle.

  In recent years, techniques for supporting the running of vehicles have been studied. For example, patent document 1 is disclosing the driving | running | working assistance apparatus which assists driving | running | working of the vehicle which passes the one-side alternate traffic area. In this driving support device, the anti-vehicle detection unit mounted on the vehicle detects the anti-opposition state of the vehicle that enters from the upstream entrance and the downstream entrance into the one-side alternating passage section. The confrontation arbitration unit mounted on the movement signal device different from the vehicle performs confrontation confrontation for the two vehicles when the confrontation state of the two vehicles is detected in the one-side mutual traffic section. Specifically, the confrontation arbitration is performed so that the vehicle that has entered the one-way mutual traffic section lately or ignores the signal rules and moves backward.

JP 2010-3157 A

  In the confrontation arbitration in the driving support device of Patent Document 1, the time required for canceling the confrontation state may be long or the moving distance of the vehicle may be increased, which may not be efficient.

  The present disclosure provides an information processing apparatus and a program that efficiently eliminate a facing state of a vehicle.

  An information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing apparatus mounted on a first vehicle, and includes a detection unit that detects an opposite of the second vehicle to the first vehicle, the first vehicle, and the first vehicle. The location where the vehicle is facing is a section where vehicles can pass each other, and is in a first section which is a section before the first vehicle in the traveling direction with respect to the facing location on the travel route of the first vehicle. A determination unit that determines whether there is a calculation unit that calculates a first distance from the first section to the facing location, and the first distance when it is determined that the facing location is not within the first section From the second section, which is a section in which the vehicles can pass each other and is a section before the second vehicle in the traveling direction with respect to the opposite location on the travel route of the second vehicle. The second distance to the opposite location is the second distance A communication unit that receives from a vehicle, a generation unit that compares the first distance and the second distance, and generates traveling control information for moving the first vehicle forward or backward according to the comparison result, and the traveling An output unit that outputs control information to the travel control unit of the first vehicle.

  An information processing apparatus according to another aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing apparatus mounted on a first vehicle, the detection unit detecting an opposite of the second vehicle to the first vehicle, and the first vehicle. A first section that is a section in which the vehicle can pass each other, and is a section in front of the traveling direction of the first vehicle with respect to the opposite position on the travel route of the first vehicle. A determination unit that determines whether the vehicle is within, a calculation unit that calculates the number of vehicles following the first vehicle using information acquired from the vehicle following the first vehicle, the second vehicle, and the vehicle following A communication unit that communicates with the vehicle, and if it is determined that the opposite location is not within the first section, communicates with a vehicle following the first vehicle to obtain information from the vehicle following the first vehicle, Send the number of vehicles following the first vehicle to the second vehicle, A communication unit that receives the number of succeeding vehicles of the second vehicle from the second vehicle, the number of succeeding vehicles of the first vehicle and the number of succeeding vehicles of the second vehicle, and according to a comparison result, A generation unit that generates travel control information for moving the first vehicle forward or backward, and an output unit that outputs the travel control information to the travel control unit of the first vehicle.

  A program according to an aspect of the present disclosure detects a facing of a second vehicle with respect to a first vehicle, and a facing position between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is a section where the vehicle can pass, Determining whether the vehicle is in a first section that is a section in front of the traveling direction of the first vehicle with respect to the opposite place on the travel route of one vehicle, and if the opposite place is not in the first section, A first distance from the first section to the opposite location is calculated, the first distance is output to the second vehicle, and the section where the vehicle can pass is the opposite position on the travel route of the second vehicle A second distance from the second section, which is a section before the traveling direction of the second vehicle to the place, is acquired from the second vehicle, and the first distance is compared with the second distance. And advance the first vehicle according to the comparison result Generates driving control information for retracting, thereby executing the travel control information to the computer to output to the travel control unit of the first vehicle.

  A program according to another aspect of the present disclosure detects a facing of the second vehicle with respect to the first vehicle, and the facing location between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is a section where the vehicles can pass each other. When it is determined whether it is in the first section which is a section before the first vehicle in the traveling direction with respect to the opposite place on the travel route of the first vehicle, and the opposite place is not in the first section , Obtaining information on the vehicle following the first vehicle from the vehicle following the first vehicle, calculating the number of vehicles following the first vehicle using the information, and calculating the number of vehicles following the first vehicle. Outputting to the second vehicle, obtaining the number of vehicles following the second vehicle from the second vehicle, comparing the number of vehicles following the first vehicle with the number of vehicles following the second vehicle, Travel control information for moving the first vehicle forward or backward according to the comparison result Generated, to execute the traveling control information to the computer to output to the travel control unit of the first vehicle.

  The comprehensive or specific aspect described above may be realized by a recording medium such as a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a computer-readable recording disk, and the system, apparatus, method, and integrated circuit. The present invention may be realized by any combination of a computer program and a recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes a nonvolatile recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory).

  According to the information processing apparatus and the like of the present disclosure, it is possible to efficiently eliminate the facing state of the vehicle.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle including the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a facing state of the vehicle according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the vehicle for eliminating the facing state according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle including the information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 5A is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 5B is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a facing state of the vehicle according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the vehicle for eliminating the facing state according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation flow of the information processing apparatus for the following vehicle according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle including the information processing apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 9A is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 9B is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 10A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a facing state of the vehicle according to the third embodiment. FIG. 10B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the vehicle for eliminating the facing state according to the third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle including the information processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 12A is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation flow of the information processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 12B is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation flow of the information processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a facing state of the vehicle according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the vehicle for eliminating the facing state according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus for the following vehicle according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle including the information processing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus 500 according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 17A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a facing state of the vehicle according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 17B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the vehicle for eliminating the facing state according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle including the information processing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus according to the sixth embodiment. FIG. 20A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a state before the vehicle according to Embodiment 6 confronts. FIG. 20B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of operation of the vehicle for preventing confrontation according to Embodiment 6. FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle including the information processing device according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 22A is a front view illustrating an arrangement example of the front presentation device on the vehicle. FIG. 22B is a rear view showing an arrangement example of the rear presentation device on the vehicle. FIG. 23A is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation flow of the information processing apparatus according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 23B is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation flow of the information processing apparatus according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 23C is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 23D is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation flow of the information processing apparatus according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the front presentation device and the rear presentation device. FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a display example on a terminal device of another vehicle. FIG. 26 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle including the information processing apparatus according to the first modification. FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a display example on the input / output device according to the first modification. FIG. 28 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus according to the first modification. FIG. 29 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a transmitter according to the second modification. FIG. 30 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle including the information processing apparatus according to the second modification. FIG. 31 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus according to the second modification.

  In recent years, techniques for automating driving of vehicles such as automobiles traveling on roads have been studied. The inventors of the present invention have studied a technique for separating the vehicles facing each other on a narrow road that is difficult to separate, for the above-described vehicles, that is, autonomous vehicles. For example, in the technique of Patent Document 1 listed in the “Background Technology” section, two vehicles that are facing each other in a one-sided mutual traffic section that is a difficult-to-separate section enter the section lately or enter the section. Confront and mediate to neglect the traffic signal rules and cause the vehicle to enter. In such confrontation arbitration, the vehicle with the larger distance from the vehicle to the entrance of the one-sided mutual traffic section may receive an instruction to move backward. In this case, the retreat distance of the vehicle is increased and the necessary time is increased until the vehicle facing state is resolved and the vehicle can be separated. Moreover, in patent document 1, an antipodal arbitration part is mounted in the movement signal apparatus different from a vehicle. However, it is difficult to arrange a device for mediating confrontation in all places where the vehicle can confront.

  For this reason, the present inventors have devised a technique for an apparatus mounted on a vehicle to efficiently resolve the conflict through inter-vehicle communication as follows.

  For example, the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing apparatus mounted on a first vehicle, and includes a detection unit that detects an opposite of the second vehicle to the first vehicle, and the first The opposite location between the vehicle and the second vehicle is a section where the vehicles can pass each other, and is a section before the first vehicle in the traveling direction with respect to the opposite location on the travel route of the first vehicle. When it is determined that the determination unit that determines whether it is within one section, the calculation unit that calculates the first distance from the first section to the opposite location, and the opposite location is not within the first interval, A section in which the first distance is transmitted to the second vehicle and the vehicles can pass each other, and is a section in front of the traveling direction of the second vehicle with respect to the opposite location on the travel route of the second vehicle. Second distance from the second section to the opposite location The communication unit that receives the second vehicle from the second vehicle, the first distance and the second distance are compared, and the generation of travel control information for moving the first vehicle forward or backward according to the comparison result And an output unit that outputs the travel control information to the travel control unit of the first vehicle.

  According to the above aspect, when the facing state of two vehicles occurs in a section other than the section in which the vehicles can pass each other (that is, the facing state occurs), the distance between the section in which the vehicles in the two vehicles can pass and the facing position Accordingly, the travel of the first vehicle is controlled. Thus, unlike the prior art, the forward or backward movement of each vehicle in the opposite state is determined according to the actual travel distance. Thereby, in order to cancel the confrontation state of a vehicle, the distance which a vehicle moves can be optimized. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently eliminate the facing state of the vehicle. Moreover, the control for eliminating the facing state is also simple. Furthermore, although the facing state is canceled through inter-vehicle communication, when the facing state occurs, two vehicles exist in the inter-vehicle communication area, so that it is possible to smoothly resolve the facing state.

  In the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, the calculation unit further calculates the number of vehicles following the first vehicle using information acquired from vehicles following the first vehicle, and the communication The unit further communicates with a vehicle following the first vehicle to obtain information from the vehicle following the first vehicle, transmits the number of vehicles following the first vehicle to the second vehicle, The number of following vehicles is received from the second vehicle, and the generation unit is further based on the first distance, the number of following vehicles of the first vehicle, the second distance, and the number of following vehicles of the second vehicle. A comparison may be made to generate the travel control information according to the comparison result.

  According to the said aspect, driving | running | working of a 1st vehicle is controlled not only according to the moving distance of a vehicle but according to the number of vehicles moved. Thereby, in order to eliminate the confrontation state of a vehicle, the number of vehicles which move can be optimized. In other words, it is possible to eliminate the confrontation state in consideration of the situation of the following vehicle. In addition, since there are more factors to consider for eliminating the facing state, it is possible to increase the number of facing states that can be efficiently handled.

  In the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, the generation unit is based on the first distance, the number of vehicles following the first vehicle, the second distance, and the number of vehicles following the second vehicle. As a comparison, the product of the first distance and the number of the following vehicles of the first vehicle is compared with the product of the second distance and the number of the following vehicles of the second vehicle, and the travel control information according to the comparison result May be generated.

  According to the said aspect, driving | running | working of a 1st vehicle is controlled according to the pseudo | simulated movement amount of the vehicle group moved. Thereby, the movement amount of the vehicle for eliminating the facing state of the vehicle can be optimized to some extent. In other words, it is possible to cancel the facing state in consideration of the moving distance for canceling the facing state and the situation of the following vehicle. Moreover, the confrontation state which can respond efficiently can be increased.

  In the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, the calculation unit further uses the information acquired from the vehicle following the first vehicle by the communication unit to detect the first vehicle from the vehicle following the first vehicle. A third distance to the section is calculated, and the communication unit further transmits the third distance to the second vehicle, and calculates a fourth distance from a vehicle following the second vehicle to the second section. Received from the vehicle, the generator further compares the sum of the first distance and the third distance with the sum of the second distance and the fourth distance, and generates the travel control information according to the comparison result May be.

  According to the said aspect, driving | running | working of a 1st vehicle is controlled according to the exact moving amount | distance of the vehicle group moved. Thereby, the movement amount of the vehicle for eliminating the facing state of the vehicle can be made more appropriate. In other words, by using the sum of distances, it is possible to efficiently eliminate the confrontation state even if the inter-vehicle distances of the following vehicles are not uniform. Moreover, the confrontation state which can respond efficiently can be increased.

  An information processing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing apparatus mounted on a first vehicle, the detection unit detecting the opposite of the second vehicle to the first vehicle, and the first The opposite location between the vehicle and the second vehicle is a section where the vehicles can pass each other, and is a section before the first vehicle in the traveling direction with respect to the opposite location on the travel route of the first vehicle. A determination unit that determines whether the vehicle is within one section, a calculation unit that calculates the number of vehicles following the first vehicle using information acquired from vehicles following the first vehicle, the second vehicle, and the second vehicle A communication unit that communicates with a succeeding vehicle, and when it is determined that the opposite location is not within the first section, communicates with a succeeding vehicle of the first vehicle and acquires information from the succeeding vehicle of the first vehicle. The number of vehicles following the first vehicle is transmitted to the second vehicle The communication unit that receives the number of succeeding vehicles of the second vehicle from the second vehicle, the number of succeeding vehicles of the first vehicle and the number of succeeding vehicles of the second vehicle are compared, and according to the comparison result A generating unit that generates traveling control information for moving the first vehicle forward or backward, and an output unit that outputs the traveling control information to the traveling control unit of the first vehicle.

  According to the above aspect, when the facing state of the two vehicles occurs outside the section where the vehicles can pass each other, the travel of the first vehicle is controlled according to the quantity of the following vehicles of the two vehicles. Thus, unlike the prior art, the forward or backward movement of each vehicle in the opposite state is determined according to the number of vehicles that are actually moved. Thereby, the number of vehicles moved in order to cancel the confrontation state of vehicles can be optimized. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently eliminate the facing state of the vehicle.

  In the information processing apparatus according to the first and second aspects of the present disclosure, the calculation unit further calculates a first distance from the first section to the opposite location, and the communication unit further calculates the comparison result. When the number of the following vehicles of the first vehicle and the number of the following vehicles of the second vehicle indicate the same, the first distance is transmitted to the second vehicle, and the vehicle can pass. The second vehicle receives a second distance from the second vehicle from the second zone, which is a zone before the second vehicle, in the traveling direction of the second vehicle to the opposite location on the travel path of the second vehicle. The generation unit may compare the first distance and the second distance, and generate travel control information for moving the first vehicle forward or backward according to the comparison result.

  According to the said aspect, even if it is a case where the number of the vehicles moved is the same number, the advance or reverse of a 1st vehicle can be determined.

  In the information processing apparatus according to the first and second aspects of the present disclosure, the calculation unit further calculates a first section length that is a length of the first section, and the communication unit further includes the opposite location. If it is determined that the vehicle is not within the first zone, the first zone length is transmitted to the second vehicle, and the vehicle can pass each other at the opposite location on the travel route of the second vehicle. On the other hand, the second section length, which is the length of the second section that is the section before the traveling direction of the second vehicle, is received from the second vehicle, and the generation unit further includes the first section length and the second section length. The section length may be compared and travel control information for moving the first vehicle forward or backward according to the comparison result may be generated.

  According to the above aspect, when the facing state of the two vehicles occurs outside the section where the vehicles can pass each other, the travel of the first vehicle is controlled according to the length of the section where the vehicles can pass each other. Thereby, when the following vehicle exists, the possibility that all the vehicle groups including the following vehicle can pass each other increases as the section in which the vehicles can pass each other is longer.

  In the information processing apparatus according to the first and second aspects of the present disclosure, the calculation unit further calculates a first distance from the first section to the opposite location, and the communication unit further calculates the comparison result. When indicating that the first section length and the second section length are the same, the first distance is transmitted to the second vehicle, and the second distance from the second section to the opposite location is And the generation unit may compare the first distance with the second distance and generate travel control information for moving the first vehicle forward or backward according to the comparison result. .

  According to the said aspect, even if it is a case where the length of the area where a vehicle can pass is the same, the advance or reverse of a 1st vehicle can be determined. Moreover, the confrontation state which can respond efficiently can be increased.

  In the information processing apparatus according to the first and second aspects of the present disclosure, the detection unit detects the facing of the second vehicle after a predetermined time with respect to the first vehicle, and the facing location is after the predetermined time. The calculation unit further calculates a fifth distance from the first vehicle to the end point of the first section, and the communication unit further does not have the opposite position in the first section. The fifth distance is transmitted to the second vehicle, and is a section where the vehicle can pass from the second vehicle to the opposite location on the travel route of the second vehicle. The sixth distance to the end point of the second section, which is a section before the traveling direction of the second vehicle, is received from the second vehicle, and the generation unit further calculates the fifth distance and the sixth distance. The first vehicle is moved forward or backward according to the comparison result. It may generate the travel control information for stopping.

  According to the said aspect, it becomes possible to prevent generation | occurrence | production of a confrontation state beforehand.

  In the information processing apparatus according to the first and second aspects of the present disclosure, the calculation unit further calculates a first distance from the first section to the opposite location, and the communication unit further calculates the comparison result. When indicating that the fifth distance and the sixth distance are the same, the first distance is transmitted to the second vehicle, and the second distance from the second section to the opposite location is transmitted to the second vehicle. The generation unit may compare the first distance with the second distance, and generate travel control information for moving the first vehicle forward or stop according to the comparison result.

  According to the said aspect, even if the confrontation state of a vehicle generate | occur | produces, the confrontation state can be eliminated efficiently.

  The information processing apparatus according to the first and second aspects of the present disclosure further includes a presentation control unit that controls at least presentation of information to the second vehicle, and the presentation control unit is configured such that the communication unit includes the second communication unit. When communication with the vehicle is not possible, information corresponding to the travel control information may be presented to the presentation device.

  According to the above aspect, the confrontation state can be smoothly eliminated even for a vehicle that cannot establish inter-vehicle communication.

  The program according to the first aspect of the present disclosure detects a facing of the second vehicle with respect to the first vehicle, and the facing location between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is a section where the vehicles can pass each other. When it is determined whether it is in the first section which is a section before the first vehicle in the traveling direction with respect to the opposite place on the travel route of the first vehicle, and the opposite place is not in the first section , Calculating a first distance from the first section to the opposite location, outputting the first distance to the second vehicle, and a section in which the vehicles can pass each other on the travel route of the second vehicle A second distance from the second section, which is a section before the traveling direction of the second vehicle with respect to the facing place, is acquired from the second vehicle, and the first distance and the second distance are obtained. And comparing the first vehicle according to the comparison result It generates driving control information to advance or retract, thereby executing the travel control information to the computer to output to the travel control unit of the first vehicle. According to the said aspect, the effect similar to the information processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st aspect of this indication is acquired.

  The program according to the second aspect of the present disclosure is a section in which the facing of the second vehicle to the first vehicle is detected, and the facing location between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is a section where the vehicles can pass each other. When it is determined whether it is in the first section which is a section before the first vehicle in the traveling direction with respect to the opposite place on the travel route of the first vehicle, and the opposite place is not in the first section , Obtaining information on the vehicle following the first vehicle from the vehicle following the first vehicle, calculating the number of vehicles following the first vehicle using the information, and calculating the number of vehicles following the first vehicle. Outputting to the second vehicle, obtaining the number of vehicles following the second vehicle from the second vehicle, comparing the number of vehicles following the first vehicle with the number of vehicles following the second vehicle, Travel control information for moving the first vehicle forward or backward according to the comparison result Generated, to execute the traveling control information to the computer to output to the travel control unit of the first vehicle. According to the said aspect, the effect similar to the information processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st aspect of this indication is acquired.

  An information processing apparatus according to a third aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing apparatus mounted on a first vehicle, and includes a detection unit that detects an opposite of the second vehicle to the first vehicle, and the first vehicle. A first section that is a section in which the vehicle can pass each other, and is a section in front of the traveling direction of the first vehicle with respect to the opposite position on the travel route of the first vehicle. A determination unit that determines whether the first location is within a first interval, a calculation unit that calculates a first interval length that is the length of the first interval, and the determination that the opposite location is not within the first interval, The first section length is transmitted to the second vehicle, and the section in which the vehicles can pass each other is the section before the second vehicle traveling direction with respect to the opposite location on the travel route of the second vehicle. The second section length, which is the length of two sections, is received from the second vehicle. A communication unit that compares the first section length with the second section length and generates traveling control information for moving the first vehicle forward or backward according to the comparison result; and the traveling control An output unit that outputs information to the travel control unit of the first vehicle.

  According to the above aspect, when the facing state of the two vehicles occurs outside the section where the vehicles can pass each other, the travel of the first vehicle is controlled according to the length of the section where the vehicles can pass each other. Thereby, when the following vehicle exists, the vehicle side with the longer section in which the vehicles can pass each other can move backward. Therefore, the possibility that all the vehicle groups including the following vehicles can pass each other can be increased.

  An information processing apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing apparatus mounted on a first vehicle, and includes a detection unit that detects an opposite of the second vehicle to the first vehicle, the first vehicle, A first section that is a section in which the vehicle can pass each other, and is a section in front of the traveling direction of the first vehicle with respect to the opposite position on the travel route of the first vehicle. A determination unit that determines whether or not the vehicle is within, a calculation unit that calculates a fifth distance from the first vehicle to the end point of the first section, and the determination that the opposite location is not within the first section In this case, the second distance is transmitted to the second vehicle, and the second vehicle is a section where the vehicle can pass from the second vehicle with respect to the opposite location on the travel route of the second vehicle. End point of the second section, which is the section before the direction of travel A communication control unit that receives the sixth distance up to the second vehicle from the second vehicle, the fifth distance and the sixth distance, and travel control for moving the first vehicle forward or stop according to the comparison result. A generating unit that generates information; and an output unit that outputs the traveling control information to the traveling control unit of the first vehicle, wherein the detecting unit is a predetermined time after the second vehicle with respect to the first vehicle. The opposite location is detected, and the opposite location includes the opposite location after the predetermined time.

  According to the said aspect, it becomes possible to prevent generation | occurrence | production of the confrontation state of a vehicle beforehand.

  The program according to the third aspect of the present disclosure is a section in which the opposite position of the first vehicle and the second vehicle is detected by detecting the opposite of the second vehicle to the first vehicle, and the vehicle can pass each other. When it is determined whether it is in the first section which is a section before the first vehicle in the traveling direction with respect to the opposite place on the travel route of the first vehicle, and the opposite place is not in the first section The first section length, which is the length of the first section, is calculated, the first section length is output to the second vehicle, and the vehicle can pass by the section of the second vehicle. A second section length, which is a length of a second section, which is a section before the traveling direction of the second vehicle with respect to the opposite location at, is acquired from the second vehicle, and the first section length and the second section Compare with the section length and move the first vehicle forward or backward depending on the comparison result It generates driving control information for, to execute the traveling control information to the computer to output to the travel control unit of the first vehicle. According to the above aspect, the same effect as the information processing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present disclosure can be obtained.

  A program according to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure detects an opposite of the second vehicle with respect to the first vehicle, and an opposite place between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is a section where the vehicles can pass each other. A determination is made as to whether or not the opposite location is in the first zone, which is a zone in front of the first vehicle in the traveling direction with respect to the opposite location on the travel route of the first vehicle. When the determination is made, the fifth distance from the first vehicle to the end point of the first section is calculated, the fifth distance is output to the second vehicle, and the vehicle passes from the second vehicle. The sixth distance from the second vehicle to the end point of the second section, which is a section that is possible and is a section before the second vehicle in the traveling direction with respect to the opposite location on the travel route of the second vehicle. Acquire and compare the fifth distance and the sixth distance The travel control information for advancing or stopping the first vehicle according to the comparison result is generated, the travel control information is output to the travel control unit of the first vehicle, and the second vehicle for the first vehicle is generated. In the detection of the facing, the facing of the second vehicle with respect to the first vehicle after a predetermined time is detected, and the facing location includes the facing location after the predetermined time.

  According to the said aspect, the effect similar to the information processing apparatus which concerns on the 4th aspect of this indication is acquired.

  The comprehensive or specific aspect described above may be realized by a recording medium such as a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a computer-readable recording disk, and the system, apparatus, method, and integrated circuit. The present invention may be realized by any combination of computer programs or recording media. The computer-readable recording medium includes a non-volatile recording medium such as a CD-ROM. Further, the device may be configured by one or more devices. When the device is configured by two or more devices, the two or more devices may be disposed in one device or may be separately disposed in two or more separated devices. In the present specification and claims, an “apparatus” can mean not only a single apparatus, but also a system consisting of a plurality of apparatuses.

  Hereinafter, an information processing apparatus according to the present disclosure will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that each of the embodiments described below shows a comprehensive or specific example. Numerical values, shapes, components, arrangement positions and connection forms of components, steps (steps), order of steps, and the like shown in the following embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. In addition, among the constituent elements in the following embodiments, constituent elements that are not described in the independent claims indicating the highest concept are described as optional constituent elements. Each figure is a mimetic diagram and is not necessarily illustrated strictly. Furthermore, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the substantially same component, and the overlapping description may be abbreviate | omitted or simplified.

[Embodiment 1]
The information processing apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 will be described. In the following embodiments, the information processing device will be described as being mounted on a vehicle capable of autonomous driving with driving automatically and outputting traveling control information to a traveling control device that controls traveling of the vehicle. The information processing apparatus may be configured by a device such as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) alone, or may be incorporated as a control circuit or the like in a device such as an ECU that constitutes the travel control device.

[1-1. Configuration of information processing apparatus]
The configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment and its periphery will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle A that includes the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. The vehicle A includes an inter-vehicle communication device 1, a confrontation information acquisition device 2, a map database (hereinafter also referred to as “map DB”) 3, a road information acquisition device 4, a host vehicle position measurement device 5, and autonomous travel control. The apparatus 6 and the information processing apparatus 100 are provided.

  The inter-vehicle communication device 1 communicates with other vehicles of the vehicle A wirelessly. The inter-vehicle communication device 1 is an interface for the communication, for example, a wireless communication circuit. The inter-vehicle communication device 1 may communicate directly with another vehicle or may communicate via a wireless network. The inter-vehicle communication device 1 broadcasts wireless information to a plurality of vehicles, that is, performs broadband communication. The wireless network may be any wireless network, but an example of the wireless network is a wireless LAN. For example, the wireless network may be a wireless local area network (LAN) that does not require a communication license. For example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark) (Wireless Fidelity) that uses the IEEE802.11 standard, which is an international standard. ). The wireless network may be short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or ZigBee (registered trademark).

  The confrontation information acquisition device 2 acquires confrontation information that is information for detecting a vehicle confronting the vehicle A. Here, “opposite” refers to a state in which the vehicle A and the opposite vehicle cannot be separated, that is, cannot pass each other. An example of the confrontation information is an image of a camera (not shown) that is mounted on the vehicle A and acquires an image in the traveling direction, and may be acquired from another vehicle. When the confrontation information is acquired from the camera of the vehicle A, the confrontation information acquisition device 2 may be configured by the camera of the vehicle A. When the confrontation information is acquired from another vehicle, the confrontation information acquisition device 2 may be configured by the inter-vehicle communication device 1. Examples of confrontation information acquired from another vehicle are an image that shows the traveling direction of the other vehicle, information that informs the presence or absence of confrontation, and the like. The confrontation information acquisition device 2 acquires confrontation information at predetermined time intervals while the vehicle A is traveling or stopped.

  The map DB 3 stores map information. An example of the map is a map showing the state of the earth surface such as a road map. The map DB 3 allows various information to be stored and retrieved. The map DB 3 is realized by a storage device such as a ROM (Read-Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, a hard disk drive, or an SSD (Solid State Drive). The map DB 3 may not be mounted on the vehicle A and may be provided in a server device (not shown) located away from the vehicle A. in this case. The vehicle A may wirelessly communicate with the server device via a communication device (not shown) to acquire necessary map information. The wireless communication may be a wireless LAN via a communication network such as the Internet.

  The road information acquisition device 4 acquires information on the road on which the vehicle A passes, specifically information on the width of the road. The road width information includes an image of a camera (for example, an image sensor) (not shown) that is mounted on the vehicle A and acquires a surrounding image, and a sensor other than a camera that detects the direction and distance of an object around the vehicle A. Detection signal, road map information on which the vehicle A passes, and the like. When the facing information is an image of the camera of the vehicle A, the road information acquisition device 4 may be configured by the camera of the vehicle A. When the facing information is a detection signal of the other sensor, the road information acquisition device 4 may be configured by the other sensor. Examples of the sensor include a laser light sensor LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), a magnetic sensor, and an ultrasonic sensor. The laser light sensor LIDAR detects a road shoulder and an obstacle on the road by measuring scattered light in response to laser irradiation emitted in a pulsed manner and detecting the direction and distance of surrounding objects. The magnetic sensor detects a road by detecting the magnetism of a magnet embedded in the road. The ultrasonic sensor detects the road shoulder and obstacles on the road by detecting the direction and distance of the surrounding object from the vehicle A with ultrasonic waves. When the confrontation information is map information, the road information acquisition device 4 may be configured by the map DB 3. The road information acquisition device 4 acquires road information at predetermined time intervals while the vehicle A is running and stopped.

  The own vehicle position measuring device 5 detects the position of the vehicle A on the earth or measures information related to the position. The own vehicle position measuring device 5 may detect the traveling direction of the vehicle A. The own vehicle position measurement device 5 includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, an inertial measurement device, and the like (not shown) mounted on the vehicle A. The GPS receiver can detect the position and traveling direction of the vehicle A on the earth based on a signal acquired from an artificial satellite. The GPS receiver can be composed of a communication circuit, for example. The inertial measurement device includes an acceleration sensor and an angular velocity sensor (also referred to as a “gyro sensor”), and measures the acceleration and angular velocity of the vehicle A. The traveling direction and speed of the vehicle A can be calculated based on the acceleration and the angular velocity measured by the inertial measurement device, and the position of the vehicle A can be calculated based on the traveling direction and the speed of the vehicle A. The own vehicle position measuring device 5 acquires the position of the vehicle A at predetermined time intervals while the vehicle A is traveling or stopped.

  The autonomous traveling control device 6 controls automatic driving of the vehicle A. The autonomous travel control device 6 automatically travels the vehicle A according to the travel route to the destination using the map information of the map DB 3. The autonomous traveling control device 6 is configured by a computer such as an ECU.

  The information processing apparatus 100 includes a management unit 101, a communication unit 102, an oncoming vehicle detection unit 103, a road width acquisition unit 104, a host vehicle position acquisition unit 105, a separable point acquisition unit 106, and a determination unit 107. And a backward distance acquisition unit 108, a generation unit 109, an output unit 110, and a storage unit 111.

  The management unit 101 includes a communication unit 102, an oncoming vehicle detection unit 103, a road width acquisition unit 104, a host vehicle position acquisition unit 105, a separable point acquisition unit 106, a determination unit 107, a reverse distance acquisition unit 108, a generation unit 109, and an output unit. The overall operation of the information processing apparatus 100 is controlled while controlling these operations in association with each other. Moreover, the management part 101 outputs the information regarding the vehicle A to another vehicle, when the confrontation of the vehicle A and another vehicle is detected, and requests | requires the information of another vehicle from another vehicle. Moreover, when map DB3 is provided in a server apparatus, the management part 101 requests | requires the map information of map DB3 from a server apparatus.

  The communication unit 102 mediates communication between the components of the information processing apparatus 100 and the outside of the vehicle A. The communication unit 102 transmits information and instructions output from the components of the information processing apparatus 100 to other vehicles using the inter-vehicle communication apparatus 1. In addition, the communication unit 102 acquires information and instructions sent from the other vehicle to the vehicle A using the inter-vehicle communication device 1.

  The oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 detects another vehicle that faces the vehicle A. Specifically, the oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 acquires the confrontation information from the confrontation information acquisition device 2, and detects the presence or absence of another vehicle (that is, an oncoming vehicle) that faces the vehicle A from the confrontation information. The oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 acquires the facing information at, for example, a predetermined time interval while the vehicle A is traveling or stopped, and detects the presence or absence of the oncoming vehicle. The oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 stores the acquired confrontation information in the storage unit 111. The oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 may detect the distance between the vehicle A and another vehicle that is the detected oncoming vehicle using the facing information. Here, the oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 is an example of a part of the detection unit.

  In the present embodiment, it is detected by the oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 and the determination unit 107 whether the vehicle A and the other vehicle facing the vehicle A are located within a predetermined distance and cannot pass each other, that is, whether they are facing each other. . Specifically, when the vehicle A is running or stopped, the road width acquisition unit 104 acquires the sum of the width of the vehicle A and the width of the other vehicle when the vehicle A approaches within a predetermined distance from the opposite vehicle. When the road width is less than a predetermined margin, it is determined that the vehicle is in a confrontation state.

  When the facing information is acquired from another vehicle, the oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 may determine the presence or absence of the oncoming vehicle of the vehicle A using the acquired facing information. The oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 outputs the detection result to the determination unit 107. When the acquired confrontation information is information for reporting the presence or absence of confrontation, the confrontation state may be detected only by the determination unit 107.

  The road width acquisition unit 104 acquires road information from the road information acquisition device 4 and detects the width of the road on which the vehicle A travels from the road information. The road width acquisition unit 104 acquires road information at predetermined time intervals while the vehicle A is traveling or stopped, and detects the width of the road. The road on which the vehicle A travels is a road on which the vehicle A has already passed, but may include a road on which the vehicle A is scheduled to pass, that is, a road ahead in the traveling direction of the vehicle A.

  When the road information is an image of the camera of the vehicle A, the road width acquisition unit 104 may extract a road area in the image and calculate the road width from the road area in the image. When the road information is a detection signal of a sensor other than the camera, the road width acquisition unit 104 may detect the road width by specifying the position of the road with respect to the vehicle A, the shape of the road, and the like from the detection signal. When the road information is the map information in the map DB 3, the road width acquisition unit 104 may detect the road width from the position of the vehicle A and the map information. The road width acquisition unit 104 may detect the width of the road by using a combination of various road information as described above. The road width acquisition unit 104 stores the road width detected over time in the storage unit 111 in association with the position of the vehicle A when the road width is detected, the position on the map, or the time. The road width acquisition unit 104 may output the road width detected over time to the separable point acquisition unit 106. The road width acquisition unit 104 may acquire the position of the vehicle A from the own vehicle position acquisition unit 105 described later, or may acquire it from the own vehicle position measurement device 5. The road width acquisition unit 104 may specify the position on the map corresponding to the road width from the position and orientation of the vehicle A.

  The own vehicle position acquisition unit 105 acquires the position of the vehicle A measured by the own vehicle position measurement device 5 from the own vehicle position measurement device 5. The own vehicle position acquisition unit 105 acquires the position of the vehicle A at predetermined time intervals while the vehicle A is traveling or stopped. Examples of the position of the vehicle A are coordinates on the map, identification information on the map, and the like. The identification information is information that enables specification of a position on the map such as an ID set at each point on the map, for example. The own vehicle position acquisition unit 105 may store the position of the vehicle A in the storage unit 111 in association with the time when the vehicle A is present at the position, or may output the position to the road width acquisition unit 104. Alternatively, it may be output to the separable point acquisition unit 106.

  The separable point acquisition unit 106 uses the road width information acquired from the road width acquisition unit 104 or the storage unit 111 and / or the road on which the vehicle A has traveled and / or the road on which the vehicle A will travel, that is, the travel of the vehicle A. It is determined whether or not the road on the route can separate the vehicle A and other vehicles. The separable point acquisition unit 106 acquires road width information at predetermined time intervals while the vehicle A is traveling or stopped. When the road width of the travel route is less than a predetermined separable width, the separable point acquisition unit 106 is unable to segregate, and the road width of the travel route is greater than or equal to the predetermined separable width. In this case, it is determined that separation is possible. Further, the separable point acquisition unit 106 may determine whether the road width of the travel route of the vehicle A is a separable width using the map information of the map DB 3. The map information in the map DB 3 may include information on whether or not separation is possible at each point, and the separation possible point acquisition unit 106 may determine whether or not separation is possible from the road width of the map information. Based on the determination result, the separable point acquisition unit 106 changes the position of the end point of the separable section, which is a point where the separable state changes from the separable state to the non-separable state, and changes from the non-separable state to the separable state. The position of the start point of the separable section that is a point to be detected is detected and stored in the storage unit 111. The separable section is a section in which the opposing vehicles are separable from the start point to the end point. Examples of the positions of the start point and the end point are coordinates on the map, identification information on the map, and the like.

  When the vehicle A faces the other vehicle, the determination unit 107 determines whether the vehicle A and the other vehicle are facing each other, that is, whether the vehicle A and the other vehicle are facing each other. Specifically, when the oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 detects that an oncoming vehicle of the vehicle A exists, the determination unit 107 determines whether or not the position of the vehicle A is within a separable section where the vehicle can pass each other. Determine. The separable section is a separable section in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle A with respect to the opposite location on the traveling route of the vehicle A. That is, the separable section is the nearest separable section closest to the current position from the current position of the vehicle A on the route on which the vehicle A has traveled. Further, the facing location may be a location between the vehicle A and another vehicle facing each other, or may be the position of the vehicle A. When the oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 detects the oncoming vehicle, the determination unit 107 acquires the confrontation information of the vehicle A from the storage unit 111 and determines the distance from the oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 to the other vehicle. The position of the vehicle A is acquired from the own vehicle position acquisition unit 105, and the start point position and end point position of the separable section closest to the position of the vehicle A are acquired from the storage unit 111. The determination unit 107 identifies the opposite location from the acquired distance and the position of the vehicle A. The determination unit 107 determines whether or not the identified facing location is between the start point position and the end point position of the separable section. Here, the determination unit 107 is an example of a part of the detection unit.

  The reverse distance acquisition unit 108 acquires the reverse distance from the opposite location to the end point of the separable section. In the present embodiment, the retreat distance is a physical distance. The reverse distance acquisition unit 108 may acquire the reverse distance at predetermined time intervals while the vehicle A is traveling or stopped. Further, the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 acquires the reverse distance of the other vehicle from the other vehicle of the vehicle A via the communication unit 102 and the inter-vehicle communication device 1. The backward distance may be a time distance such as a time required for the backward movement. Here, the retreat distance acquisition unit 108 is an example of a calculation unit.

  The reverse distance acquisition unit 108 acquires a distance from the opposite location to the end point of the nearest separable section closest to the current position on the route on which the vehicle A has traveled. For example, the journey distance is a journey distance in which the vehicle A moves backward from the current position of the vehicle A to the end point of the nearest separable section. The reverse distance acquisition unit 108 acquires the position of the end point of the latest separable section from the separable point acquisition unit 106 or the storage unit 111, and calculates the distance from the position of the end point to the current position of the vehicle A. For example, the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 acquires the measurement distance from the end point of the latest separable section to the current position of the vehicle A from the odometer (also referred to as “odometer”) of the vehicle A, and calculates the measurement distance The distance may be determined. Or the reverse distance acquisition part 108 may acquire map information from map DE3, and may calculate the distance of the route from the end point of the nearest separable section to the current position of the vehicle A on the map. The reverse distance acquisition unit 108 outputs the reverse distances of the vehicle A and other vehicles to the generation unit 109. The backward distance of the other vehicle is a distance from the current position of the vehicle to the end point of the nearest separable section closest to the current position on the route traveled by the vehicle.

  The generation unit 109 acquires the backward distances of the vehicle A and other vehicles from the backward distance acquisition unit 108. Then, the generation unit 109 compares the backward distance of the vehicle A and the backward distance of the other vehicle, and generates travel control information for moving the vehicle A forward or backward according to the comparison result. Specifically, the generation unit 109 generates travel control information for moving the vehicle A backward when the backward distance of the vehicle A is smaller, and generates travel control information for moving the vehicle A otherwise. The generation unit 109 outputs the traveling control information to the output unit 110.

  The output unit 110 outputs the travel control information acquired from the generation unit 109 to the autonomous travel control device 6. Here, the autonomous traveling control device 6 is an example of a traveling control unit.

  Here, the management unit 101, the communication unit 102, the oncoming vehicle detection unit 103, the road width acquisition unit 104, the own vehicle position acquisition unit 105, the separable point acquisition unit 106, the determination unit 107, and the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 in the information processing apparatus 100. Each of the components such as the generation unit 109 and the output unit 110 includes a computer system (not shown) including a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and a memory such as a RAM and a ROM. It may be constituted by. Some or all of the functions of each component may be achieved by the CPU or DSP executing a program recorded in the ROM using the RAM as a working memory. In addition, some or all of the functions of each component may be achieved by a dedicated hardware circuit such as an electronic circuit or an integrated circuit. Part or all of the functions of each component may be configured by a combination of the above software functions and hardware circuits. The program may be provided as an application through communication via a communication network such as the Internet, communication according to a mobile communication standard, other wireless network, wired network, or broadcast.

  The storage unit 111 enables storage and retrieval of various information. The storage unit 111 and the map DB 3 are realized by a storage device such as a semiconductor memory such as a ROM, a RAM, or a flash memory, a hard disk drive, or an SSD, for example.

[1-2. Operation of information processing apparatus]
The operation of the information processing apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. In the following description, it is assumed that another vehicle facing the vehicle A can also travel autonomously and is equipped with an information processing device similar to the vehicle A, using the example of FIGS. 3A and 3B. FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a facing state of the vehicle according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the vehicle for eliminating the facing state according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in step S <b> 101, the autonomous traveling control device 6 of the vehicle A controls traveling of the vehicle A and follows the traveling route to the destination input by the user such as the driver of the vehicle A. A is automatically moved forward, that is, the vehicle A is autonomously driven. The travel route may be determined by the autonomous travel control device 6 or may be determined by a navigation device (not shown) mounted on the vehicle A.

  Next, in step S102, the autonomous traveling control device 6 determines whether or not the destination has arrived. When the vehicle has arrived at the destination (Yes in step S102), the autonomous traveling control device 6 proceeds to step S103 and ends the autonomous traveling of the vehicle A. If the destination has not been reached (No in step S102), the process proceeds to step S104.

  Next, in step S104, the road width acquisition unit 104 of the information processing device 100 detects the width of the road on which the vehicle A travels using the road information acquired from the road information acquisition device 4 of the vehicle A. The road width acquisition unit 104 acquires road information from the road information acquisition device 4 at predetermined time intervals. Further, the road width acquisition unit 104 acquires the position of the vehicle A from the own vehicle position acquisition unit 105, and stores the road width in the storage unit 111 in association with the position of the vehicle A when the road width is detected. The road width acquisition unit 104 may output the road width and the position of the vehicle A to the separable point acquisition unit 106. The own vehicle position acquisition unit 105 acquires the position of the vehicle A from the own vehicle position measurement device 5 at predetermined time intervals.

  Next, in step S105, the separable point acquisition unit 106 of the information processing apparatus 100 allows the vehicle A to pass the other vehicle by the road width acquired from the road width acquisition unit 104 or the storage unit 111. It is determined whether or not the width. The separation possible point acquisition unit 106 proceeds to step S106 when the separation is possible (Yes in step S105), and proceeds to step S107 when the separation is not possible (No in step S105).

  In step S106, the separable point acquisition unit 106 determines that the position of the vehicle A corresponding to the road width to be determined is a separable point. Further, the separable point acquisition unit 106 updates the information on the road width and the position of the vehicle A by giving the determination result, and stores the information in the storage unit 111. Further, the separable point acquisition unit 106 changes from a separable state to a non-separable state, starting from a point where the separable state changes from a non-separable state to a separable state based on the determination result in step S105. A separable section whose end point is a point is determined and stored in the storage unit 111.

  Next, in step S <b> 107, the oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 of the information processing apparatus 100 determines whether or not the vehicle A is facing another vehicle using the facing information acquired from the facing information acquisition device 2. That is, the oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 determines whether or not the vehicle A is facing the other vehicle. At this time, the oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 detects whether or not the vehicle A and the other vehicle face each other from the facing information, and outputs the detection result to the determination unit 107.

  Further, when it is detected that the vehicle A and the other vehicle face each other, the determination unit 107 determines whether or not the vehicle A and the other vehicle can be separated. Specifically, the determination unit 107 acquires the position of the vehicle A from the own vehicle position acquisition unit 105, and refers to the information of the separable section in the storage unit 111, so that the opposite location of the vehicle A and the other vehicle is determined. Then, it is determined whether or not the vehicle A is within the separable section before the vehicle A in the traveling direction on the travel route of the vehicle A. In the present embodiment, the determination unit 107 uses the position of the vehicle A as the opposite location, but is not limited to this as described above. When the facing location is not included in the separable section, the determination unit 107 determines that the vehicle A and the other vehicle are in a facing state. Further, when the facing location is included in the separable section, the determination unit 107 determines that the vehicle A and the other vehicle are separable, that is, are not in a facing state. Moreover, the determination part 107 determines with it not being a confrontation state also when there is no opposition with another vehicle. If it is not in the facing state (No in step S107), the determining unit 107 returns to step S101. If it is in the facing state (Yes in step S107), the determining unit 107 proceeds to step S108 and outputs the determination result to the backward distance acquiring unit 108.

  In step S <b> 108, the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 refers to the information of the separable section in the storage unit 111 to identify the separable section that is closest to the vehicle A facing the other vehicle. The separable section is a separable section that is closest to the vehicle A among the separable sections that are located in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle A with respect to the opposite location on the travel route of the vehicle A. Further, the retreat distance acquisition unit 108 detects the end point position of the identified separable section. As shown in the example of FIG. 3A, the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 detects the end point position PA of the separable section that is closest to the vehicle A. The end position PA is a point at which the separable section closest to the vehicle A ends in the traveling direction of the vehicle A.

  The reverse distance acquisition unit 108 calculates the distance DA from the vehicle A facing the vehicle B, which is another vehicle, to the end point PA of the separable section as the reverse distance of the vehicle A. The distance DA is also the distance from the opposite location of the vehicles A and B to the end point position PA. That is, the retreat distance acquisition unit 108 calculates the distance from the separable section to the opposite location as the retreat distance. The reverse distance acquisition unit 108 transmits the reverse distance DA of the vehicle A to the vehicle B via the communication unit 102 and the inter-vehicle communication device 1. Further, the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 acquires the reverse distance DB of the vehicle B from the vehicle B via the communication unit 102 and the inter-vehicle communication device 1. The backward distance DB of the vehicle B is a distance from the vehicle B facing the vehicle A to the end point position PB of the latest separable section. The nearest separable section is the separable section that is closest to the vehicle B among the separable sections that are located in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle B with respect to the location facing the vehicle A on the travel route of the vehicle B. . Such a backward distance DB is a distance from the separable section just before the traveling direction of the vehicle B to the facing location on the traveling path of the vehicle B to the facing location. When the information processing apparatus of the vehicle B detects the facing state of the vehicle A with respect to the vehicle B, the backward distance DB may be transmitted to the vehicle A, and the backward distance of the vehicle B from the backward distance acquisition unit 108 of the vehicle A The reverse distance DB may be transmitted to the vehicle A in response to the request. In this manner, the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 transmits and receives the respective reverse distances with the vehicle B that is an oncoming vehicle. The reverse distance acquisition unit 108 outputs the reverse distance DA of the vehicle A and the reverse distance DB of the vehicle B to the generation unit 109. Here, the backward distance DA of the vehicle A is an example of a first distance, and the backward distance DB of the vehicle B is an example of a second distance.

  Next, in step S109, the generation unit 109 compares the backward distance DA of the vehicle A and the backward distance DB of the vehicle B. If the backward distance DA is shorter than the backward distance DB (Yes in Step S110), the generation unit 109 proceeds to Step S111, and if not (No in Step S110), the generation unit 109 proceeds to Step S112.

  In step S <b> 111, the generation unit 109 generates travel control information for moving the vehicle A backward based on the determination result in step S <b> 110 and outputs the travel control information to the output unit 110. The output unit 110 outputs the travel control information to the autonomous travel control device 6 and proceeds to step S113. The autonomous traveling control device 6 moves the vehicle A backward according to the traveling control information. Note that the travel control information generated by the generation unit 109 also includes information on a position where the vehicle A stops after reversing. The stop position of the vehicle A after reversing is a position within the separable section including the end point position PA. In the present embodiment, it is in the vicinity of the end point position PA in the separable section, but is not limited to this. The generation unit 109 may generate a command including travel control information for moving the vehicle B forward. The travel control information includes information on the inter-vehicle distance Ds maintained by the vehicle B moving forward with respect to the vehicle A moving backward. The generation unit 109 transmits the generated instruction to the vehicle B via the communication unit 102 and the inter-vehicle communication device 1. Thereby, as shown in the example of FIG. 3B, the vehicle A moves backward, and the vehicle B moves forward while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance Ds with respect to the moving vehicle A. Further, the vehicle B may acquire the command from the vehicle A and perform the processes of steps S111 to S114 based on its own determination.

  In step S <b> 112, the generation unit 109 generates travel control information for moving the vehicle A forward based on the determination result in step S <b> 110 and outputs the travel control information to the output unit 110. The output unit 110 outputs the travel control information to the autonomous travel control device 6 and returns to step S101. The travel control information includes information on the inter-vehicle distance Ds maintained by the vehicle A moving forward with respect to the vehicle B moving backward. The autonomous traveling control device 6 causes the vehicle A to travel forward according to the traveling control information. The generation unit 109 may generate a command including travel control information for moving the vehicle B backward in addition to the travel control information for moving the vehicle A forward. The generation unit 109 transmits the generated instruction to the vehicle B via the communication unit 102 and the inter-vehicle communication device 1. Thereby, the vehicle B moves backward according to the received command, and the vehicle A moves forward while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance Ds with respect to the moving vehicle B. The autonomous traveling control device 6 detects the distance between the vehicles A and B from the image of the camera of the vehicle A, another sensor (not shown) that detects an object in front of the vehicle A, the position of the vehicle B received from the vehicle B, and the like. May be. Further, the autonomous traveling control device 6 may acquire information on the inter-vehicle distance Ds of the vehicles A and B from the vehicle B.

  In step S113, the information processing apparatus 100 determines whether or not the facing state of the vehicles A and B has been eliminated by the movement of the vehicles A and B. That is, the information processing apparatus 100 determines whether separation of the vehicles A and B is completed. The fact that the facing states of the vehicles A and B have been eliminated means that the facing location is located within the separable section after the end point position PA, or the vehicles A and B are not facing each other. Specifically, as in step S107, the oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 detects whether or not the vehicle B is facing the vehicle A, and the determination unit 107 determines the facing location for the separable section.

  The oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 returns to step S101 if separation is complete (Yes in step S113), and proceeds to step S114 if separation is not complete (No in step S113).

  In step S114, the autonomous traveling control device 6 causes the vehicle A to stand by in a stopped state, and returns to step S113. In other words, the reverse vehicle waits until the separation is completed when the reverse operation is completed.

[1-3. effect]
As described above, when the information processing apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 mounted on at least one of the two vehicles detects the facing state of the two vehicles, the nearest separable section of the vehicle in the backward direction The vehicle having a smaller distance from the vehicle to the opposite location is moved backward, the vehicle having the larger distance is advanced, and the two vehicles are separated in the separable section. That is, the information processing apparatus 100 moves the vehicle closer to the separable section among the two vehicles.

  Moreover, the information processing apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 is mounted on, for example, the vehicle A as the first vehicle. The oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 and the determination unit 107 as the detection unit of the information processing apparatus 100 detect the opposite of the vehicle B as the second vehicle with respect to the vehicle A. The determination unit 107 is a section where the facing location between the vehicle A and the vehicle B is a section where the vehicles can pass each other and is a section before the traveling direction of the vehicle A with respect to the facing position on the travel route of the vehicle A. Determine if it is in the section. Furthermore, the retreat distance acquisition unit 108 as a calculation unit calculates a first distance from the first section to the opposite location. When it is determined that the opposite location is not within the first section, the communication unit 102 transmits the first distance to the vehicle B, and is a section in which the vehicle can pass by the opposite location on the travel route of the vehicle B. On the other hand, the second distance from the second section, which is a section before the traveling direction of the vehicle B, to the opposite location is received from the vehicle B. The generation unit 109 compares the first distance and the second distance, and generates travel control information for moving the vehicle A forward or backward according to the comparison result. The output unit outputs the travel control information to the travel control unit of the vehicle A.

  According to the above configuration, when an opposing state (that is, a confrontation state) between the two vehicles A and B occurs in a section other than a section in which the vehicles can pass each other, a section and an opposite location where the vehicles in the two vehicles A and B can pass each other. The travel of the vehicle A is controlled according to the distance between Thus, unlike the prior art, the forward or backward movement of the vehicles A and B in the opposite state is determined according to the actual travel distance. Thereby, in order to cancel a confrontation state, the distance which vehicles A or B move can be optimized. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently eliminate the facing state of the vehicles A and B. Moreover, the control for eliminating the facing state is also simple. Although the opposite state is canceled through inter-vehicle communication, when the opposite state occurs, the two vehicles A and B exist in the inter-vehicle communication area, so that the smooth opposite state can be eliminated.

[Embodiment 2]
An information processing apparatus 200 according to Embodiment 2 will be described. The information processing apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 determines the vehicle to move backward based on the backward distance from the two vehicles in the opposed state to the nearest separable section. The information processing apparatus 200 according to Embodiment 2 determines a vehicle to move backward based on the number of subsequent vehicles of the two vehicles in the opposite state. In the following, the second embodiment will be described with a focus on differences from the first embodiment.

[2-1. Configuration of information processing apparatus]
A configuration of the information processing apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment and the periphery thereof will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the vehicle A1 including the information processing device 200 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle A1 includes an inter-vehicle communication device 1, a confrontation information acquisition device 2, a map DB 3, a road information acquisition device 4, a host vehicle position measurement device 5, an autonomous travel control device 6, And an information processing apparatus 200. As in the first embodiment, the information processing apparatus 200 includes a management unit 101, a communication unit 102, an oncoming vehicle detection unit 103, a road width acquisition unit 104, a host vehicle position acquisition unit 105, and a separable point acquisition unit. 106, a determination unit 107, a backward distance acquisition unit 108, an output unit 110, and a storage unit 111. Further, the information processing apparatus 200 includes a generation unit 209 and a retreat number acquisition unit 212.

  The reverse number acquisition unit 212 acquires the number of vehicles following the vehicle A1. The reverse number acquisition unit 212 receives the determination result of the facing state between the vehicle A1 and the other vehicle from the determination unit 107 and when a request for the number of the following vehicle is received from the other vehicle facing the vehicle A1. The number of vehicles following the vehicle A1 is calculated. Specifically, the reverse number acquisition unit 212 communicates with a vehicle in the communication area of the inter-vehicle communication device 1 via the communication unit 102 and the inter-vehicle communication device 1, and the number of vehicles following the vehicle and the position of the vehicle And get. The reverse number acquisition unit 212 attempts to communicate with the vehicle, and when there is a reply from the vehicle, requests and acquires the number of vehicles following the vehicle and the position of the vehicle from the vehicle. The reverse number acquisition unit 212 calculates the number of vehicles following the vehicle A1 from the number of vehicles following the vehicle acquired from each vehicle in the inter-vehicle communication area and the position of the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the number of subsequent vehicles sent from each vehicle is a number including the vehicle, but is not limited thereto. Here, the reverse number acquisition unit 212 is an example of a calculation unit.

  For example, only the vehicle B exists in the inter-vehicle communication area of the vehicle A1, only the vehicles A1 and C exist in the inter-vehicle communication area of the vehicle B, and the vehicle B exists in the inter-vehicle communication area of the vehicle C. And D only, and only the vehicles C and E exist in the inter-vehicle communication area of the vehicle D. In this case, the vehicle D acquires the quantity “1” of the following vehicle from the vehicle E. The vehicle C acquires the quantity “2” of the following vehicle from the vehicle D. Furthermore, the vehicle B acquires the quantity “3” of the following vehicle from the vehicle C. Then, the reverse number acquisition unit 212 of the vehicle A1 acquires the quantity “4” of the following vehicle from the vehicle B. In this way, the number of vehicles following the vehicle A1 can be detected by sequentially performing inter-vehicle communication between the vehicles.

  The generation unit 209 acquires the quantity of the following vehicle of the vehicle A1 from the reverse number acquisition unit 212. Furthermore, the generation unit 209 acquires the quantity of the subsequent vehicle from another vehicle facing the vehicle A1. And the production | generation part 209 compares the quantity of the succeeding vehicle of vehicle A1, and the quantity of the succeeding vehicle of another vehicle, and produces | generates the traveling control information for making vehicle A1 move forward or backward according to a comparison result. Specifically, the generation unit 209 generates travel control information that causes the vehicle A1 to move backward when the number of vehicles following the vehicle A1 is smaller. The generation unit 209 generates travel control information for moving the vehicle A1 forward when the number of the following vehicles of the vehicle A1 is larger. The generation unit 209 generates travel control information based on the reverse distance in the same manner as in the first embodiment when the number of the following vehicles of the vehicle A1 and the other vehicle is the same. The generation unit 109 outputs the traveling control information to the output unit 110.

  Moreover, since the structure of the other component of vehicle A1 and the information processing apparatus 200 is the same as that of Embodiment 1, the description is abbreviate | omitted.

[2-2. Operation of information processing apparatus]
The operation of the information processing apparatus 200 according to Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B. Further, in the following, it is assumed that the following vehicle of the vehicle A1, the other vehicle facing the vehicle A1, and the following vehicle can also travel autonomously, and the information processing device similar to the vehicle A1 is mounted. This will be described using. 5A and 5B are flowcharts illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus 200 according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a facing state of the vehicle according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the vehicle for eliminating the facing state according to the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the autonomous traveling control device 6 and the information processing device 200 of the vehicle A1 perform the processes of steps S101 to S107, as with the information processing device 100 according to the first embodiment. In step S107, the determination unit 107 returns to step S101 when the vehicle A1 and the other vehicle are not facing each other (No in step S107), and when the vehicle A1 and the other vehicle are facing each other (Yes in step S107), obtains the determination result of the number of retreats. The data is output to the unit 212, and the process proceeds to step S201.

  In step S201, the reverse number acquisition unit 212 detects vehicles around the vehicle A1. Specifically, the reverse number acquisition unit 212 attempts to communicate with a vehicle in the inter-vehicle communication area via the communication unit 102 and the inter-vehicle communication device 1.

  Next, in step S202, when there is a reply from the vehicle, the reverse number acquisition unit 212 determines that there is a vehicle in the vicinity, and proceeds to step S203 (Yes in step S202). When there is no reply from the vehicle, the reverse number acquisition unit 212 determines that there is no vehicle in the vicinity, and proceeds to step S205 (No in step S202).

  In step S203, the reverse number acquisition unit 212 requests the number of vehicles following the vehicle and the position of the vehicle from the vehicles around the vehicle A1 via the inter-vehicle communication device 1 or the like. The surrounding vehicles may acquire the quantity of the following vehicles by performing the same processing as the processing in steps S201 to S204.

  Next, in step S204, the reverse number acquisition unit 212 calculates the number of vehicles following the vehicle A1. Specifically, the reverse number acquisition unit 212 identifies a vehicle that follows the vehicle A1 in the traveling direction of the vehicle A1 based on the position of the vehicle acquired from each surrounding vehicle. Further, the reverse number acquisition unit 212 calculates the number of vehicles following the vehicle A1 from the number of vehicles following the specified vehicle. The surrounding vehicles transmit the number of subsequent vehicles of the vehicle to the reverse number acquisition unit 212, but the position of each subsequent vehicle may also be transmitted.

  The reverse number acquisition unit 212 may set the subsequent vehicle of all the specified vehicles as the subsequent vehicle of the vehicle A1, and is acquired from all the vehicles within the first predetermined distance from the vehicle A1 of the specified vehicles. The succeeding vehicle may be the succeeding vehicle of the vehicle A1, and all the succeeding vehicles within the second predetermined distance from the vehicle A1 among the succeeding vehicles of all the specified vehicles may be the succeeding vehicles of the vehicle A1.

  Note that the following vehicle may be a vehicle that is stopped after the vehicle, may be a vehicle that is traveling after the vehicle, or may be both vehicles. In a case where a vehicle that is traveling following the vehicle is a target of the subsequent vehicle, the first predetermined distance and the second predetermined distance may be changed according to the speed of the subsequent vehicle. For example, the first predetermined distance and the second predetermined distance may be increased as the speed of the following vehicle increases. The speed of the following vehicle may be obtained together with the quantity of the following vehicle. Further, when the vehicle A1 moves backward to cancel the confrontation state, the number-of-reverses acquisition unit 212 selects the vehicle following the vehicle A1 until the vehicle A1 completes the reverse movement of all the specified vehicles following the vehicle. It is also possible to predict a vehicle that joins the queue, that is, the succeeding vehicle group and stops, and determine the predicted vehicle as the succeeding vehicle of the vehicle A1.

  Next, in step S205, as shown in the example of FIG. 6A, the reverse number acquisition unit 212 determines the number of vehicles following the vehicle A1 with respect to the vehicle B1 facing the vehicle A1, via the inter-vehicle communication device 1 or the like. Send. Further, the reverse number acquisition unit 212 requests the vehicle B1 for the number of vehicles following the vehicle B1 via the inter-vehicle communication device 1 or the like. For example, the reverse number acquisition unit 212 transmits the number “M” of the following vehicle of the vehicle A1 to the vehicle B1, and receives the number “N” of the following vehicle of the vehicle B1 from the vehicle B1. The quantity “M” includes the vehicle A1, and in FIG. 6A, the quantity “1” includes only the vehicle A1. The quantity “N” is a quantity including the vehicle B1, and in FIG. 6B, the quantity “2” includes the vehicle B1 and the subsequent vehicle B2.

  Next, in step S206, the generation unit 109 acquires the number of the following vehicles of the vehicles A1 and B1 from the reverse number acquisition unit 212 and compares them. Further, in step S207, when the quantity of the succeeding vehicle of the vehicle B1, which is an oncoming vehicle, is smaller than the quantity of the succeeding vehicle of the vehicle A1, the generation unit 109 proceeds to step S208 and makes the amount of the succeeding vehicle of the vehicle A1 smaller than the quantity of the succeeding vehicle of the vehicle A1. If the number of the following vehicles of the vehicle B1 is large, the process proceeds to step S209, and if the number of the following vehicles of the vehicles A1 and B1 is the same, the process proceeds to step S210.

  In step S208, as in step S112 in the first embodiment, the generation unit 109 generates travel control information for moving the vehicle A1 forward, and outputs the travel control information to the output unit 110. The output unit 110 outputs the travel control information. Is output to the autonomous traveling control device 6 and the process returns to step S101. The travel control information includes information on the inter-vehicle distance Ds of the vehicles A1 and B1. Furthermore, the generation unit 109 generates a command including travel control information for causing the vehicle following the vehicle A1 to move forward in the same manner as the vehicle A1, and transmits the command to the vehicle following the vehicle A1. Moreover, the production | generation part 109 may produce | generate the command containing the travel control information for making vehicle B1 reverse, and may transmit to vehicle B1. As a result, the vehicle B1 and its subsequent vehicle move backward together, and the vehicle A1 and its subsequent vehicle move forward together while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance Ds between the vehicles A1 and B1.

  In step S209, as in step S111 in the first embodiment, the generation unit 109 generates travel control information for causing the vehicle A1 to move backward, and outputs the travel control information to the output unit 110. The output unit 110 outputs the travel control information. Is output to the autonomous traveling control device 6, and the process proceeds to step S211. Further, the generation unit 109 generates a command including travel control information for causing the vehicle following the vehicle A1 to move backward as in the vehicle A1, and transmits the command to the vehicle following the vehicle A1. Moreover, the production | generation part 109 may produce | generate the instruction | command containing the travel control information for making the vehicle B1 advance. The travel control information includes information on the inter-vehicle distance Ds of the vehicles A1 and B1. As a result, as shown in the example of FIG. 6B, the vehicle A1 and its subsequent vehicle move backward together, and the vehicle B1 and its subsequent vehicle move forward together while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance Ds between the vehicles A1 and B1. The vehicle B1 may acquire the command from the vehicle A1 and perform forward processing based on its own determination.

  Next, in step S211, as in step S113 in the first embodiment, the information processing apparatus 200 determines whether separation of the vehicles A1 and B1 is completed. The separation of the vehicles A1 and B1 is completed when the facing location is located within the separable section after the end point position PA, the vehicles A1 and B1 are not facing each other, or the vehicle A1 and its subsequent vehicles and the vehicle B1 and its subsequent vehicles are located within the separable section.

  Next, in step S212, as in step S114 in the first embodiment, autonomous traveling control device 6 causes vehicle A1 and its subsequent vehicles to stand by in a stopped state, and returns to step S117. That is, when the backward movement is completed, the vehicle A1 that has moved backward and its subsequent vehicle wait until the separation is completed.

  In step S210, similarly to step S108 in the first embodiment, the backward distance acquisition unit 108 refers to the information of the separable section in the storage unit 111 to identify the separable section closest to the vehicle A1. . Further, the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 calculates the reverse distance of the vehicle A1, which is the distance from the vehicle A1 to the end point position of the separable section, and transmits it to the vehicle B1. Further, the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 receives the reverse distance of the vehicle B1 from the vehicle B1.

  The subsequent processes in steps S213 to S218 are the same as the processes in steps S109 to S114 in the first embodiment, respectively.

[2-3. Operation of the following vehicle]
The operation of the information processing apparatus for vehicles following the vehicles A1 and B1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation flow of the information processing apparatus for the following vehicle according to the second embodiment. In the following, a processing example of the subsequent vehicle Ak (k = 2,..., M) of the vehicle A1 will be described. However, the processing of the subsequent vehicle of the vehicle B1 is the same as that of the subsequent vehicle Ak. Omitted. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the information processing apparatus of the following vehicle Ak performs the processes of steps S2201 to S2203 in the same manner as steps S101 to S103 of the information processing apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1.

  In step S2204, the information processing apparatus of the subsequent vehicle Ak receives the inter-vehicle communication from the surrounding vehicles in the inter-vehicle communication area. Next, in step S2205, the information processing apparatus of the subsequent vehicle Ak determines whether or not a request for the quantity of the subsequent vehicle of the subsequent vehicle Ak has been received from surrounding vehicles. If the information processing apparatus has received a request (Yes in step S2205), the process proceeds to step S2206. If the request has not been received (No in step S2205), the process returns to step S2201.

  In step S2206, as in step S201 in the second embodiment, the information processing apparatus for the subsequent vehicle Ak detects vehicles around the subsequent vehicle Ak. Specifically, the information processing apparatus tries inter-vehicle communication with a vehicle in the inter-vehicle communication area. Further, in step S2207, as in step S202 in the second embodiment, when there is a reply from the vehicle, the information processing apparatus of the following vehicle Ak determines that there is a vehicle in the vicinity, and proceeds to step S2208 (step S2207). Yes). If there is no reply from the vehicle, the information processing apparatus determines that there is no vehicle in the vicinity, and proceeds to step S2210 (No in step S2207).

  In step S2208, as in step S203 in the second embodiment, the information processing apparatus for the subsequent vehicle Ak transmits the number of the subsequent vehicle and the position of the vehicle to the surrounding vehicles via inter-vehicle communication. To request.

  Next, in step S2209, as in step S204 in the second embodiment, the information processing apparatus for the subsequent vehicle Ak calculates the quantity of the subsequent vehicle Ak. Specifically, the information processing apparatus for the succeeding vehicle Ak identifies the vehicle that follows the succeeding vehicle Ak based on the position of the vehicle acquired from each surrounding vehicle, and uses the number of the succeeding vehicles of the identified vehicle. Then, the number of vehicles following the following vehicle Ak is calculated.

  Next, in step S2210, as in step S205 in the second embodiment, the information processing device for the subsequent vehicle Ak sets the quantity of the subsequent vehicle to surrounding vehicles including the preceding vehicle of the subsequent vehicle Ak via inter-vehicle communication. Send.

[2-4. effect]
As described above, when the information processing apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment mounted on at least one of the two vehicles detects the facing state of the two vehicles, the information processing device 200 moves backward the vehicle with fewer following vehicles. The vehicle having more following vehicles is advanced, and the two vehicles and their subsequent vehicles are separated in the separable section. Furthermore, when the number of the following vehicles of the two vehicles is the same, the information processing device 200 performs the same process as in Embodiment 1 in which the vehicle closer to the separable section is moved backward, thereby performing the process in the separable section. Separate two vehicles and their successors.

  Moreover, the information processing apparatus 200 according to Embodiment 2 is mounted on, for example, the vehicle A1 as the first vehicle. In such an information processing device 200, the generation unit 209 compares the number of vehicles following the vehicle A1 with the number of vehicles following the vehicle B1, and travel control for moving the vehicle A1 forward or backward according to the comparison result. Generate information. According to the above configuration, when the facing state (that is, the facing state) of the two vehicles A1 and B1 occurs outside the section where the vehicles can pass each other, the vehicle A1 depends on the number of vehicles following the two vehicles A1 and B1. Is controlled. Thus, unlike the prior art, the forward or backward movement of each of the facing vehicles A1 and B1 is determined according to the number of vehicles to be actually moved. Thereby, in order to cancel the confrontation state of vehicles A1 and B1, the number of vehicles moved can be optimized. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently eliminate the facing state of the vehicles A1 and B1.

  In the information processing apparatus 200 according to Embodiment 2, the generation unit 209 indicates that the number of the following vehicles of the vehicle A1 and the number of the following vehicles of the vehicle B1 are the same as the first distance and the second The distance is compared, and travel control information for moving the vehicle A1 forward or backward according to the comparison result is generated. The first distance is the distance from the separable section that is in front of the opposite direction to the traveling direction of the vehicle A1 to the opposite location, and the second distance is in front of the opposite direction of the traveling direction of the vehicle B1. This is the distance from the separable section to the opposite location. According to the above configuration, the forward or backward movement of the vehicle A1 can be determined even when the number of vehicles to be moved is the same.

[Embodiment 3]
An information processing apparatus 300 according to Embodiment 3 will be described. The information processing apparatus 200 according to Embodiment 2 determines the vehicle to move backward based on the number of subsequent vehicles of the two vehicles in the facing state. The information processing apparatus 300 according to Embodiment 3 determines a vehicle to move backward based on the backward distance from the two vehicles in the opposed state to the nearest separable section and the number of subsequent vehicles. In the following, the third embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the first and second embodiments.

[3-1. Configuration of information processing apparatus]
A configuration of the information processing apparatus 300 according to the third embodiment and its periphery will be described. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the vehicle A1 including the information processing device 300 according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the vehicle A1 includes an inter-vehicle communication device 1, a confrontation information acquisition device 2, a map DB 3, a road information acquisition device 4, a host vehicle position measurement device 5, an autonomous travel control device 6, And an information processing apparatus 300. As in the second embodiment, the information processing apparatus 300 includes a management unit 101, a communication unit 102, an oncoming vehicle detection unit 103, a road width acquisition unit 104, a host vehicle position acquisition unit 105, and a separable point acquisition unit. 106, a determination unit 107, a reverse distance acquisition unit 108, an output unit 110, a storage unit 111, and a reverse number acquisition unit 212. Further, the information processing apparatus 300 includes a generation unit 309.

  The generation unit 309 acquires the reverse distance of the vehicle A1 from the reverse distance acquisition unit 108, and acquires the reverse distance from another vehicle facing the vehicle A1. Furthermore, the generation unit 309 acquires the number of subsequent vehicles of the vehicle A1 from the reverse number acquisition unit 212, and acquires the number of subsequent vehicles from other vehicles facing the vehicle A1. Then, the generation unit 309 performs a comparison based on the backward distance of the vehicle A1, the backward distance of the other vehicle, the quantity of the subsequent vehicle of the vehicle A1, and the quantity of the subsequent vehicle of the other vehicle, and according to the comparison result, Travel control information for moving the vehicle A1 forward or backward is generated. Specifically, the generation unit 109 compares the first product, which is the product of the backward distance of the vehicle A1 and the number of the following vehicle of the vehicle A1, and the backward distance of the other vehicle and the number of the following vehicle of the other vehicle as the comparison. Use a comparison with a second product that is the product of. When the first product is smaller than the second product, the generation unit 309 generates travel control information that causes the vehicle A1 to move backward. When the first product is larger than the second product, the generation unit 309 generates travel control information for moving the vehicle A1 forward. When the first product and the second product are the same, the generation unit 309 generates travel control information based on the reverse distance as in the first embodiment. The generation unit 309 outputs the travel control information to the output unit 110.

  Moreover, since the structure of the other component of vehicle A1 and the information processing apparatus 300 is the same as that of Embodiment 2, the description is abbreviate | omitted.

[3-2. Operation of information processing apparatus]
The operation of the information processing apparatus 300 according to Embodiment 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9A and 9B. Further, in the following, it is assumed that the following vehicle of the vehicle A1, the other vehicle facing the vehicle A1, and its succeeding vehicle can also travel autonomously and is equipped with the same information processing device as the vehicle A1. This will be described using. 9A and 9B are flowcharts illustrating an example of the operation flow of the information processing apparatus 300 according to Embodiment 3. FIG. 10A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a facing state of the vehicle according to the third embodiment. FIG. 10B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the vehicle for eliminating the facing state according to the third embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the autonomous traveling control device 6 and the information processing device 300 of the vehicle A1 perform the processes of steps S101 to S107 as in the information processing device 100 according to the first embodiment. In step S107, the determination unit 107 returns to step S101 if the vehicle A1 and the other vehicle are not in a facing state (No in step S107), and if the vehicle A1 and the other vehicle are in a facing state (Yes in step S107), obtains the determination result of the backward distance. Output to the unit 108 and the backward number acquisition unit 212, and the process proceeds to step S301.

  In step S301, similar to step S108 in the first embodiment, the backward distance acquisition unit 108 refers to the information of the separable section in the storage unit 111, and thus faces the vehicle B1 as illustrated in the example of FIG. 10A. The separation possible section closest to the running vehicle A1 is specified. Further, the retreat distance acquisition unit 108 detects the end point position PA of the specified separable section. Furthermore, the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 calculates the distance DA from the vehicle A1 to the end point position PA of the separable section as the reverse distance of the vehicle A1, and outputs the calculated distance DA to the generation unit 309. The distance DA is also the distance from the opposite location of the vehicles A1 and B1 to the end point position PA.

  Next, in each of steps S302 to S305, the backward number acquisition unit 212 performs the same processing as steps S201 to S204 in the second embodiment. Thereby, the reverse number acquisition unit 212 calculates the number of vehicles following the vehicle A1 and outputs the calculated number to the generation unit 309. For example, as shown in the example of FIG. 10A, the reverse number acquisition unit 212 outputs the quantity “M (M = 4)” of the following vehicles A1 to A4 of the vehicle A1.

  Next, in step S306, the generation unit 309 calculates a first product that is a product of the backward distance of the vehicle A1 and the number of vehicles following the vehicle A1. And the production | generation part 309 transmits a 1st product via the vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus 1 grade | etc., With respect to vehicle B1 facing vehicle A1. Furthermore, the generation unit 309 requests the vehicle B1 for a second product, which is a product of the backward distance of the vehicle B1 and the number of vehicles following the vehicle B1, via the inter-vehicle communication device 1 or the like. For example, as illustrated in the example of FIG. 10A, the generation unit 309 transmits the first product “DA × M” to the vehicle B1, and receives the second product “DB × N” from the vehicle B1. To do. “DB” is the backward distance of the vehicle B1, and “N” is the quantity of the following vehicles B1 to B3 of the vehicle B1.

  Next, in step S307, the generation unit 309 compares the first product and the second product. Further, in step S308, when the second product of the vehicle B1 that is the oncoming vehicle is smaller than the first product of the vehicle A1, the generation unit 309 proceeds to step S309. If the second product is larger than the first product, the generation unit 309 proceeds to step S310. If the first product and the second product are the same, the generation unit 309 proceeds to step S311.

  In step S309, the generation unit 309 performs processing similar to that in step S208 in the second embodiment. Thereby, as shown in the example of FIG. 10B, the vehicles B1 to B3 move backward together, and the vehicles A1 to A4 move forward together while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance Ds between the vehicles A1 and B1.

  In each of steps S310, S312 and S313, the generation unit 309 performs the same processing as steps S209, S211 and S212 in the second embodiment. In step S310, the vehicles A1 to A4 move backward together, and the vehicles B1 to B3 move forward together while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance Ds between the vehicles A1 and B1.

  In step S311, similarly to step S213 in the second embodiment, the generation unit 309 compares the backward distance DA of the vehicle A1 and the backward distance DB of the vehicle B1. If the generation unit 309 determines that the backward distance DA of the vehicle A1 is shorter than the backward distance DB of the vehicle B1 (Yes in step S314), the generation unit 309 proceeds to step S316, and if not determined (No in step S314), The process proceeds to step S315.

  In each of steps S315 to S318, generation unit 309 performs the same processing as steps S215 to S218 in the second embodiment.

[3-3. effect]
As described above, when the information processing device 300 according to the third embodiment mounted on at least one of the two vehicles detects the facing state between the vehicle A1 and the vehicle B1, the information processing device 300 moves backward to the nearest separable section. A vehicle having a smaller product of the distance and the number of following vehicles is moved backward, a vehicle having the larger product is moved forward, and the two vehicles A1 and B1 and their subsequent vehicles are separated in the separable section. Further, when the above products are the same, the information processing apparatus 300 performs the same processing as in the first embodiment for moving the vehicle closer to the separable section, so that the two vehicles A1 and B1 and Separate those following vehicles. The operation of the following vehicle in the third embodiment is the same as that in the second embodiment.

  Moreover, the information processing apparatus 300 according to Embodiment 3 is mounted on, for example, the vehicle A1 as the first vehicle. In such an information processing device 300, the generation unit 309 performs a comparison based on the first distance, the number of the following vehicles of the vehicle A1, the second distance, and the number of the following vehicles of the vehicle B1, and travel control according to the comparison result. Generate information. The first distance is the distance from the separable section that is in front of the facing direction of the vehicle A1 to the facing location to the facing location, and the second distance is in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle B1 with respect to the facing location. This is the distance from the separable section to the opposite location.

  According to the above configuration, the traveling of the vehicle A1 is controlled not only according to the moving distance of the vehicle but also according to the number of vehicles to be moved. Thereby, in order to cancel the confrontation state of vehicles A1 and B1, the number of vehicles which move can be optimized. In other words, it is possible to eliminate the confrontation state in consideration of the situation of the following vehicle. In addition, since there are more factors to consider for eliminating the facing state, it is possible to increase the number of facing states that can be efficiently handled.

  In the information processing apparatus 300 according to Embodiment 3, the generation unit 309 compares the product of the first distance and the number of the following vehicles of the vehicle A1 with the product of the second distance and the number of the following vehicles of the vehicle B1. The travel control information is generated according to the comparison result. According to the said structure, driving | running | working of vehicle A1 is controlled according to the pseudo | simulated movement amount of the vehicle group moved. Thereby, the movement amount of the vehicle for eliminating the facing state of the vehicles A1 and B1 can be optimized to some extent. In other words, it is possible to cancel the facing state in consideration of the moving distance for canceling the facing state and the situation of the following vehicle. Moreover, the confrontation state which can respond efficiently can be increased.

[Embodiment 4]
An information processing apparatus 400 according to Embodiment 4 will be described. The information processing apparatus 300 according to Embodiment 3 determines the vehicle to move backward based on the backward distance from the two vehicles in the opposed state to the nearest separable section and the quantity of the following vehicles. The information processing apparatus 400 according to Embodiment 4 includes the sum of the reverse distances from the first vehicle and each of its subsequent vehicles to the nearest separable section, the second vehicle, Based on the sum of the retreat distances from each of the succeeding vehicles to the nearest separable section, the vehicle to retreat is determined. In the following, the fourth embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the first to third embodiments.

[4-1. Configuration of information processing apparatus]
The configuration of the information processing apparatus 400 according to the fourth embodiment and its surroundings will be described. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the vehicle A1 including the information processing apparatus 400 according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 11, the vehicle A1 includes an inter-vehicle communication device 1, a confrontation information acquisition device 2, a map DB 3, a road information acquisition device 4, a host vehicle position measurement device 5, an autonomous travel control device 6, And an information processing apparatus 400. As in the third embodiment, the information processing apparatus 400 includes a management unit 101, a communication unit 102, an oncoming vehicle detection unit 103, a road width acquisition unit 104, a host vehicle position acquisition unit 105, and a separable point acquisition unit. 106, a determination unit 107, a backward distance acquisition unit 108, an output unit 110, and a storage unit 111. Further, the information processing apparatus 300 includes a generation unit 409 and a backward distance sum calculation unit 413.

  The retreat distance sum calculation unit 413 calculates the sum of the distances between the vehicle A1 and the succeeding vehicle, that is, the retreat distance sum of the vehicle A1, on the route along which the vehicle A1 has traveled. calculate. In the present embodiment, the distance is a physical distance such as a distance from a vehicle to a separable section. The reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 receives the determination result of the facing state between the vehicle A1 and the other vehicle from the determination unit 107 and when a request for the backward distance sum is received from the other vehicle facing the vehicle A1. The sum of the backward distances of the vehicle A1 is calculated. Here, the backward distance sum calculation unit 413 is an example of a calculation unit.

  Specifically, the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 acquires, from the storage unit 111, the end point position of the separable section closest to the position of the vehicle A1 on the route on which the vehicle A1 has traveled. The reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 communicates with the vehicle in the inter-vehicle communication area, and when there is a reply from the vehicle, transmits the end point position to the vehicle. Further, the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 requests the vehicle to acquire the reverse distance sum that is the sum of the distances between the vehicle and its subsequent vehicles and the end point position, and the position of the vehicle. The reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 specifies the vehicle that follows the vehicle A1 and the sum of the reverse distances from the position of the vehicle acquired from each vehicle in the inter-vehicle communication area. The backward distance sum calculation unit 413 calculates the backward distance sum of the vehicle A1 by adding the backward distance that is the distance between the vehicle A1 and the end point position to the backward distance sum of the following vehicle.

  In the above configuration, the following vehicle of the vehicle A1 calculates the sum of the backward distances and transmits the sum to the vehicle A1, but the backward distance sum calculating unit 413 of the vehicle A1 includes the following vehicles of the vehicle A1 and the end point. The backward distance sum of the following vehicle may be acquired by calculating the distance to the position and calculating the sum thereof. In this case, the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 acquires the positions of the vehicle and the subsequent vehicle of the vehicle from the vehicles in the inter-vehicle communication area. Further, the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 identifies the vehicle following the vehicle A1 and the position thereof from the position of the vehicle and the subsequent vehicle. Then, the backward distance sum calculation unit 413 calculates the distance between the position of each of the vehicle A1 and its subsequent vehicles and the end point position of the separable section, and calculates the sum of the distances as the backward distance sum.

  In the above configuration, the reverse distance sum is the sum of the distances between the positions of the vehicle A1 and its subsequent vehicles and the end point position of the separable section, but is not limited thereto. For example, the sum of the retreat distances may be a sum of distances in which the vehicle A1 and its succeeding vehicles actually retreat within the separable section in order to eliminate the confrontation state. In this case, each vehicle transmits the full length of the vehicle to another vehicle via inter-vehicle communication. The vehicle A1 and its subsequent vehicles can calculate the distance that the vehicle actually moves back in the separable section by adding the total length of each vehicle preceding the vehicle to the distance between the vehicle and the end point position. Good.

  The generation unit 409 acquires the reverse distance sum of the vehicle A1 from the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413. Furthermore, the production | generation part 409 acquires the backward distance sum of the said vehicle from the other vehicle facing the vehicle A1 via vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Then, the generation unit 409 compares the backward distance sum of the vehicle A1 with the backward distance sum of the other vehicle, and generates traveling control information for moving the vehicle A1 forward or backward according to the comparison result. Specifically, the generation unit 409 generates travel control information for moving the vehicle A1 backward when the sum of the backward distances of the vehicle A1 is smaller. The generation unit 409 generates travel control information for moving the vehicle A1 forward when the sum of the backward distances of the vehicle A1 is larger. When the sum of the reverse distances of the vehicle A1 and the other vehicle is the same, the generation unit 409 generates travel control information based on the reverse distance of the vehicle A1 and the other vehicle, as in the first embodiment. The generation unit 409 outputs the travel control information to the output unit 110.

  Moreover, since the structure of the other component of vehicle A1 and the information processing apparatus 400 is the same as that of Embodiment 3, the description is abbreviate | omitted.

[4-2. Operation of information processing apparatus]
The operation of the information processing apparatus 400 according to Embodiment 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 12A and 12B. Further, in the following, it is assumed that the following vehicle of the vehicle A1, the other vehicle facing the vehicle A1, and its succeeding vehicle can also travel autonomously and is equipped with the same information processing device as the vehicle A1. This will be described using. 12A and 12B are flowcharts illustrating an example of the operation flow of the information processing apparatus 400 according to Embodiment 4. FIG. 13A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a facing state of the vehicle according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the vehicle for eliminating the facing state according to the fourth embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the autonomous traveling control device 6 and the information processing device 400 of the vehicle A1 perform the processes of steps S101 to S107, as with the information processing device 100 according to the first embodiment. In step S107, the determination unit 107 returns to step S101 when the vehicle A1 and the other vehicle are not in the facing state (No in step S107), and returns to the sum of the retreat distances when in the facing state (Yes in step S107). The calculation is output to the calculation unit 413, and the process proceeds to step S401.

  In step S401, as in step S108 in the first embodiment, the backward distance acquisition unit 108, as shown in the example of FIG. 13A, the end point position PA of the separable section closest to the vehicle A1 facing the vehicle B1. The distance between the vehicle A1 and the vehicle A1 is calculated as the reverse distance of the vehicle A1 and output to the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413. This distance is also the distance from the opposite location of the vehicles A1 and B1 to the end point position PA.

  In step S402, similar to step S201 in the second embodiment, the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 detects vehicles around the vehicle A1 via inter-vehicle communication. Next, in step S403, when there is a reply from the vehicle (Yes in step S403), the backward distance sum calculation unit 413 proceeds to step S404, and there is no reply from the vehicle, as in step S202 in the second embodiment. If (No in step S403), the process proceeds to step S406.

  In step S404, the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 requests a vehicle around the vehicle A1 for the sum of the reverse distances of the vehicle via inter-vehicle communication. Specifically, the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 transmits the end point position PA of the separable section closest to the vehicle A1 to the vehicles around the vehicle A1, and then the reverse distance sum of the vehicle and the vehicle Request the position of. The surrounding vehicles may calculate the sum of the backward distances of the vehicles by performing the same processing as the processing in steps S401 to S405.

  Next, in step S405, the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 acquires the reverse distance sum of the vehicle and the position of the vehicle from the vehicles in the inter-vehicle communication area. Further, the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 specifies a vehicle following the vehicle A based on the acquired position of each vehicle. The reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 calculates the reverse distance sum of the following vehicle of the vehicle A1 from the specified backward distance sum of the vehicle. For example, as shown in the example of FIG. 13A, the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 calculates the reverse distance sum of the following vehicles A2 to A4 of the vehicle A1.

  Next, in step S406, the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 calculates the sum of the reverse distance of the vehicle A1 by adding the reverse distance of the vehicle A1 acquired in step S401 to the reverse distance sum of the subsequent vehicles A2 to A4. To do. Note that when the succeeding vehicle of the vehicle A1 is not detected such that there is no response from the vehicle in step S403, the backward distance sum of the vehicle A1 is the backward distance of the vehicle A1.

  Next, in step S407, the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 transmits the reverse distance sum of the vehicle A1 to the vehicle B1 facing the vehicle A1 via inter-vehicle communication. Further, the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 requests the vehicle B1 for the sum of the reverse distances of the vehicle B1 via inter-vehicle communication. As shown in the example of FIG. 13A, the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 transmits the sum of the reverse distances of the vehicles A1 to A4 to the vehicle B1, and calculates the sum of the reverse distances of the vehicles B1 to B3 from the vehicle B1. Receive. The backward distance sum calculation unit 413 outputs the backward distance sums of the vehicles A1 and B1 to the generation unit 409.

  Next, in step S408, the generation unit 409 compares the backward distance sums of the vehicles A1 and B1. Furthermore, in step S409, the generation unit 409 proceeds to step S410 when the backward distance sum of the oncoming vehicle B1 is smaller than the sum of the backward distances of the vehicle A1. The generation unit 409 proceeds to Step S411 when the backward distance sum of the vehicle B1 is larger than the backward distance sum of the vehicle A1. When the sum of the backward distances of the vehicles A1 and B1 is the same, the generation unit 409 proceeds to step S412.

  In step S410, the generation unit 409 performs processing similar to that in step S208 in the second embodiment. Thereby, as shown in the example of FIG. 13B, the vehicles B1 to B3 move backward together, and the vehicles A1 to A4 move forward together while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance Ds between the vehicles A1 and B1.

  In each of steps S411, S413, and S414, the generation unit 409 performs the same processing as steps S209, S211 and S212 in the second embodiment. In step S411, the vehicles A1 to A4 move backward together, and the vehicles B1 to B3 move forward together while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance Ds between the vehicles A1 and B1.

  Further, in step S412, as in step S210 in the second embodiment, the generation unit 409 acquires the backward distance of the vehicle A1 and the backward distance of the vehicle B1. Furthermore, the generation unit 409 performs the same processes as steps S213 to S218 in the second embodiment in steps S415 to S420.

[4-3. Operation of the following vehicle]
The operation of the information processing apparatus for vehicles following the vehicles A1 and B1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus for the following vehicle according to the fourth embodiment. In the following, a processing example of the subsequent vehicle Ak (k = 2,..., M) of the vehicle A1 will be described. However, the processing of the subsequent vehicle of the vehicle B1 is the same as that of the subsequent vehicle Ak. Omitted. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the information processing apparatus of the subsequent vehicle Ak performs the processes of steps S4201 to S4203 in the same manner as steps S2201 to S2013 of the information processing apparatus of the subsequent vehicle Ak according to the second embodiment.

  In step S4204, the information processing apparatus of the subsequent vehicle Ak receives the inter-vehicle communication from the surrounding vehicles in the inter-vehicle communication area. Next, in step S4205, the information processing apparatus of the subsequent vehicle Ak determines whether or not a request for the sum of the backward distances of the subsequent vehicle Ak has been received from surrounding vehicles. If the information processing apparatus has received the request (Yes in step S4205), the process proceeds to step S4206. In this case, in step S4202, the information processing apparatus acquires the end point position of the separable section that is the destination for obtaining the backward distance of the vehicle. If the request has not been received (No in step S4205), the information processing apparatus returns to step S4201.

  In step S4206, as in step S2206 in the second embodiment, the information processing apparatus for the subsequent vehicle Ak detects vehicles around the subsequent vehicle Ak. Further, in step S4207, as in step S2202 in the second embodiment, when there is a reply from the vehicle, the information processing apparatus determines that there is a vehicle in the vicinity, and proceeds to step S4208 (Yes in step S4207). . If there is no reply from the vehicle, the information processing apparatus determines that there is no vehicle in the vicinity, and proceeds to step S4210 (No in step S4207).

  In step S4208, the information processing apparatus of the subsequent vehicle Ak requests the surrounding vehicle via the inter-vehicle communication for the sum of the backward distance of the vehicle with respect to the end point position and the position of the vehicle. Next, in step S4209, as in step S405 in the fourth embodiment, the information processing apparatus for the following vehicle Ak acquires the backward distance sum of the surrounding vehicles and the position of the vehicle, and the backward distance sum of each vehicle and Based on the position, the backward distance sum of the vehicle following the subsequent vehicle Ak is calculated.

  Next, in step S4210, as in step S401 in the fourth embodiment, the information processing apparatus for the subsequent vehicle Ak calculates the backward position of the subsequent vehicle Ak, which is the distance between the subsequent vehicle Ak and the end point position.

  Next, in step S4211, similarly to step S406 in the fourth embodiment, the information processing apparatus for the subsequent vehicle Ak adds the backward position of the subsequent vehicle Ak to the backward distance sum of the vehicle following the subsequent vehicle Ak. Then, the backward distance sum of the following vehicle Ak is calculated. Further, similarly to step S2210 in the second embodiment, the information processing apparatus for the subsequent vehicle Ak transmits the backward distance sum of the subsequent vehicle Ak to the surrounding vehicles including the preceding vehicle of the subsequent vehicle Ak via inter-vehicle communication. To do.

[4-4. effect]
As described above, when information processing apparatus 400 according to Embodiment 4 mounted on at least one of the two vehicles detects the facing state between vehicle A1 and vehicle B1, the vehicle up to the nearest separable section In addition, the vehicle having the smaller sum of the backward distances of the following vehicles is moved backward, the vehicle having the larger sum of the backward distances is advanced, and the two vehicles A1 and B1 and their subsequent vehicles are separated in the separable section. Further, when the sum of the retreat distances is the same, the information processing apparatus 400 performs the same processing as that of the first embodiment for retreating a vehicle closer to the separable section, so that the two vehicles A1 and B1 and those following vehicles are separated.

  Moreover, the information processing apparatus 400 which concerns on Embodiment 4 is mounted in vehicle A1 as a 1st vehicle, for example. In such an information processing apparatus 400, the reverse distance sum calculation unit 413 calculates the third distance from the vehicle following the vehicle A1 to the first section using information acquired from the vehicle following the vehicle A1. The communication unit 102 transmits the third distance to the vehicle B1 facing the vehicle A, and receives the fourth distance from the vehicle B1 to the second section from the vehicle following the vehicle B1. The generation unit 409 compares the sum of the first distance and the third distance with the sum of the second distance and the fourth distance, and generates travel control information according to the comparison result. The first distance is the distance from the first section that can be separated from the opposite location in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle A1 to the opposite location, and the second distance is the traveling direction of the vehicle B1 relative to the opposite location. This is the distance from the separable second section in front to the opposite location.

  According to the said structure, driving | running | working of vehicle A1 is controlled according to the exact moving amount | distance of the vehicle group moved. Thereby, the movement amount of the vehicle for eliminating the facing state of the vehicles A1 and B1 can be made more appropriate. In other words, by using the sum of distances, it is possible to efficiently eliminate the confrontation state even if the inter-vehicle distances of the following vehicles are not uniform. Moreover, the confrontation state which can respond efficiently can be increased.

[Embodiment 5]
An information processing apparatus 500 according to Embodiment 5 will be described. The information processing apparatus 200 according to Embodiment 2 determines the vehicle to move backward based on the number of subsequent vehicles of the two vehicles in the facing state. The information processing apparatus 500 according to Embodiment 5 determines a vehicle to move backward based on the length of the nearest separable section from each of the two vehicles in the facing state. In the following, the fifth embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the first to fourth embodiments.

[5-1. Configuration of information processing apparatus]
The configuration of the information processing apparatus 500 according to the fifth embodiment and its periphery will be described. FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the vehicle A1 including the information processing apparatus 500 according to the fifth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 15, the vehicle A1 includes an inter-vehicle communication device 1, a confrontation information acquisition device 2, a map DB 3, a road information acquisition device 4, a host vehicle position measurement device 5, an autonomous travel control device 6, And an information processing apparatus 500. As in the second embodiment, the information processing apparatus 500 includes a management unit 101, a communication unit 102, an oncoming vehicle detection unit 103, a road width acquisition unit 104, a host vehicle position acquisition unit 105, a determination unit 107, An output unit 110 and a storage unit 111 are included. Further, the information processing apparatus 500 includes a generation unit 509, a separable section acquisition unit 514, and a section distance acquisition unit 515.

  The separable section acquisition unit 514 is similar to the separable point acquisition unit 106 in the first embodiment. The separable section acquisition unit 514 uses the road width information acquired from the road width acquisition unit 104 or the storage unit 111 to acquire a separable section from the travel route that is the road on which the vehicle A1 has traveled. The separable section obtaining unit 514 compares the road width acquired at predetermined time intervals while the vehicle A1 is traveling or stopped with a preset separable width. The separable section obtaining unit 514 changes the position of the end point, which is a point where the road width changes from a separable width to a non-separable width, and the road width changes from a non-separable width to a separable width. The position of the start point which is a point is detected, and the section from the start point to the end point is determined as a separable section. Note that the separable section acquisition unit 514 may compare the road width of the travel route of the vehicle A1 and the separable width using the map information of the map DB3. The separable section acquisition unit 514 stores the start point position and end point position of the separable section in the storage unit 111.

  Furthermore, the separable section acquisition unit 514 acquires the current position of the vehicle A <b> 1 from the own vehicle position acquisition unit 105 when acquiring information on the facing state of the vehicle A <b> 1 from the determination unit 107. Then, the separable section acquisition unit 514 extracts the separable section nearest from the current position of the vehicle A1 on the route along which the vehicle A1 traveled from the storage unit 111, and obtains the start point position and the end point position of the separable section. It outputs to the section distance acquisition part 515.

  The section distance acquisition unit 515 calculates the distance between the start point position and the end point position, that is, the length of the separable section, from the start point position and end point position of the separable section. The section distance acquisition unit 515 may calculate the travel distance of the vehicle A1 between the start point position and the end point position. For example, the section distance acquisition unit 515 may calculate the travel distance using information such as an odometer of the vehicle A1 and map information of the map DE3. In addition, the section distance acquisition part 515 gives the information which shows being excluded from the separable section when the length of the separable section is below a predetermined length, so that the separable section of the storage unit 111 The information may be updated. In addition, the section distance acquisition unit 515 acquires the length of the nearest separable section from the other vehicle via the communication unit 102 and the inter-vehicle communication device 1 from the other vehicle of the vehicle A1. The latest separable section from another vehicle is a separable section nearest from the current position of the other vehicle on the route traveled by the other vehicle. The section distance acquisition unit 515 outputs the length of the section where the vehicle A1 and other vehicles can be separated to the generation unit 509. Here, the section distance acquisition unit 515 is an example of a calculation unit.

  The generation unit 509 compares the length of the separable section of the vehicle A1 with the length of the separable section of the other vehicle, and generates travel control information for moving the vehicle A1 forward or backward according to the comparison result. Specifically, the generation unit 509 generates travel control information for moving the vehicle A1 backward when the length of the separable section of the vehicle A1 is larger, and generates travel control information for moving the vehicle A1 otherwise. To do. The generation unit 509 outputs the travel control information to the output unit 110.

  Moreover, since the structure of the other component of vehicle A1 and the information processing apparatus 500 is the same as that of Embodiment 2, the description is abbreviate | omitted.

[5-2. Operation of information processing apparatus]
The operation of the information processing apparatus 500 according to Embodiment 5 will be described with reference to FIG. Further, in the following, it is assumed that the following vehicle of the vehicle A1, the other vehicle facing the vehicle A1, and the following vehicle can also travel autonomously, and the information processing device similar to the vehicle A1 is mounted. This will be described using. FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus 500 according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 17A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a facing state of the vehicle according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 17B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the vehicle for eliminating the facing state according to the fifth embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 16, the autonomous traveling control device 6 and the information processing device 500 of the vehicle A <b> 1 perform the same processes of steps S <b> 101 to S <b> 104 as in the first embodiment.

  Next, in step S501, the separable section acquisition unit 514 determines that the road width acquired from the road width acquisition unit 104 or the storage unit 111 has changed from a separable width to a non-separable width, or is not separable. It is determined whether the width has changed from a proper width to a separable width. The separable section acquisition unit 514 proceeds to step S502 when the road width changes from the separable width to the non-separable width. The separable section acquisition unit 514 proceeds to step S503 when the road width changes from a width that cannot be segregated to a width that can be segregated. When the road width does not change any of the above, the separable section acquisition unit 514 proceeds to step S504.

  In step S502, the separable section acquisition unit 514 acquires the position of the vehicle A1 when the road width has changed from the separable width to the non-separable width from the host vehicle position acquisition unit 105, That is, it is stored in the storage unit 111 as the end point position of the separable section. The separable section acquisition unit 514 proceeds to step S504.

  In step S503, the separable section obtaining unit 514 obtains the position of the vehicle A1 when the road width has changed from the non-separable width to the separable width from the own vehicle position obtaining unit 105, the separable point, That is, it is stored in the storage unit 111 as the start point position of the separable section. The separable section acquisition unit 514 proceeds to step S504.

  In step S504, the oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 and the determination unit 107 determine whether the vehicle A1 is in a facing state with another vehicle, as in step S107 of the first embodiment. In the example of FIG. 17A, the oncoming vehicle detection unit 103 and the determination unit 107 determine that the vehicle A1 is facing the vehicle B1. If the determination unit 107 is in the facing state (Yes in Step S504), the determination unit 107 proceeds to Step S505. If not in the facing state (No in Step S504), the determination unit 107 returns to Step S101.

  In step S505, the separable section acquisition unit 514 acquires the current position of the vehicle A1 from the own vehicle position acquisition unit 105, and the start position of the separable section closest to the current position of the vehicle A1 on the route traveled by the vehicle A1. The end point position is extracted from the storage unit 111. The section distance acquisition unit 515 calculates the length of the separable section using the start point position and end point position. In addition, the section distance acquisition unit 515 acquires the length of the nearest separable section from the vehicle via the inter-vehicle communication from the vehicle facing the vehicle A1. As shown in the example of FIG. 17A, the section distance acquisition unit 515 calculates the length Dpa of the section that can be separated immediately from the vehicle A1, using the start position PA1 and the end position PA2. The section distance acquisition unit 515 acquires the length Dpb of the separable section having the start point position PB1 and the end point position PB2 from the vehicle B1. The section distance acquisition unit 515 outputs the lengths Dpa and Dpb of two separable sections to the generation unit 509.

  In step S506, the generation unit 509 compares the lengths Dpa and Dpb of two separable sections. If the length Dpa of the latest separable section from the vehicle A1 is larger than the length Dpb of the latest separable section from the vehicle B1 (Yes in step S507), the generation unit 509 proceeds to step S508, otherwise ( No in step S507), the process proceeds to step S509.

  In step S508, the generation unit 509 performs processing similar to that in step S208 in the second embodiment. Accordingly, as shown in the example of FIG. 17B, the vehicle B1 and its subsequent vehicles B2 and B3 move backward together, and the vehicle A1 and its subsequent vehicles A2 to A4 maintain the inter-vehicle distance Ds between the vehicles A1 and B1. Move forward together.

[5-3. effect]
As described above, when information processing apparatus 500 according to Embodiment 5 mounted on at least one of the two vehicles detects the facing state between vehicle A1 and vehicle B1, the length of the nearest separable section is detected. The vehicle having a larger distance is moved backward, the vehicle having the shorter length of the latest separable section is advanced, and the two vehicles A1 and B1 and their succeeding vehicles are separated in the separable section. In the present embodiment, when the length of the latest separable section is the same, the vehicle B1 has moved backward, but either of the vehicles A1 and B1 may move backward.

  Moreover, the information processing apparatus 500 which concerns on Embodiment 5 is mounted in vehicle A1 as a 1st vehicle, for example. In such an information processing device 500, the generation unit 509 compares the first section length, which is the length of the first section, with the second section length, which is the length of the second section, and determines the vehicle according to the comparison result. Travel control information for advancing or retreating A1 is generated. Note that the first section is a separable section in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle A1 with respect to the opposite location, and the second section is separable in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle B1 with respect to the opposite location. It is a section. According to the above configuration, when the two vehicles A1 and B1 face each other in a section other than the section where the vehicles can pass each other (that is, facing each other), according to the length of the section where the vehicles can pass each other, Travel is controlled. Thereby, when the following vehicle exists, the possibility that all the vehicle groups including the following vehicle can pass each other increases as the section in which the vehicles can pass each other is longer.

[Embodiment 6]
An information processing apparatus 600 according to Embodiment 6 will be described. The information processing apparatus according to Embodiments 1 to 5 performs processing for canceling the facing state on the vehicle that is facing the oncoming vehicle. The information processing apparatus 600 according to Embodiment 6 performs processing so as to prevent the occurrence of the facing state before the vehicle faces the oncoming vehicle. In the following, the sixth embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the first to fifth embodiments.

[6-1. Configuration of information processing apparatus]
The configuration of the information processing apparatus 600 according to the sixth embodiment and its surroundings will be described. FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the vehicle A including the information processing apparatus 600 according to the sixth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 18, the vehicle A includes an inter-vehicle communication device 1, a map DB 3, a road information acquisition device 4, a host vehicle position measurement device 5, an autonomous travel control device 6, and an information processing device 600. . Information processing apparatus 600 includes management unit 101, communication unit 102, own vehicle position acquisition unit 105, output unit 110, and storage unit 111, as in the first embodiment. Further, the information processing apparatus 600 includes a forward road width acquisition unit 604, a determination unit 607, a generation unit 609, and a narrow section specifying unit 616.

  The forward road width acquisition unit 604 is similar to the road width acquisition unit 104 in the first embodiment. The forward road width acquisition unit 604 acquires road information from the road information acquisition device 4 and detects the width of the road ahead in the traveling direction of the vehicle A from the road information. The forward road width acquisition unit 604 acquires road information at predetermined time intervals while the vehicle A is traveling or stopped, and detects it by estimating the width of the road ahead. The forward road width acquisition unit 604 stores the road width in the storage unit 111 in association with the position of the vehicle A when the road width is detected, the position on the map, or the time. The forward road width acquisition unit 604 uses, as road information, an image of a camera that acquires a front image, a measurement result of a sensor that detects the direction and distance of a front object, map information in a map DB, and the like.

  The narrow section specifying unit 616 detects a narrow section that is a section in which the road width is narrowed from information on the road width ahead of the vehicle A acquired at predetermined time intervals. Specifically, the narrow section specifying unit 616 detects the start point position and region of the narrow section. In the present embodiment, the case where the vehicle is in a section where it cannot be separated is described, but the present embodiment can be applied even when the vehicle is in a section where it can be separated. Further, the narrow section specifying unit 616 acquires the position of the vehicle A from the own vehicle position acquisition unit 105, and calculates the distance between the position of the vehicle A and the start position of the narrow section, that is, the distance between the vehicle A and the narrow section. To do. In the present embodiment, the distance may be a physical distance such as a distance from the vehicle A to the narrow section, or a time distance such as a time required for the vehicle A to reach the narrow section. There may be. In the latter case, the narrow section specifying unit 616 calculates the speed of the vehicle A from the position of the vehicle A acquired from the own vehicle position acquisition unit 105 at predetermined time intervals, and the speed of the vehicle A, the position of the vehicle A, and The temporal distance may be calculated based on the starting point position of the narrow section. The narrow section specifying unit 616 may acquire the speed of the vehicle A from the own vehicle position measuring device 5.

  In addition, the narrow section specifying unit 616 acquires the distance between the other vehicle and the narrow section from the other vehicle in the communication area of the inter-vehicle communication device 1 via the inter-vehicle communication. At this time, the narrow section specifying unit 616 may share the narrow section by transmitting information on the narrow section to another vehicle. In addition to the distance between the vehicle and the narrow section, the narrow section specifying unit 616 may transmit information such as the position of the vehicle, the speed, the travel route, and the arrival time to the narrow section to other vehicles. You may acquire from a vehicle. The narrow section specifying unit 616 specifies the distance between the oncoming vehicle and the narrow section by specifying the oncoming vehicle that has entered or plans to enter the same narrow section using the acquired information. The narrow section specifying unit 616 outputs the distance between the vehicle A and the oncoming vehicle and the narrow section to the determination unit 607 and the generation unit 609.

  The determination unit 607 determines whether or not another vehicle faces the vehicle A before a predetermined time has elapsed. Specifically, the determination unit 607 obtains at least one of the positions, speeds, and planned travel routes of the vehicle A and the oncoming vehicle at predetermined time intervals, and the oncoming vehicle has passed the vehicle A after the predetermined time has elapsed. It is determined whether or not it is located within a predetermined distance. For example, the determination unit 607 estimates the facing location after a predetermined time when the facing of the vehicle A and the oncoming vehicle occurs based on the distance between the vehicle A and the narrowing section and the distance between the oncoming vehicle and the narrowing section. Then, the determination unit 607 determines whether or not the estimated facing location is within the narrow section.

  The generation unit 609 compares the distance between the vehicle A and the narrow section with the distance between the oncoming vehicle and the narrow section, and generates travel control information for moving the vehicle A forward or stop according to the comparison result. Specifically, when the distance between the vehicle A and the narrow section is smaller than the distance between the oncoming vehicle and the narrow section, or the vehicle A has already entered the narrow section, the generation unit 609 advances the vehicle A and sets the oncoming vehicle. The travel control information to be stopped is generated. Otherwise, the travel control information to stop the vehicle A and advance the oncoming vehicle is generated. The generation unit 609 outputs the travel control information to the output unit 110 and the oncoming vehicle.

  Moreover, since the structure of the other component of the vehicle A and the information processing apparatus 600 is the same as that of Embodiment 1, the description is abbreviate | omitted.

[6-2. Operation of information processing apparatus]
The operation of the information processing apparatus 600 according to Embodiment 6 will be described with reference to FIG. Further, in the following, it is assumed that the following vehicle of the vehicle A, the other vehicle facing the vehicle A, and the following vehicle can also travel autonomously and is equipped with the same information processing device as the vehicle A. This will be described using. FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation flow of the information processing apparatus 600 according to the sixth embodiment. FIG. 20A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a state before the vehicle according to Embodiment 6 confronts. FIG. 20B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of operation of the vehicle for preventing confrontation according to Embodiment 6.

  As illustrated in FIG. 19, the autonomous traveling control device 6 and the information processing device 600 of the vehicle A perform the processes of steps S <b> 101 to S <b> 103 similar to those in the first embodiment. Next, in step S601, the forward road width acquisition unit 604 detects the width of the road ahead of the vehicle A at predetermined time intervals using the road information acquired from the road information acquisition device 4 at predetermined time intervals. Then, it is stored in the storage unit 111 in association with the position of the vehicle A when the road width is detected.

  Next, in step S602, the narrow section specifying unit 616 determines whether or not the road width acquired from the road width acquisition unit 104 or the storage unit 111 is a separable width. The narrow section specifying unit 616 returns to step S101 when the width is separable (Yes in step S602). If the width is not separable (No in step S602), the narrow section specifying unit 616 detects the starting point position and region of the narrow section from the position of the vehicle A corresponding to the road width. Then, the narrow section specifying unit 616 proceeds to step S603.

  In step S603, the narrow section specifying unit 616 tries to communicate with the vehicle in the inter-vehicle communication area via the inter-vehicle communication. At this time, the narrow section specifying unit 616 transmits information on the start position and area of the narrow section detected in step S602, and requests information such as the position, speed, and travel route of the vehicle.

  Next, in step S604, the narrow section specifying unit 616 proceeds to step S605 if there is a reply from the vehicle (Yes in step S604), and returns to step S101 if there is no reply from the vehicle (No in step S604). .

  Next, in step S605, the determination unit 607 identifies the oncoming vehicle of the vehicle A using the information acquired from the vehicle that has received the reply, and determines the oncoming on the basis of the position of the oncoming vehicle and the narrow section information. Determine the entry of the vehicle into a narrow section. That is, the determination unit 607 determines whether the oncoming vehicle faces the vehicle A before a predetermined time has elapsed. If the oncoming vehicle is not scheduled to enter, the determination unit 607 returns to step S101. If the oncoming vehicle is scheduled to enter, the determination unit 607 proceeds to step S606. If the oncoming vehicle has already entered, the determination unit 607 proceeds to step S609. move on. For example, the oncoming vehicle is scheduled to enter means that the traveling direction of the oncoming vehicle is toward the narrow section or the planned traveling route of the oncoming vehicle is through the narrow section.

  Next, in step S606, the narrow section specifying unit 616 transmits the distance between the vehicle A and the narrow section to the oncoming vehicle via inter-vehicle communication. Further, the narrow section specifying unit 616 requests and acquires the distance between the oncoming vehicle and the narrow section from the oncoming vehicle. That is, the narrow section specifying unit 616 transmits and receives the distance to the narrow section. The narrow section specifying unit 616 outputs the distance between the vehicle A and the narrow section and the distance between the oncoming vehicle and the narrow section to the generation unit 609. As shown in the example of FIG. 20A, the narrow section specifying unit 616 includes a distance DApa between the vehicle A and the start position PA of the narrow section for the vehicle A, and a start position of the narrow section for the oncoming vehicle B and the oncoming vehicle B. The distance DBpb with PB is output.

  Next, in step S607, the generation unit 609 compares the distance DApa between the vehicle A and the narrow section and the distance DBpb between the oncoming vehicle B and the narrow section. If the distance DApa is smaller than the distance DBpb (Yes in step S608), the generation unit 609 returns to step S101, and the vehicle A continues forward autonomous traveling. When the vehicle is located in the narrow section, the distance between the vehicle and the narrow section may be 0 or a negative value. Furthermore, the generation unit 609 generates travel control information for stopping the vehicle B at a position near the outside of the narrow section, and transmits a command including the travel control information to the oncoming vehicle B via inter-vehicle communication. Thereby, the oncoming vehicle B stops at a place where separation is possible until separation from the vehicle A is completed. If the distance DApa is greater than or equal to the distance DBpb (No in step S608), the generation unit 609 proceeds to step S609.

  In step S609, the generation unit 609 acquires the position of the vehicle A from the own vehicle position acquisition unit 105, and determines whether the vehicle A has arrived at a position near the narrow section. The position near the narrow section may be the start position PA of the narrow section, or may be a position away from the start position PA outside the narrow section. The vicinity position may be a position where the oncoming vehicle B can be separated from the vehicle A when the vehicle A stops at the vicinity position. The separation location may not be in the vicinity of the narrow section as long as it is a section that can be separated. If it has arrived (Yes in step S609), the generation unit 609 proceeds to step S610. If it has not arrived (No in step S609), the generation unit 609 returns to step S101, and the vehicle A continues forward autonomous traveling.

  In step S <b> 610, the generation unit 609 generates vehicle control information for stopping the vehicle A at a position near the narrow section and outputs the vehicle control information to the output unit 110. The output unit 110 outputs the travel control information to the autonomous travel control device 6. Thereby, the autonomous traveling control device 6 stops the vehicle A at a position near the narrow section according to the traveling control information.

  Next, in step S611, the generation unit 609 determines whether separation of the vehicles A and B is completed. The generation unit 609 determines completion of separation based on the positional relationship between the vehicles A and B. At this time, the generation unit 609 may acquire the position of the vehicle B from the vehicle B via inter-vehicle communication, and by detecting the direction and distance by the camera of the vehicle A or other sensors, the vehicle B You may acquire a position. If the generation unit 609 has completed (Yes in step S611), the process returns to step S101, and the vehicle A resumes forward autonomous traveling. If the generation unit 609 has not completed the process (No in Step S611), the process returns to Step S610, and the vehicle A continues to stop.

[6-3. effect]
As described above, the information processing apparatus 600 according to the sixth embodiment mounted on at least one of the two vehicles has the narrow section and the vehicle before the vehicle A and the vehicle B confront each other in the narrow section. A vehicle having a smaller distance is moved forward, a vehicle having the distance greater than or equal to the other vehicle is stopped, and two vehicles are separated at a place where separation is possible. In the present embodiment, when the distance between the narrow section and the vehicle is the same, the vehicle A stops, but either of the vehicles A and B may stop. Alternatively, when the distance between the narrow section and the vehicle is the same between the two vehicles, the same processing as the processing when the number of the following vehicles between the two vehicles in the second embodiment is the same is performed. May be.

  Further, the information processing apparatus 600 according to Embodiment 6 is mounted on, for example, the vehicle A as the first vehicle. In such an information processing apparatus 600, the determination unit 607 as a detection unit detects the facing of the vehicle B as the second vehicle with respect to the vehicle A after a predetermined time. A narrow section specifying unit 616 as a calculation unit calculates a fifth distance from the vehicle A to the end point of the first section. When it is determined that the facing location after the predetermined time is not within the first section, the communication unit 102 transmits the fifth distance to the vehicle B, and the traveling direction of the vehicle B from the vehicle B to the facing location. The sixth distance to the end point of the second section that can be separated in front is received from the vehicle B. The generation unit 609 compares the fifth distance and the sixth distance, and generates travel control information for moving the vehicle A forward or stop according to the comparison result. The first section is a section in which the vehicle A can be separated from the opposite location after a predetermined time before the traveling direction of the vehicle A. According to the above configuration, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a facing state of the vehicle.

[Embodiment 7]
An information processing apparatus 700 according to Embodiment 7 will be described. In the first to sixth embodiments, any of the opposing vehicles includes an information processing device. In the seventh embodiment, the oncoming vehicle of the vehicle A including the information processing device 700 does not include the information processing device. Further, in the seventh embodiment, the oncoming vehicle may or may not be able to travel autonomously. In the following, the seventh embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the first to fifth embodiments.

[7-1. Configuration of information processing apparatus]
An information processing apparatus 700 according to Embodiment 7 and the surrounding configuration will be described. FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the vehicle A including the information processing device 700 according to the seventh embodiment. As shown in FIG. 21, the vehicle A includes an inter-vehicle communication device 1, a confrontation information acquisition device 2, a map DB 3, a road information acquisition device 4, a host vehicle position measurement device 5, an autonomous travel control device 6, And an information processing apparatus 700. Further, the vehicle A includes a front presentation device 7 and a rear presentation device 8. As in the first embodiment, the information processing apparatus 700 includes a management unit 101, a communication unit 102, an oncoming vehicle detection unit 103, a road width acquisition unit 104, a host vehicle position acquisition unit 105, and a separable point acquisition unit. 106, a determination unit 107, a backward distance acquisition unit 108, an output unit 110, and a storage unit 111. Furthermore, the information processing apparatus 700 includes a generation unit 709, another vehicle reverse distance estimation unit 717, and a presentation control unit 718.

  The front presentation device 7 and the rear presentation device 8 present output information of the information processing device 700, and specifically display at least visually. The front part presentation device 7 and the rear part presentation device 8 may display the output contents audibly. The front presentation device 7 and the rear presentation device 8 include at least a display of a display and a speaker. Examples of the display are a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic or inorganic EL (Electroluminescence) display. As shown in FIG. 22A, the front part presentation device 7 is arranged in the front part of the vehicle A and displays on an object such as an oncoming vehicle in front of the vehicle A. As shown in FIG. 22B, the rear presentation device 8 is arranged at the rear part of the vehicle A and displays it on an object such as a subsequent vehicle behind the vehicle A. 22A is a front view showing an example of arrangement of the front part presentation device 7 on the vehicle A. FIG. FIG. 22B is a rear view showing an arrangement example of the rear presentation device 8 on the vehicle A.

  The other vehicle reverse distance estimation unit 717 estimates the distance that the other vehicle moves backward based on the map information in the map DB 3 in order to cancel the opposite state when the vehicle A and the other vehicle are in the opposite state. . The other vehicle reverse distance estimation unit 717 may acquire the position of the other vehicle by detecting the direction and distance using a camera or other sensor of the vehicle A, and may use the position of the other vehicle for estimation.

  The presentation control unit 718 distributes the information output from the information processing device 700 to the front presentation device 7 and the rear presentation device 8 and performs presentation, that is, display suitable for each of the front presentation device 7 and the rear presentation device 8.

  The generation unit 709 generates travel control information for the vehicle A according to a result determined by the information processing apparatus 700 to eliminate the facing state when the vehicle A and another vehicle are facing each other.

  Moreover, since the structure of the other component of the vehicle A and the information processing apparatus 700 is the same as that of Embodiment 1, the description is abbreviate | omitted.

[7-2. Operation of information processing apparatus]
The operation of the information processing apparatus 700 according to Embodiment 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. 23A to 23C. Further, in the following, the other vehicle that faces the vehicle A does not have the same information processing device as the vehicle A, and accepts arbitration to avoid improper separation by the vehicle A as in the first to sixth embodiments. Explain that there is no. 23A to 23C are flowcharts illustrating an example of the operation flow of the information processing apparatus 700 according to Embodiment 7.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 23A to 23C, the autonomous traveling control device 6 and the information processing device 700 of the vehicle A perform the processes of steps S101 to S107 similar to those in the first embodiment.

  Next, in step S701, the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 calculates the reverse distance from the vehicle A to the nearest separable section, as in step S108 in the first embodiment. Further, the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 requests the reverse distance of the other vehicle and transmits the reverse distance of the vehicle A to the other vehicle that is the oncoming vehicle via inter-vehicle communication. That is, the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 tries to transmit / receive the reverse distance to / from another vehicle. If the transmission / reception of the reverse distance is successful (Yes in step S702), the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 outputs the determination result and the like to the generation unit 709, and proceeds to step S703. If the transmission / reception of the reverse distance has failed (No in step S702), the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 outputs the determination result and the like to the other vehicle reverse distance estimation unit 717, and proceeds to step S709. When the transmission / reception of the reverse distance is successful, the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 receives the reverse distance from the other vehicle. When the transmission / reception of the reverse distance fails, the reverse distance acquisition unit 108 cannot receive the reverse distance from the other vehicle. That is.

  Since the processing in steps S703 to S708 is the same as that in steps S109 to S114 in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  In step S709, the other vehicle retreat distance estimation unit 717 estimates the retreat distance when the other vehicle retreats to the nearest separation possible section. For example, the other vehicle retreat distance estimation unit 717 estimates the position of the other vehicle from the position of the vehicle A, and estimates the retreat distance using the position of the other vehicle and the map information in the map DB 3. Alternatively, the other vehicle retraction distance estimation unit 717 may detect the position of the other vehicle using a camera of the vehicle A, another sensor, or the like.

  The other vehicle reverse distance estimation unit 717 outputs the estimated reverse distance to the generation unit 709 when the reverse distance of the other vehicle can be estimated (Yes in Step S710), and proceeds to Step S712. The other vehicle reverse distance estimation unit 717 proceeds to step S723 when the reverse distance of the other vehicle cannot be estimated (No in step S710).

  In step S712, the generation unit 709 compares the backward distance of the vehicle A and the estimated backward distance of the other vehicle as in step S703. Then, when the backward distance of the vehicle A is shorter than the estimated backward distance of the other vehicle (Yes in step S713), the generation unit 709 determines the backward movement of the vehicle A and proceeds to step S714. If the reverse distance of vehicle A is equal to or greater than the estimated reverse distance of the other vehicle (No in step S713), generation unit 709 determines the reverse of the other vehicle and proceeds to step S718.

  In step S <b> 714, the generation unit 709 acquires information for indicating the intention of the vehicle A to move backward to other vehicles or the like from the storage unit 111 and outputs the information to the presentation control unit 718. The above information is created in advance and stored in a storage device such as the storage unit 111. Examples of the information include an image, character information in the image, sound information, and the like. The information includes first information displayed toward an oncoming vehicle ahead of the vehicle A and second information displayed toward a subsequent vehicle behind the vehicle A. The presentation control unit 718 outputs and displays the first information on the front presentation device 7 and outputs and displays the second information on the rear presentation device 8. For example, FIG. 24 shows a display example of the front presentation device 7 and the rear presentation device 8. As shown in FIG. 24, the display content may include an intention of the operation of the vehicle A corresponding to the travel control information and a request to another vehicle corresponding to the operation. The driver of the oncoming vehicle and the driver of the following vehicle can recognize and respond to the operation planned by the vehicle A by visually recognizing the display of the front presentation device 7 and the rear presentation device 8, respectively.

  The presentation control unit 718 transmits and displays the first information to the terminal device of the oncoming vehicle via the communication unit 102 and the inter-vehicle communication device 1, and transmits and displays the second information to the terminal device of the following vehicle. Also good. For example, FIG. 25 shows a display example on the terminal device of another vehicle. As shown in FIG. 25, the display content may include the intention of the operation of the vehicle A and a request to another vehicle corresponding to the operation. The driver of the oncoming vehicle and the driver of the following vehicle can recognize and respond to the operation planned by the vehicle A by viewing the display on the terminal device.

  Next, in step S <b> 715, the generation unit 709 generates vehicle control information for causing the vehicle A to move backward, and outputs the vehicle control information to the output unit 110. The autonomous traveling control device 6 to which the vehicle control information is input from the output unit 110 moves the vehicle A backward. Further, the processes in steps S716 and S717 are the same as the processes in steps S707 and S708.

  In step S718, the generation unit 709 acquires information for indicating the intention of the vehicle A to move forward to other vehicles or the like from the storage unit 111 and outputs the information to the presentation control unit 718. The above information is created in advance and stored in a storage device such as the storage unit 111. The information includes third information displayed toward an oncoming vehicle ahead of the vehicle A and fourth information displayed toward a subsequent vehicle behind the vehicle A. As in step S714, the presentation control unit 718 outputs and displays the third information on the front presentation device 7 and outputs and displays the fourth information on the rear presentation device 8. The presentation control unit 718 may transmit and display the third information to the terminal device of the oncoming vehicle and transmit and display the fourth information to the terminal device of the subsequent vehicle.

  If the generation unit 709 recognizes the reverse of the oncoming vehicle (Yes in step S719), the process returns to step S101. If the generation of the oncoming vehicle cannot be recognized (No in step S719), the generation unit 709 proceeds to step S720.

  In step S720, the generation unit 709 generates vehicle control information for causing the vehicle A to move backward, as in step S715, and moves the vehicle A backward. Further, the processes in steps S721 and S722 are the same as the processes in steps S707 and S708.

  Further, in step S723, the generation unit 709 outputs information for indicating to the other vehicle or the like the intention of the vehicle A to move backward to the presentation control unit 718 in the same manner as in step S714, so that the front presentation device 7 and the rear presentation The information is displayed on the terminal device of the device 8 and / or the oncoming vehicle and the following vehicle. Moreover, the process of step S724-S727 is the same as the process of step S719-S722.

[7-3. effect]
As described above, the information processing apparatus 700 according to the seventh embodiment mounted on one of the two vehicles is for eliminating the facing state when the vehicle A and the oncoming vehicle are in the facing state. When communication cannot be established with the oncoming vehicle, the intention of the operation of the vehicle A corresponding to the travel control information is displayed on the oncoming vehicle, thereby achieving smooth separation. Furthermore, the information processing apparatus 700 displays the intention of the operation | movement of the vehicle A corresponding to driving control information on a succeeding vehicle, and aims at smooth separation.

  Moreover, the information processing apparatus 700 according to Embodiment 7 is mounted on, for example, the vehicle A as the first vehicle. Such an information processing apparatus 700 includes a presentation control unit 718 that controls presentation of information to at least the oncoming vehicle as the second vehicle. When the communication unit 102 cannot communicate with the oncoming vehicle, the presentation control unit 718 causes the front presentation device 7 to present information corresponding to the travel control information. According to the above configuration, it is possible to smoothly eliminate the facing state even for a vehicle that cannot establish inter-vehicle communication.

[Modification 1]
An information processing apparatus 100 according to Modification 1 will be described. In the above-described embodiment, the vehicle travels only one of autonomous traveling and manual traveling. However, in the first modification, the autonomous traveling and the manual traveling are switched. In the following, the description will be focused on differences from the above embodiment.

[Configuration of information processing device]
The configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first modification and its surroundings will be described. FIG. 26 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the vehicle A including the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first modification. As shown in FIG. 26, vehicle A further includes a travel mode switching control unit 10.

  The travel mode switching control unit 10 switches the travel mode of the vehicle A to the autonomous travel mode or the manual travel mode. In the autonomous travel mode, the vehicle A travels autonomously, and in the manual travel mode, the vehicle A travels according to the driving of the occupant. The traveling mode switching control unit 10 determines whether or not to switch the traveling mode via the input / output device when (1) the facing state occurs or (2) when the facing state occurs and the vehicle A moves backward. Contact the crew. An example of the input / output device is a touch panel display. The travel mode switching control unit 10 switches the travel mode according to the response of the passenger to the inquiry.

  Specifically, the traveling mode switching control unit 10 inquires whether to switch from the autonomous traveling mode to the manual traveling mode when the traveling mode is the autonomous traveling mode. For example, in the case of (1) above, a screen for inquiring whether or not to switch the travel mode as shown in case 1 of FIG. 27 is displayed on the display. Alternatively, after the backward distances are compared, a screen including the backward distance comparison results as shown in case 2 of FIG. 27 is displayed on the display. In the case of (2) above, a screen including that the host vehicle, that is, the vehicle A moves backward as shown in case 3 in FIG. 27 is displayed on the display. When there is a response to switch to the manual travel mode, the travel mode switching control unit 10 switches from the autonomous travel mode to the manual travel mode. When switching the driving mode, the occupant may be notified of switching or switching.

[Operation of information processing device]
The operation of the information processing apparatus 100 according to Modification 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 28 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first modification. Only differences from the above embodiment will be described.

  In the case of (1) above, when it is determined in step S107 that the vehicle is in the facing state, in step S801, the traveling mode switching control unit 10 determines whether to switch from the autonomous traveling mode to the manual traveling mode. For example, the traveling mode switching control unit 10 inquires of the occupant through the input / output device whether to switch from the autonomous traveling mode to the manual traveling mode. When a response to the effect of switching is obtained, the traveling mode switching control unit 10 determines to switch from the autonomous traveling mode to the manual traveling mode.

  When it is determined in step S801 that the autonomous travel mode is switched to the manual travel mode, in step S802, the travel mode switching control unit 10 switches from the autonomous travel mode to the manual travel mode. Thereafter, the manual travel mode is maintained until switching to the autonomous travel mode is instructed. If it is determined in step S801 that the autonomous travel mode is not switched to the manual travel mode, the process proceeds to step S108.

  Alternatively, when the inquiry is made after the backward distances are compared, the process proceeds to step S801 after step S109.

  Specifically, in the case of (2) above, if it is determined in step S110 that the reverse distance is shorter than the oncoming vehicle, the process proceeds to step S801. If it is determined in step S801 that the autonomous travel mode is not switched to the manual travel mode, the process proceeds to step S111.

[Modification 2]
An information processing apparatus 100 according to Modification 2 will be described. In the above embodiment, the road width acquisition unit 104 acquires the road width, and the separable point acquisition unit 106 determines whether or not it is a separable point from the acquired road width. The beacon signal is received from the transmitter or the like, and the separable point acquisition unit 106 determines whether or not it is a separable point from the received beacon signal. For example, as shown in FIG. 29, transmitters are respectively installed on the roadsides at the start and end points of sections where separation is difficult. The vehicle detects entry into a section that is difficult to separate by receiving a beacon signal from the transmitter. And when the confrontation of a vehicle generate | occur | produces, the process which was demonstrated by the said embodiment is performed, one vehicle reverse | retreats and the other vehicle advances. Thereby, separation of vehicles is realized. In the following, the description will be focused on differences from the above embodiment.

[Configuration of information processing device]
A configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the second modification and the periphery thereof will be described. FIG. 30 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the vehicle A including the information processing apparatus 100 according to the second modification. As illustrated in FIG. 30, the vehicle A includes a beacon signal reception unit 20 instead of the road width acquisition unit 104.

  The beacon signal receiving unit 20 receives a beacon signal transmitted from a transmitter installed on the roadside or the like. The beacon signal transmitted from the transmitter includes information indicating a point where separation is possible or a point where separation is difficult.

  The separable point acquisition unit 106 determines the separable point based on the reception of the beacon signal from the beacon signal receiving unit. For example, when the transmitter is installed only at a point where separation is difficult, when the beaconable point acquisition unit 106 receives a beacon signal from the transmitter, the point where the beacon signal is received is difficult to separate. It is determined that it is a spot. In addition, when a beacon signal shows a separable point or a separable point, separable point acquisition part 106 determines which beacon signal shows. For example, when the received beacon signal indicates a separable point, the point where the beacon signal is received is determined as the separable point. When the received beacon signal indicates a point where separation is difficult, the point where the beacon signal is received is determined as a point where separation is difficult.

[Operation of information processing device]
The operation of the information processing apparatus 100 according to Modification 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 31 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation flow of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the second modification. Only differences from the above embodiment will be described.

  If it is not determined in step S102 that the destination has been reached, in step S901, the beacon signal reception unit 20 waits for reception of a beacon signal.

  In step S902, the separable point acquisition unit 106 determines whether a beacon signal has been received. For example, the separable point acquiring unit 106 determines whether the beacon signal receiving unit 20 has received a beacon signal from a transmitter installed at the start and end points of a section where it is difficult to detach. If it is determined that the beacon signal has been received, the process proceeds to step S106. If it is not determined that the beacon signal has been received, the process proceeds to step S107.

[Others]
As described above, the information processing apparatus and the like according to one or a plurality of aspects have been described based on the embodiments, but the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments. Unless it deviates from the gist of the present disclosure, various modifications conceived by those skilled in the art and forms constructed by combining components in different embodiments are also within the scope of one or more aspects. May be included.

  For example, the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment includes at least one of the inter-vehicle communication apparatus 1, the confrontation information acquisition apparatus 2, the map DB 3, the road information acquisition apparatus 4, the own vehicle position measurement apparatus 5, the autonomous travel control apparatus 6, and the like. An included device or system may be configured.

  Further, as described above, the technology of the present disclosure may be realized by a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a recording medium such as a computer-readable recording disk. The present invention may be realized by any combination of a computer program and a recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes a non-volatile recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

  For example, each processing unit included in the above embodiment is typically realized as an LSI (Large Scale Integration) which is an integrated circuit. These may be individually made into one chip, or may be made into one chip so as to include a part or all of them.

  Further, the circuit integration is not limited to LSI, and may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can be programmed after manufacturing the LSI or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connection and setting of the circuit cells inside the LSI may be used.

  In the above embodiment, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware or may be realized by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a processor such as a CPU reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory.

  In addition, some or all of the above-described components may be constituted by a removable IC (Integrated Circuit) card or a single module. The IC card or module is a computer system that includes a microprocessor, ROM, RAM, and the like. The IC card or module may include the above-described LSI or system LSI. The IC card or the module achieves its function by the microprocessor operating according to the computer program. These IC cards and modules may have tamper resistance.

  The information processing method of the present disclosure may be realized by a processor such as an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) and a CPU, a circuit such as an LSI, an IC card, a single module, or the like.

  Furthermore, the technology of the present disclosure may be realized by a software program or a digital signal composed of a software program, and may be a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded. Needless to say, the program can be distributed via a transmission medium such as the Internet.

  Further, the numbers such as the ordinal numbers and the quantities used in the above are examples for specifically explaining the technology of the present disclosure, and the present disclosure is not limited to the illustrated numbers. In addition, the connection relationship between the constituent elements is exemplified for specifically explaining the technology of the present disclosure, and the connection relationship for realizing the functions of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

  In addition, division of functional blocks in the block diagram is an example, and a plurality of functional blocks are realized as one functional block, one functional block is divided into a plurality of parts, or some functions are transferred to other functional blocks. May be. In addition, functions of a plurality of functional blocks having similar functions may be processed in parallel or time-division by a single hardware or software.

  The technology of the present disclosure is useful for a vehicle that communicates between vehicles.

1 Inter-vehicle communication device 2 Confrontation information acquisition device 3 Map DB
4 Road information acquisition device 5 Self-vehicle position measurement device 6 Autonomous travel control device 7 Front part presentation device 8 Rear part presentation device 10 Travel mode switching control unit 20 Beacon signal reception unit 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700 Information Processing device 101 Management unit 102 Communication unit 103 Oncoming vehicle detection unit 104 Road width acquisition unit 105 Own vehicle position acquisition unit 106 Separable point acquisition unit 107,607 Determination unit 108 Reverse distance acquisition unit 109,209,309,409,509,609 , 709 Generation unit 110 Output unit 111 Storage unit 212 Reversed vehicle number acquisition unit 413 Reverse distance sum calculation unit 514 Separable section acquisition unit 515 Section distance acquisition unit 604 Front road width acquisition unit 616 Narrow section identification unit 717 Other vehicle reverse distance estimation unit 718 Presentation control unit

Claims (11)

An information processing apparatus mounted on a first vehicle,
A detection unit for detecting the opposite of the second vehicle to the first vehicle;
The opposite location between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is a zone in which the vehicles can pass each other, and is a zone before the first vehicle in the traveling direction with respect to the opposite location on the travel route of the first vehicle. A determination unit for determining whether the first section is
A calculation unit that calculates a first distance from the first section to the opposite location;
When it is determined that the opposite location is not within the first section, the first distance is transmitted to the second vehicle, and the section where the vehicle can pass is the section on the travel route of the second vehicle. A communication unit that receives, from the second vehicle, a second distance from the second section, which is a section before the traveling direction of the second vehicle, to the facing place;
A generator that compares the first distance with the second distance and generates travel control information for moving the first vehicle forward or backward according to a comparison result;
An output unit that outputs the travel control information to the travel control unit of the first vehicle;
An information processing apparatus comprising: The calculation unit further calculates the number of succeeding vehicles of the first vehicle using information acquired from the succeeding vehicles of the first vehicle,
The communication unit further communicates with a vehicle following the first vehicle to obtain information from the vehicle following the first vehicle, transmits the number of vehicles following the first vehicle to the second vehicle, and the second vehicle. Receiving the number of vehicles following the vehicle from the second vehicle;
The generation unit further performs a comparison based on the first distance, the number of vehicles following the first vehicle, the second distance, and the number of vehicles following the second vehicle, and the travel control information according to a comparison result. Generate
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The generator generates the first distance and the successor of the first vehicle as a comparison based on the first distance, the number of succeeding vehicles of the first vehicle, the second distance and the number of succeeding vehicles of the second vehicle. Comparing the product of the number of vehicles with the product of the second distance and the number of subsequent vehicles of the second vehicle, and generating the travel control information according to the comparison result;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2. The calculation unit further calculates a third distance from the vehicle following the first vehicle to the first section using information acquired from the vehicle following the first vehicle by the communication unit;
The communication unit further transmits the third distance to the second vehicle, receives a fourth distance from a vehicle following the second vehicle to the second section from the second vehicle,
The generation unit further compares the sum of the first distance and the third distance with the sum of the second distance and the fourth distance, and generates the travel control information according to a comparison result.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2. An information processing apparatus mounted on a first vehicle,
A detection unit for detecting the opposite of the second vehicle to the first vehicle;
The opposite location between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is a zone in which the vehicles can pass each other, and is a zone before the first vehicle in the traveling direction with respect to the opposite location on the travel route of the first vehicle. A determination unit for determining whether the first section is
A calculation unit that calculates the number of vehicles following the first vehicle using information acquired from vehicles following the first vehicle;
A communication unit that communicates with the second vehicle and the following vehicle, and when it is determined that the opposite location is not within the first section, communicates with the following vehicle of the first vehicle and follows the first vehicle. A communication unit that acquires information from a vehicle, transmits the number of vehicles following the first vehicle to the second vehicle, and receives the number of vehicles following the second vehicle from the second vehicle;
A generator that compares the number of vehicles following the first vehicle with the number of vehicles following the second vehicle and generates travel control information for moving the first vehicle forward or backward according to the comparison result;
An output unit that outputs the travel control information to the travel control unit of the first vehicle;
An information processing apparatus comprising: The calculation unit further calculates a first distance from the first section to the opposite location,
The communication unit further transmits the first distance to the second vehicle when the comparison result indicates that the number of the following vehicles of the first vehicle and the number of the following vehicles of the second vehicle are the same. The second section from the second section, which is a section in which the vehicles can pass each other, and is a section before the second vehicle travel direction with respect to the facing place on the travel route of the second vehicle, to the facing place. Receiving a distance from the second vehicle;
The generation unit compares the first distance and the second distance, and generates travel control information for moving the first vehicle forward or backward according to the comparison result.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 5. The calculation unit further calculates a first section length that is a length of the first section,
The communication unit further transmits the first section length to the second vehicle when it is determined that the opposite location is not in the first section, and is a section in which the vehicle can pass by the second section. Receiving a second section length from the second vehicle, which is a length of the second section, which is a section in front of the traveling direction of the second vehicle with respect to the opposite location on the travel route of the vehicle;
The generation unit further compares the first section length with the second section length, and generates travel control information for moving the first vehicle forward or backward according to the comparison result.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The detection unit detects the facing of the second vehicle after a predetermined time with respect to the first vehicle,
The facing location includes the facing location after the predetermined time,
The calculation unit further calculates a fifth distance from the first vehicle to an end point of the first section,
The communication unit further transmits the fifth distance to the second vehicle when it is determined that the opposite location is not in the first section, and the section where the vehicle can pass from the second vehicle. And receiving a sixth distance from the second vehicle to the end point of the second section, which is a section in front of the traveling direction of the second vehicle with respect to the opposite location on the travel route of the second vehicle,
The generation unit further compares the fifth distance with the sixth distance, and generates travel control information for moving the first vehicle forward or stop according to the comparison result.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. A presentation control unit for controlling presentation of information to at least the second vehicle;
When the communication unit cannot communicate with the second vehicle, the presentation control unit causes the presentation device to present information corresponding to the travel control information.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8. Detecting the opposite of the second vehicle to the first vehicle,
The opposite location between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is a zone in which the vehicles can pass each other, and is a zone before the first vehicle in the traveling direction with respect to the opposite location on the travel route of the first vehicle. To determine whether it is within the first interval,
If the opposite location is not in the first section,
Calculating a first distance from the first section to the opposite location;
Outputting the first distance to the second vehicle;
A second distance from the second section, which is a section where vehicles can pass each other, and is a section before the second vehicle in the traveling direction with respect to the opposite place on the travel route of the second vehicle, to the opposite place. , Obtained from the second vehicle,
Comparing the first distance and the second distance, and generating travel control information for moving the first vehicle forward or backward according to the comparison result;
A program for causing a computer to output the travel control information to the travel control unit of the first vehicle. Detecting the opposite of the second vehicle to the first vehicle,
The opposite location between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is a zone in which the vehicles can pass each other, and is a zone before the first vehicle in the traveling direction with respect to the opposite location on the travel route of the first vehicle. To determine whether it is within the first interval,
If the opposite location is not in the first section,
Obtaining information about the vehicle following the first vehicle from the vehicle following the first vehicle;
Using the information to calculate the number of vehicles following the first vehicle;
Outputting the number of vehicles following the first vehicle to the second vehicle;
Obtaining the number of vehicles following the second vehicle from the second vehicle;
Comparing the number of succeeding vehicles of the first vehicle with the number of succeeding vehicles of the second vehicle, and generating travel control information for moving the first vehicle forward or backward according to the comparison result;
A program for causing a computer to output the travel control information to the travel control unit of the first vehicle.

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