JP2021163431A - Data transmission device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a data transmission device which can transmit data to a sever in a frequency suitable for a kind of data.SOLUTION: A data transmission device comprises: a storage unit which stores conditions including at least one of a kind of a feature included in surrounding environment of a road, time when the feature is detected, and a place where the feature is detected; a detection unit which detects feature data showing the feature from data to be generated according to the surrounding environment of a vehicle by a sensor loaded on the vehicle; a determination unit which determines whether or not the kind of the feature shown by the feature data, and the time and the place when and where the feature data is detected satisfy the conditions; and a data transmission unit which transmits the feature data determined to satisfy the conditions more preferentially to a sever which collects the feature data than the feature data determined not to satisfy the conditions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a data transmission device that transmits data to a server.

High-precision maps that the vehicle's autonomous driving system refers to in order to control the vehicle's autonomous driving are required to accurately represent information about the road environment. Therefore, it has been proposed to transmit the data indicating the surrounding environment of the vehicle acquired by the sensor mounted on the vehicle to the server and generate a map using the data received by the server.

Patent Document 1 describes a data collection system in which a server collects data acquired by a vehicle. In the data collection system described in Patent Document 1, the vehicle transmits data to the server at a data collection frequency determined by the server.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-055191

The data used to generate the map on the server includes data with a high frequency of change and data with a low frequency of change. When data is collected frequently in accordance with data that changes frequently, the amount of communication between the vehicle and the server becomes excessive. On the other hand, when data is collected infrequently in accordance with data in which changes are infrequent, it takes a long time to reflect changes in the road environment on the map.

An object of the present invention is to provide a data transmission device capable of transmitting data to a server at a frequency suitable for a type of data.

The data transmission device according to the present invention is a storage unit that stores the type of feature contained in the surrounding environment of the road, the time when the feature was detected, and the indicating condition including at least one of the places where the feature was detected. And, the detection unit that detects the feature data indicating the feature from the data generated by the sensor mounted on the vehicle according to the surrounding environment of the vehicle, the type of the feature indicated by the feature data, and the feature data detect The determination unit that determines whether or not the specified time and place satisfy the conditions, and the feature data that is determined to satisfy the conditions are given priority over the feature data that is determined not to satisfy the conditions. It includes a data transmission unit that transmits to a server that collects object data.

According to the data transmission device according to the present invention, data can be transmitted to the server at a frequency suitable for the type of data.

It is a schematic block diagram of a data collection system including a data transmission device. It is a figure explaining the operation outline of a data collection system. It is a schematic block diagram of a vehicle including a data transmission device. It is a hardware schematic diagram of a data transmission device. It is a figure which shows the example of the condition table. It is a functional block diagram of the processor which a data transmission device has. It is an operation flowchart of the data transmission process. It is a hardware configuration diagram of a data collection server.

Hereinafter, the data transmission device will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The data transmitting device stores the type of the feature included in the surrounding environment of the road, the time when the feature is detected, and the condition including at least one of the places where the feature is detected. From the data generated by the sensor mounted on the vehicle according to the surrounding environment of the vehicle, the feature data indicating the feature is detected. Next, the data transmission device determines whether or not the type of the feature indicated by the feature data and the time and position at which the feature data is detected satisfy the conditions. Then, the data transmission device transmits the feature data determined to satisfy the condition to the server that collects the feature data with priority over the feature data determined not to satisfy the condition.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a data collection system including a data transmission device. In the present embodiment, the data collection system 1 has a vehicle 2 including a data transmission device and a data collection server 3. By accessing the communication network 4 to which the data collection server 3 is connected and the radio base station 5 connected via a gateway or the like, the vehicle 2 and the data collection server 3 via the radio base station 5 and the communication network 4. Be connected. The data collection system 1 may have a plurality of vehicles 2. Further, in the data collection system 1, a plurality of wireless base stations 5 may be connected to the communication network 4.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an outline of operation of the data collection system 1.

In the data collection system 1, the map M is divided into meshes of a predetermined size and managed. While the vehicle 2 is traveling on the main road included in the mesh C-2 of the map M, the sensor mounted on the vehicle 2 generates an image PIC representing the surrounding environment of the vehicle 2. The image PIC is associated with the time and place (eg, mesh C-2) at which the image PIC was acquired (eg, 10:00 on December 29, 2019).

The vehicle 2 detects feature data indicating features included in the surrounding environment of the vehicle from the image PIC. In the example of FIG. 2, the vehicle 2 detects feature data F1 and F2. The type of feature indicated by feature data F1 is construction-related, and feature data F1-1 indicating a road sign indicating that road construction is underway and feature data indicating a detour travel instruction board instructing detour travel. F1-2 is included. Further, the type of the feature indicated by the feature data F2 is a lane marking line, and the feature data F2-1 and F2-3 indicating the outside line of the road represented by the solid line and the lane center line represented by the broken line are indicated. Feature data F2-2 is included.

The vehicle 2 determines whether or not the type of the feature indicated by the feature data F1 and F2 and the time and place where the feature data F1 and F2 are detected satisfy the stored conditions.

In the example of FIG. 2, the conditions include "construction-related objects" as the type of feature, "all day" as the time, and "main road" as the location. The feature data F1 and F2 are detected from the image PIC generated in the mesh C-2 at 10:00. Therefore, the time when the feature data F1 and F2 are detected can be 10:00, and the place where the feature data F1 and F2 are detected can be mesh C-2. The type of the feature indicated by the feature data F1 is a construction-related object, the time when the feature data F1 is detected is 10:00, and the mesh C-2, which is the place where the feature data F1 is detected, is the trunk line. Since it is a road, the feature data F1 satisfies the condition. On the other hand, the type of the feature indicated by the feature data F2 is a lane marking line, the time when the feature data F2 is detected is 10:00, and the mesh C-2 which is the place where the feature data F2 is detected. Is a highway, so the feature data F2 does not meet the conditions.

The vehicle 2 preferentially receives the feature data F1 determined to satisfy the condition over the feature data F2 determined not to satisfy the condition via the radio base station 5 and the communication network 4. Send to. In the example of FIG. 2, the vehicle 2 transmits the feature data F1 to the data collection server 3 before the feature data F2.

As described above, when the vehicle 2 transmits the feature data to the data collection server 3, the vehicle 2 can transmit the data to the data collection server 3 at a frequency suitable for the type of data.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the vehicle 2 including the data transmission device. The vehicle 2 has a camera 21, a GNSS receiver 22, a DCM 23 (Data Communication Module), and a data transmission device 24. The camera 21, the GNSS receiver 22, the DCM 23, and the data transmission device 24 are communicably connected to each other via a standard-compliant in-vehicle network such as a controller area network.

The camera 21 is an example of a sensor, and is a two-dimensional detector composed of an array of photoelectric conversion elements having sensitivity to visible light such as a CCD or C-MOS, and a region to be photographed on the two-dimensional detector. It has an imaging optical system that forms an image of. The camera 21 is mounted in the vehicle interior of the vehicle 2, for example, so as to face the front of the vehicle 2. The camera 21 photographs the front region of the vehicle 2 at predetermined shooting cycles (for example, 1/30 second to 1/10 second), and generates an image in which the front region is captured. The image obtained by the camera 21 may be a color image or a monochrome image. The vehicle 2 may be provided with a plurality of cameras, and the shooting directions or focal lengths of the plurality of cameras may be different from each other.

Each time the camera 21 generates an image, the camera 21 outputs the generated image to the data transmission device 24 via the in-vehicle network.

The GNSS receiver 22 receives a GNSS signal from a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) satellite at predetermined intervals, and determines the self-position of the vehicle 2 based on the received GNSS signal. The GNSS receiver 22 outputs a positioning signal representing the positioning result of the vehicle 2's own position based on the GNSS signal to the data transmission device 24 via the in-vehicle network at predetermined intervals.

The DCM23 is an example of a communication unit, and is a device that executes wireless communication processing conforming to a predetermined wireless communication standard such as so-called 4G (4th Generation) or 5G (5th Generation). The DCM 23 is connected to the data collection server 3 via the radio base station 5 and the communication network 4, for example, by accessing the radio base station 5. The DCM 23 receives the downlink radio signal from the radio base station 5, and passes the data transmission request signal including the data transmission request from the data collection server 3 included in the radio signal to the data transmission device 24. Further, the DCM 23 includes the data received from the data transmission device 24 in the uplink radio signal and transmits the radio signal to the radio base station 5, thereby transmitting the data to the data collection server 3.

The data transmission device 24 detects the feature data from the image data generated by the camera 21, determines whether or not the feature data satisfies the condition, and transmits the feature data to the data collection server 3 according to the determination result. do. Even if the data transmission device 24 is mounted on the vehicle 2 as a drive recorder that stores an image representing the periphery of the vehicle 2 generated by the camera 21 while the vehicle 2 is running in a storage device (not shown) connected to the in-vehicle network. good.

FIG. 4 is a schematic hardware diagram of the data transmission device 24. The data transmission device 24 includes a communication interface 41, a memory 42, and a processor 43.

The communication interface 41 is an example of a communication unit, and has a communication interface circuit for connecting the data transmission device 24 to the in-vehicle network. The communication interface 41 supplies the received data to the processor 43. Further, the communication interface 41 outputs the data supplied from the processor 43 to the outside.

The memory 42 is an example of a storage unit, and has a volatile semiconductor memory and a non-volatile semiconductor memory. The memory 42 stores various data used for processing by the processor 43, for example, conditions for determining feature data and the like. The memory 42 may store a vehicle identifier that identifies the vehicle 2. Further, the memory 42 stores various application programs, for example, a data transmission program that executes data transmission control. Further, the memory 42 temporarily stores the image data obtained from the camera 21.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a condition table. The data transmission device 24 determines the feature data according to the conditions included in the condition table 521 stored in the memory 42, and transmits the feature data to the data collection server 3.

The condition table 521 contains six conditions. Each condition is the place where the image where the feature data was detected should be included, the time zone and date where the generated time should be included, the type of feature indicated by the feature data, and Includes other information. For example, the condition of ID1 indicates that feature data indicating a trash can detected from an image acquired during the daytime of a garbage collection day should be preferentially transmitted in a residential area in North America. Whether or not a certain date is a garbage collection date is determined by referring to another table that stores the garbage collection date for each region or by inquiring to another server. The number of conditions included in the condition table 521 is not limited to 6, and can be increased or decreased as appropriate.

The condition table 521 is transmitted from the data collection server 3 via the communication network 4 and the radio base station 5. The data transmission device 24 receives the condition table 521 via the DCM 23 and the communication interface 41 and stores it in the memory 42.

The processor 43 is an example of a control unit, and has one or more processors and peripheral circuits thereof. The processor 43 may further include other arithmetic circuits such as a logical operation unit, a numerical operation unit, or a graphic processing unit.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the processor 43 included in the data transmission device 24.

The processor 43 of the data transmission device 24 has a detection unit 431, a determination unit 432, and a data transmission unit 433 as functional blocks. Each of these parts of the processor 43 is a functional module implemented by a program executed on the processor 43. Alternatively, each of these parts of the processor 43 may be implemented in the data transmitter 24 as an independent integrated circuit, microprocessor, or firmware.

The detection unit 431 detects feature data indicating features included in the surrounding environment of the vehicle from the data generated by the sensor mounted on the vehicle according to the surrounding environment of the vehicle.

The detection unit 431 generates feature data by inputting an image obtained from the camera 21 into a classifier learned in advance so as to detect the feature represented by the image as a feature. The feature is, for example, a lane marking on the road surface, a road marking, a sign displayed on the road, or the like. It should be noted that a plurality of feature data may be generated from one image.

The classifier can be, for example, a convolutional neural network (CNN) having a plurality of convolutional layers connected in series from the input side to the output side. The convolution layer executes a convolution operation and outputs a feature map. The CNN may further have a fully connected layer and an output layer. The fully connected layer joins all the features contained in the feature map output by the convolution layer. The output layer inputs the output of the fully connected layer to the activation function and outputs the output value. As the activation function, a sigmoid function, a softmax function, or the like is used. By inputting the image including the feature, the type of the feature, and the position information of the area including the feature into the CNN in advance as teacher data and performing learning, the CNN can select the area including the feature from the image. Acts as a discriminator to detect.

The feature data detected by the detection unit 431 includes the type of the feature indicated by the feature data and the time and place where the feature data is detected. The type of feature indicated by the feature data is output by the classifier. The time when the feature data is detected can be acquired from a system clock (not shown). At the place where the feature data is detected, the coordinates on the image where the feature data is detected are attached to the vehicle 2 with respect to the own vehicle position and the camera 21 represented by the positioning signal acquired by the GNSS receiver 22. The bird's-eye view coordinates obtained by executing the viewpoint conversion process using information such as the position can be used.

The determination unit 432 determines whether or not the type of the feature indicated by the feature data and the time and place where the feature data is detected satisfy the conditions.

The data transmission unit 433 transmits the feature data to the data collection server 3 via the communication interface 41, the in-vehicle network, the DCM23, the radio base station 5, and the communication network 4. At this time, the data transmission unit 433 refers to the feature data determined to satisfy the condition (hereinafter, also referred to as “priority feature data”) to the feature data determined not to satisfy the condition (hereinafter, “normal land”). It is transmitted with priority over "object data").

The data transmission unit 433 transmits the priority feature data to the data collection server 3 every time the detected feature data is determined to be the priority feature data. Further, when the detected feature data is determined to be normal feature data, the data transmission unit 433 temporarily stores the normal feature data in the memory 42. Then, the data transmission unit 433 transmits the normal feature data temporarily stored in the memory 42 to the data collection server 3 at predetermined normal time intervals (for example, one hour).

The data transmission unit 433 may temporarily store the priority feature data in the memory 42, and may transmit the priority feature data temporarily stored in the memory 42 to the data collection server 3 at predetermined priority time intervals. In this case, the priority time interval is set shorter than the normal time interval (for example, 5 minutes).

The data transmission unit 433 may temporarily store the priority feature data or the normal feature data in a storage device (not shown) connected to the in-vehicle network instead of the memory 42.

Further, the data transmission unit 433 transmits the priority feature data to the data collection server 3 via the first line, and data the normal feature data via the second line having a band narrower than the first line. It may be transmitted to the collection server 3. In this case, the DCM 23 is configured to be connectable to a plurality of lines. Specifically, the DCM 23 is configured to be accessible to a plurality of radio base stations 5 that provide communications conforming to different communication standards. The data transmission unit 433 uses, for example, a communication path for accessing one radio base station 5 that provides 5G-compliant communication as the first line. Further, the data transmission unit 433 uses, for example, a communication path for accessing another radio base station 5 that provides 4G-compliant communication as the second line. Further, the communication standard provided by the radio base station accessible to the DCM23 may be one. In this case, the DCM23 attaches a tag that can identify the first line to the data packet corresponding to the priority feature data, and attaches a tag that can identify the second line to the data packet corresponding to the normal feature data. .. By adjusting the queuing of the data packet received by the radio base station 5 according to the attached tag, the band of the tagged data packet corresponding to the second line corresponds to the first line. It is controlled to be narrower than the bandwidth of the tagged data packet.

FIG. 7 is an operation flowchart of the data transmission process. The processor 43 of the data transmission device 24 repeatedly executes the data transmission process in a predetermined cycle according to the following operation flowchart.

The detection unit 431 of the processor 43 detects the feature data indicating the feature included in the surrounding environment of the vehicle from the image generated by the camera 21 mounted on the vehicle 2 according to the surrounding environment of the vehicle (step S1). ..

The determination unit 432 of the processor 43 determines whether or not the type of the feature indicated by the feature data and the time and place where the image in which the feature data is detected satisfy the conditions (step S2).

When it is determined that the feature data satisfies the condition (step S2: Y), the data transmission unit 433 of the processor 43 preferentially transmits the feature data to the data collection server 3 (step S3). When it is not determined that the feature data satisfies the condition (step S2: N), the data transmission unit 433 of the processor 43 transmits the feature data to the data collection server 3 with a lower priority than the transmission in step S3. (Step S4).

FIG. 8 is a hardware configuration diagram of the data collection server 3. The data collection server 3 is an example of a server that collects feature data, and updates a map using the feature data collected from the vehicle 2 via the communication network 4. Further, the data collection server 3 transmits the condition table to the vehicle 2 via the communication network 4. Therefore, the data collection server 3 has a communication interface 31, a storage device 32, and a processor 33.

The communication interface 31 has an interface circuit for connecting the data collection server 3 to the communication network. Then, the communication interface 31 is configured to be able to communicate with the vehicle 2 via the communication network 4 and the radio base station 5. That is, the communication interface 31 transmits the condition table received from the processor 33 to the vehicle 2 via the communication network 4 and the radio base station 5. Further, the communication interface 31 passes the feature data received from the vehicle 2 via the radio base station 5 and the communication network 4 to the processor 33.

The storage device 32 includes, for example, a hard disk device or an optical storage medium and an access device thereof. The storage device 32 stores map data representing the road environment in association with the position. Further, the storage device 32 stores the condition table generated by the processor 33. Further, the storage device 32 may store a computer program for executing the data collection process executed on the processor 33.

The processor 33 has one or more CPUs (Central Processing Units) and peripheral circuits thereof. The processor 33 may further include other arithmetic circuits such as a logical operation unit or a numerical operation unit.

First, the processor 33 transmits the condition table to the vehicle 2.

Further, the processor 33 updates the map data stored in the storage device 32 based on the feature data received from the vehicle 2.

When the map data does not exist at the position corresponding to the position information included in the feature data received from the vehicle 2, the processor 33 adds the received feature data as map data. Further, based on whether or not the vehicle 2, feature data representing the surrounding environment in a predetermined position range received from the vehicle 2 is specified. When the position of the feature data and the position of the map data are different, the processor 33 changes the position of the map data to the position of the feature data. Further, when the feature represented by the map data existing at the position of the feature data is different from the feature represented by the feature data, the processor 33 changes the feature represented by the map data to the feature represented by the feature data.

When the data transmission device 24 executes the data transmission process as described above, the data transmission device 24 can transmit data to the server at a frequency suitable for the type of data.

According to the modification, the camera 21 may be a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor that acquires a distance image around the vehicle 2. The distance image is an image in which each pixel has a value corresponding to the distance to the object represented by the pixel.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, substitutions and modifications can be made to this without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1 Data collection system 2 Vehicle 24 Data transmission device 43 Processor 431 Detection unit 432 Judgment unit 433 Data transmission unit

Claims (1)

A storage unit that stores conditions including the type of feature included in the surrounding environment of the road, the time when the feature was detected, and at least one of the places where the feature was detected.
A detection unit that detects feature data indicating a feature from data generated by a sensor mounted on the vehicle according to the surrounding environment of the vehicle.
A determination unit for determining whether or not the type of feature indicated by the feature data and the time and place where the feature data is detected satisfy the above conditions.
A data transmission unit that transmits the feature data determined to satisfy the conditions to a server that collects the feature data with priority over the feature data determined not to satisfy the conditions.
A data transmitter equipped with.

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