JP2021103132A - Positional relationship detection system - Google Patents

Abstract

To increase point data that indicates curbstones.SOLUTION: Provided is a positional relationship detection system 100 comprising: a measuring device 110 for measuring the state of a curbstone 210 existing in the surrounding of a vehicle 200; attachment means 111 for attaching the measuring device 110 to a vehicle body 202 in a pitch direction P of the vehicle 200 in such a way that a center line L of measurement range is inclined; a data acquisition unit 121 for acquiring measured data from the measuring device 110; a curbstone extraction unit 122 for extracting curbstone data that indicates the curbstone 210 on the basis of the measured data; and a positional relationship calculation unit 123 for calculating a distance D from the curbstone 210 to the vehicle 200 on the basis of the curbstone data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a positional relationship detection system that detects the positional relationship between a curb, which is a road structure, and the own vehicle.

Conventionally, when parking a vehicle is assisted, various sensors are attached to the vehicle in order to grasp an obstacle on the road and a positional relationship between the road structure and the vehicle.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes a corner portion of a vehicle as a suitable installation location for a sensor capable of detecting a curb, which is one of road structures.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-512893

However, since the curb is shorter than other road structures, it is relatively difficult to accurately detect the positional relationship of the vehicle with respect to the curb.

The present invention has been made based on the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a positional relationship detection system capable of accurately detecting the distance to a curb.

In order to achieve the above object, the positional relationship detection system, which is one of the present inventions, is a positional relationship detection system that detects the distance from the curb to the vehicle, and is a road including the curb existing around the vehicle. A measuring device for measuring the state of a structure, a mounting means for attaching the measuring device to the main body of the vehicle so that the center line of the measuring range of the measuring device is tilted in the pitch direction of the vehicle, and measurement from the measuring device. A data acquisition unit that acquires data, a curb extraction unit that extracts curb data indicating the curb based on the acquired measurement data, and a positional relationship calculation unit that calculates the distance from the curb to the vehicle based on the curb data. , Equipped with.

According to the present invention, it is possible to increase the amount of information for detecting long and short curbs, and it is possible to detect curbs with high accuracy.

It is a top view which shows the positional relationship of the vehicle which is equipped with the positional relationship detection system which concerns on this embodiment, and a curb. It is a side view which shows the positional relationship of the vehicle, the positional relationship detection system, and the curb according to this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the positional relationship detection system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the inclination of the measuring apparatus which concerns on this embodiment, and the scanning state with respect to a curb. It is a figure which shows the extraction range of the measurement data by the data acquisition part which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the distance and the angle of the vehicle with respect to the curb during the correct arrival control which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the inclination of the vehicle which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the positional relationship detection method which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a top view which shows another example of a measuring apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the positional relationship detecting device and the positional relationship detecting method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The numerical values, shapes, materials, components, positional relationships of the components, connection states, steps, the order of steps, etc. shown in the following embodiments are examples, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Further, in the following, a plurality of inventions may be described as one embodiment, but components not described in the claims will be described as arbitrary components with respect to the invention according to the claims. ing. In addition, the drawings are schematic views in which emphasis, omission, and ratio are adjusted as appropriate to explain the present invention, and may differ from the actual shape, positional relationship, and ratio.

FIG. 1 is a top view showing the positional relationship between a vehicle equipped with the positional relationship detection system according to the present embodiment and a curb. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the positional relationship between the vehicle, the positional relationship detection system, and the curb according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the positional relationship detection system. The type of the vehicle 200 on which the positional relationship detection system 100 is mounted is not particularly limited, but in the case of the present embodiment, the vehicle 200 arrives at the bus stop installed in the vicinity of the curb 210 by automatic operation, and the following An automatic traveling type route bus that autonomously travels to a bus stop is illustrated as a vehicle 200. The vehicle 200 may be used for right-hand traffic or left-hand traffic, but in the case of the present embodiment, the vehicle 200 is for left-hand traffic, and the center position C in the width direction (X-axis direction in the figure) of the vehicle 200 is illustrated. A driver's seat 203 in which steering members, seats, and the like are arranged is provided on the right side facing the traveling direction with respect to (indicated by a dashed-dotted line in FIG. 1).

In the case of the present embodiment, the correct arrival means that the vehicle 200 is parallel to or substantially parallel to the front-rear direction of the vehicle 200 in the arrangement direction of the curbs 210 (Y-axis direction in the figure) as shown in FIG. When the vehicle is stopped, the distance from the curb 210 to the vehicle body 202 is 10 cm or less, for example, the distance between the curb 210 and the tire is within a range of 4 cm ± 2 cm. The correct arrival control means the control for bringing the vehicle body 202 into the correct arrival state.

The positional relationship detection system 100 detects the distance D (see FIG. 6) from the edge stone 210 to the measuring device 110 and the angle θ (see FIG. 5) of the measuring device 110 with respect to the arrangement direction of the edge stones 210 (Y-axis direction in the figure). The system includes a measuring device 110, a positional relationship detecting device 120, and a correct arrival control unit 130. The distance D can be converted into the distance between the curb 210 and the vehicle 200 and the distance between the curb 210 and the tire based on the position of the measuring device 110 with respect to the vehicle 200, and the angle θ is based on the attitude of the measuring device 110 with respect to the vehicle 200. Can be converted into an angle between the arrangement direction of the curbs 210 and the front-rear direction of the vehicle 200.

The measuring device 110 is a device that measures the state of the road structure including the curb 210 existing around the vehicle 200 and the road surface 220. The measuring device 110 is attached to the lower surface of the vehicle body 202 excluding the wheels of the vehicle 200 so as to project downward. The measuring device 110 is arranged between the front wheels 201 in the front-rear direction (Y-axis direction in the figure) of the vehicle 200 and between the front wheels 201 in the width direction of the vehicle 200 (X-axis direction in the figure). In the case of the present embodiment, the measuring device 110 is on the right side in the case of the vehicle 200 corresponding to left-hand traffic from the center position between the front wheels 201 in the width direction of the vehicle 200, and on the left side in the case of the vehicle 200 corresponding to right-hand traffic. (In the case of this embodiment, it is arranged on the driver's seat 203 side). If the vehicle 200 is fully autonomous and the driver's seat 203 does not exist, the vehicle 200 that supports left-hand traffic is on the right side of the center position C, and the vehicle 200 that supports right-hand traffic is in the center position C. The measuring device 110 may be arranged on the left side of the device.

The measuring device 110 is mounted on the vehicle body 202 by the mounting means 111 so that the center line L (see FIGS. 2 and 3) of the measurement range of the measuring device 110 is tilted in the pitch direction P (around the X axis in FIG. 2) of the vehicle 200. It is attached to. In the case of the present embodiment, the mounting means 111 is a so-called bracket, which is interposed between the vehicle body 202 and the measuring device 110, and fixes the measuring device 110 with respect to the vehicle body 202 in a state of being tilted by a predetermined angle.

The measuring device 110 for measuring the state of the road structure is a device capable of outputting measurement data capable of deriving the positional relationship of the vehicle 200 with respect to the curb 210. Since the position of the measuring device 110 with respect to the vehicle 200 and the relationship between the straight direction of the vehicle 200 and the measuring device 110 are clear, if the positional relationship of the measuring device 110 with respect to the curb 210 is known, the vehicle 200 with respect to the curb 210 The positional relationship can be calculated on a one-to-one basis.

The type of the measuring device 110 is not particularly limited as long as it can output the measurement data. The measuring device 110 includes, for example, a single camera provided with an image pickup element and a lens system for acquiring the state of the road structure as an image and outputting image data as measurement data, and a plurality of cameras for determining the distance and attitude to the road structure. Examples include a stereo camera that outputs a plurality of image data for measurement as measurement data, a TOF sensor that acquires an image including distance data in each pixel and outputs it as measurement data using the Time Of Flight technology. ..

In the case of the present embodiment, LiDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranking) that enables three-dimensional imaging at 360 ° (omnidirectional) is adopted as the measuring device 110. LiDAR irradiates a road structure with laser light to receive scattered light or reflected light, and measures the distance and positional relationship to an object based on the time from laser light irradiation to light reception. The measuring device 110 is a measuring device for the distance from the measuring device 110 attached to the vehicle 200 to each point of the road structure and the direction of the points with respect to the vehicle 200, for example, a predetermined reference direction in a horizontal plane passing through the measuring device 110. Point data F (see FIG. 4) indicating an angle centered on 110 is generated as measurement data.

Specifically, the measuring device 110 scans while rotating a plurality of laser beams having different dip angles (for example, at intervals of several °) and a plurality of laser beams having different elevation angles (for example, at intervals of several °), and scans the laser light source. The light receiving element that rotates together with the light receiving light receives scattered light and reflected light. When the measuring device 110 is mounted horizontally regardless of the mounting means 111, the rotation axis of the laser beam is along the vertical axis (see the portion (b) in FIG. 4), and the laser beam rotating in the horizontal plane is emitted. , The center line L of the measurement range in the pitch direction.

In the case of the present embodiment, the measuring device 110 is attached to the vehicle body 202 by the attachment means 111 so that the rotation axis of the emitted laser light is tilted at an angle E with respect to the vertical axis in the pitch direction P. The angle E is preferably selected from the range of 10 ° ± 7 °. If the angle E is less than 3 °, there is a high possibility that the number of point data F acquired from the curb 210 will be insufficient. When the angle E is larger than 17 °, the decrease in detection accuracy of other road structures cannot be ignored. As shown in the part (a) of FIG. 4, by setting the angle E of the inclination of the rotation axis with respect to the vertical axis to an angle selected from the range of 10 ° ± 7 °, the curb 210 is relatively short. On the other hand, the number of scans by the laser beam can be appropriately increased, and the number of point data F indicating the curb 210 can be increased.

The positional relationship detection device 120 is a device that derives the positional relationship of the vehicle 200 with respect to the curb 210 based on the measurement data acquired from the measurement device 110, and includes the data acquisition unit 121, the plane identification unit 127, the road surface extraction unit 125, and the road surface extraction unit 125. It includes an inclination deriving unit 128, a curb extraction unit 122, an intersection line calculation unit 126, and a positional relationship calculation unit 123.

The data acquisition unit 121 acquires measurement data from the measuring device 110. In the case of the present embodiment, since the measuring device 110 is an omnidirectional LiDAR that measures the state of the road structure including the edge stone 210 on the entire circumference (360 °) around the rotation axis of the measuring device 110, the data acquisition unit. As shown in FIG. 5, reference numeral 121 denotes a predetermined angular range around a predetermined axis (in the case of the present embodiment, a vertical axis passing through the measuring device 110) from the measurement data acquired from the measuring device 110. The center line B of the angle range is the left side in the case of the vehicle 200 corresponding to the left side traffic with respect to the front-rear direction of the vehicle 200, and the right side in the case of the vehicle 200 corresponding to the right side traffic (in the case of this embodiment, the opposite of the driver's seat 203). Only the point data included in the extraction angle range A facing the side) is extracted as new measurement data. As a result, the amount of data processed by the positional relationship detection device 120 is reduced, and the processing speed is improved.

Further, one end of the extraction angle range A is the front wheel on the left side in the case of the vehicle 200 corresponding to left-hand traffic, and on the right side (in the case of the present embodiment, the opposite side of the driver's seat 203) in the case of the vehicle 200 corresponding to right-hand traffic. It is set to be in contact with 201 and the other end to face forward in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 200. As a result, it is possible to secure sufficient information about the curb 210 while suppressing the amount of measurement data used for the calculation. Further, since the measuring device 110 is an omnidirectional LiDAR and the acquired measurement data is expressed in polar coordinates, it is possible to easily extract the measurement data within the extraction angle range A.

The measuring device 110 is arranged or set so that the singular direction S of the measuring device 110 faces other than the extraction angle range A. The singular direction S is at least one of the start direction and the end direction of the measurement, and the start direction and the end direction of the measurement are the same for the omnidirectional LiDAR. The singular direction S corresponds to a break in the measurement data, and corresponds to the reference direction of the angle included in the measurement data (in the case of the present embodiment, the direction of 0 °). By arranging or setting the measuring device 110 so that the singular direction S is outside the extraction angle range A in this way, the load of data processing can be suppressed and the detection accuracy can be improved.

The data acquisition unit 121 may extract a range equal to or less than a predetermined distance as a predetermined angle range A as new measurement data. Specifically, for example, a case of extracting measurement data within 20 m from the measuring device 110 can be exemplified. Further, the data acquisition unit 121 may extract the measurement data using a region having a predetermined shape such as a rectangle, instead of limiting the range for extracting the measurement data at at least one of the angle and the distance. In this case, it is preferable that the area in front of the front wheels is larger than the area behind the front wheels, and in the case of the vehicle 200 corresponding to the left-hand traffic with respect to the center position C of the vehicle 200, the left-hand traffic and the right-hand traffic are selected. In the case of the corresponding vehicle 200, the right side (in the case of this embodiment, the opposite side of the driver's seat 203) is the right side in the case of the vehicle 200 corresponding to left-hand traffic, and in the case of the vehicle 200 corresponding to right-hand traffic, the left side (this implementation). In the case of the above form, it is preferably larger than the driver's seat 203 side).

The plane identification unit 127 identifies at least two planes from a three-dimensional point cloud, which is a set of point data included in the measurement data. In the case of this embodiment, the plane is specified based on the measurement data in the restricted area. Thereby, the planes relating to the curb 210 and the road surface 220 can be centrally specified in the road structure. The method for specifying the plane is not particularly limited, but for example, it can be exemplified that Point Cloud Library (PCL), which is a software library for processing a three-dimensional point cloud, is used. Specifically, for example, a method of obtaining a normal vector from a set of point data F randomly selected from point cloud data and specifying a plane based on the degree of coincidence of the normal vectors can be exemplified.

The road surface extraction unit 125 extracts road surface data indicating the road surface based on the acquired measurement data. The road surface extraction logic of the road surface extraction unit 125 is not particularly limited. For example, when the measurement data is an image based on a camera, the road surface data may be extracted by image analysis.

In the case of the present embodiment, the road surface extraction unit 125 has an inclination with respect to the reference surface (assumed to be a horizontal plane) of the measuring device 110 from the plurality of planes specified by the plane identification unit 127 within the road surface inclination range. Moreover, a plane whose area is equal to or larger than the road surface area threshold is extracted as road surface data.

The road surface inclination range is not particularly limited, and is set based on the maximum roll angle and the maximum pitch angle of the vehicle 200. Specifically, a range of about ± 10 ° with respect to the inclination of the measuring device 110 with respect to the reference surface can be exemplified as a road surface inclination range.

In determining whether or not the area is equal to or greater than the road surface area threshold value, it is also possible to determine based on whether or not the number of point data F included in the specified plane is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. For example, at least a plane in which the number of point data F included in the specified plane is 50 or less can be prevented from being extracted as road surface data without making a judgment regarding inclination.

The inclination derivation unit 128 is attached to the vehicle 200 with respect to the first axis 231 which is a predetermined one axis in the actual horizontal plane as shown in FIG. 7A based on the road surface data extracted by the road surface extraction unit 125. The first inclination degree θ1 of the reference surface 112 of the measuring device 110 is derived. In the case of the present embodiment, the first shaft 231 is an axis along the width direction of the vehicle 200, and is an axis along the road surface 220 on which the vehicle 200 is located. That is, the first inclination degree θ1 is the inclination degree of the vehicle 200 in the roll direction R. Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the inclination deriving unit 128 also derives the second inclination degree θ2 of the reference surface 112 of the measuring device 110 with respect to the second axis 232 orthogonal to the first axis 231 in the horizontal plane. .. The second axis 232 is an axis along the front-rear direction of the vehicle 200. That is, the second inclination degree θ2 is the inclination degree in the pitch direction P. Specifically, the slope derivation unit 128 assumes that the road surface data extracted by the road surface extraction unit 125 is parallel to the horizontal plane, and the roll direction R and the pitch direction with respect to the road surface data of the reference surface 112 of the predetermined measuring device 110. The inclination of P is derived as the first inclination θ1 and the second inclination θ2. The road surface data used for deriving the first inclination degree θ1 and the second inclination degree θ2 is preferably extracted based on the measurement data obtained by measuring both the curb 210 and the road surface 220.

The curb extraction unit 122 extracts curb data indicating the curb 210 based on the measurement data acquired by the data acquisition unit 121. The method for extracting the curb data of the curb extraction unit 122 is not particularly limited.

In the case of the present embodiment, the measurement data acquired by the data acquisition unit 121 includes point data F indicating the position of each point of the road structure with respect to the vehicle 200. The plane specifying unit 127 specifies a plane from a three-dimensional point cloud which is a set of point data F. The curb extraction unit 122 extracts a plane included in the curb inclination range with respect to the vertical plane as an upright data as a candidate for the curb data indicating the side surface 211 of the curb 210, and corrects the upright data based on the first inclination degree. The corrected data is generated. The corrected data may be generated by adding the second inclination to the standing data.

The curb inclination range is not particularly limited, and a range of about ± 10 ° with respect to the inclination of the side surface of the widely used curb with respect to the vertical plane can be exemplified as the curb inclination range. Specifically, for example, the inclination of the side surface of the curb with respect to the vertical plane is 5.7 °, and the inclination range of the curb is 5.7 ° ± 10 °.

The curb extraction unit 122 further extracts curb data indicating the side surface 211 of the curb 210 based on the corrected data. Specifically, for example, the curb extraction unit 122 may extract a plane whose height is equal to or less than the height threshold value as curb data from the corrected data. Further, the curb extraction unit 122 may exclude a plane whose area is less than the curb area threshold value from the curb data from the corrected data. Further, the curb extraction unit 122 excludes the corrected data in which the ratio of the number of point data F higher than the height threshold to the number of point data F included in the corrected data is equal to or greater than the comparison threshold from the curb data. It doesn't matter.

The height threshold is not particularly limited and is set based on the actual height of the curb that is widely used. Specifically, for example, when the minimum height of a plurality of types of curbs is 20 cm, 18 cm in consideration of measurement error and the like can be exemplified as a height threshold value.

The curb area threshold is not particularly limited. Further, since the curbs 210 are arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction, the area of the side surface 211 of the curb 210 cannot be uniformly specified. Therefore, the curb area threshold value may be set by setting the total of the side areas of a plurality of (for example, several) curbs 210 as the lower limit value. In the case of this embodiment, the curb area threshold value is the number of point data F included in the extracted curb data. This is based on the fact that the number of point data F measured as the side surface 211 of the curb 210 and the area of the side surface 211 of the curb 210 are in a proportional relationship.

The line of intersection calculation unit 126 calculates the line of intersection data 215 indicating the line of intersection 215 between the road surface data extracted by the road surface extraction unit 125 and the curb data extracted by the curb stone extraction unit 122. The logic for calculating the line of intersection data is not particularly limited. For example, a method of creating a virtual road surface equation including road surface data and a virtual rim stone plane equation including rim stone data and using the intersection of these two planes as intersection line data (intersection line equation) can be exemplified. ..

The positional relationship calculation unit 123 calculates the distance D from the curb stone 210 to the vehicle 200 and the angle θ of the vehicle 200 with respect to the arrangement direction of the curb stone 210 based on the curb stone data extracted by the curb stone extraction unit 122. The method of calculating the distance D and the angle θ varies depending on the type of measurement data output by the measuring device 110, and is not limited. For example, when the measurement data is an image, the inclination in the image of the portion extracted as the curb may be associated with the angle θ, and the line is orthogonal to the portion extracted as the curb and passes through the reference point in the image. The length from the curb of the line to the reference point may be associated with the distance D.

In the case of the present embodiment, the positional relationship calculation unit 123 has a distance D from the line of intersection 215 to the vehicle 200 based on the calculated line of intersection data (specifically, from the line of intersection 215 of the edge stone 210 and the road surface 220 to the measuring device 110). Distance D is calculated.

The correct arrival control unit 130 makes a correct arrival along the curb 210 based on the distance D from the curb 210 to the vehicle 200 calculated by the positional relationship calculation unit 123 and the angle θ of the vehicle 200 with respect to the alignment direction of the curb 210. Control the vehicle 200. Specifically, for example, the correct arrival control unit 130 performs correct arrival control by integrally controlling the steering, the motor (engine) for traveling, the brake, and the like. The correct arrival control unit 130 may control the correct arrival of the vehicle 200 by presenting the information necessary for the correct arrival to the driver.

Next, the flow of the positional relationship detection method for detecting the distance D from the curb 210 to the vehicle 200 on the road surface 220 and the angle in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 200 with respect to the arrangement direction of the curbs 210 will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of the positional relationship detection method.

First, the need for calibration of the measuring device 110 is determined (S101). For example, the calibration device 110 is calibrated at the initial setting stage of the measuring device 110 or at a timing such as after the lapse of a predetermined period after starting the use of the measuring device 110 (S101: Yes). Specifically, the vehicle 200 to which the measuring device 110 is attached is moved and arranged on a road surface that is guaranteed to be horizontal, the road surface extraction unit 125 extracts the road surface data, and the vehicle 200 is derived to the inclination extraction unit 128. The reference plane of the measuring device 110 is calibrated so that the first inclination degree is 0 ° (S102). It should be noted that the singular direction S (see FIG. 5) of the measuring device 110 and the front-rear direction of the vehicle 200 may be calibrated.

Next, when the correct arrival control is started in the automatic driving (S103: Yes), the data acquisition unit 121 measures the state of the road structure including the curb 210 existing around the vehicle 200 and the road surface 220. The measurement data is acquired from the device 110 (S104). In the case of the present embodiment, the data acquisition unit 121 extracts the predetermined area data indicating the inside of the predetermined area from the acquired measurement data to obtain new measurement data, and reduces the amount of data (S105).

Next, in the case of the present embodiment, the plane specifying unit 127 specifies a plurality of planes based on the reduced predetermined area data (S106). The road surface extraction unit 125 extracts road surface data indicating the road surface 220 from a plurality of planes (S107).

When the extracted road surface data is correct road surface data (S108: Yes), the slope derivation unit 128 compares the extracted road surface data with the reference surface of the pre-calibrated measuring device 110, and measures the roll direction measuring device 110. The first inclination degree, which is the inclination of, and the second inclination degree, which is the inclination in the pitch direction, are derived (S109).

Next, the curb extraction unit 122 extracts measurement data corresponding to the plane included in the curb inclination range with respect to the vertical plane from the plane specified by the plane identification unit 127 as standing data (S110). The extracted standing data is corrected using the first inclination and the second inclination to generate corrected data (S111). The curb extraction unit 122 extracts correct curb data from the generated corrected data by using a height threshold value, a curb area threshold value, and the like (S112: Yes).

Next, the line of intersection calculation unit 126 calculates the line of intersection data indicating the line of intersection 215 between the road surface data extracted by the road surface extraction unit 125 and the curb data extracted by the curb stone extraction unit 122 (S113). Next, the positional relationship calculation unit 123 calculates the distance D from the curb 210 to the vehicle 200 and the angle θ of the vehicle 200 with respect to the arrangement direction of the curbs 210 based on the line of intersection data (S114). The method of calculating the distance D and the angle θ varies depending on the type of measurement data output by the measuring device 110, and is not limited. For example, when the measurement data is an image, the inclination in the image of the portion extracted as the curb may be associated with the angle θ, and the line is orthogonal to the portion extracted as the curb and passes through the reference point in the image. The length from the curb of the line to the reference point may be associated with the distance D.

In the case of the present embodiment, the positional relationship calculation unit 123 determines the distance D from the line of intersection 215 to the vehicle 200 based on the calculated line of intersection data (specifically, from the line of intersection 215 of the edge stone 210 and the road surface 220 to the measuring device 110). Finally, the positional relationship calculation unit 123 outputs the calculated distance and angle to the correct arrival control unit 130 (S115). The above flow from S104 to S116 is the correct arrival. It is repeated until the end of control (S116: Yes) (S116: No).

According to the positional relationship detection system 100 according to the present embodiment, the measuring device 110 continues to detect the curb 210 based on a large number of point data F during the correct arrival control in which the vehicle 200 is placed near the curb 210. Can be done. Therefore, since the accurate distance D and the angle θ are output from the positional relationship detection device 120, it is possible to realize the correct arrival control (automatic parking) of the vehicle 200 with high accuracy.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, another embodiment realized by arbitrarily combining the components described in the present specification and excluding some of the components may be an embodiment of the present invention. The present invention also includes modifications obtained by making various modifications that can be conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the gist of the present invention, that is, the meaning indicated by the wording described in the claims, with respect to the above-described embodiment. Is done.

For example, the positional relationship detection device 120 may not include the plane specifying unit 127. Specifically, for example, when the measurement data is image data including distance data, the road surface 220 and the side surface 211 of the curb 210 are directly extracted from the measurement data by using pattern matching or the like. It is also possible.

Further, the positional relationship detection device 120 may not include the road surface extraction unit 125, the inclination derivation unit 128, and the line of intersection calculation unit 126. Specifically, the positional relationship calculation unit 123 may directly calculate the distance between the curb 210 and the vehicle 200 and the angle of the vehicle 200 with respect to the arrangement direction of the curb 210 based on the road surface data showing the side surface 211 of the curb 210. ..

Further, the measuring device 110 not only measures the state of the road structure around a predetermined axis, but also the state of the road structure in a predetermined angle range A around the predetermined axis as shown in FIG. It does not matter if it measures. For example, when the measuring device 110 is a camera or the like, the angle of view of the camera is in the angle range A. Further, in such a measuring device 110, the center line B of the angle range A is on the left side in the case of the vehicle 200 corresponding to left-hand traffic in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 200, and on the right side in the case of the vehicle 200 corresponding to right-hand traffic. In the case of the present embodiment, it is preferable that the vehicle is arranged so as to face the driver's seat 203 (opposite side).

Further, the data acquisition unit 121 limits the measurement data acquired from the measuring device 110 to a predetermined angle range, but the data acquisition unit 121 may be limited to at least one of the angle range and the distance range. Specifically, the distance range is to extract only the measurement data within 20 m from the measuring device 110, for example.

Further, the data acquisition unit 121 may limit the measurement data acquired from the measuring device 110 to a range of an arbitrary closed shape such as a rectangle.

Further, the program may be a program that allows the computer to perform some or all of the processing of the data acquisition unit 121, the curb extraction unit 122, the positional relationship calculation unit 123, and the correct arrival control unit 130.

Further, although the mounting means 111 has been described as a separate body from the measuring device 110, the mounting means 111 may be incorporated in the measuring device 110.

The present invention can be used for vehicles traveling on road surfaces such as passenger cars, buses, trucks, agricultural machines, and construction machines.

100 ... Positional relationship detection system, 110 ... Measuring device, 111 ... Mounting means, 112 ... Reference plane, 120 ... Positional relationship detection device, 121 ... Data acquisition unit, 122 ... Curb extraction unit, 123 ... Positional relationship calculation unit, 125 ... Road surface extraction unit, 126 ... Line of intersection calculation unit, 127 ... Plane identification unit, 128 ... Inclined lead unit, 130 ... Regular arrival control unit, 200 ... Vehicle, 201 ... Front wheel, 202 ... Vehicle body, 203 ... Driver's seat, 210 ... Curb, 211 ... side, 215 ... intersection line, 220 ... road surface, 231 ... first axis, 232 ... second axis

Claims (5)

A positional relationship detection system that detects the distance from the curb to the vehicle.
A measuring device for measuring the state of a road structure including the curb existing around the vehicle, and
Mounting means for attaching the measuring device to the main body of the vehicle so that the center line of the measuring range of the measuring device is tilted in the pitch direction of the vehicle.
A data acquisition unit that acquires measurement data from the measuring device,
A curb extraction unit that extracts curb data indicating the curb based on the acquired measurement data, and a curb extraction unit.
A positional relationship calculation unit that calculates the distance from the curb to the vehicle based on the curb data,
Positional relationship detection system. With the positional relationship calculation unit
The positional relationship detection system according to claim 1, wherein the angle of the vehicle with respect to the arrangement direction of the curbs is calculated based on the curb data. The measuring device is
The state of the road structure is measured by scanning the entire circumference around a predetermined axis or a predetermined angle range, and the distance from the vehicle to each point of the road structure and the direction of the point with respect to the vehicle. Generates point data indicating that as measurement data,
The mounting means
The positional relationship detection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the measuring device is attached to the main body of the vehicle so that the predetermined axis is tilted in the pitch direction of the vehicle. The positional relationship detection system according to claim 3, wherein the inclination of the predetermined axis is set to an angle selected from a range of 10 ° ± 7 ° with respect to the vertical axis. The positional relationship detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a correct arrival control unit that controls the vehicle so that the vehicle is properly attached to the curb based on the distance calculated by the positional relationship calculation unit.

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