JP2020159746A - Navigation control device, navigation system, navigation method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To properly determine the safety degree of a road and to search a route with the higher safety degree depending on the determined safety degree of the road.SOLUTION: A navigation control device includes: a peripheral information acquisition part 24 for acquiring peripheral information around a vehicle; a safety degree determination part 25 for determining the safety degree of the road around the vehicle based on the peripheral information acquired by the peripheral information acquisition part 24; and a route search part 26 for searching the route based on the safety degree of the road determined by the safety degree determination part 25.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to navigation control devices, navigation systems, navigation methods and programs.

There is known a technology that performs image recognition processing on image data taken in front of an in-vehicle camera, recognizes traffic signs installed on roads related to driving restrictions, and considers them in route search processing (for example). See Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-038558

A warning object regarding the degree of safety of the vehicle may be installed on or around the road, for example, a sign that calls attention to popping out or an accident. It is desirable to appropriately determine the degree of safety of the road based on the surrounding information around the vehicle including such a warning object, and to search for a route having a higher degree of safety based on the determined degree of safety.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to appropriately determine the degree of safety of a road and search for a route having a higher degree of safety based on the degree of safety of the determined road.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the navigation control device according to the present invention includes a peripheral information acquisition unit that acquires peripheral information around the vehicle and the peripheral information acquired by the peripheral information acquisition unit. Based on this, it is provided with a safety degree determination unit that determines the safety degree of the road around the vehicle and a route search unit that searches for a route based on the safety degree of the road determined by the safety degree determination unit. It is a feature.

The navigation system according to the present invention includes at least one of the above navigation control device, a map information storage unit that stores map information, a photographing unit that photographs the periphery of the vehicle, and a display unit that displays information. It is characterized by being prepared.

The navigation method according to the present invention determines the degree of safety of the road around the vehicle based on the peripheral information acquisition step for acquiring peripheral information around the vehicle and the peripheral information acquired by the peripheral information acquisition step. The safety degree determination step is included, and a route search step for searching a route based on the safety degree of the road determined by the safety degree determination step.

The program according to the present invention determines the degree of safety of the road around the vehicle based on the peripheral information acquisition step for acquiring peripheral information around the vehicle and the peripheral information acquired by the peripheral information acquisition step. A computer operating as a navigation control device is made to execute a safety degree determination step and a route search step for searching a route based on the safety degree of the road determined by the safety degree determination step.

According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately determine the degree of safety of a road and search for a route having a higher degree of safety depending on the degree of safety of the determined road.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the navigation control device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing flow in the navigation control device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing flow in the navigation control device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing flow in the navigation control device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an outline of the navigation control device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing flow in the navigation control device according to the third embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a navigation control device, a navigation system, a navigation method, and a program according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the navigation control device according to the first embodiment. The navigation system 1 determines the safety level of the road based on the warning information of the warning object installed on the road or around the road to call attention to the safety level of the vehicle running. The navigation system 1 searches for a route based on the determined degree of safety of the road.

A warning object regarding the degree of safety of driving of a vehicle is an object placed at a point that requires attention to the driver, such as a point that may lead to an accident or the like. The alerts are, for example, signs related to the safety of the vehicle, paint on the road, crossing guards, offerings offered at the scene of a traffic accident, stone Buddha statues, and the like. In the following description, a signboard will be described as an example.

The signboard relating to the degree of safety of driving of the vehicle is a signboard installed at a point where an accident may occur and to call the driver of the vehicle attention. For example, it is a sign that calls attention to pop-out or accident-prone points. For example, a sign that calls attention to slips or falling rocks. For example, it is a sign that calls attention to the appearance of animals. Signs include those containing letters, those containing letters and patterns, and those containing only forms. For example, a sign that calls attention to popping out includes a sign that imitates the form of a child. The signboard may be handwritten by the residents, including handwriting.

The navigation system 1 may be mounted on the vehicle or may be carried into the vehicle in a portable manner. The navigation system 1 includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving unit 11, an operation unit 12, a communication unit 13, a map information storage unit 14, a display unit 15, a camera (photographing unit) 16, and a navigation control device 20. And.

The navigation system 1 may consist of a portable terminal, a device installed in a vehicle, or a combination of several devices.

The GPS receiving unit 11 receives radio waves from GPS satellites (not shown). The GPS receiving unit 11 outputs the signal of the received radio wave to the current position information acquisition unit 21 of the navigation control device 20.

The operation unit 12 can receive various operations on the navigation control device 20. The operation unit 12 is composed of, for example, a physical operation means for the navigation control device 20, a touch panel arranged on the display unit 15, and the like. For example, the operation unit 12 can accept an operation for inputting a destination. For example, the operation unit 12 can accept an operation for starting route guidance from the current position to the destination. The operation unit 12 outputs the operation information to the operation reception control unit 22 of the navigation control device 20.

The communication unit 13 is a communication unit. The communication unit 13 may perform communication by any method such as the Internet or a mobile phone line.

The map information storage unit 14 stores map information. The map information is, for example, a road map including an intersection. The map information storage unit 14 outputs the stored map information to the map information acquisition unit 241 of the peripheral information acquisition unit 24 of the navigation control device 20. The map information storage unit 14 may be a storage device such as an external server device that acquires map information via a communication function by the communication control unit 23, the communication unit 13, and the like.

The map information may include signboard information of a signboard installed on the road and related to the degree of safety of the vehicle running. The signboard information is, for example, signboard information of a signboard that calls attention to popping out or an accident. The signboard information is, for example, signboard information of a signboard that calls attention to slips or falling rocks.

As an example, the display unit 15 is a display device unique to the navigation system 1 or a display device shared with other systems including car audio. The display unit 15 is a display including, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD: Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Organic Electro-Luminence) display. In the present embodiment, the display unit 15 is a touch panel type display. In other words, the display unit 15 functions as the operation unit 12 and can input various operations. When the navigation system 1 is installed in the vehicle, the display unit 15 is arranged in front of the driver of the vehicle, such as a dashboard, an instrument panel, and a center console. The display unit 15 displays the route guidance image based on the image signal output from the display control unit 29 of the navigation control device 20.

The camera 16 is a camera that captures the periphery of the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the camera 16 is described as a camera capable of capturing the entire sky around 360 °, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of camera groups for capturing the periphery of the vehicle may be used. The camera 16 is arranged in front of the vehicle. The camera 16 is arranged, for example, in front of the vehicle interior of the vehicle. The camera 16 constantly captures an image while the navigation system 1 is operating. The camera 16 may be an electronic device connected to the navigation control device 20 by short-range wireless communication or the like. The camera 16 outputs the video data, which is the shot data, to the video data acquisition unit (shooting data acquisition unit) 242 of the peripheral information acquisition unit 24 of the navigation control device 20.

The shooting data includes video data that is a moving image and still image data that is a still image. In the following description, video data will be described as an example of shooting data, but the present invention is not limited to this.

The navigation control device 20 is implemented as a function of the navigation system mounted on the vehicle. The navigation control device 20 is, for example, an arithmetic processing unit composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like. The navigation control device 20 executes an instruction included in a program stored in a storage unit (not shown). The navigation control device 20 determines the degree of safety of the road based on the signboard information of the signboard regarding the degree of safety of traveling of the vehicle installed around the road. The navigation control device 20 searches for a route based on the determined degree of safety of the road. The navigation control device 20 includes a current position information acquisition unit 21, an operation reception control unit 22, a communication control unit 23, a peripheral information acquisition unit 24, a safety degree determination unit 25, and a route search connected to the bus 30. It has a unit 26 and a display control unit 29.

The current position information acquisition unit 21 acquires the current position information indicating the current position of the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the current position information acquisition unit 21 acquires the current position information of the vehicle based on the radio wave signal acquired by the GPS receiving unit 11. The current position information acquisition unit 21 outputs the acquired current position information to the route search unit 26.

The operation reception control unit 22 acquires the operation information of the operation received by the operation unit 12. For example, the operation reception control unit 22 acquires the destination input operation information indicating the destination input operation and outputs the control signal. For example, the operation reception control unit 22 acquires guidance start operation information indicating an operation for starting route guidance and outputs a control signal.

The communication control unit 23 controls the communication in the communication unit 13.

The peripheral information acquisition unit 24 acquires peripheral information around the vehicle. More specifically, the peripheral information acquisition unit 24 acquires peripheral information for determining the degree of safety of the road around the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the peripheral information acquisition unit 24 includes a map information acquisition unit 241 and a video data acquisition unit 242.

The map information acquisition unit 241 acquires map information from the map information storage unit 14. More specifically, the map information acquisition unit 241 stores map information from the current position of the vehicle to the destination based on the current position of the vehicle and the position information of the destination acquired by the current position information acquisition unit 21. Obtained from part 14.

The video data acquisition unit 242 acquires video data obtained by photographing the periphery of the vehicle. More specifically, the video data acquisition unit 242 acquires the shooting data output by the camera 16. The acquired shooting data is, for example, a moving image composed of an image of 30 frames per second.

The safety degree determination unit 25 determines the safety degree of the road around the vehicle based on the peripheral information acquired by the peripheral information acquisition unit 24. For example, the safety degree determination unit 25 may express the safety degree by a score or a rank, and may determine that the smaller the number, the lower the safety degree. The safety degree determination unit 25 stores the determined safety degree information and the position information in association with each other in the storage unit. The safety degree determination unit 25 includes a signboard information acquisition unit 251.

The safety degree determination unit 25 determines the safety degree based on at least one of the presence / absence of a signboard and the number of installations based on the signboard information acquired by the signboard information acquisition unit 251. For example, the safety degree determination unit 25 determines that the degree of safety is lower when the signboard information indicates that there is a signboard than when it indicates that there is no signboard. For example, the safety degree determination unit 25 determines that the larger the number of signboards installed, the lower the safety degree based on the signboard information. This is because it is estimated that the greater the number of signboards installed, the lower the degree of safety. For example, the safety degree determination unit 25 may determine the safety degree for each of the presence / absence of the signboard and the number of installations, and total them to obtain the safety degree. For example, the safety degree determination unit 25 may determine that the newer the signboard, the lower the safety degree, based on the signboard information. This is because the road with the newly installed signboard is estimated to have a low degree of safety. For example, the safety degree determination unit 25 may determine that the larger the number of installations, the lower the safety degree, based on the signboard information and the number of temporarily stopped signboards installed.

When a signboard calling attention to the appearance of an animal is recognized, the safety degree determination unit 25 performs image recognition processing on the video data taken by the camera 16, and when the animal is detected, further determines the safety degree of the road. It may be lowered. Further, when the safety degree determination unit 25 recognizes a sign that calls attention to the appearance of animals and detects an animal from the video data, the safety degree determination unit 25 lowers the safety degree of the road only in the detected season or time zone. You may.

The signboard information acquisition unit 251 acquires signboard information indicating a signboard relating to the degree of safety of the vehicle running. In the present embodiment, the signboard information acquisition unit 251 acquires signboard information indicating a signboard relating to the degree of safety of traveling of the vehicle from the video data acquired by the video data acquisition unit 242. More specifically, the signboard information acquisition unit 251 performs image recognition processing on the video data, performs pattern matching with the recognition dictionary stored in advance, and recognizes the signboard related to the running safety degree of the vehicle shown in the video data. To do. As a method for recognizing a signboard, a known method can be used and is not limited.

The signboard information acquisition unit 251 transmits video data to an external server device (not shown) that performs recognition processing for recognizing a signboard from video data via the communication unit 13 under the control of the communication control unit 23, and causes the processing to be performed. The recognition result may be acquired. The external server device that performs the signboard recognition process machine-learns many signboards and recognizes the signboards having a high degree of similarity to the signboards shown in the video data.

When the signboard information acquisition unit 251 recognizes the signboard from the video data, it may recognize the newness of the signboard. For example, the less dirty the signboard is and the brighter the color pattern is, the newer the signboard may be recognized.

The signboard information acquisition unit 251 may acquire signboard information from the map information stored in the map information storage unit 14.

The route search unit 26 searches for a route based on the safety degree of the road determined by the safety degree determination unit 25. More specifically, the route search unit 26 searches for a route based on the current position information of the vehicle, the position information of the destination, and the safety degree of the road determined by the safety degree determination unit 25. The route search unit 26 may search for a route by reducing the possibility that a road determined by the safety degree determination unit 25 to have a relatively low safety degree is selected. Alternatively, the route search unit 26 may select a road determined to have a relatively low degree of safety only when the user operates to search for a "safety priority route", for example. You may search for a route by lowering. As a method for searching a route, a known route search method can be used and is not limited. The route search unit 26 may provide route guidance along the searched route. As a method for guiding a route, a known route guiding method can be used and is not limited.

The display control unit 29 causes the display unit 15 to display the image of the route guidance along the route searched by the route search unit 26.

Next, information processing in the navigation system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing flow in the navigation control device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing flow in the navigation control device according to the first embodiment.

First, the process of determining the degree of safety will be described with reference to FIG.

The navigation control device 20 acquires video data (step S101). The navigation control device 20 acquires the video data captured by the camera 16 by the video data acquisition unit 242. The navigation control device 20 proceeds to step S102.

The navigation control device 20 recognizes the signboard (step S102). The navigation control device 20 performs image recognition processing on the video data by the signboard information acquisition unit 251 and performs pattern matching with the recognition dictionary stored in advance, and the signboard relating to the running safety degree of the vehicle shown in the video data. Recognize. The navigation control device 20 proceeds to step S103.

The navigation control device 20 determines the degree of safety (step S103). The navigation control device 20 determines the safety degree by the safety degree determination unit 25 based on at least one of the presence / absence of the signboard and the number of installations based on the signboard information acquired by the signboard information acquisition unit 251. The navigation control device 20 proceeds to step S104.

The navigation control device 20 stores the degree of safety (step S104). The navigation control device 20 stores the information indicating the safety degree determined by the safety degree determination unit 25 and the position information in association with each other in the storage unit. The navigation control device 20 ends the process.

Subsequently, the process of searching for a route using the determined safety degree will be described with reference to FIG.

The navigation control device 20 determines whether or not there is an operation for performing route search guidance (step S111). When the navigation control device 20 determines that the operation for performing the route search guidance has been performed (Yes in step S111), the navigation control device 20 proceeds to step S112. If it is not determined that the operation for performing the route search guidance has been performed (No in step S111), the navigation control device 20 ends the process.

When it is determined that the operation for performing the route search guidance has been performed (Yes in step S111), the navigation control device 20 searches for the route (step S112). More specifically, the navigation control device 20 searches for a route by the route search unit 26 based on the current position information of the vehicle, the position information of the destination, and the safety degree of the road determined by the safety degree determination unit 25. The navigation control device 20 proceeds to step S113.

The navigation control device 20 displays the route (step S113). More specifically, the navigation control device 20 causes the display control unit 29 to display the guide image of the searched route on the display unit 15. The navigation control device 20 ends the process.

In this way, the degree of safety of the road around the vehicle is determined based on the acquired peripheral information around the vehicle. More specifically, it recognizes the signboard information indicating the signboard related to the safety level of the vehicle from the video data taken around the vehicle, and based on the signboard information, the safety level is determined by at least one of the presence or absence of the signboard and the number of installations. To judge.

In addition, the route is searched based on the determined safety level of the road. More specifically, the route is searched with a low possibility that a road judged to have a relatively low degree of safety is selected.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to determine the degree of safety of the road around the vehicle based on the acquired peripheral information around the vehicle. In this embodiment, the signboard information indicating the signboard related to the safety level of the vehicle is recognized from the video data obtained by photographing the periphery of the vehicle, and based on the signboard information, it is safe depending on at least one of the presence or absence of the signboard and the number of installations. The degree can be determined.

According to the present embodiment, the route can be searched based on the determined degree of safety of the road. In the present embodiment, it is possible to search for a route with a low possibility that a road determined to have a relatively low degree of safety is selected.

In this way, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to appropriately determine the degree of safety of the road and search for a route having a high degree of safety based on the degree of safety of the determined road.

In the present embodiment, when the signboard information indicates that there is a signboard, it is determined that the degree of safety is lower than that in the case where there is no signboard. According to the present embodiment, it is possible to search for a highly safe route that does not pass through a road on which a signboard relating to the safety level of vehicle driving is installed, such as a signboard that calls attention to a pop-out or an accident. ..

In this embodiment, it is determined that the greater the number of signboards installed, the lower the degree of safety. According to this embodiment, many signboards are installed, and it is possible to search for a route having a high degree of safety that does not pass through a road that is presumed to have a low degree of safety.

In this embodiment, it is determined that the newer the signboard, the lower the degree of safety. According to the present embodiment, the newly installed road can search for a highly safe route that does not pass through a road that is presumed to have a low degree of safety.

In this embodiment, it is determined that the larger the number of installations, the lower the degree of safety, based on the signboard information and the number of installations of the temporarily stopped signboards. According to the present embodiment, it is possible to search for a route having a high degree of safety that does not pass through a road that is presumed to have a low degree of safety.

[Second Embodiment]
The navigation system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing flow in the navigation control device according to the second embodiment. The navigation system 1 according to the present embodiment has the same basic configuration as the navigation system 1 of the first embodiment. In the following description, the same components as those of the navigation system 1 are designated by the same reference numerals or corresponding reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The navigation system 1 of the present embodiment is different from the navigation system 1 of the first embodiment in the processing by the map information acquisition unit 241 and the safety degree determination unit 25 of the peripheral information acquisition unit 24.

The map information stored in the map information storage unit 14 is, for example, the degree of safety of vehicle driving such as parks, alleys, schools, kindergartens, vacant lots, shopping malls, amusement parks, leisure facilities, elderly homes, and civic centers. Includes facility information about.

Based on the map information acquired by the map information acquisition unit 241, the surrounding information acquisition unit 24 has parks, alleys, schools, kindergartens, vacant lots, shopping malls, amusement parks, leisure facilities, and elderly people around the roads where signs are installed. Acquire whether or not there is a facility related to the degree of driving safety of the vehicle, including at least one of the home and the civic center.

Based on the acquired map information, the map information acquisition department 241 has parks, alleys, schools, kindergartens, vacant lots, shopping malls, amusement parks, leisure facilities, nursing homes, and civic centers around the roads where signs are installed. Obtain information indicating whether or not there is a facility related to the degree of driving safety of the vehicle including at least one of the above.

When the signboard information acquired by the signboard information acquisition unit 251 is a signboard related to popping out or an accident, and there is a facility related to the safety level of vehicle running around the road on which the signboard is installed, the safety degree determination unit 25 is concerned. Judge that the degree of safety of the road is relatively low.

The safety degree determination unit 25 may determine that the safety degree of the section of the road facing the facility related to the traveling safety degree of the vehicle is relatively low. As a result, it is suppressed that the safety degree is determined to be low and the section avoided by the route search process is inadvertently lengthened.

The safety degree determination unit 25 may determine that the safety degree is relatively low only in a predetermined time zone. The safety degree determination unit 25 performs image recognition processing on the video data to detect a person, and the signboard information is a signboard related to popping out or an accident, and the safety level of the vehicle running around the road on which the signboard is installed is related. If there is a facility and a person is detected in the vicinity of the facility, it may be determined that the degree of safety of the road is relatively low only during the detected time zone. As a result, it is determined that the safety level is low only when the safety level of the vehicle actually travels is low.

The safety degree determination unit 25 may determine that the safety degree is relatively low for each facility only for a predetermined time. For example, if the signboard information acquired by the signboard information acquisition section 251 is a signboard related to a pop-out or an accident and there is a school around the road on which the signboard is installed, the safety degree determination unit 25 is limited to the time to go to and leave school. It may be determined that the degree of safety is relatively low.

Next, information processing in the navigation system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The processing of steps S121, S122, and S125 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 is the same as that of steps S101, S102, and S104 of the flowchart shown in FIG.

The navigation control device 20 acquires map information (step S123). The navigation control device 20 is provided by the map information acquisition unit 241 at least in parks, alleys, schools, kindergartens, vacant lots, shopping malls, amusement parks, leisure facilities, elderly homes, and civic centers around the roads where signs are installed. Acquire information indicating whether or not there is a facility related to the degree of driving safety of the vehicle including any of them. The navigation control device 20 proceeds to step S124.

The navigation control device 20 determines the degree of safety (step S124). In the navigation control device 20, the signboard information acquired by the signboard information acquisition unit 251 by the safety level determination unit 25 is a signboard related to popping out or an accident, and the safety level of the vehicle running around the road on which the signboard is installed is related. If there is a facility, it is judged that the degree of safety is relatively low. The navigation control device 20 proceeds to step S125.

If the signboard information acquired in this way is a signboard related to popping out or an accident, and there is a facility related to the safety level of vehicle running around the road on which the signboard is installed, it is determined that the safety level is relatively low. To do.

In addition, if the acquired signboard information is a signboard related to popping out or an accident based on the determined road safety level, and there is a facility related to the vehicle driving safety level around the road on which the signboard is installed, the road concerned. Search for a route with less chance of being selected.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the acquired signboard information is a signboard related to popping out or an accident, and there is a facility related to the safety level of vehicle running around the road on which the signboard is installed, the safety level Can be determined to be relatively low.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the acquired signboard information is a signboard related to popping out or an accident based on the determined road safety degree, and the vehicle running safety degree is related to the vicinity of the road on which the signboard is installed. If there is a facility, the route can be searched with a low possibility that the road will be selected.

In this embodiment, it can be determined that the safety level of the section of the road facing the facility related to the safety level of vehicle running is relatively low. According to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the section that is determined to have a low degree of safety and is avoided by the route search process from being inadvertently lengthened.

In the present embodiment, image recognition processing is performed on video data to detect a person, and the signboard information is a signboard related to popping out or an accident, and a facility related to the degree of safety of vehicle running is provided around the road on which the signboard is installed. If there is, and a person is detected in the vicinity of the facility, it can be determined that the degree of safety of the road is relatively low. According to the present embodiment, it can be determined that the degree of safety is low only when the degree of safety of traveling of the vehicle is actually low.

In this embodiment, it may be determined that the degree of safety is relatively low for each facility only for a predetermined time. For example, if the signboard information acquired by the signboard information acquisition section 251 is a signboard related to a pop-out or an accident and there is a school around the road on which the signboard is installed, the safety degree determination unit 25 is limited to the time to go to and leave school. It can be determined that the degree of safety is relatively low.

In this way, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to more appropriately determine the degree of safety of the road and more appropriately search for a route having a higher degree of safety based on the degree of safety of the determined road.

[Third Embodiment]
The navigation system 1A according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an outline of the navigation control device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing flow in the navigation control device according to the third embodiment. The navigation system 1A of the present embodiment is different from the navigation system 1 of the first embodiment in that the peripheral information acquisition unit 24A includes the weather information acquisition unit 243A and the processing in the safety degree determination unit 25A.

The weather information acquisition unit 243A acquires weather information indicating the weather around the vehicle. Weather information includes, for example, information on rainfall, snowfall, snow cover, wind speed, or earthquake.

In the safety degree determination unit 25A, the signboard information acquired by the signboard information acquisition unit 251 is a signboard regarding slip caution or rockfall caution, and the weather information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 243A is around the road on which the signboard is installed. If it indicates that there is precipitation, snowfall, snow cover, wind speed, or earthquake, it is judged that the degree of safety is relatively low.

In the safety degree determination unit 25A, the signboard information acquired by the signboard information acquisition unit 251 is a signboard for caution regarding falling rocks, and the weather information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit 243A is a strong wind or strong wind around the road on which the signboard is installed. If it indicates that there is an earthquake, it is judged that the degree of safety is relatively low.

Next, information processing in the navigation system 1A will be described with reference to FIG. The processing of steps S131, S132, and S135 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is the same as that of steps S101, S102, and S104 of the flowchart shown in FIG.

The navigation control device 20A acquires weather information (step S133). The navigation control device 20A acquires weather information indicating the weather around the vehicle by the weather information acquisition unit 243A. The navigation control device 20 proceeds to step S134.

The navigation control device 20A determines the degree of safety (step S134). In the navigation control device 20A, the signboard information acquired by the signboard information acquisition unit 251 by the safety degree determination unit 25A is a signboard regarding slip caution or rockfall caution, and the weather information is raining around the road on which the signboard is installed. , Snowfall, snowfall, wind speed, or if there is an earthquake, it is judged that the degree of safety is relatively low. The navigation control device 20A proceeds to step S135.

If the signboard information obtained in this way is a signboard regarding slip caution or rockfall caution, and there is rainfall, snowfall, snowfall, wind speed, or earthquake around the road on which the signboard is installed, the degree of safety is relative. Judged as low.

In addition, based on the determined road safety level, the acquired signboard information is a signboard regarding slip caution or rockfall caution, and rainfall, snowfall, snowfall, wind speed, or earthquake occurs around the road on which the signboard is installed. If so, search for a route with less chance of the road being selected.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the acquired signboard information is a signboard regarding slip caution or rock fall caution, and precipitation, snowfall, snowfall, wind speed, or earthquake occurs around the road on which the signboard is installed. In some cases, it can be determined that the degree of safety is relatively low.

According to the present embodiment, the acquired signboard information is a signboard regarding slip caution or rockfall caution based on the determined road safety level, and rainfall, snowfall, snow cover, and wind speed are obtained around the road on which the signboard is installed. Or, if there is an earthquake, the route can be searched with a low possibility that the road will be selected.

Each component of the illustrated navigation system 1 is functionally conceptual and does not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown. That is, the specific form of each device is not limited to the one shown in the figure, and all or part of each device is functionally or physically dispersed or integrated in an arbitrary unit according to the processing load and usage status of each device. You may.

The configuration of the navigation system 1 is realized, for example, by a program loaded in a memory as software. In the above embodiment, it has been described as a functional block realized by cooperation of these hardware or software. That is, these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof.

The components described above include those that can be easily assumed by those skilled in the art and those that are substantially the same. Further, the configurations described above can be combined as appropriate. Further, various omissions, substitutions or changes of the configuration can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

The navigation system 1 mounted on a plurality of vehicles transmits information indicating the safety degree determined by the safety degree determination unit 25 of the navigation system 1 mounted on a plurality of vehicles to an external server device, and transmits the information indicating the safety degree to the external server device. You may share it with. As a result, even on the road on which the vehicle travels for the first time, it is possible to search for a route having a high degree of safety based on the information indicating the degree of safety determined by another vehicle.

The navigation control device 20 may have a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires brake operation information via a CAN (Control Area Network) interface or the like. The safety degree determination unit 25 is concerned when a sudden braking operation is performed after the signboard information is acquired based on the signboard information acquired by the signboard information acquisition unit 251 and the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit. The degree of safety of the road may be further reduced.

The peripheral information acquisition unit 24 of the navigation control device 20 may have an accident history information acquisition unit that acquires accident history information indicating an accident history on the road from an external server device. The safety degree determination unit 25 has acquired the signboard information and the accident history information based on the signboard information acquired by the signboard information acquisition unit 251 and the accident history information acquired by the accident history information acquisition unit. In that case, the degree of safety of the road may be further reduced.

The peripheral information acquisition unit 24 of the navigation control device 20 may have an event information acquisition unit that acquires event information around the vehicle from an external server device. The safety degree determination unit 25 obtains the signboard information based on the signboard information acquired by the signboard information acquisition unit 251 and the event information acquired by the event information acquisition unit, and when the event information is acquired, the event The degree of safety of the road may be lowered only on the date and time of the event.

The event information may be acquired by performing image recognition processing on the video data captured by the camera 16 and recognizing a signboard related to an event such as "festival" or "athletic meet".

In the above, when the signboard information acquisition unit 251 acquires the signboard information from the map information stored in the map information storage unit 14, the navigation system 1 does not have to have the camera 16 and the video data acquisition unit 242.

In the above, the signboard information acquisition unit 251 has been described as acquiring the signboard information from the video data, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the signboard information acquisition unit 251 estimates that the object to be photographed, which is rectangular and can recognize characters and patterns, is a signboard, and the range including the signboard in the video data is still image data. Cut out and obtain as. Then, the signboard information acquisition unit 251 may acquire the signboard information by performing image recognition processing on the cut out still image data and recognizing the signboard. Further, in this case, instead of the video data, it may be still image data taken by the camera 16 at an arbitrary timing.

1 Navigation system 11 GPS receiver 12 Operation unit 13 Communication unit 14 Map information storage unit 15 Display unit 16 Camera (shooting unit)
20 Navigation control device 21 Current position information acquisition unit 22 Operation reception control unit 23 Communication control unit 24 Peripheral information acquisition unit 241 Map information acquisition unit 242 Video data acquisition unit (shooting data acquisition unit)
25 Safety degree judgment unit 251 Signboard information acquisition unit 26 Route search unit 29 Display control unit

Claims (8)

Peripheral information acquisition department that acquires peripheral information around the vehicle,
Based on the peripheral information acquired by the peripheral information acquisition unit, the safety degree determination unit that determines the safety degree of the road around the vehicle and the safety degree determination unit
A route search unit that searches for a route based on the safety degree of the road determined by the safety degree determination unit, and
A navigation control device characterized by comprising. The safety degree determination unit has a signboard information acquisition unit that acquires signboard information indicating a signboard relating to the running safety degree of the vehicle, and the presence or absence of the signboard based on the signboard information acquired by the signboard information acquisition unit. Judging the degree of safety by at least one of the number of installations and
The route search unit searches for a route with a low possibility that a road determined to have a relatively low degree of safety is selected.
The navigation control device according to claim 1. The peripheral information acquisition unit includes a shooting data acquisition unit that acquires shooting data of the surroundings of the vehicle.
The signboard information acquisition unit acquires the signboard information from the photography data acquired by the photography data acquisition unit.
The navigation control device according to claim 2. The peripheral information acquisition unit has a map information acquisition unit that acquires map information, and based on the map information acquired by the map information acquisition unit, parks, alleys, and the like around the road on which the signboard is installed. Acquire whether there are facilities related to vehicle driving safety, including at least one of schools, kindergartens, vacant lots, shopping malls, amusement parks, leisure facilities, nursing homes, and civic centers.
In the safety degree determination unit, the signboard information acquired by the signboard information acquisition unit is a signboard related to popping out or an accident, and the map information acquired by the map information acquisition unit is around the road on which the signboard is installed. If it indicates that there is a facility related to the safety level of the vehicle, it is judged that the safety level is relatively low.
The navigation control device according to claim 2 or 3. The peripheral information acquisition unit has a weather information acquisition unit that acquires weather information indicating the weather around the vehicle.
In the safety degree determination unit, the signboard information acquired by the signboard information acquisition unit is a signboard relating to slip caution or rockfall caution, and the weather information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit is the road on which the signboard is installed. If it indicates that there is rainfall, snowfall, snow cover, wind speed, or earthquake in the vicinity of, it is judged that the degree of safety is relatively low.
The navigation control device according to any one of claims 2 to 4. The navigation control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
At least one of a map information storage unit that stores map information, a shooting unit that photographs the surroundings of the vehicle, and a display unit that displays information.
A navigation system characterized by being equipped with. Peripheral information acquisition step to acquire peripheral information around the vehicle,
Based on the peripheral information acquired by the peripheral information acquisition step, the safety degree determination step for determining the safety degree of the road around the vehicle and the safety degree determination step.
A route search step for searching a route based on the safety degree of the road determined by the safety degree determination step, and a route search step.
Navigation methods including. Peripheral information acquisition step to acquire peripheral information around the vehicle,
Based on the peripheral information acquired by the peripheral information acquisition step, the safety degree determination step for determining the safety degree of the road around the vehicle and the safety degree determination step.
A route search step for searching a route based on the safety degree of the road determined by the safety degree determination step, and a route search step.
Is a program that allows a computer that operates as a navigation control device to execute.

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