JP2021196200A - Obstacle detection device, vehicle, obstacle detection system, and obstacle detection method - Google Patents

Abstract

To accelerate the processing speed for detecting obstacles while suppressing deterioration in the detection accuracy of obstacles on the road surface in obstacle detection devices that detect obstacles in front of vehicles.SOLUTION: An obstacle detection device detects an obstacle based on distance to a plurality of measurement points in front of a vehicle and includes: a measurement point determination unit that determines the plurality of measurement points so that the resolution of other measurement points is lower than that of measurement points corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle on the road surface among the plurality of measurement points; and a distance measuring unit that measures a distance to the plurality of measurement points.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to an obstacle detection device, a vehicle, an obstacle detection system, and an obstacle detection method.

There is an obstacle detection device that measures a three-dimensional distance around a vehicle such as an automobile and detects an object around the vehicle or an obstacle such as a groove or a hole on the road surface based on the measurement data.

For example, a vehicle obstacle detection device that identifies an obstacle on a track based on an image taken by an infrared camera that shoots the front of a vehicle and an image taken by a stereo camera that shoots the front of the vehicle is known. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-02543

When applying such an obstacle detection device to automatic driving or the like, there is a demand for increasing the processing speed (for example, frame rate) for detecting obstacles in order to detect obstacles with good responsiveness while driving. be.

In order to increase the processing speed for detecting obstacles, for example, a method of reducing the number of a plurality of measurement points to be measured to reduce the amount of data to be processed can be considered. However, in this case, there is a problem that the accuracy of detecting obstacles, particularly the accuracy of detecting obstacles on the road surface (for example, grooves and holes) is deteriorated.

One embodiment of the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and suppresses deterioration of the detection accuracy of obstacles on the road surface in an obstacle detection device that detects obstacles in front of the vehicle. At the same time, the processing speed for detecting obstacles is increased.

In order to solve the above problems, the obstacle detection device according to the embodiment of the present invention is an obstacle detection device that detects obstacles based on the distances to a plurality of measurement points in front of the vehicle. A measurement point determination unit that determines the plurality of measurement points so that the resolution of the other measurement points is lower than the resolution of the measurement point corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle on the road surface among the plurality of measurement points. , A distance measuring unit for measuring distances to the plurality of measuring points.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, in the obstacle detection device for detecting an obstacle in front of the vehicle, the processing speed for detecting the obstacle is increased while suppressing the deterioration of the detection accuracy of the obstacle on the road surface. Can be transformed into.

It is a figure which shows the example of the system configuration of the obstacle detection system which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the resolution of the traveling direction of a vehicle which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the hardware composition of the computer which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the functional structure of the obstacle detection apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the image of the plurality of measurement points which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the image of the plurality of measurement points which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the functional structure of the obstacle detection apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart (1) which shows the example of the processing of the obstacle detection apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the image of the plurality of measurement points which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart (2) which shows the example of the processing of the obstacle detection apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

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

<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of an obstacle detection system according to an embodiment. The obstacle detection system 1 is, for example, a system for detecting an obstacle in front of a vehicle 10 such as an automobile, and includes an obstacle detection device 100 mounted on the vehicle 10, a distance sensor 110, and the like.

The distance sensor 110 is used for measuring the distance to a plurality of measurement points in front of the vehicle 10, for example, LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), a stereo camera, a millimeter wave radar, or the like. It is a sensor of. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the distance sensor 110 is provided toward the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 and has a measuring axis (measurement) so as to be able to measure a distance to an object within a predetermined range 112 including the road surface 11 in front. Direction) 111 is set.

In the present embodiment, the distance sensor 110 may be any type of sensor as long as it can measure the distance to a plurality of measurement points within a predetermined range 112 in front of the vehicle 10.

The obstacle detection device 100 is an ECU (Electric Control Unit) or an information processing device mounted on the vehicle 10 and having a computer configuration, and controls a distance sensor 110 to control a plurality of measurement points in front of the vehicle 10. Measure the distance to (three-dimensional distance). Further, the obstacle detection device 100 detects an obstacle in front (for example, another vehicle, a groove on the road surface 11, a hole, a falling object, etc.) based on the measurement result of the distance to a plurality of measurement points. ..

The obstacle detection method by the obstacle detection device 100 is any detection method as long as it detects obstacles based on the measurement results of the distances to a plurality of measurement points in front of the vehicle 10. Good.

When applying such an obstacle detection system 1 to automatic driving or the like, there is a demand for increasing the processing speed (for example, frame rate, etc.) for detecting obstacles in order to quickly detect obstacles while driving. There is.

As a method for increasing the processing speed for detecting obstacles, a method of reducing the number of a plurality of measurement points to be measured (for example, thinning out) to reduce the amount of data to be processed can be considered. However, in this case, there is a problem that the detection accuracy of obstacles, particularly the detection accuracy of obstacles (for example, grooves, holes, falling objects, etc.) on the road surface 11 is deteriorated.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the resolution in the traveling direction of the vehicle according to the embodiment.
The resolution of the plurality of measurement points 201 corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 on the road surface 11 is represented by, for example, the distance d1 between the adjacent measurement points 201 as shown in FIG. 2A, and is from the vehicle 10. As the distance increases, the distance d1 becomes longer (height h × tan θ).

Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 2B, if a plurality of measurement points 201 corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 on the road surface 11 are thinned out to reduce the number of measurement points, the measurement points 201 are reduced. There is a problem that the distance d2 between them becomes too long. For example, in the example of FIG. 2B, it becomes impossible to detect an obstacle 202 such as a depression or a hole between the measurement points 201.

A downsampling method that maintains resolution (for example, VoxelGridFilter) is also known instead of simple thinning, but such a method has a higher processing load than thinning, so the processing speed for detecting obstacles is increased. The effect of speeding up cannot be expected.

Therefore, the obstacle detection device 100 according to the present embodiment maintains the number of measurement points corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 on the road surface 11 among the plurality of measurement points in front of the vehicle 10. It has a function to reduce the number of measurement points.

As an example, the obstacle detection device 100 maintains the number of measurement points corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 among a plurality of measuring points in front of the vehicle 10 in a direction intersecting the traveling direction of the vehicle 10. Reduce the number of corresponding measurement points.

With such a function, the obstacle detection device 100 according to the present embodiment can increase the processing speed for detecting obstacles while suppressing deterioration of the detection accuracy of obstacles on the road surface 11.

<Hardware configuration>
The obstacle detection device 100 has, for example, the hardware configuration of the computer 300 as shown in FIG. In addition to the configuration of the computer 300 shown in FIG. 3, the obstacle detection device 100 further includes, for example, a GPU (Graphic Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and the like. May be.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a computer hardware configuration according to an embodiment. The computer 300 has, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 301, a memory 302, a storage device 303, a communication I / F (Interface) 304, an external connection I / F 305, an input device 306, an output device 307, a bus 308, and the like. is doing.

The CPU 301 is an arithmetic unit (processor) that executes each function of the computer 300 by, for example, executing a program stored in a storage device 303, a memory 302, or the like. The memory 302 includes, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory), which is a volatile memory used as a work area of the CPU 301, and a ROM (Read Only), which is a non-volatile memory for storing a program for starting the computer 300. Memory) etc. are included. The storage device 303 is, for example, a large-capacity storage device that stores an OS (Operating System), an application program, various data, and the like, and is realized by, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or the like. Will be done.

The communication I / F 304 is an interface for communicating with an external device. The communication I / F 304 is connected to, for example, an in-vehicle network or the like, and communicates with other ECUs, sensors, information processing devices, etc. mounted on the vehicle 10. The external connection I / F 305 is an interface for connecting an external device such as a distance sensor 110 to the computer 300. The computer 300 may communicate with the distance sensor 110 via the communication I / F 304.

The input device 306 is an input device (for example, a keyboard, a touch panel, a sensor, an operation button, etc.) that receives an input from the outside. The output device 307 is an output device (for example, a display, a speaker, an indicator lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. The input device 306 and the output device 307 may be an integrated display input device (for example, a touch panel display or the like). The bus 308 is commonly connected to each of the above components and transmits, for example, an address signal, a data signal, various control signals, and the like.

[First Embodiment]
Subsequently, the functional configuration of the obstacle detection device 100 according to the first embodiment will be described.

<Functional configuration>
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the obstacle detection device according to the first embodiment. The obstacle detection device 100 realizes, for example, a distance measurement unit 401, a measurement point determination unit 402, an obstacle detection unit 403, and the like by executing a predetermined program on the CPU 301 of FIG.

The distance measuring unit 401 measures the distance to a plurality of measuring points in front of the vehicle 10 by using the distance sensor 110. For example, when the distance sensor 110 is LIDAR, the distance measurement unit 401 sequentially irradiates a plurality of measurement points (multiple directions) with laser light by using the distance sensor 110 until the reflected light is returned. Measure the distance to multiple measurement points based on the time of. When the distance sensor 110 is a camera (stereo camera or monocular camera), the distance measuring unit 401 acquires distance information from the Depth image (distance image) created based on the camera image to a plurality of measurement points. do.

The measurement point determination unit 402 determines a plurality of measurement points at which the distance measurement unit 401 measures the distance. When determining a plurality of points, the measurement point determination unit 402 reduces the number of the plurality of measurement points to be measured and processes the data in order to increase the processing speed for detecting an obstacle. It has a function to reduce the amount. For example, the measurement point determination unit 402 has a resolution of a measurement point in a direction intersecting (for example, orthogonal to) the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 rather than a resolution of the measuring point corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 among a plurality of measurement points. Determine multiple measurement points so that is low.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an image of a plurality of measurement points according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 (A) reprints the same figure as FIG. 2 (A). As described above, the resolution of the measurement point 201 corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 on the road surface 11 is represented by the distance d1 between the adjacent measurement points 201, and the distance d1 becomes longer as the distance from the vehicle 10 increases. Become. Therefore, if the number of measurement points 201 corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 on the road surface 11 is reduced, the detection accuracy of obstacles on the road surface 11 deteriorates, for example, as described with reference to FIG. 2 (B). There is a problem of doing.

Therefore, the measurement point determination unit 402 intersects the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 while maintaining the number of the plurality of measuring points 201 corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 on the road surface 11, for example, among the plurality of measuring points. Reduce the number of measurement points corresponding to the direction.

FIG. 5B shows an image of the distance sensor 110 shown in FIG. 5A and the measurement range 503 of the distance sensor 110 when viewed from above. As shown in FIG. 5B, the resolution of the measurement point 504 corresponding to the direction intersecting (for example, orthogonal to) the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 is represented by the distance d3 between the adjacent measurement points 504. For example, the measurement point determination unit 402 reduces the number of the plurality of measurement points 504 in the direction 502 orthogonal to the traveling direction 501 while maintaining the number of the plurality of measuring points 201 corresponding to the traveling direction 501 of the vehicle 10 (). For example, thinning out). As a result, the measurement point determination unit 402 can reduce the number of a plurality of measurement points measured by the distance measurement unit 401 while suppressing deterioration of the detection accuracy of obstacles on the road surface 11.

FIG. 5C shows an image of an example of a plurality of measurement points 511 when the distance measurement unit 401 acquires distances to a plurality of measurement points using a depth image 510 created based on a camera image. ing. In FIG. 5C, the vertical direction of the Depth image 510 corresponds to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10, and the horizontal direction corresponds to the direction intersecting the traveling direction of the vehicle 10. In the example of FIG. 5C, the distance Δx between the horizontal measurement points 511 is set longer than the distance Δy between the vertical measurement points 511 corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10.

As described above, in the measurement point determination unit 402 according to the first embodiment, the resolution of the measurement point 511 corresponding to the direction intersecting the traveling direction is higher than the resolution of the measuring point 511 corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10. Multiple measurement points 511 are determined to be low.

The number of the plurality of measurement points 511 shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C is an example for explanation, and in reality, more measurement points 511 (for example, several tens to several in the vertical direction) are used. Hundred points, tens to hundreds of points in the horizontal direction) are used.

Here, returning to FIG. 4, the description of the functional configuration of the obstacle detection device 100 will be continued.

The obstacle detection unit 403 may use an obstacle (for example, another vehicle, a groove, a hole, or a fall on the road surface 11) in front of the vehicle 10 based on the distances to the plurality of measurement points 511 measured by the distance measurement unit 401. Things, etc.) are detected. In the present embodiment, the obstacle detection method is not particularly limited, but for example, the obstacle detection unit 403 calculates the three-dimensional coordinates of the plurality of measurement points 511 and is on the road surface 11 based on the three-dimensional coordinates. Obstacles may be detected by estimating the shape of an object, unevenness, or the like.

As described above, the measurement point determination unit 402 according to the first embodiment has a resolution of the measurement point 504 corresponding to the direction intersecting the traveling direction rather than the resolution of the measuring point 201 corresponding to the traveling direction among the plurality of measurement points. Determine multiple measurement points to be low.

Preferably, when the number of measurement points is reduced, the measurement point determination unit 402 maintains the number of measurement points 201 corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 and measures the measurement corresponding to the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction. Reduce the number of points 504.

Therefore, according to the first embodiment, the obstacle detection device 100 for detecting an obstacle in front of the vehicle 10 detects an obstacle while suppressing deterioration in the detection accuracy of the obstacle on the road surface 11. The processing speed can be increased.

[Second Embodiment]
The method for determining a plurality of measurement points 511 according to the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 5 is an example of a method for determining a plurality of measurement points for which the distance measuring unit 401 measures a distance. In the second embodiment, another example of a method of determining a plurality of measurement points in which the distance measuring unit 401 measures a distance will be described.

The functional configuration of the obstacle detection device 100 according to the second embodiment may be the same as the functional configuration of the obstacle detection device 100 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. However, the measurement point determination unit 402 according to the second embodiment has a lower resolution of the measurement points different from the measurement points on the road surface 11 than the resolution of the measurement points on the road surface 11 among the plurality of measurement points. Determine multiple measurement points so that

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an image of a plurality of measurement points according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 6A, as described above, the resolution of the measurement point 201 corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 on the road surface 11 is represented by the distance d1 between the adjacent measurement points 201, and the distance from the vehicle 10 is the distance from the vehicle 10. The farther away, the longer the distance d1. Therefore, if the number of measurement points 201 corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 on the road surface 11 is reduced, the detection accuracy of obstacles on the road surface 11 deteriorates, for example, as described with reference to FIG. 2 (B). There is a problem of doing.

Therefore, the measurement point determination unit 402 according to the second embodiment is different from the measurement points 201 on the road surface 11 while maintaining the number of measurement points 201 on the road surface 11 among the plurality of measurement points, for example. The number of measurement points 601 is reduced.

FIG. 6B shows an image of an example of a plurality of measurement points 611 and 612 when the distance measurement unit 401 acquires distances to a plurality of measurement points from a Depth image 610 or the like created based on a camera image. Shows. In FIG. 6B, it is assumed that the vertical direction of the Depth image 610 corresponds to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10, and the horizontal direction corresponds to the direction intersecting the traveling direction of the vehicle 10. Further, in the Depth image 610, it is assumed that the plurality of measurement points 612 in the region 614 below the alternate long and short dash line 613 correspond to the measurement points 201 on the road surface 11 of FIG. 6 (A). Further, in the Depth image 610, the plurality of measurement points 612 in the region 615 above the alternate long and short dash line 613 correspond to other measurement points 601 different from the measurement points 201 on the road surface 11 of FIG. 6 (A). It shall be.

It is assumed that the position of the alternate long and short dash line 613 is set in advance, for example, when the vehicle 10 is manufactured, when the distance sensor 110 is attached, or when the calibration operation is performed.

As shown in FIG. 6B, for example, the measurement point determination unit 402 according to the second embodiment makes a plurality of measurement points 611 in the horizontal direction Δx1 in the vertical direction in the region 614 below the alternate long and short dash line 613. Are arranged at intervals of Δy1. On the other hand, in the region 615 above the alternate long and short dash line 613, the measurement point determination unit 402 thins out, for example, a plurality of measurement points 612 in the horizontal direction so as to be every other row, and Δx1 in the horizontal direction and Δy2 in the vertical direction ( A plurality of measurement points 612 are arranged at intervals of Δy2> Δy1).

As a result, the measurement point determination unit 402 according to the second embodiment can reduce the number of other measurement points 612 while maintaining the number of measurement points 611 on the road surface 11.

The method of arranging the plurality of measurement points shown in FIG. 6B is an example. The measurement point determination unit 402 may be thinned out so that a plurality of measurement points 612 in the vertical direction are arranged every other row in the region 615 above the alternate long and short dash line 613. Thereby, for example, as shown in FIG. 6C, a plurality of measurement points 612 are determined so as to have an interval of Δx2 (Δx2> Δx1) in the horizontal direction and Δy2 (Δy2> Δy1) in the vertical direction. Is also good.

As described above, the measurement point determination unit 402 according to the second embodiment has a resolution of another measurement point 612 different from the measurement point on the road surface 11 from the resolution of the measurement point 611 on the road surface 11 among the plurality of measurement points. Determine multiple measurement points so that is low.

Preferably, when the measurement point determination unit 402 reduces the number of the plurality of measurement points, the number of the other measurement points 612 while maintaining the number of the measurement points 611 on the road surface 11 among the plurality of measurement points. To reduce.

Therefore, also in the second embodiment, the obstacle detecting device 100 for detecting an obstacle in front of the vehicle 10 detects an obstacle while suppressing deterioration in the detection accuracy of the obstacle on the road surface 11. The speed can be increased.

[Third Embodiment]
When the obstacle detection device 100 is applied to the automatic driving of the vehicle 10, the faster the traveling speed of the vehicle 10, the higher the processing speed (for example, frame rate, etc.) for detecting obstacles is required. Therefore, in the third embodiment, an example of processing in which the measurement point determination unit 402 determines a plurality of measurement points according to the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 will be described.

<Functional configuration>
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the obstacle detection device 100 according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the obstacle detection device 100 according to the third embodiment has a traveling speed acquisition unit 701 in addition to the functional configuration of the obstacle detection device 100 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. have. The system configuration of the obstacle detection system 1 and the hardware configuration of the obstacle detection device 100 according to the third embodiment may be the same as those of the first and second embodiments.

The traveling speed acquisition unit 701 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 301 of FIG. 3, and is provided with another ECU included in the vehicle 10 (for example, an ECU that controls the traveling of the vehicle 10) via the external connection I / F 305. ), The traveling speed of the vehicle 10 is acquired.

Further, the measurement point determination unit 402 according to the third embodiment determines a plurality of measurement points at which the distance measurement unit 401 measures the distance according to the travel speed of the vehicle 10 acquired by the travel speed acquisition unit 701.

The functions of the other functional configurations (distance measuring unit 401, obstacle detection unit 403) of the obstacle detection device 100 according to the third embodiment may be the same as those of the first and second embodiments.

<Processing flow>
Subsequently, the flow of processing of the obstacle detection method according to the third embodiment will be described.

(Processing of obstacle detection device 1)
FIG. 8 is a flowchart (1) showing an example of processing of the obstacle detection device according to the third embodiment. This process shows an example of an obstacle detection process executed by the obstacle detection device 100. The obstacle detection device 100 detects an obstacle in front of the vehicle 10 by repeatedly executing, for example, the process shown in FIG.

In step S801, the traveling speed acquisition unit 701 of the obstacle detection device 100 acquires the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 from the ECU or the like that controls the traveling of the vehicle 10.

In step S802, the measurement point determination unit 402 of the obstacle detection device 100 determines whether the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed (or exceeds a predetermined speed). The predetermined speed is assumed to be, for example, a speed (for example, about 30 km / h to 80 km / h) for increasing the processing speed of the obstacle detection process.

When the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed, the measurement point determination unit 402 shifts the process to step S803. On the other hand, when the traveling speed is less than a predetermined speed, the measurement point determination unit 402 shifts the process to step S804.

When the process proceeds to step S803, the measurement point determination unit 402 reduces the number of the plurality of measurement points. For example, in the default state, the plurality of measurement points 901 for which the distance measuring unit 401 measures the distance are evenly spaced at a distance D in the horizontal direction and a distance D in the vertical direction of the Depth image 900, as shown in FIG. 9A. It is assumed that it is located in.

When reducing the number of the plurality of measurement points 901 from this state, the measurement point determination unit 402 applies, for example, the first embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 9B, the plurality of measurement points 901 You may reduce the number of. In the example of FIG. 9B, the measurement point determination unit 402 thins out the rows of measurement points 901 every other row from the state of FIG. 9A, and doubles the distance D between the measurement points in the lateral direction. It is in 2D. In this way, the measurement point determination unit 402 maintains the number of measurement points 901 corresponding to the traveling direction (vertical direction) of the vehicle 10, and the measurement point 901 in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction (horizontal direction) of the vehicle 10. You may reduce the number of.

Alternatively, the measurement point determination unit 402 may apply, for example, the second embodiment to reduce the number of the plurality of measurement points 901, for example, as shown in FIG. 9C. In the example of FIG. 9C, the measurement point determination unit 402 thins out the measurement points 901b of another region 903 different from the region 902 corresponding to the road surface 11 on the road surface 11 from the state of FIG. 9A. Then, the distance between the measurement points 901b in the vertical direction is doubled to 2D. In this way, the measurement point determination unit 402 may reduce the number of other measurement points 901b while maintaining the number of measurement points 901a in the region 902 corresponding to the road surface 11.

When the process proceeds to step S803 in FIG. 8, for example, as shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C, if the number of measurement points 901 has already been reduced, the measurement point determination unit 402 is currently in the process of reducing the number of measurement points 901. (Reduced state) is maintained.

When shifting from step S802 to step S804 in FIG. 8, the measurement point determination unit 402 stops reducing the number of the plurality of measurement points 901. For example, when the number of measurement points 901 has already been reduced as shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C when the process proceeds to step S804, the measurement point determination unit 402 uses a plurality of measurement points 901. , Return to the default state as shown in FIG. 9 (A). On the other hand, when the number of the plurality of measurement points 901 is the default state as shown in FIG. 9A when the process proceeds to step S804, the measurement point determination unit 402 is in the current state (default state). To maintain.

In step S805, the distance measuring unit 401 of the obstacle detection device 100 measures the distance to the plurality of measurement points 901 determined in steps S801 to S804.

In step S806, the obstacle detection unit 403 of the obstacle detection device 100 detects an obstacle in front of the vehicle 10 based on the distances to the plurality of measurement points 901 measured by the distance measurement unit 401. The obstacle information detected by the obstacle detection unit 403 is output to, for example, an ECU included in the vehicle 10 (for example, an ECU for automatic driving control), an information processing device, or the like.

By the above processing, the obstacle detection device 100 detects obstacles while suppressing deterioration of the detection accuracy of obstacles on the road surface 11 when the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 becomes a predetermined speed or higher. The speed can be increased.

The processing of the obstacle detection device shown in FIG. 8 is an example. For example, the obstacle detection device 100 may switch the method of reducing the number of the plurality of measurement points 901 according to the speed range of three or more. Further, the obstacle detection device 100 may be applied in combination with the first embodiment and the second embodiment when reducing the number of the plurality of measurement points 901.

(Processing of obstacle detection device 2)
FIG. 10 is a flowchart (2) showing an example of processing of the obstacle detection device according to the third embodiment. This process shows another example of the obstacle detection process executed by the obstacle detection device 100. The obstacle detection device 100 detects an obstacle in front of the vehicle 10 by repeatedly executing, for example, the process shown in FIG. Here, detailed description of the same processing content as that described with reference to FIG. 8 will be omitted.

In step S1001, the traveling speed acquisition unit 701 of the obstacle detection device 100 acquires the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 from the ECU or the like that controls the traveling of the vehicle 10.

In step S1002, the measurement point determination unit 402 of the obstacle detection device 100 determines whether the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 is equal to or higher than the preset first speed (for example, about 20 to 40 km / h).

When the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 is less than the first speed, the measurement point determination unit 402 shifts the process to step S1003. On the other hand, when the traveling speed is equal to or higher than the first speed, the measurement point determination unit 402 shifts the process to step S1004.

When the process proceeds to step S1003, the measurement point determination unit 402 stops reducing the number of the plurality of measurement points 901. For example, when the number of measurement points 901 has already been reduced when the process proceeds to step S1003, the measurement point determination unit 402 returns the plurality of measurement points 901 to the default state as shown in FIG. 9A. return. On the other hand, when the number of the plurality of measurement points 901 is the default state as shown in FIG. 9A when the process proceeds to step S1003, the measurement point determination unit 402 is in the current state (default state). To maintain.

On the other hand, when shifting from step S1002 to step S1004, the measurement point determination unit 402 determines whether the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 is equal to or higher than a preset second speed (for example, about 60 to 80 km / h). ..

When the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 is less than the second speed, the measurement point determination unit 402 shifts the process to step S1005. On the other hand, when the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 is equal to or higher than the second speed, the process shifts to step S1006.

When shifting to step S1005, the measurement point determination unit 402 reduces the number of measurement points 901b different from the measurement points 901a on the road surface 11, for example, as described with reference to FIG. 9C. When the number of measurement points 901 has already been reduced when the process proceeds to step S1005, for example, as shown in FIG. 9C, the measurement point determination unit 402 maintains the current state.

On the other hand, when shifting from step S1004 to step S1006, the measurement point determination unit 402 reduces the number of the plurality of measurement points 901, for example, as shown in FIG. 9D.

In the example of FIG. 9D, the measurement point determination unit 402 thins out the rows of other measurement points 901b different from the measurement points 901a on the road surface 11 from the state of FIG. 9A. , The distance between the measurement points 901b in the vertical direction is doubled to 2D. Further, the measurement point determination unit 402 thins out the rows of the measurement points 901a and the measurement points 901b every other row, and changes the distance D between the measurement points in the lateral direction to 2D, which is doubled.

In this way, the measurement point determination unit 402 may combine the first embodiment and the second embodiment to reduce the number of the plurality of measurement points 901. Also in the Depth image 900 shown in FIG. 9D, a plurality of measurements are made so that the resolution of the other measurement points 901 is lower than the resolution of the measurement point 901 corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 on the road surface 11. Determine point 901.

In step S1007, the distance measuring unit 401 of the obstacle detection device 100 measures the distance to the plurality of measurement points 901 determined in steps S1001 to S1006.

In step S1006, the obstacle detection unit 403 of the obstacle detection device 100 detects an obstacle in front of the vehicle 10 based on the distances to the plurality of measurement points 901 measured by the distance measurement unit 401. The obstacle information detected by the obstacle detection unit 403 is output to, for example, an ECU included in the vehicle 10 (for example, an ECU for automatic driving control), an information processing device, or the like.

By the above processing, the obstacle detection device 100 can switch the method of reducing the number of the plurality of measurement points 901 according to the plurality of speed ranges while suppressing the deterioration of the detection accuracy of the obstacle on the road surface 11. can.

As described above, according to each embodiment of the present invention, the obstacle detection device 100 for detecting an obstacle in front of the vehicle 10 detects an obstacle while suppressing deterioration in the detection accuracy of the obstacle on the road surface 11. The processing speed can be increased.

The present invention is not limited to each of the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.

For example, the functional configuration of the obstacle detection device 100 shown in FIG. 4 is an example, and includes a distance measurement device including a distance measurement unit 401 and a measurement point determination unit 402, and an obstacle detection device including an obstacle detection unit 403. It may be separated. Further, in this case, the obstacle detection unit 403 may be included in an ECU or the like that controls automatic operation. As described above, each functional configuration of the obstacle detection device 100 shown in FIGS. 4 and 7 may be included in any one or more of the devices included in the obstacle detection system 1.

1 Obstacle detection system 10 Vehicle 11 Road surface 100 Obstacle detection device 110 Distance sensor 401 Distance measurement unit 402 Measurement point determination unit

Claims (10)

An obstacle detection device that detects obstacles based on the distance to multiple measurement points in front of the vehicle.
A measurement point determination unit that determines the plurality of measurement points so that the resolution of the other measurement points is lower than the resolution of the measurement points corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle on the road surface among the plurality of measurement points.
A distance measuring unit that measures the distance to the plurality of measuring points,
Obstacle detection device. When the number of the plurality of measurement points is reduced, the measurement point determination unit maintains the number of measurement points corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle on the road surface among the plurality of measurement points. The obstacle detection device according to claim 1, which reduces the number of measurement points. The obstacle detection device according to claim 2, wherein the measurement point determination unit reduces the number of the plurality of measurement points according to the traveling speed of the vehicle. The obstacle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the measurement point determination unit reduces the number of measurement points corresponding to a direction intersecting the traveling direction of the vehicle among the plurality of measurement points. Detection device. The obstacle detection according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the measurement point determination unit reduces the number of measurement points different from the measurement points on the road surface among the plurality of measurement points. Device. The measurement point determination unit is such that the resolution of the measurement point corresponding to the direction intersecting the traveling direction of the vehicle is lower than the resolution of the measuring point corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle among the plurality of measurement points. The obstacle detection device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of measurement points are determined. The measurement point determination unit has the plurality of measurement points so that the resolution of the other measurement points different from the measurement points on the road surface is lower than the resolution of the measurement points on the road surface among the plurality of measurement points. The obstacle detection device according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the obstacle detection device is determined. A vehicle equipped with the obstacle detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. An obstacle detection system that detects obstacles based on the distance to multiple measurement points in front of the vehicle.
A measurement point determination unit that determines the plurality of measurement points so that the resolution of the other measurement points is lower than the resolution of the measurement points corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle on the road surface among the plurality of measurement points.
A distance measuring unit that measures the distance to the plurality of measuring points,
Obstacle detection system. An obstacle detection method that detects obstacles based on the distance to multiple measurement points in front of the vehicle.
The measurement point determination unit determines the plurality of measurement points so that the resolution of the other measurement points is lower than the resolution of the measurement point corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle on the road surface among the plurality of measurement points. Processing and
The process in which the distance measuring unit measures the distance to the plurality of measuring points,
Obstacle detection methods, including.

Images