JP2021163323A - Travel support request device - Google Patents

Abstract

To transmit information necessary and sufficient for performing travel support for a vehicle with respect to a travel support device.SOLUTION: A travel support request device 100 that is mounted on a vehicle that performs automatic driving, and communicates with a travel support device 200 that remotely supports traveling of the vehicle includes: a detection unit 101 that detects an object around the vehicle; a determination unit 102 that based on a position of the object and a prediction result obtained by predicting a future action of the object, determines whether or not travel support is requested from the travel support device; and a transmission unit 105 that in a case where the determination unit determines that the travel support is requested, transmits a request message requesting the travel support and object information indicating the object, to the travel support device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention is a travel support request device mounted on a vehicle that performs automatic driving, a travel support device that communicates with the travel support request device to remotely support the vehicle's travel, and a travel support request executed by the travel support request device. Regarding the method and driving support request program.

In recent years, development on autonomous driving of automobiles has been promoted. In particular, the development of an autonomous driving vehicle in which an in-vehicle system automatically accelerates, steers, and brakes is expected. Such an automatically driven vehicle detects objects such as other vehicles and pedestrians existing around the vehicle by using various sensors mounted on the vehicle, and makes a trajectory that avoids collision with these objects. In addition to calculating, the vehicle is controlled so as to travel on the calculated track. As a result, the self-driving vehicle can run without a driver.

However, there may be cases where the vehicle cannot calculate the trajectory to avoid the object, or the in-vehicle system cannot determine the suitability of the calculated track. Therefore, it is desirable to construct a system that can remotely support or control the running of an autonomous vehicle as needed.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle remote control method and a vehicle remote control device for remotely controlling an autonomous driving vehicle. According to the disclosure of Patent Document 1, when a support request signal requesting remote control is received from a vehicle, the traveling locus of another vehicle traveling around the vehicle is calculated based on the environmental information around the vehicle, and the traveling of the other vehicle is calculated. Vehicle support route candidates are generated and displayed based on the trajectory.

JP-A-2019-185293

Here, the present inventor has found the following problems.
An operator who uses a device that remotely assists the driving of an autonomous vehicle determines the situation in which the vehicle is placed based on information indicating an object around the vehicle, and calculates a trajectory that allows the vehicle to travel safely. , The driving support of the vehicle is provided by instructing the action to be taken by the vehicle. However, since the information transmitted by the vehicle to the remote device includes not only the information necessary for the operator to provide driving assistance but also various information existing around the vehicle, the operator transmits from the vehicle. It is necessary to select and judge what is necessary for driving support from the provided information. Therefore, not only the workload of the operator increases, but also it takes time to select the necessary information, which may make it impossible to provide quick running support to the vehicle.

Therefore, in the present invention, the traveling support requesting device mounted on the vehicle selects and transmits sufficient information necessary for the traveling support of the vehicle to the traveling support device, thereby enabling remote assistance of the vehicle while providing driving support. The purpose is to reduce the workload of the operator who uses the device.

The travel support request device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a travel support request device (100) that is mounted on a vehicle that performs automatic driving and communicates with a travel support device (200) that remotely supports the travel of the vehicle. Whether or not to request driving support from the traveling support device based on the detection unit (101) that detects an object around the vehicle and the prediction result of predicting the position of the object and the future behavior of the object. The determination unit (102) for determining, and the transmission unit (105) for transmitting the request message requesting the driving support and the object information indicating the object to the traveling support device when the determination unit determines that the traveling support is requested. ) And.

The claims and the numbers in parentheses attached to the constituent requirements of the invention described in this section indicate the correspondence between the present invention and the embodiments described later, and are intended to limit the present invention. No.

With the above-described configuration, the travel support request device of the present disclosure can transmit object information indicating the object that caused the request for travel support to the travel support device. Therefore, the vehicle uses the travel support device. The operator who provides the driving support can easily recognize the object that caused the vehicle to request the driving support, and can provide the driving support corresponding to the object.

Explanatory drawing explaining an example of the driving support system which comprises the driving support request device of each embodiment of this disclosure. A block diagram showing a configuration example of the traveling support requesting device according to the first to third embodiments of the present disclosure. Explanatory drawing which shows the determination example of the necessity of the driving support request of the driving support request device of Embodiment 1 of this disclosure. A flowchart showing the operation of the driving support requesting device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. A block diagram showing a configuration example of a driving support device that communicates with the driving support requesting devices according to the first to third embodiments of the present disclosure. The figure explaining the image displayed on the display part of the driving support device which communicates with the driving support request device of Embodiment 1 of this disclosure. The figure explaining the image displayed on the display part of the driving support device which communicates with the driving support request device of the modification of Embodiment 1 of this disclosure. The figure explaining the image displayed on the display part of the driving support device which communicates with the driving support request device of Embodiment 2 of this disclosure. The figure explaining the image displayed on the display part of the driving support device which communicates with the driving support request device of Embodiment 3 of this disclosure.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The present invention means the invention described in the section of claims or means for solving the problem, and is not limited to the following embodiments. Further, at least the words and phrases in brackets mean the words and phrases described in the section of claims or means for solving the problem, and are not limited to the following embodiments.

The configurations and methods described in the dependent terms of the claims are arbitrary configurations and methods in the invention described in the independent terms of the claims. The configurations and methods of the embodiments corresponding to the configurations and methods described in the dependent terms, and the configurations and methods described only in the embodiments that are not described in the claims are arbitrary configurations and methods in the present invention. The configuration and method described in the embodiment when the description of the claims is wider than the description of the embodiment is also an arbitrary configuration and method in the present invention in the sense that it is an example of the configuration and method of the present invention. .. In either case, the description in the independent clause of the claims provides an essential configuration and method of the present invention.

The effects described in the embodiments are effects in the case of having the configuration of the embodiment as an example of the present invention, and are not necessarily the effects of the present invention.

When there are a plurality of embodiments, the configuration disclosed in each embodiment is not closed only in each embodiment, but can be combined across the embodiments. For example, the configuration disclosed in one embodiment may be combined with another embodiment. Further, the disclosed configurations may be collected and combined in each of the plurality of embodiments.

The problem described in the problem to be solved by the invention is not a known problem, but is an original knowledge of the present inventor, and is a fact that affirms the inventive step of the invention together with the structure and method of the present invention.

1. 1. Travel Assistance System FIG. 1 will be used to describe a travel assistance system 1 in which the travel assistance requesting device 100 of each embodiment is used.

The travel support system 1 is composed of a travel support request device 100, a travel support device 200, and a communication network 20. The travel support request device 100 is an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle 10 that performs "automatic driving". Further, the traveling support device 200 is a device provided outside the vehicle and operated by an operator or the like to remotely support the traveling of the vehicle. Although omitted in FIG. 1, the travel support request device 100 and the travel support device 200 communicate with each other via a communication network 20 including a base station, a gateway, and a network line of a cellular communication network.

"Automatic driving" is sufficient as long as at least one of acceleration / deceleration, steering, and other controls is automatically controlled, and the level of automation does not matter.

2. Embodiment 1
(1) Configuration of Travel Support Requesting Device 100 The configuration of the traveling support requesting device 100 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The travel support request device 100 includes a detection unit 101, a determination unit 102, a video information generation unit 103, a track acquisition unit 104, and a transmission unit 105.

The detection unit 101 detects an object existing in the "surroundings" of the vehicle. The object may be, for example, another vehicle, a moving body such as a pedestrian or a bicycle, a fixed object such as a building or a traffic light, or a feature such as a crossing walk or a road.

Here, the "surroundings" do not necessarily have to cover the range of 360 degrees, and may be a part thereof. For example, it may be only in front of the vehicle, or only in front of and behind the vehicle.

The detection unit 101 is, for example, a video detection unit that acquires a "video" around the vehicle and detects an object included in the video. Alternatively, the detection unit 101 may be a distance measuring sensor that measures the distance to an object existing around the vehicle. Note that "detection" includes not only photographing and measuring the surroundings of the vehicle using an image detection unit and a distance measuring sensor, but also extracting and recognizing a specific object from the photographed or measured data. In the following embodiment, a case where the detection unit 101 is an image detection unit that acquires an image of the surroundings of the vehicle will be described as an example.

The "video" may be a still image as well as a moving image composed of one or more images. Further, in addition to the image captured through the lens of the camera, the image obtained by scanning the distance sensor such as LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) may be converted into two-dimensional data.

The determination unit 102 determines whether or not to request the travel support from the travel support device 200 based on the "prediction result" that predicts the position of the object and the future behavior of the object. Then, when it is determined that the driving support is requested, a message requesting the driving support (hereinafter referred to as a request message) is generated. The position of the object can be acquired from the direction in which the detection unit 101 detects the object or the position of the object in the video. The method of determining whether or not the determination unit 102 requests the traveling support of the vehicle will be described later.

The "prediction result" may be the predicted behavior of the object itself, or may be a result indicating that the prediction cannot be made.

When the determination unit 102 determines that it is necessary to request the vehicle travel support from the travel support device 200, the video information generation unit 103 encodes the video acquired by the detection unit 101 to generate video information. .. Specifically, the video information generation unit 103 encodes a part of the video acquired by the detection unit 101 including an object with high image quality (corresponding to the “first image quality”), and the video information generation unit 103 encodes the video with high image quality (corresponding to the “first image quality”). All or part of the area other than a part of the area is encoded with low image quality or medium image quality (corresponding to "second image quality"). The video information generation unit 103 can encode only the area including the object with high image quality by increasing the frame rate, bit rate, or resolution. As a result, the video information generation unit 103 generates video information including two videos encoded with different image quality. The video information generation unit 103 may encode a part of the area including the object with high image quality, and the area to be encoded with low image quality does not have to be limited to a part of the area including the object. For example, the video information generation unit 103 may encode a part of the video including an object with high image quality and encode the entire video with low image quality. In this case, a part of the area including the object is duplicated and encoded with two image quality, high image quality and low image quality.

In the following embodiment, the video information generation unit 103 encodes an area including an object with high image quality and encodes the other area with low image quality to include an image encoded with two image quality. An example of generating video information will be described. However, the video information generation unit 103 may generate video information including a video encoded with an image quality of 3 or higher. For example, the area including the object may be encoded with high image quality, a part of the other area may be encoded with medium image quality, and the remaining area may be encoded with low image quality.

The track acquisition unit 104 "acquires" a track candidate that is a candidate for a "track" on which the vehicle will travel in the future. The track candidate acquired by the track acquisition unit 104 is a track on which the vehicle can safely travel without colliding with other vehicles, pedestrians, or the like. The track acquisition unit 104 can acquire track candidates based on the image acquired by the detection unit 101, the information acquired by using various sensors (not shown) mounted on the vehicle, and the road information in the map database. .. The track acquisition unit 104 may further acquire a track candidate for avoiding the object by using the position of the object used by the determination unit 102 for determining the necessity of travel support and the future prediction result. The orbit candidate is not limited to one, and the orbit acquisition unit 104 may acquire a plurality of orbit candidates.

The "orbit" may be represented not only by a line but also by a set of discrete points.
The “acquisition” includes not only the case where the orbit candidate is acquired by performing an operation or the like by itself, but also the case where the orbit candidate is acquired by receiving using wired or wireless communication.

When the determination unit 102 determines that the travel support device 200 requests the travel support, the transmission unit 105 transmits the request message and the object information indicating the object to the travel support device 200. In the present embodiment, the transmission unit 105 transmits the video information generated by the video information generation unit 103 as object information. However, as described in the following modification, the object information is not limited to the video information. The transmission unit 105 may further transmit the trajectory candidates acquired by the trajectory acquisition unit 104.

(2) Determining the Necessity of Requesting Driving Assistance Next, a method of determining whether or not the determination unit 102 requests driving assistance will be described with reference to FIG. The determination unit 102 determines that the travel support device 200 is requested to support travel when, for example, the following (a) to (c) are applicable.

(A) When the behavior of an object in front of the vehicle cannot be predicted FIG. 3a shows an example of an image acquired by the detection unit 101 mounted on the vehicle. In the image shown in FIG. 3a, a vehicle A located in front of the own vehicle, that is, an object exists.

Here, the determination unit 102 predicts the future behavior of the vehicle A. For example, when the brake lamp of the vehicle A is not lit, the determination unit 102 can predict that the vehicle A will continue to travel as it is. On the other hand, when the brake lamp of the vehicle A is lit, the future behavior of the vehicle A is likely to change depending on the reason why the vehicle A is stopped or is about to stop. For example, there are various possible reasons why the brake lamp of vehicle A is lit, such as being temporarily stopped, being stopped due to traffic jams or traffic lights, or being stopped for passengers to get on and off. Since the future behavior of the vehicle A changes due to these causes, such as the vehicle A continuing to stop or starting to run, it is not possible to predict the future behavior of the vehicle A with sufficiently high certainty. Then, when the behavior of the vehicle A cannot be predicted, it is difficult for the track acquisition unit 104 to acquire an appropriate track for the own vehicle to avoid a collision with the vehicle A. Alternatively, even if the track acquisition unit 104 calculates a plurality of tracks that avoid a collision with the vehicle A, it is difficult to determine which track should be selected. For example, if the vehicle A is stopped due to traffic jams or traffic lights, it is appropriate to stop the own vehicle, and if the vehicle is parked on the street, the track to avoid is appropriate. In the case of passengers getting on and off, depending on the situation, a track that avoids more or a track that stops and waits for the end of getting on and off is an appropriate track. Therefore, if the determination unit 102 cannot predict the future behavior of the vehicle A located in front of the own vehicle, the determination unit 102 determines that the travel support device 200 is requested to support the travel of the vehicle.

In FIG. 3a, as an object located in front of the own vehicle, a vehicle traveling in the same lane as the own vehicle is described as an example. However, the object located in front of the own vehicle may be a vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane. For example, when another vehicle traveling diagonally in front of the own vehicle is meandering, or when another vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane is traveling outside the lane in which the own vehicle is traveling, these are the cases. The other vehicles are located in front of the own vehicle, and it is difficult to predict the future behavior of these other vehicles. Therefore, even in such a case, the determination unit 102 may determine that the traveling support is requested.

The operator who operates the travel support device 200 that has received the request message from the travel support request device 100 determines the situation of the vehicle A located in front of the vehicle based on the object information received together with the request message, and travels with respect to the vehicle. Provide support. For example, by determining the stop position of vehicle A, a signal sign, and the presence or absence of an occupant, a track is generated so that the vehicle avoids a collision with vehicle A. Select a proper track or instruct the vehicle to stop.

(B) When the position of the object is within a predetermined range from the trajectory candidate FIG. 3b shows another example of the image acquired by the detection unit 101. In the image shown in FIG. 3b, a pedestrian B and a pedestrian C, that is, an object exist in the left front while the own vehicle is traveling. Further, the broken line shown in FIG. 3b indicates the track candidate of the vehicle acquired by the track acquisition unit 104.

Here, both pedestrians B and C are located around the track candidates of the own vehicle. Therefore, if the pedestrians B and C cross the road while the own vehicle is traveling on the track candidate, the vehicle may come into contact with the pedestrian. Therefore, the determination unit 102 predicts the future behavior of the pedestrians B and C. For example, the position of pedestrian B is close to the pedestrian crossing. Therefore, it is expected to walk on the pedestrian crossing according to the signal display. On the other hand, the position of pedestrian C is far from the pedestrian crossing. Therefore, there is a possibility of crossing the road regardless of the signal display, and it is difficult to predict the future behavior of the pedestrian C. Further, if there is no signal display on the pedestrian crossing in which pedestrian B is close, it is difficult to predict the future behavior of pedestrian B. Therefore, when the determination unit 102 cannot predict the future behavior of the object located within the predetermined "range" from the track candidate of the own vehicle, the determination unit 102 determines that the travel support device 200 is requested to support the travel of the vehicle.

Here, "within a range" means that the actual distance to the object is a predetermined distance (for example, several meters) or less, and the distance to the object in the image is a predetermined distance (for example, several pixels). Including the following cases.

In the example of FIG. 3b, when there is no signal on the pedestrian crossing, the travel support device 200 that has received the request message from the travel support request device 100 receives the request message and the object information indicating the pedestrians B and C. Then, the operator who operates the traveling support device 200 determines whether the pedestrians B and C are trying to cross the road or does not cross the road, so that the operator does not come into contact with the pedestrians B and C. The most appropriate track may be selected from the generated track candidates and the track candidates received together with the request message, or the vehicle may be instructed to drive slowly.

(C) When the track candidate avoiding the object is a track entering another lane FIG. 3c shows another example of the image acquired by the detection unit 101. In the image shown in FIG. 3c, another vehicle D, that is, an object exists in front of the own vehicle. Similar to FIG. 3b, the broken line indicates the track candidate of the vehicle acquired by the track acquisition unit 104.

Here, when the hazard lamp of the vehicle D is lit, it is clear that the vehicle D is parked on the road, and it can be predicted that the vehicle D will continue to be parked. Therefore, unlike the above-mentioned (a), the vehicle D does not correspond to an object whose behavior cannot be predicted. Therefore, the track acquisition unit 104 acquires a track candidate on which the own vehicle travels while avoiding the vehicle D, based on the position of the vehicle D and the prediction result that the vehicle D will continue to be parked. The broken line track candidate shown in FIG. 3c is a track candidate that avoids the vehicle D, and is a track in which the own vehicle enters another lane from the lane in which the vehicle is traveling. In this way, when the track candidate that avoids the object is a track that enters another lane, the vehicle continues to run on the track that enters another lane, the vehicle D waits until the vehicle starts, or the vehicle It is difficult to determine which run is appropriate. Therefore, the determination unit 102 determines that if the track candidate for avoiding the object is a track that "enters" the "other lane" from the lane in which the own vehicle is traveling, the travel support device is requested to assist the vehicle in traveling. do.

Here, the "other lane" may be a lane different from the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, and may not be a lane parallel to the traveling direction. For example, it also includes a lane that intersects with a driving lane.
"Entering" means that a predetermined part of the vehicle is in another lane, and the predetermined part of the vehicle is a condition other than a specific part of the vehicle (for example, a tire). It may be a different part of the vehicle depending on the situation.

In the example of FIG. 3c, the traveling support device 200 receives the object information indicating the vehicle D together with the request message. Then, the operator who operates the traveling support device 200 determines whether or not the track entering another lane is appropriate. If the track candidate is appropriate, a travel instruction message may be sent to the vehicle to continue traveling according to the track candidate, and if the track candidate is not appropriate, the vehicle D may stop and wait until it starts. May send a stop instruction message to the vehicle.

The track on which the own vehicle enters another lane from the traveling lane is, for example, returning to the traveling lane across the central line located between the traveling lane and the oncoming lane as shown in FIG. 3c. In addition to the track, it may be a track that changes lanes to an adjacent lane, or a track that enters a lane that intersects the running lane, that is, a track that turns right or left.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, a vehicle or a pedestrian is taken as an example as an object, but the object is not limited to these objects, and may be, for example, an obstacle on a road, a road construction, or the like. good.

(3) Operation of the Travel Support Requesting Device 100 The operation of the traveling support requesting device 100 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The operation shown in FIG. 4 not only shows the running support requesting method in the running support requesting device 100, but also shows the processing procedure of the running support request program executed by the running support requesting device 100. And these processes are not limited to the order shown in FIG. That is, the order may be changed as long as there is no restriction that the result of the previous step is used in a certain step. As described above, the same applies not only to this embodiment but also to other embodiments and modifications.

In S101, the detection unit 101 acquires an image of the surroundings of the vehicle and detects an object.

In S102, the track acquisition unit 104 acquires a track candidate.

In S103, the determination unit 102 predicts the future behavior of the object, and determines whether or not to request the travel support device 200 for travel support based on the position of the object and the prediction result of the future behavior of the object. do. If it is determined that the driving support is not requested, the process ends (S103: No).

On the other hand, when it is determined that the driving support is requested (S103: Yes), the video information acquisition unit 103 encodes a part of the video acquired in S101 including the object with high image quality, and a part of the area. Video information is generated by encoding other than the above with low image quality or medium image quality (S104).

Then, in S105, the transmission unit 105 transmits the request message requesting the travel support and the video information generated in S104 to the travel support device 200 as object information.

(4) Configuration of Travel Support Device 200 Next, the travel support device 200 that receives a request message and object information from the travel support request device 100 will be described.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the traveling support device 200. The traveling support device 200 includes a receiving unit 201, a storage unit 202, a display unit 203, an instruction input unit 204, and a transmitting unit 205.

The receiving unit 201 receives the request message and the object information transmitted from the traveling support request device 100.

The storage unit 202 stores "road information" related to the road. The road information includes, for example, road construction information and traffic congestion information, and may be updated periodically by receiving from, for example, an infrastructure sensor device or a vehicle traveling on the road. The road information also includes road information on the road on which the vehicle equipped with the travel support request device 100 is traveling and the road on which the vehicle will travel in the future.

The "road information" includes not only information about the road on which the own vehicle is traveling, but also information accompanying the road.

The display unit 203 displays the object information received from the vehicle. FIG. 6 shows an image displayed on the display unit 203. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the case where the video information in which the video shown in FIG. 3a is encoded is received as the object information will be described as an example. FIG. 6a shows a state in which a high-quality image and a low-quality image are superimposed and displayed. Further, FIG. 6b shows an example in which a low-quality image is displayed and a part of the low-quality image is separately displayed as a high-quality image. In both FIGS. 6a and 6b, the vehicle, which is an object, is displayed in high image quality. Further, in both FIGS. 6a and 6b, borders are superimposed so as to clearly indicate the vehicle which is an object. Therefore, the operator who remotely assists the vehicle in traveling by using the traveling support device 200 can immediately recognize the object that caused the request for driving assistance from the information contained in the video, which is even higher. The state of the object can be recognized in detail from the object displayed in image quality.

When the storage unit 202 stores road information regarding the road on which the vehicle is traveling and the road on which the vehicle will travel in the future, the display unit 203 may further display the road information. For example, when road construction is being carried out around the road on which the vehicle is traveling, information indicating the road construction may be displayed on the display unit 203. FIG. 6c shows a state in which road information is superimposed and displayed on the display unit 203. It is desirable that the road information displayed on the display unit 203 is useful information for the operator's driving support, that is, information having a high possibility of affecting the future traveling of the vehicle.

The instruction input unit 204 receives an operation instruction from the operator who has confirmed the image displayed on the display unit 203. The operation instruction is requested by the operator regarding the running of the vehicle. The operation instruction may be, for example, instructing the vehicle to pause or decelerate. Alternatively, it may be an instruction regarding the track on which the vehicle should travel. For example, when a plurality of track candidates acquired by the track acquisition unit 104 are transmitted from the traveling support request device 100, one track candidate selected from the plurality of track candidates is input as an operation instruction.

The transmission unit 205 transmits the operation instruction input to the instruction input unit 204 to the traveling support request device 100.

According to the present embodiment, the travel support request device 100 mounted on the vehicle causes the travel support device 200, which remotely assists the vehicle to travel, to request the travel support together with the travel support request message. Object information indicating an object can be sent. As a result, the operator who operates the travel support device 200 can easily recognize the object that caused the vehicle to request the travel support, and can recognize the state of the object in detail, reducing the workload of the operator. can do. Further, since the object can be easily recognized, the time required for driving support can be shortened.

(Modification example)
In the first embodiment described above, as the object information, a part of the image including the object is encoded with high image quality, and the image information in which the area other than the part of the image is encoded with low image quality or medium image quality is transmitted. The configuration to be used was explained. However, the object information is not limited to such video information.

The object information may be, for example, a combination of video information obtained by encoding the video acquired by the detection unit 101 with low image quality or medium image quality and coordinate information of the object indicating the position of the object in the video. In this example, the display unit 203 of the traveling support device 200 displays a low-quality or medium-quality image and markers such as a circle or a square indicating the position indicated by the coordinate information. FIG. 7a shows an example of an image displayed on the display unit 203 of the traveling support device 200 that has received the object information according to this modification. As shown in FIG. 7a, the image shows a circle that emphasizes the position of the object. Therefore, the operator can easily recognize the object that caused the vehicle to request driving assistance from the video.

As yet another example, the object information includes video information obtained by encoding the video acquired by the detection unit 101 with low image quality or medium image quality, coordinate information of the object indicating the position of the object in the video, and a type indicating the type of the object. It may be a combination of information. FIG. 7b shows an example of an image displayed on the display unit 203 of the traveling support device 200 that has received the object information according to this example. As shown in FIG. 7b, a vehicle mark is displayed as an object type in the video. Therefore, the operator can easily recognize the object that caused the vehicle to request the traveling support and the type of the object from the video.

The object information of the first embodiment and the present modification may be combined with each other.

2. Embodiment 2
When the operator uses the travel support device 200 to perform travel support, the trajectory and behavior that the vehicle should take in the future are determined based on the object information indicating the object that caused the request for the travel support. However, if there are objects such as vehicles and pedestrians around the vehicle in addition to the objects that caused the request for driving assistance, these objects can affect the vehicle's driving, so the operator It is desirable to support the running of the vehicle in consideration of the situation of other objects. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in addition to the object that caused the request for travel support, information indicating other objects related to the object is also transmitted to the travel support device 200.

Since the traveling support requesting device 100 of the present embodiment has the same configuration as that of FIG. 2, the description of FIG. 2 is quoted. Further, since the travel support device 200 that communicates with the travel support request device 100 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

Based on the first embodiment, when the determination unit 102 determines that the travel support device 200 requests the travel support, the detection unit 101 further refers to the object that caused the request for the travel support (hereinafter referred to as the cause object). Detect other different objects (corresponding to "peripheral objects").

For example, the detection unit 101 detects another object located within a predetermined range from the cause object as a peripheral object. When the cause object is a vehicle, for example, another object located within 1 m as a predetermined range from the vehicle is detected as a peripheral object. Alternatively, in the video acquired by the detection unit 101, other objects existing within a predetermined pixel from the vehicle may be detected as peripheral objects.

In another example, the detection unit 101 may detect the traveling direction of the cause object and detect another object located in the traveling direction of the cause object as a peripheral object. For example, when the causative object is a vehicle, other vehicles, pedestrians, obstacles, traffic lights, etc. located in the traveling direction of the vehicle are detected as peripheral objects. As for the traveling direction of the vehicle, for example, the traveling direction of the vehicle can be determined by determining the traveling direction of the road on which the vehicle exists from the latitude and longitude of the vehicle which is an object and the map information corresponding to the latitude and longitude. can.

In yet another example, the detection unit 101 may detect the road on which the causal object is located as a peripheral object. For example, if the causative object is a pedestrian and the pedestrian is located on the pedestrian crossing, the entire pedestrian crossing may be detected as a peripheral object.

In the present embodiment, the detection unit 101 acquires an image including peripheral objects in addition to the cause object. Further, the video information generation unit 103 encodes the video in the same manner as in the first embodiment. However, unlike the first embodiment, in addition to the cause object, the area including the peripheral object is also coded with high image quality. Then, the video information in which the cause object and the peripheral objects are encoded with high image quality is transmitted as the object information. That is, the object information of the present embodiment is information indicating peripheral objects in addition to the cause object.

FIG. 8 shows an example of an image displayed on the display unit 203 of the traveling support device 200 that has received the object information of the present embodiment, and the vehicle E is the cause object. In the example of FIG. 8, the vehicle F traveling in the oncoming lane is located within a predetermined range from the vehicle E. Therefore, the vehicle F becomes a peripheral object. As a result, in addition to the vehicle E, which is the causal object, a high-quality image is displayed for the vehicle F. Further, in FIG. 8, both the vehicle E which is the cause object and the vehicle F which is the peripheral object are emphasized by the frame line, but only the vehicle E may be surrounded by the frame line in order to emphasize the cause object. Further, the expression may be changed by changing the thickness and color of the border between the vehicle E which is the causative object and the vehicle F which is the peripheral object. Further, the vehicle E which is the cause object may be emphasized by an icon or the like.

In the above-mentioned example, an example of coding with the same high image quality as the cause object and the peripheral object has been described. However, the video information generation unit 103 may encode the cause object and the peripheral object with different image quality. For example, the causative object may be encoded with high image quality, the peripheral object may be encoded with medium image quality, and the other areas may be encoded with low image quality. As a result, the amount of communication can be suppressed as compared with the case where both the causative object and the peripheral object are encoded with high image quality.

According to the present embodiment, the travel support request device 100 mounted on the vehicle causes the travel support device 200, which remotely assists the vehicle to travel, to request the travel support together with the travel support request message. Sends object information indicating the object and peripheral objects related to the object. As a result, the operator using the travel support device 200 can perform travel support in consideration of related objects in addition to the object that caused the vehicle to request travel support, which is safe for the vehicle. It is possible to provide high driving support.

4. Embodiment 3
In this embodiment, in addition to the causative object, information indicating other objects existing around the track candidate of the vehicle is also transmitted to the traveling support device 200.

Since the traveling support requesting device 100 of the present embodiment has the same configuration as that of FIG. 2, the description of FIG. 2 is quoted. Further, since the travel support device 200 that communicates with the travel support request device 100 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted. Further, the configuration of the present embodiment may be combined with the second embodiment.

When the determination unit 102 determines that the travel support device 200 requests the travel support, the trajectory acquisition unit 104 of the present embodiment acquires a trajectory candidate for avoiding the object by using the position of the causative object and the future prediction result. Then, the detection unit 101 detects an object (hereinafter, an orbit peripheral object) located around the orbit candidate acquired by the orbit acquisition unit 104.

For example, when the track candidate acquired by the track acquisition unit 104 is a track that enters another lane, the detection unit 101 sets the road where the track candidate and the adjacent lane overlap, and other objects located on the road around the track. Detect as an object. Specifically, when the track candidate is a track that enters the adjacent lane, the detection unit 101 detects a vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane as a track peripheral object.

As in the first embodiment, the track on which the own vehicle enters another lane from the traveling lane is, for example, a track for changing lanes to an adjacent lane or between the traveling lane and the oncoming lane. In addition to a track that straddles the central line located in and returns to the traveling lane, it may be a track that enters a lane that intersects the traveling lane.

The objects around the orbit are not limited to the objects existing on the orbit candidates. For example, when the track candidate is a track entering an adjacent lane, the detection unit 101 detects other vehicles, pedestrians, and obstacles located within a predetermined range (for example, within 1 m) from the adjacent lane as objects around the track. You may.

Further, when there are a plurality of orbital candidates, the orbital peripheral objects may be detected for all the orbital candidates, but in this case, the orbital peripheral objects to be detected may increase and the processing may increase. Therefore, when there are a plurality of orbital candidates, the orbital peripheral object may be detected by limiting the orbital candidates to only one orbital candidate that is likely to be selected. Alternatively, only the orbit candidates that are likely to be selected detect objects located within a range of 1 m from the orbit candidates as peripheral objects, and the orbit candidates that are unlikely to be selected are objects located within a range of 3 m. May be detected as an orbital peripheral object.

In the present embodiment, the detection unit 101 acquires an image including the orbital peripheral object in addition to the cause object. Further, the video information generation unit 103 encodes the video in the same manner as in the first embodiment. However, unlike the first embodiment, in addition to the cause object, the region including the orbital peripheral object is also coded with high image quality. Then, the video information in which the cause object and the activation peripheral object are encoded with high image quality is transmitted as the object information. That is, the object information of the present embodiment is information indicating the orbital peripheral object in addition to the cause object.

FIG. 9 shows an example of an image displayed on the display unit 203 of the traveling support device 200 that has received the object information of the present embodiment, and the vehicle G is the cause object. In this example, the vehicle H located on the track candidate of the vehicle indicated by the broken line arrow and the pedestrian I located around the track candidate are the track peripheral objects. Therefore, in addition to the vehicle G, which is the causative object, high-quality images are displayed for the vehicle H and the pedestrian I. Further, in FIG. 9, the vehicle G which is the cause object, the vehicle H which is the object around the track, and the pedestrian I are emphasized by the frame line, but even if only the vehicle G is surrounded by the frame line in order to emphasize the cause object. good. Further, the expression may be changed by changing the thickness and color of the frame line between the vehicle G which is the causative object, the vehicle H which is the peripheral object, and the pedestrian I. Further, the vehicle G, which is the causative object, may be emphasized with an icon or the like. Further, as in the second embodiment, the video information generation unit 103 may encode the cause object and the orbital peripheral object with different image quality.

According to the present embodiment, the travel support request device 100 mounted on the vehicle causes the travel support device 200, which remotely assists the vehicle to travel, to request the travel support together with the travel support request message. It transmits object information indicating the object and the track peripheral object located around the track candidate that the vehicle will travel in the future while avoiding the object. As a result, the operator using the travel support device 200 performs travel support in consideration of the objects existing around the track that avoids the objects in addition to the object that caused the vehicle to request the travel assistance. Therefore, it is possible to provide driving support with high safety for the vehicle.

5. Summary The features of the driving support requesting device and the like in each embodiment of the present invention have been described above.

Since the terms used in each embodiment are examples, they may be replaced with synonymous terms or terms including synonymous functions.

The block diagram used in the description of the embodiment is a classification and arrangement of the configuration of the device according to the function. The blocks showing each function are realized by any combination of hardware or software. Further, since the block diagram shows the function, the block diagram can be grasped as the disclosure of the invention of the method and the invention of the program that realizes the method.

The order of the processes, flows, and functional blocks that can be grasped as a method described in each embodiment is changed unless there is a restriction that one step uses the results of other steps in the previous stage. May be good.

The terms first, second, and N (where N is an integer), which are used in each embodiment and in the claims, are used to distinguish two or more configurations and methods of the same type. , Does not limit the order or superiority or inferiority.

Further, as an example of the form of the traveling support requesting device of the present invention, the following can be mentioned.
Examples of the form of the component include a semiconductor element, an electronic circuit, a module, and a microcomputer.
Examples of the semi-finished product include an electronic control unit (ECU) and a system board.
Examples of finished products include mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, personal computers (PCs), workstations, and servers.
In addition, it includes a device having a communication function and the like, and examples thereof include a video camera, a still camera, and a car navigation system.

Further, necessary functions such as an antenna and a communication interface may be added to the driving support request device.

The present invention can be realized not only by the dedicated hardware having the configuration and the function described in each embodiment, but also a program for realizing the present invention recorded on a recording medium such as a memory or a hard disk, and an executable program thereof. It can also be realized as a combination with a dedicated or general-purpose hardware having a general-purpose CPU and a memory or the like.

Programs stored in a non-transitional substantive recording medium of dedicated or general-purpose hardware (for example, an external storage device (for example, hard disk, USB memory, CD / BD, etc.) or an internal storage device (RAM, ROM, etc.)) It can also be provided to dedicated or general-purpose hardware via a recording medium or via a communication line from a server without a recording medium. This ensures that you always have the latest features through program upgrades.

The traveling support requesting device of the present invention is mainly intended for a device mounted on an automobile, but may be targeted for a traveling support requesting device mounted on an arbitrary moving body whose operation is remotely assisted.

100 Driving support request device, 101 Detection unit, 102 Judgment unit, 103 Video information generation unit, 104 Track acquisition unit, 105 Transmission unit, 200 Driving support device, 201 Reception unit, 202 Storage unit, 203 Display unit

Claims (12)

It is a driving support requesting device (100) that is mounted on a vehicle that performs automatic driving and communicates with a driving support device (200) that remotely supports the driving of the vehicle.
A detection unit (101) that detects objects around the vehicle, and
A determination unit (102) that determines whether or not to request driving support from the driving support device based on the prediction result of predicting the position of the object and the future behavior of the object.
When the determination unit determines that the driving support is requested, the transmission unit (105) that transmits the request message requesting the driving support and the object information indicating the object to the driving support device, and the transmission unit (105).
A driving support request device equipped with. The detection unit detects the object included in the image around the vehicle, and detects the object.
The travel support requesting device further encodes a region including the object in the video with the first image quality, and all or a part of the region other than the region in the video is lower than the first image quality. A video information generation unit (103) that encodes with an image quality of 2 to generate video information is provided.
The transmission unit transmits video information as the object information.
The driving support requesting device according to claim 1. The determination unit determines that the travel support device requests the travel support when the behavior of the object located in front of the vehicle cannot be predicted.
The driving support requesting device according to claim 1. The travel support requesting device further includes a track acquisition unit (104) that acquires a track candidate that is a candidate for the track on which the vehicle will travel in the future.
When the determination unit cannot predict the behavior of the object located within a predetermined range from the track candidate acquired by the track acquisition unit, the determination unit determines that the travel support device requests the travel support.
The driving support requesting device according to claim 1. The travel support requesting device further obtains a track candidate that is a candidate for a track on which the vehicle will travel in the future by avoiding the object based on the position of the object and the prediction result (104). With
The determination unit determines that the travel support device requests the travel support when the track candidate acquired by the track acquisition unit is a track in which the vehicle enters another lane from the lane in which the vehicle is traveling.
The driving support requesting device according to claim 1. The detection unit further detects peripheral objects located within a predetermined range from the object, and detects the peripheral objects.
The transmission unit transmits the object information indicating the peripheral object in addition to the object.
The driving support requesting device according to claim 1 or 2. The detection unit further detects peripheral objects located in the traveling direction of the object.
The transmission unit transmits the object information indicating the peripheral object in addition to the object.
The driving support requesting device according to claim 1 or 2. The detection unit further detects the road on which the object is located as a peripheral object.
The transmission unit transmits the object information indicating the peripheral object in addition to the object.
The driving support requesting device according to claim 1 or 2. The travel support requesting device further obtains a track candidate that is a candidate for a track on which the vehicle will travel in the future by avoiding the object based on the position of the object and the prediction result (104). With
The detection unit further detects an orbital peripheral object located around the orbit candidate acquired by the orbit acquisition unit.
The transmission unit transmits the object information indicating the orbital peripheral object in addition to the object.
The driving support requesting device according to claim 1 or 2. A traveling support device (200) that communicates with the traveling support requesting device (100) according to claim 1.
A receiving unit (201) that receives the request message and the object information from the traveling support request device, and
A storage unit (202) that stores road information about the road on which the vehicle travels, and
A display unit (203) for displaying the object information and the road information, and
A driving support device equipped with. It is a driving support request method that is mounted on a vehicle that performs automatic driving and is executed by a driving support requesting device (100) that communicates with a driving support device (200) that remotely supports the driving of the vehicle.
Detects objects around the vehicle and
Based on the position of the object and the prediction result of predicting the future behavior of the object, it is determined whether or not to request the driving support from the driving support device.
When it is determined that the driving support is requested, the request message requesting the driving support and the object information indicating the object are transmitted to the driving support device.
Driving support request method. It is a driving support request program that is mounted on a vehicle that performs automatic driving and is executed by a driving support requesting device (100) that communicates with a driving support device (200) that remotely supports the driving of the vehicle.
Detects objects around the vehicle and
Based on the position of the object and the prediction result of predicting the future behavior of the object, it is determined whether or not to request the driving support from the driving support device.
When it is determined that the driving support is requested, the request message requesting the driving support and the object information indicating the object are transmitted to the driving support device.
Driving support request program.

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