JP2022157145A - Traffic safety system - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress a data amount transmitted from a vehicle to a server when identifying a special attention requiring point on a road through communications between the vehicle and the server.SOLUTION: A traffic safety system comprises a server and a vehicle. The server includes a database. The database stores location data of a plurality of special attention requiring points registered based on a first reference. The vehicle exchanges data with the server. The server individually evaluates whether the registration of the plurality of special attention requiring points based on the first reference is appropriate or not based on data of a driving environment and a second reference. The server keeps the location data of special attention requiring points evaluated appropriate in the database and deletes the location data of special attention requiring points evaluated inappropriate from the database.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a system for collecting data acquired by a vehicle in a server and using it for traffic safety.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2014-095987 discloses a system for preventing vehicle accidents. This conventional system comprises a vehicle and a server communicating with the vehicle. The vehicle detects the driver's inattentive behavior including inattentive driving and drowsy driving based on the image data of the driver captured by the indoor camera. The server collects vehicle location data when inattentive behavior is detected. The server identifies locations with a high number of location data reports as frequent locations of inattentive behavior, and provides location data of these locations to the vehicle.

JP 2014-095987 A

From the viewpoint of ensuring the safety of traffic on roads, it is considered to specify points that require the vehicle's or driver's attention (hereinafter also referred to as "attention points"). In this case, following the method of the conventional system, it is considered effective to collect vehicle position data when an event such as sudden deceleration occurs.

However, this method uses the occurrence of an event while the vehicle is running as a trigger for collecting position data. Therefore, there is a possibility that location data will not be collected on roads where vehicles rarely pass or when an event does not occur. As a result, the number of samples of the position data is insufficient, making it difficult to identify the caution point.

In this regard, if a position for collecting data is registered in advance and data is collected when a vehicle passes through this position, it becomes possible to specify a caution point. However, in this case, since data is also collected when no event occurs, there is a problem that the amount of data transmitted from the vehicle to the server increases significantly.

One object of the present invention is to provide a technology capable of suppressing the amount of data transmitted from a vehicle to a server when a point requiring attention on a road is specified by communication between the vehicle and the server.

The present invention is a traffic safety system that identifies points requiring attention on roads, and has the following features.
The traffic safety system includes a server and a vehicle. The server comprises a database storing a list of location data of a plurality of points of interest registered based on a first criterion. The vehicle transmits and receives data to and from the server.
The vehicle is
receiving location data of the plurality of caution points from the server;
When passing through any one of the plurality of caution points, the data of the driving environment of the vehicle before and after passing through the point is transmitted to the server.
The server is
individually evaluating whether or not registration of the plurality of caution points based on the first criterion is appropriate, based on the data of the driving environment and the second criterion;
Position data of points of caution evaluated as valid are left in the list, and position data of points of caution evaluated as not valid are deleted from the list.

According to the present invention, whether or not registration of a caution point based on the first criterion is appropriate is evaluated based on the second criterion and the driving environment data before and after passing the caution point. be done. Then, the position data of the caution points evaluated as appropriate for registration is left in the list, and the position data of the caution points evaluated as not being evaluated is deleted from the list.

Therefore, although the amount of data sent from the vehicle to the server is large at the initial stage of registration, the location data of the caution point is deleted from the list as a result of the validity evaluation, and the amount of data transmission at the caution point decreases over time. can be effectively reduced. On the other hand, the fact that the location data of a hotspot remains on the list as a result of the validity evaluation means that it still needs to be identified as a hotspot. Therefore, it is possible to ensure traffic safety by continuously collecting driving environment data at these caution points and using this data for various vehicle controls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure explaining the structural example of the traffic safety system which concerns on embodiment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure explaining the structural example of the traffic safety system which concerns on embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of data processing by a vehicle data processing device (processor); 4 is a flowchart showing an example of data processing by a data processing device (processor) of a server;

Hereinafter, traffic safety systems according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same reference numerals are given to the same or corresponding parts, and the description thereof will be simplified or omitted.

1. Configuration Example of Traffic Safety System FIGS. 1 and 2 are diagrams illustrating configuration examples of a traffic safety system according to an embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the traffic safety system 1 includes a vehicle 2 and a server 3. The number of vehicles 2 constituting the traffic safety system 1 is at least one. Communication between the vehicle 2 and the server 3 takes place via the network 4 . In this communication, communication data COM2 is transmitted from vehicle 2 to server 3 . On the other hand, communication data COM3 is transmitted from the server 3 to the vehicle 2 .

The vehicle 2 is, for example, an automobile using an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or a gasoline engine as a power source, an electric automobile using an electric motor as a power source, or a hybrid automobile including an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. Electric motors are driven by batteries such as secondary batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, metal fuel cells, and alcohol fuel cells.

The vehicle 2 runs according to the operation of the driver of the vehicle 2 . Traveling of the vehicle 2 may be performed by a control system mounted on the vehicle 2 . This control system, for example, assists the running of the vehicle 2 based on the driver's operation, or performs control for automatic running of the vehicle 2 . The former is generically called driving support control, and the latter is generically called automatic driving control.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 2 includes a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) device 21, an internal sensor 22, an external sensor 23, a map database (map DB) 24, an external memory 25, and a communication device 26. and a data processing device 27 . Elements such as the GNSS device 21 and the data processing device 27 are connected by, for example, an in-vehicle network (for example, CAN (Controller Area Network)).

The GNSS device 21 is a device that receives signals from three or more artificial satellites. The GNSS device 21 acquires position data of the vehicle 2 (specifically, latitude and longitude data; the same applies hereinafter). The GNSS device 21 calculates the position and attitude (orientation) of the vehicle 2 based on the received signals. The GNSS device 21 transmits position and attitude data to the data processor 27 .

The internal sensor 22 acquires data regarding the running condition of the vehicle 2 . Examples of internal sensors 22 include wheel speed sensors, acceleration sensors, yaw rate sensors, and steering angle sensors. The wheel speed sensor detects the rotational speed of each wheel of the vehicle 2 per unit time. The acceleration sensor detects acceleration of the vehicle 2 . The yaw rate sensor detects the yaw rate around the vertical axis of the center of gravity of the vehicle 2 . The steering angle sensor detects the steering angle of the steering wheel. The internal sensor 22 transmits the acquired data to the data processing device 27 .

The external sensor 23 acquires data regarding the surrounding environment of the vehicle 2 . Examples of the external sensor 23 include a camera, millimeter wave radar, and LIDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging). The millimeter wave radar detects targets around the vehicle 2 using millimeter waves. LIDAR uses light to detect targets around the vehicle 2 . The camera images the external situation of the vehicle 2 . The external sensor 23 transmits the acquired data to the data processing device 27 .

A map database (map DB) 24 stores map data. Examples of map data include road position data, road shape data (for example, types of curves and straight lines), and position data of intersections and structures. The map data also includes a list of position data WAT of points of caution WP. The map database 24 is formed in an in-vehicle storage device (for example, hard disk, flash memory). The map database 24 may be formed in a computer (for example, the server 3) that can communicate with the vehicle 2. FIG.

The external memory 25 is an in-vehicle storage device such as a hard disk or flash memory. The external memory 25 stores driving environment data DRV. The driving environment data DRV includes data on the position and attitude of the vehicle 2 acquired by the GNSS device 21, data on the running condition of the vehicle 2 acquired by the internal sensor 22, and data on the surroundings of the vehicle 2 acquired by the external sensor 23. environmental data; and Data on the position and attitude of the vehicle 2 are associated with data on the driving situation of the vehicle 2 and the surrounding environment.

A communication device 26 performs wireless communication with a base station (not shown) of the network 4 . As a communication standard of this wireless communication, a standard of mobile communication such as 4G, LTE, or 5G is exemplified. The connection destination of the communication device 26 includes the server 3 . In communication with the server 3 , the communication device 26 transmits communication data COM2 received from the data processing device 27 to the server 3 . The communication data COM2 includes the driving environment data DRV before and after passing the caution point WP.

The data processing device 27 is a computer for processing various data. The data processing device 27 comprises, for example, a microcomputer having at least one processor 28 and at least one memory 29 . The processor 28 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The memory 29 is a volatile memory such as a DDR memory, and expands programs used by the processor 28 and temporarily stores various data. Various functions of the data processing device 27 are realized by reading the program stored in the memory 29 and executing it by the processor 28 . An example of data processing by the data processing device 27 will be described later.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the server 3 includes a map database (map DB) 31, an external memory 32, a communication device 33, and a data processing device . Elements such as the map database 31 and the data processing device 34 are connected by a dedicated network.

The map database 31 is formed in a predetermined storage device (for example, hard disk, flash memory). The map database 31 stores map data. Examples of map data have already been described. That is, the map data also includes the position data WAT.

Here, the caution point WP is registered in advance based on the first criterion. The first criterion involves the risk of collision between the vehicle and other moving objects (eg, pedestrians, motorcycles, other vehicles). Whether or not there is a risk at a certain position on the road can be determined, for example, by normalizing the following elements and substituting them into variables of a predetermined determination model.
・Width of the road ・Speed limit of the road ・Height of structures around the road
・Whether there is a structure around the intersection ・The height of the structure around the intersection ・Whether there is a traffic signal at the intersection ・Whether there is a traffic sign at the intersection or on the road・Whether or not a curved mirror is installed ・Whether or not the crosswalk is attached to a traffic light ・Whether or not the intersection or road has many parked and stopped vehicles

The external memory 32 is a storage device such as a hard disk or flash memory. The external memory 32 stores driving environment data DRV. An example of the driving environment data DRV has already been described.

A communication device 33 performs wireless communication with a base station of the network 4 . As a communication standard of this wireless communication, a standard of mobile communication such as 4G, LTE, or 5G is exemplified. The communication destination of the communication device 33 includes the vehicle 2 . In communication with the vehicle 2 , the communication device 33 transmits communication data COM3 received from the data processing device 34 to the vehicle 2 . This communication data COM3 includes a list of position data WAT.

The data processing device 34 is a computer for processing various data. The data processing device 34 comprises, for example, at least one processor 35 and at least one memory 36 . Processor 35 includes a CPU. The memory 36 develops programs used by the processor 35 and temporarily stores various data. Various functions of the data processing device 34 are realized by reading the program stored in the memory 36 and executing it by the processor 35 . An example of data processing by the data processing device 34 will be described later.

2. Data processing example 2-1. Example of Data Processing by Data Processing Device 27 FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of data processing by the data processing device 27 (processor 28). The routine shown in FIG. 3 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined control cycle.

In the routine shown in FIG. 3, first, the current position data POS of the vehicle 2 is obtained (step S11). The current position data POS is specified by the position and attitude data of the vehicle 2 acquired by the GNSS device 21 .

Following the processing of step S11, it is determined whether or not the vehicle 2 has passed through the caution point WP (step S12). The process of step S12 is performed, for example, by determining whether or not there is position data WAT that matches the current position data POS obtained by the process of step S11. If the determination result in step S12 is negative, the current process ends.

If the determination result in step S12 is affirmative, the driving environment data DRV at the caution point WP is recorded in the external memory 25 (step S13). The driving environment data DRV at the point of caution WP is, for example, the driving environment data DRV for 10 seconds before and after passing the point of caution WP. As already described, the driving environment data DRV associates the position and attitude data of the vehicle 2 with the data on the driving condition of the vehicle 2 and the surrounding environment.

The driving environment data DRV at the caution point WP recorded in the external memory 25 is encoded and output to the communication device 26 . The driving environment data DRV may be compressed during the encoding process. The encoded driving environment data DRV is transmitted to the server 3 as communication data COM2. The timing at which the driving environment data DRV is sent to the server 3 may be immediately after passing the point of caution WP or after a certain period of time has elapsed after passing the point of caution WP. Examples of the latter include the timing during a temporary stop of the vehicle 2 and the timing after the vehicle 2 has completely stopped.

When the server 3 receives the driving environment data DRV, the server 3 (processor 35 ) decodes the driving environment data DRV and writes it to the external memory 32 . As a result, the driving environment data DRV at the caution point WP is stored in the external memory 32 . By collecting the driving environment data DRV at the caution point WP, it becomes possible to evaluate the validity of registration of this caution point WP.

2-2. Example of Data Processing by Data Processing Device 34 FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of data processing by the data processing device 34 (processor 35). The routine shown in FIG. 4 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined control cycle.

In the routine shown in FIG. 4, first, the driving environment data DRV at the caution point WP is read from the external memory 32 (step S21). Driving environment data DRV is read for each position data WAT. The driving environment data DRV to be read has the number of samples of the position data WAT exceeding a predetermined number (for example, 200 to 500). In other words, the target of the processing in step S21 is the caution point WP for which the number of samples of the position data WAT exceeds a predetermined number.

Note that it is considered sufficient to perform the process of step S22 once for one caution point WP. Therefore, in the processing of step S21, the caution point WP that was once targeted for this processing in the past may be excluded from the processing.

Following the process of step S21, the validity of registration of the caution point WP is evaluated (step S22). In the process of step S22, the driving environment data DRV read out in the process of step S21 is used to evaluate whether or not the registration of the caution point WP was appropriate based on a second criterion. A second criterion involves that there was a real risk of a collision between the vehicle and another moving object. Whether or not there was an actual risk of collision between the vehicle and another moving object is determined based on, for example, the number of times the following events have occurred.
・Another moving body is detected in front of the vehicle 2 from the data on the surrounding environment, and a significant change in vertical or horizontal acceleration of the vehicle 2 is detected from the data on the driving situation ・From the data on the surrounding environment , a sudden stop of another moving body was detected in front of the vehicle 2

In the processing of step S22, if the number of occurrences of the event exceeds a predetermined threshold, or if the ratio of the number of occurrences to the number of samples exceeds a predetermined threshold, it is evaluated that registration of the caution point WP is appropriate. If none of the cases apply, the registration of the caution point WP is evaluated as inappropriate.

Following the process of step S22, the list of position data WAT is updated (step S23). The process of step S23 is performed based on the evaluation result of step S22. Specifically, when the registration of the caution point WP is evaluated as appropriate, the registration of the position data WAT is maintained. That is, in this case, the position data WAT of the caution point WP that is the target of evaluation remains in the list. On the other hand, if the registration of the caution point WP is evaluated as inappropriate, the registration of the position data WAT is cancelled. That is, in this case, the position data WAT of the caution point WP that is the target of evaluation is deleted from the list.

3. Effect According to the embodiment described above, the validity of the registration of the caution point WP based on the first criterion is evaluated after the fact based on the second criterion, and the maintenance or deletion of the registration of the position data WAT is performed. done. Therefore, it is possible to continue to identify the caution point WP whose registration is maintained as the caution point WP. In addition, since the collection of driving environment data DRV is continued at the caution points WP whose registration is maintained, traffic safety is ensured by utilizing this data for various vehicle controls (for example, automatic driving control). becomes possible. On the other hand, at the caution points WP whose registration has been canceled, the driving environment data DRV does not have to be recorded and transmitted to the server 3, so the processing load on the data processor 27 can be reduced. Also, although the amount of data transmitted from the vehicle 2 to the server 3 is large at the initial stage of registration of the position data WAT, the amount of data transmitted can be reduced over time as the evaluation progresses.

1 traffic safety system 2 vehicle 3 server 24, 31 map database 25, 32 external memory 26, 33 communication device 27, 34 data processing device 28, 35 processor 29, 36 memory WP caution point DRV driving environment data POS current position data WAT Location data of points of interest

Claims (1)

A traffic safety system for identifying a point of caution on a road,
a server comprising a database storing a list of location data of a plurality of caution points registered based on a first criterion;
a vehicle that transmits and receives data to and from the server;
with
The vehicle is
receiving location data of the plurality of caution points from the server;
when passing through any one of the plurality of caution points, transmitting driving environment data of the vehicle before and after passing through the point to the server;
The server is
individually evaluating whether or not registration of the plurality of caution points based on the first criterion is appropriate based on the driving environment data and the second criterion;
A traffic safety system characterized by leaving position data of points of caution that have been evaluated as valid in the list, and deleting position data of points of caution that have been evaluated as not valid from the list.

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