JP2023117869A - Server system and vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress occurrence of collision when the respective vehicles change lanes to the same lane without complicating processing without depending on positions of the respective vehicles.SOLUTION: A server system (1) comprises: an acquisition unit (4) which acquires road information of a road having first, second, and third lanes, where at least the second lane and the third lane are adjacent to each other and have the same travel direction; a reception unit (14) which receives first to fourth pieces of information; a determination unit (6) which determines prohibition of lane change to at least any vehicle when distance between the respective vehicles (100) becomes predetermined distance or less when it is considered that the respective vehicles (100) change lanes to the second lane by referring to the first to fourth pieces of information; and a transmission unit (12) which transmits information showing a determination result to at least the vehicles (100) to be objects of determination for prohibiting the lane change.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to server systems and vehicles.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a device capable of reducing the risk of an accident by notifying a driver of surrounding information acquired by a sensor provided in a vehicle.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a driving support device that detects an interrupting vehicle when changing lanes based on the recognized surrounding environment information and outputs an alarm. Patent Literature 2 discloses a vehicle control device for safely and smoothly changing lanes of the own vehicle based on information acquired using an in-vehicle stereo camera or the like. Patent Literature 3 discloses a lane change system that stops a lane change when there is a surrounding vehicle with a high collision risk based on information from a sensor that recognizes the outside world.

JP 2017-68461 A JP 2019-209813 A JP 2017-65420 A

However, according to the conventional technology as described above, depending on the position of the vehicle, it is not possible to obtain information on other vehicles located outside the sensor's blind spot or detection range. In addition, when information is transmitted and received between vehicles, it is necessary for each vehicle to control synchronization timing and the like. In particular, as the number of vehicles on the road increases, the processing load on the vehicles increases and the processing becomes complicated. be.

One aspect of the present invention has been made in view of the above problem, and is intended to make the process of collision occurrence when each vehicle changes lanes into the same lane irrespective of the position of each vehicle more complicated. The purpose is to suppress

A server system according to an aspect of the present invention has a first lane, a second lane, and a third lane, and at least the second lane and the third lane are adjacent to each other and travel in the same direction. an acquisition unit that acquires information; first information indicating the position and speed of a first vehicle traveling in the first lane; second information indicating the position and speed of a second vehicle traveling in the third lane; Third information indicating a request for one vehicle to change lanes from the first lane to the second lane and a request for the second vehicle to change lanes from the third lane to the second lane. with reference to the first information, the second information, the third information and the fourth information, and the first vehicle moves from the first lane to the second lane and the second vehicle changes lanes from the third lane to the second lane, the distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle becomes a predetermined distance or less. a determination unit that determines whether the lane change is prohibited for at least one of the first vehicle and the second vehicle; and a transmitter for transmitting to the target vehicle.

A vehicle according to another aspect of the present invention has a first lane, a second lane and a third lane, and at least the second lane and the third lane are adjacent to each other and travel in the same direction. An acquisition unit for acquiring travel information indicating the position and speed of the vehicle traveling in the first lane or the third lane, and a request to change the lane from the lane in which the vehicle is traveling to the second lane. A transmission unit for transmitting request information and a server system associated with the vehicle reduce the distance between the vehicle and another vehicle requesting the lane change to the second lane to be less than or equal to a predetermined distance. a receiving unit that receives prohibition information transmitted from the server system, the prohibition information indicating that the vehicle is prohibited from changing lanes when it is determined that a condition including that the lane change is satisfied; Prepare.

A server system or a vehicle control program for implementing the server system in a computer by operating a computer as each part (software element) provided in the server system or vehicle according to each aspect of the present invention, and a computer-readable recording thereof recording media are also included in the scope of the present invention.

Further, the control program may use various machine learning methods in the process of causing the computer to operate as each of the parts or in other processes. In this case, the program using the machine learning technique may operate on a server system or vehicle, or may operate on another device (for example, edge computer or cloud server).

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a collision when each vehicle changes lanes into the same lane regardless of the position of each vehicle without complicating the process.

1 is an example block diagram showing a functional configuration of a server system and a vehicle associated with the server system; FIG. 1 is an example of a conceptual diagram showing existing vehicles traveling on a road according to one aspect of an embodiment; FIG. 1 is an example conceptual diagram showing a vehicle associated with a server system traveling on a road according to one aspect of an embodiment; FIG. 6 is an example of a flowchart showing the flow of processing executed by the server system; 5 is an example of a conceptual diagram for explaining each value referred to in the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4; FIG. 1 is an example conceptual diagram showing a vehicle associated with a server system traveling on a road according to one aspect of an embodiment; FIG. 1 is an example conceptual diagram showing a vehicle associated with a server system traveling on a road according to one aspect of an embodiment; FIG.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below.

[1. Configuration example of server system 1 and vehicle 100]
FIG. 1 is an example of a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a server system 1 and a vehicle 100 associated with the server system 1. As shown in FIG.

The server system 1 is a device that functions as a server for one or a plurality of vehicles 100, receives travel information indicating the position and speed of the vehicle 100 from each vehicle 100, and defines the behavior of the vehicle 100. , etc. to each vehicle 100 . Here, the information for defining the behavior of the vehicle 100 may include a control signal for controlling the behavior of the self-driving vehicle and information indicating the content of instructions to the driver.

The server system 1 includes a control section 2 , a storage section 8 and a communication section 10 . The control unit 2 is a control device that controls the entire server system 1 and includes an acquisition unit 4 and a determination unit 6 .

The acquisition unit 4 acquires road information, which is information about the road on which the vehicle 100 travels. The acquisition destination from which the acquisition unit 4 acquires the road information may be the storage unit 8 or the Internet.

The determination unit 6 determines whether to permit or prohibit the vehicle 100 from changing lanes. For example, when a plurality of vehicles 100 change lanes, the determination unit 6 determines that at least one of the vehicles 100 is prohibited from changing lanes when the distance between the vehicles 100 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined distance. conduct. The predetermined distance is not limited to a specific distance, and may be, for example, 1 m, or may be a distance according to the type of vehicle 100 .

The storage unit 8 is a storage device that stores various types of information, such as information for identifying each vehicle 100, information indicating the state of each vehicle 100, information regarding roads and maps, and the like.

The communication unit 10 is a member that transmits and receives various information under the control of the control unit 2 and includes a transmission unit 12 and a reception unit 14 . For example, when the determination unit 6 determines that the lane change is prohibited, the transmission unit 12 transmits prohibition information indicating the determination result to at least the target of the determination that the lane change is prohibited. The receiving unit 14 receives, for example, travel information indicating the position and speed of the vehicle 100 and request information indicating a request to change lanes.

The vehicle 100 is a connected car, a self-driving car, or a similar car, and includes a control unit 102 , a storage unit 108 , a communication unit 110 and an operation unit 116 .

Control unit 102 is a control device that controls the entire vehicle 100 . The storage unit 108 is a storage device that stores various types of information, and stores, for example, information for connecting to the server system 1, information about the host vehicle, information about roads and maps, and the like.

The communication unit 110 is a member that transmits and receives various types of information under the control of the control unit 102 , and includes a transmission unit 112 and a reception unit 114 . The transmission unit 112 transmits, for example, travel information of the host vehicle and request information indicating a request to change lanes. The receiving unit 114 receives, for example, prohibition information indicating that the vehicle is prohibited from changing lanes.

Information transmitted and received between the server system 1 and each vehicle 100 is not limited to the information described above. may be broken. Further, the transmission unit 12 transmits a control signal for controlling the behavior of the vehicle 100 to the automatic driving vehicle.

The operation unit 116 is a mechanism for operating each part of the host vehicle and each operating part itself. When the own vehicle is an automatic driving vehicle, the operating unit 116 automatically operates each unit of the own vehicle according to the control contents indicated by the control signal received by the receiving unit 114 . Operation unit 116 may also include members such as speakers that are not directly related to movement of vehicle 100 .

The functions of a single member provided by the server system 1 and the vehicle 100 may be realized by a plurality of other members, and the functions of the plurality of members provided by the server system 1 and the vehicle 100 may be realized by another single member. may be implemented. Further, the server system 1 may be implemented by, for example, a first server device having a database and a second server device that communicates with the vehicle 100 .

[2. Supplement]
Subsequently, problems in road traffic realized by existing vehicles and definitions of terms in the present disclosure will be supplemented with reference to FIG. 2 .

FIG. 2 is an example of a conceptual diagram showing how an existing vehicle is traveling on a road according to one aspect of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the road has a first lane, a second lane and a third lane, and at least the second lane and the third lane are adjacent and have the same direction of travel. In the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, it is assumed that the overtaking lane located on the rightmost side in the traveling direction of the vehicle is the third lane. However, the description may be applied by replacing the first lane and the third lane with each other, and the description of the present disclosure may be applied to a road with four or more lanes on one side. Also, the description of the present disclosure may be applied to roads in other countries where the overtaking lane is positioned furthest to the left when facing the direction of travel of the vehicle. In addition, as will be described later, roads targeted in the present disclosure include T-junctions, intersections, and the like.

First, a vehicle traveling in the first lane at a certain point in time will be referred to as the first vehicle, and a vehicle traveling in the third lane will be referred to as the second vehicle. Note that, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the lane numbers may change midway along the road, such as when the third lane reaches the end halfway and a merging lane merges from the left side in the direction of travel.

Also, the existing vehicle in FIG. 2 has a configuration in which the surrounding conditions are acquired only by visual observation, cameras, and sensors. In the section 21 of the road, the first vehicle and the second vehicle, which are located in blind spots with each other, may collide when they change lanes to the second lane at substantially the same timing. In the section 22 of the road, the first vehicle and the second vehicle cannot see each other because there is another vehicle between them, and pass the other vehicle at substantially the same timing to change lanes to the second lane. If you do, there is a risk of collision.

FIG. 3 is an example of a conceptual diagram showing how a vehicle 100 associated with the server system 1 is traveling on the same road as in FIG.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 3 , travel information transmitted from each vehicle 100 is aggregated in the server system 1 . Further, each vehicle 100 can transmit request information indicating a request to change lanes to the server system 1 and can change lanes when the request is permitted by the server system 1 . This suppresses the occurrence of a collision when each vehicle 100 changes lanes to the same lane regardless of the position of each vehicle 100 even in a position where a blind spot occurs, without complicating the processing. control becomes possible.

Hereinafter, the lane change in FIG. 3 is mentioned as an example, and it demonstrates concretely. First, the first vehicle 100 is traveling in the first lane while transmitting first information indicating the position and speed of the own vehicle to the server system 1 at regular intervals. In addition, the second vehicle 100 is traveling in the third lane while transmitting second information indicating the position and speed of its own vehicle to the server system 1 at regular intervals. Here, the first information and the second information are examples of travel information.

Also, the transmitting unit 112 of the first vehicle 100 transmits third information indicating a request for the vehicle to change lanes from the first lane to the second lane. Further, the transmission unit 112 of the second vehicle 100 transmits fourth information indicating a request for the own vehicle to change lanes from the third lane to the second lane. Here, the third information and the fourth information are examples of request information.

Note that the request information may be automatically transmitted to the server system 1 when the vehicle 100 is located at a location where a lane change is required, such as a lane merging point or near the end of the lane. Further, the travel information itself indicating that the vehicle 100 is located at the above location may be handled as request information requesting a lane change.

The determination unit 6 included in the server system 1 refers to the first to fourth information received by the reception unit 14, and determines whether or not each of the first vehicle 100 and the second vehicle 100 is permitted to change lanes. Make a decision to prohibit. Specifically, when the first vehicle 100 traveling in the first lane and the second vehicle 100 traveling in the third lane change lanes to the second lane, the first vehicle 100 and the second vehicle When the distance from vehicle 100 reaches a predetermined distance, determination unit 6 determines that at least one of first vehicle 100 and second vehicle 100 is prohibited from changing lanes. In other words, when each vehicle 100 running in parallel requests the server system 1 to change lanes to the second lane at approximately the same timing, at least one of the vehicles 100 is not permitted to change lanes. Further, the determination unit 6 may determine whether or not the distance between the first vehicle 100 and the second vehicle 100 is equal to or less than a predetermined distance.

In order to realize the above-described lane change, the acquisition unit 4, the transmission unit 112, the reception unit 114, and the operation unit 116 included in the first vehicle 100 and the second vehicle 100 have the following configurations. That is, the acquisition unit 4 acquires travel information indicating the position and speed of the own vehicle traveling in the first lane or the third lane. Further, the transmission unit 112 transmits the travel information and request information indicating a request to change the lane from the lane in which the vehicle is traveling to the second lane. Further, the receiving unit 114 detects that the distance between the own vehicle and the other vehicle 100 requesting the lane change to the second lane becomes less than or equal to a predetermined distance by the server system 1 associated with the own vehicle. When it is determined that the condition including is satisfied, the prohibition information transmitted from the server system 1 and indicating that the own vehicle is prohibited from changing lanes is received. In addition, when the reception unit 114 receives the prohibition information, the operation unit 116 performs an operation for prohibiting the own vehicle from changing lanes. Here, the operation for prohibiting the lane change includes restricting the change in direction of the vehicle 100 and notifying the driver of the prohibition of the lane change through a speaker or the like. However, the operation for prohibiting the lane change usually does not include the operation for prohibiting acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle 100 .

With the above configuration, it is possible to suppress or prevent the occurrence of a collision when the host vehicle changes lanes to the second lane.

[3. Processing example of server system 1]
Next, the flow of processing executed by the server system 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is an example of a flowchart showing the flow of the processing.

In the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4, the first vehicle 100 traveling in the first lane and the second vehicle 100 traveling in the third lane roughly parallel to each other are allowed to move to the second lane, as in the example described above. It is executed when request information requesting a lane change is transmitted to the server system 1 . Also, for ease of understanding, the description will be made from the viewpoint that the second vehicle 100 is the own vehicle. From another aspect, the process of whether or not the server system 1 permits or prohibits the second vehicle 100 to change lanes will be described as an example.

In S101, the determination unit 6 compares the first time _t1 and the second time _t2 , and determines whether or not the length of _t1 is equal to or less than the length of _t2 . The first time _t1 is the time required for the second vehicle 100 to overtake the first vehicle 100, and is calculated by the following formula.
t ₁ = (L+I)/V ₂ -V ₁
Also, FIG. 5 is an example of a conceptual diagram for explaining each value referred to in the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. The distance L in the above equation and FIG. 5 represents the distance between the first vehicle 100 and the second vehicle 100 at a certain point in time. Further, the distance I indicates an arbitrary predetermined distance required for the first vehicle 100 to start and finish changing lanes. Also, the speed _V1 indicates the speed of the first vehicle 100 and the speed _V2 indicates the speed of the second vehicle 100 . However, the values of the distances L and I and the velocities _V1 and _V2 mentioned above are the values of the directional components along the road.

The second time _t2 is the time required for the second vehicle 100 to reach the end of the third lane or the time required for the second vehicle 100 to reach the obstacle on the third lane, and the time required for the second vehicle 100 to change lanes. It is the sum of the time required for The second time _t2 is calculated by the following formula.

The distance L _min in the following formula and FIG. It shows the shorter distance. A time T indicates an arbitrary predetermined time required for the second vehicle 100 to change lanes.
_t2 = _Lmin / _V2 +T
In addition, in addition to static obstacles such as construction sites or falling objects, the above-mentioned lane obstacles include other vehicles that are temporarily stopped or traveling at extremely low speeds, and dynamic obstacles such as traffic jams. can be

If the determining unit 6 determines that the length of the first time _t1 is equal to or shorter than the length of the second time _t2 (S101: YES), in S102, the second vehicle 100 is instructed to change lanes. After making a decision to prohibit the change for one hour _t1 , a decision to allow the lane change is made. In other words, the determination unit 6 determines to permit the lane change after the first time _t1 , which is the timing at which the second vehicle 100 overtakes the first vehicle 100, has elapsed. Further, the transmission unit 12 transmits information indicating the determination result by the determination unit 6 to the second vehicle 100, and the lane change of the second vehicle 100 is performed. As a result, the second vehicle 100 can pass the first vehicle 100 and safely change lanes before reaching the end of the third lane or the like.

On the other hand, when the determination unit 6 determines that the length of the first time _t1 exceeds the length of the second time _t2 (S101: NO), in S103, the second vehicle 100 reaches the current speed _V2. , it is determined whether or not the vehicle can be accelerated to a speed V ₂ ' within a range equal to or lower than the speed limit V _limit , which is a legal speed. In other words, the determination unit 6 determines whether the second vehicle 100 has not reached the speed limit V _limit or has already reached it.

If the determination unit 6 determines that the second vehicle 100 can be accelerated within the speed limit V _limit or less (S103: YES), then in S104, the second vehicle 100 is accelerated to the speed V ₂ ' for the first time. Compare t ₁ ′ and the second time t ₂ ′ to determine whether the length of t ₁ ′ is less than or equal to the length of t ₂ ′.

When the determination unit 6 determines that the length of the first time t1' is equal to or less than the length of the second time _t2 ' (S104: YES), the transmission unit 12 instructs the second vehicle 100 to , transmits information instructing it to accelerate to a velocity V ₂ ′. The speed V ₂ ′ is an example of an overtaking speed in the present disclosure. Subsequently, the process of S101 is repeated using the first time t ₁ ′ and the second time t ₂ ′. Further, the determination to accelerate or decelerate each vehicle 100 may be performed by the determination unit 6 .

Further, the determination of "YES" in the determination of S101 subsequent to the processing of S105 can be made only when the second vehicle 100 accelerates to the overtaking possible speed V ₂ ' which is equal to _or lower than the predetermined speed. is less than or equal to the length of the second time t ₂ ′. Further, the determination is made on the condition that the determination unit 6 accelerates the second vehicle 100 to the overtaking possible speed V ₂ ′, and after the first time t ₁ ′ has passed. This means that a determination is made to permit a lane change in. As a result, the second vehicle 100 can overtake the first vehicle 100 and safely change lanes before reaching the end of the third lane or the like by accelerating to the overtaking speed V ₂ ′.

If the determination unit 6 determines in S103 that the second vehicle 100 cannot be accelerated in the range of the speed limit V _limit or less (S103: NO), or if the length of the first time t ₁ ′ When it is determined that the length of 2 hours t ₂ ′ is exceeded (S104: NO), the process of S106 is executed.

In S106, the determination unit 6 determines to prohibit the second vehicle 100 from changing lanes. Further, the transmission unit 12 transmits prohibition information indicating prohibition of the lane change and information instructing the second vehicle 100 to reduce the speed below the current speed _V2 .

In S107, the determination unit 6 determines that the conditions that the second vehicle 100 is positioned behind the first vehicle 100 and that the speed _V2 of the second vehicle 100 is equal to _or lower than the speed V1 of the first vehicle 100 are satisfied. Determine whether or not When determining that the condition is satisfied (S107: YES), the determination unit 6 determines in S108 to permit the second vehicle 100 to change lanes. Further, the transmission unit 12 transmits information indicating the determination result by the determination unit 6 to the second vehicle 100, and the lane change of the second vehicle 100 is performed.

Further, the fact that the processing of S106 to S108 is performed following the processing of S104 means that even if the second vehicle 100 accelerates to a predetermined speed, the length of the first time _t1 exceeds the length of the second time _t2 . means that Further, the processing is performed when the determination unit 6 determines that the second vehicle 100 is located behind the first vehicle 100 with respect to the second vehicle 100 and that the speed _V2 of the second vehicle 100 is the second vehicle 100. This means that the lane change is permitted under the condition that the speed V of one vehicle 100 is ₁ or less. As a result, the second vehicle 100 can safely change lanes without overtaking the first vehicle 100 before reaching the end of the third lane or the like.

On the other hand, when determining that the condition in S107 is not satisfied (S107: NO), the determination unit 6 continues the determination in S107 until the condition is satisfied.

According to the configuration illustrated with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a collision when each vehicle 100 changes lanes into the same lane. In particular, when the first vehicle 100 and the second vehicle 100 are self-driving vehicles, the transmission unit 12 transmits a control signal for controlling the behavior of each vehicle 100, thereby causing a collision of each vehicle 100. Automatic operation control that prevents

Note that the transmission unit 12 may transmit the information indicating the determination result regarding the lane change of the determination unit 6 to the vehicle 100 other than the vehicle 100 that transmitted the corresponding request information. For example, when the determination unit 6 determines that one of the first vehicle 100 and the second vehicle 100 is prohibited from changing lanes, the transmission unit 12 transmits information indicating the determination result to the lane change vehicle. may be transmitted to the vehicle 100 subject to the determination to prohibit the change of lanes and to the other vehicle 100 permitted to change lanes. As a result, for example, it becomes possible to perform control for notifying that another vehicle 100 located in the vicinity of the own vehicle is about to change lanes.

Also, the speed limit V _limit in the determination of S103 is not limited to the legal speed, and may be replaced with another predetermined speed. For example, the speed limit V _limit is less than or equal to 1 according to at least one of weather, road surface conditions, information on past accidents on the road, and information indicating the degree of sudden braking on the road, relative to the legal speed. It may be the speed multiplied by the coefficient of Here, the road surface condition may include the angle of the road surface. In addition, the server system 1 may be configured to acquire the information such as the weather and the information related to obstacles on the road from the Internet or the like via the communication unit 10, or may be acquired from each vehicle 100. It may be information accumulated as statistics by

According to the above configuration, for example, when the weather is snowy, or when the vehicle 100 is located in an area where there are many sudden brakes, the value of the speed limit V _limit is set low, thereby improving safety. contribute.

[4. Modification 1 according to the embodiment]
As described above, the shape of the road targeted in the present disclosure is not limited to the shapes shown in FIGS. FIG. 6 is an example of a conceptual diagram showing how a vehicle 100 associated with the server system 1 is traveling on a road according to one aspect. The road shown in FIG. 6 is a one-lane road having the first lane from a direction substantially perpendicular to the two-lane road having the second and third lanes adjacent to each other and running in the same direction. It is a T-junction where

The first vehicle 100 transmits to the server system 1 first information and third information indicating a request to change lanes by turning right from the first lane to the second lane. The second vehicle 100 transmits to the server system 1 second information and fourth information indicating a request to change lanes from the third lane to the second lane. Then, the determination unit 6 included in the server system 1 refers to the first to fourth information received by the reception unit 14, and when the distance between the vehicles 100 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined distance, at least one of the vehicles 100 In response, a determination is made to temporarily prohibit the lane change. Further, the determination unit 6 may determine to instruct any vehicle 100 to accelerate or decelerate. The transmission unit 12 transmits information indicating the determination result by the determination unit 6 to the first vehicle 100 and the second vehicle 100 .

In particular, when there is a traffic jam in the third lane as illustrated in FIG. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a collision of each vehicle 100 even at a T-junction or the like.

[5. Modified example 2 according to the embodiment]
Other shaped roads will be further illustrated and explained. FIG. 7 is an example of a conceptual diagram showing how a vehicle 100 associated with the server system 1 is traveling on a road according to one aspect. The road shown in FIG. 7 is a one-lane road having the first lane from a direction substantially perpendicular to the two-lane road having the second and third lanes adjacent to each other and running in the same direction. includes a T-junction near the center of FIG. In addition, the road shown in FIG. 7 includes a T-junction on the right side of FIG. 7 where the two-lane road crosses another one-lane road from a substantially vertical direction.

The first vehicle 100 transmits to the server system 1 first information and third information indicating a request to change lanes by turning left from the first lane to the second lane. The second vehicle 100 transmits to the server system 1 second information and fourth information indicating a request to change lanes from the third lane to the second lane. Then, the determination unit 6 included in the server system 1 performs the same determination as in the first modification, and the transmission unit 12 transmits information indicating the determination result of the determination unit 6 to the first vehicle 100 and the second vehicle 100 .

In particular, as illustrated in FIG. 7, when there is traffic congestion due to vehicles 100 waiting to turn right in the third lane, there is a high possibility that both the first vehicle 100 and the second vehicle 100 will change lanes to the second lane. However, according to the configuration described above, the occurrence of a collision of each vehicle 100 can be suppressed.

[Example of realization by software]
The function of the server system 1 (hereinafter referred to as "device") is a program for causing a computer to function as the device, and the computer functions as each control block of the device (especially each part included in the control unit 2). It can be realized by a program for

In this case, the apparatus comprises a computer having at least one control device (eg processor) and at least one storage device (eg memory) as hardware for executing the program. Each function described in each of the above embodiments is realized by executing the above program using the control device and the storage device.

The program may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media, not temporary. The recording medium may or may not be included in the device. In the latter case, the program may be supplied to the device via any transmission medium, wired or wireless.

Also, part or all of the functions of the above control blocks can be realized by logic circuits. For example, integrated circuits in which logic circuits functioning as the control blocks described above are formed are also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, it is also possible to implement the functions of the control blocks described above by, for example, a quantum computer.

Further, each process described in each of the above embodiments may be executed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). In this case, the AI may operate on the control device, or may operate on another device (for example, an edge computer or a cloud server).

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be modified in various ways within the scope of the claims, and can be obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 Server system 2 Control unit 4 Acquisition unit 6 Determination unit 8 Storage unit 10 Communication unit 12 Transmission unit 14 Reception unit 100 Vehicle, first vehicle, second vehicle 102 Control unit 108 Storage unit 110 Communication unit 112 Transmission unit 114 Reception unit 116 motion part

Claims (8)

an acquisition unit that acquires road information of a road that has a first lane, a second lane, and a third lane, and that at least the second lane and the third lane are adjacent and travel in the same direction;
first information indicating the position and speed of the first vehicle traveling in the first lane, second information indicating the position and speed of the second vehicle traveling in the third lane, and the first vehicle moving from the first lane receiving third information indicating a request to make a lane change into the second lane and fourth information indicating a request that the second vehicle make a lane change from the third lane to the second lane; a receiver;
With reference to the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information, the first vehicle changes lanes from the first lane to the second lane, and the second vehicle changes the lane from the first lane to the second lane. When the distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle becomes equal to or less than a predetermined distance when the lane is changed from the third lane to the second lane, the first vehicle and the second vehicle a determination unit that determines to prohibit the lane change for at least one of
A server system comprising: a transmitting unit configured to transmit information indicating the determination result to at least a vehicle subject to determination that the lane change is prohibited. The determination unit is
(1) a first time required for said second vehicle to overtake said first vehicle; and (2) a time required for said second vehicle to reach the end of said third lane or an obstacle on said third lane. Comparing a second time that is the sum of the time it takes to reach an object and the time it takes the second vehicle to make a lane change, wherein the length of the first time is the length of the second time. 2. The server system according to claim 1, wherein if the following is the case, it is determined that the lane change is permitted for the second vehicle after the first time has elapsed. The determination unit is
If the length of the first time period is equal to or less than the length of the second time period only when the second vehicle accelerates to an overtaking speed that is equal to or less than a predetermined speed, the overtaking is performed on the second vehicle. 3. The server system according to claim 2, wherein the lane change is determined to be permitted after the first time has passed, on condition that the vehicle accelerates to a possible speed. The determination unit is
Even if the second vehicle accelerates to a predetermined speed, if the length of the first time period exceeds the length of the second time period, the second vehicle will be faster than the first vehicle. 4. The server system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said lane change is permitted under the condition that said second vehicle is located behind said vehicle and the speed of said second vehicle is equal to or lower than that of said first vehicle. . The predetermined speed is
The legal speed is multiplied by a factor of 1 or less according to at least one of the weather, the surface condition of the road, information related to past accidents on the road, and information indicating the amount of sudden braking on the road. 5. A server system according to claim 3 or 4, which is speed. The transmission unit
6. A server system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, for transmitting control signals for controlling the behavior of said first vehicle and said second vehicle. The vehicle has first, second and third lanes, and runs in the first or third lane of a road in which at least the second lane and the third lane are adjacent to each other and run in the same direction. an acquisition unit for acquiring travel information indicating the position and speed of
a transmission unit that transmits the travel information and request information indicating a request to change lanes from the lane in which the vehicle is traveling to the second lane;
When a server system associated with the own vehicle satisfies a condition including that the distance between the own vehicle and another vehicle requesting a lane change to the second lane is less than or equal to a predetermined distance. a receiving unit configured to receive prohibition information transmitted from the server system, the prohibition information indicating prohibition of the lane change of the host vehicle when determined. 2. An operation unit that operates each unit of the own vehicle, the operation unit further comprising an operation unit that, when the receiving unit receives the prohibition information, causes the own vehicle to perform an operation for prohibiting the lane change. 7. Vehicle according to 7.

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