JP2023181515A - Automobile and program for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an automobile which can certainly avoid a traffic accident to safely perform an another-vehicle affection behavior when the another-vehicle affection behavior is attempted to be executed.SOLUTION: An automobile comprises: a manual driving mode; and an automatic driving mode by which autonomous travel is possible. The automobile comprises: a radio communication unit having a transmission/reception function for performing radio communication between vehicles; monitoring means of monitoring reception of an inter-vehicle communication request from another vehicle through the radio communication unit; and communication path generation means of determining whether or not a self vehicle is in a state of the automatic driving mode to generate a communication path between the self vehicle and another vehicle which transmits the inter-vehicle communication request in the case where the self vehicle is in the state of the automatic driving mode when the inter-vehicle communication request from another vehicle is received by the monitoring means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to automobiles and automobile programs.

In recent years, automobiles have appeared that are equipped with an automatic driving mode in which autonomous driving is possible without any driving operation by the driver (see, for example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-48563)). In addition to vehicles that can switch between manual and automatic driving modes, there will also be self-driving cars that only have automatic driving mode, and self-driving cars that can drive autonomously without a driver. Conceivable.

Autonomous driving in this type of vehicle's self-driving mode is currently subject to many restrictions, such as being allowed only in places and environments where safety can be easily ensured, but in the near future it will be possible to drive autonomously on public roads. It is presumed that it will be possible to drive.

When it becomes possible for cars with an automatic driving mode to freely travel on public roads, there will be cars that can only be driven manually (manual specification cars) and cars with an automatic driving mode (for convenience, in the following explanation, cars with an automatic driving mode will be used). Automobiles (we call them self-driving cars) will be driving on the same road at the same time.

In the case of manual specification cars, it is unavoidable that some drivers do not strictly adhere to traffic laws or behave in unpredictable ways, but in the case of self-driving cars in self-driving mode. It is expected that traffic laws will be strictly observed and obstacles will be avoided at all times. In other words, it is predicted that a manual specification vehicle and a self-driving vehicle will have different driving modes.

Therefore, if it is possible to know whether the cars driving around the area are manual specification cars or self-driving cars, pedestrians, drivers, and the cars (self-driving cars) themselves can understand the movement and behavior of those cars. The possibility of being able to predict the situation and ensure safety and caution regarding one's own behavior and driving is increased, and it is expected that this will be useful for traffic safety by preventing accidents from occurring. . In other words, if you know whether the car you are driving is a manual transmission car or an automatic driving car, you can use this information as a reference when determining your own actions and behavior, which is good for traffic safety.

Therefore, for example, in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2015-228152), cars transmit and receive information from each other whether the operating mode of the own car is automatic driving mode or manual driving mode through inter-vehicle communication. A vehicle has been proposed that allows one to grasp the operating modes of other vehicles around the own vehicle. According to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is convenient to be able to pay more or less attention to other cars around the own vehicle depending on the determined operation mode.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-48563 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-228152

However, with the technology disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is only possible to know the operating mode of a running vehicle and drive safely by referring to the learned operating mode; It was not possible to guarantee that the process would be carried out safely without causing traffic accidents. In particular, it has not been possible to ensure that traffic accidents can be reliably avoided and that vehicle-influencing behavior that affects the behavior of other vehicles, such as turning right or left, changing lanes, merging, etc., can be performed safely.

In view of the above points, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle that can reliably avoid traffic accidents and ensure that behavior that influences other vehicles can be performed safely. .

In order to solve the above problem, the invention of claim 1:
A vehicle equipped with a manual driving mode and an automatic driving mode capable of autonomous driving,
a wireless communication unit that has a transmitting and receiving function and performs wireless communication between vehicles;
monitoring means for monitoring reception of inter-vehicle communication requests from other vehicles through the wireless communication unit;
When the monitoring means receives a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request from the other vehicle, it determines whether or not the own vehicle is in the automatic driving mode, and when the vehicle is in the automatic driving mode, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication request is received. communication path generation means for generating a communication path between the other vehicle that has transmitted the communication request;
To provide an automobile characterized by comprising:

In the vehicle having the above-mentioned configuration, the monitoring means monitors reception of an inter-vehicle communication request from another vehicle through the wireless communication section. When this monitoring means receives a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request from another vehicle, it determines whether or not the own vehicle is in automatic driving mode, and if it is in automatic driving mode, it transmits a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request. Creates a communication path between the vehicle and the other vehicle.

Therefore, according to the automobile of the first aspect, it is possible to create a communication path with another vehicle that has made a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request only in the automatic driving mode. As a result, even if a notification is received from another vehicle through a communication channel regarding behavior that affects the behavior of other vehicles, such as turning right, turning left, changing lanes, merging, etc., the automatic driving mode will not be affected. It is possible to determine the behavior of one's own vehicle, which can be expected to avoid traffic accidents and safely behave in ways that influence other vehicles.

According to the car according to the present invention, only in the state of automatic driving mode, a communication path is created with another car that has requested inter-vehicle communication, so it is expected that traffic accidents can be avoided and behavior that influences other cars can be performed safely. It has the remarkable effect of being able to.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an electronic control circuit section of an embodiment of an automobile according to the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram for explaining a configuration example of a main part of an electronic control circuit section of the automobile in the example of FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flowchart for explaining an example of the processing operation of the electronic control circuit section of the automobile in the example of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a part of a flowchart for explaining an example of the processing operation of the electronic control circuit section of the automobile in the example of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a part of a flowchart for explaining an example of the processing operation of the electronic control circuit section of the automobile in the example of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a part of a flowchart for explaining an example of the processing operation of the electronic control circuit section of the automobile in the example of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a part of a flowchart for explaining an example of the processing operation of the electronic control circuit section of the automobile in the example of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of other vehicle influence behavior executed by the embodiment of the automobile according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining another example of other vehicle influence behavior executed by the embodiment of the automobile according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining still another example of behavior influenced by other vehicles executed by the embodiment of the automobile according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a car according to the present invention will be described below as a case of a self-driving car having an automatic driving mode in which the vehicle autonomously executes its own behavior. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an electronic control circuit section 10 of an automatic driving vehicle 1 as an embodiment of the vehicle according to the present invention. Note that the self-driving vehicle 1 of this embodiment is an example of an electric vehicle. However, the battery is not shown in FIG. 1.

Furthermore, the self-driving vehicle 1 of this embodiment includes an automatic driving mode in which the vehicle autonomously behaves, and a manual driving mode. The manual driving mode is a mode in which the vehicle can travel according to the driver's accelerator pedal operation, brake pedal operation, shift lever operation, and steering operation (steering wheel operation), similar to a normal automobile that is not a self-driving car. In addition, in the automatic driving mode, the automatic driving car 1 automatically (autonomously) navigates its course while avoiding obstacles without the driver operating the accelerator pedal, brake pedal, shift lever, or steering wheel. This is the driving mode that changes.

The driver of the self-driving car 1 can switch the self-driving car 1 that is running in the manual driving mode to the automatic driving mode by, for example, a predetermined operation through the touch panel 112 that will be described later. The vehicle is configured to automatically return to manual driving mode when the driver performs a predetermined operation such as an accelerator pedal operation, a brake pedal operation, a shift lever operation, or a steering operation.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic control circuit section 10 provides the control section 101 with a wireless communication section 102, a motor drive control section 103, a steering drive control section 104, and a manual/automatic driving mode switching control via the system bus 100. unit 105, radar group 106, camera group 107, sensor group 108, surrounding situation understanding unit 109, current position detection unit 110, display unit 111, touch panel 112, car navigation function unit 113, own vehicle information storage unit 114, traveling speed and direction A detection section 115, a clock section 116, an inter-vehicle communication control processing section 117, a behavior control section 118, and an audio input/output section 119 are connected to each other.

A motor drive section 121 is connected to the motor drive control section 103 . A steering drive section 122 is connected to the steering drive control section 104 . A manual driving operation detection unit 123 is connected to the manual/automatic driving mode switching control unit 105 . Further, a car navigation database 124 is connected to the car navigation function section 113. Furthermore, a microphone 125 and a speaker 126 are connected to the audio input/output section 119.

The control unit 101 is configured to include a computer, and controls the entire automatic driving vehicle 1.

The wireless communication unit 102 is for performing vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and is normally in a reception standby mode. Then, as described later, under the control of the inter-vehicle communication control processing unit 117, when a transmission trigger occurs, an inter-vehicle communication request signal is transmitted by broadcast, and when response information is received from the communication partner, inter-vehicle communication is performed. Make it work. Furthermore, under the control of the inter-vehicle communication control processing section 117, when receiving an inter-vehicle communication request signal in the reception standby mode, the wireless communication section 102 communicates with the vehicle through the communication path generated between the inter-vehicle communication request signal and the vehicle that sent the inter-vehicle communication request signal. It operates to perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

Under the control of the control unit 101, the motor drive control unit 103 controls the supply of a drive signal to the motor drive unit 121 of the automatic driving vehicle 1 constituted by the electric vehicle of this embodiment. The system controls the start of running, speed control (including brake control and accelerator control), and stopping of running.

The steering drive control unit 104 controls the supply of a drive control signal to the steering drive unit 122 of the automatic driving vehicle 1 of this embodiment under the control of the control unit 101, and controls the course change of the automatic driving vehicle 1. I will try to do it.

The manual/automatic driving mode switching control unit 105 performs control to switch the driving mode of the automatic driving vehicle 1 to either the manual driving mode or the automatic driving mode in response to a selection operation input through the touch panel 112. The manual driving operation detection unit 123 receives operation information of the driver's accelerator pedal operation, brake pedal operation, shift lever operation, and steering operation, and supplies the manual driving operation information to the manual/automatic driving mode switching control unit 105. do.

The manual/automatic driving mode switching control unit 105 supplies manual driving operation information from the manual driving operation detection unit 123 to the motor drive control unit 103 and the steering drive control unit 104 when the automatic driving vehicle 1 is in the manual driving mode. The motor drive unit 121 and the steering drive unit 122 are controlled according to the driver's pedal operations, shift lever operations, and steering operations (handle operations).

Furthermore, when the automatic driving vehicle 1 is in the automatic driving mode, the manual/automatic driving mode switching control unit 105 changes the outputs of the radar group 106, the camera group 107, the sensor group 108, and the surrounding situation understanding unit 109 as described later. The automatic driving operation information generated by the control unit 101 based on the automatic driving operation information is supplied to the motor drive control unit 103 and the steering drive control unit 104 to drive and control the motor drive unit 121 and the steering drive unit 122 based on the automatic driving operation information. . Note that in the automatic driving mode, the car navigation function unit 113 searches for a route from the current position to a destination (destination) set by the driver, etc., and controls the vehicle to drive along the searched route. Ru.

In addition, in the case of a fully automatic driving vehicle that does not include a manual driving mode but only an automatic driving mode, the manual/automatic driving mode switching control section 105 and the manual driving operation detection section 123 are not provided. Furthermore, there is no need for an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a shift lever, a steering wheel, etc. that are necessary for manual driving operation. However, in order to ensure safety, a brake pedal (a brake button, a touch panel input corresponding to the brake, or a voice input may be used) may be provided so that only the brake operation can be performed manually.

The radar group 106 is for measuring the distance to people and objects around the self-driving vehicle 1, and includes laser radar (lidar), millimeter wave radar, and the like. Laser radars are embedded, for example, in the ceiling or near the bumper, and millimeter wave radars are installed, for example, at the front and rear of the vehicle. It may be equipped with both a laser radar and a millimeter wave radar, or only one. Other radars such as submillimeter wave radar and microwave radar may also be used. Furthermore, sonar (not shown) using acoustic waves or ultrasonic waves can be used for the same purpose as radar.

The camera group 107 corresponds to the camera group 207 of the first embodiment, and includes one to a plurality of cameras that photograph the inside of the self-driving car 1, and cameras such as the front, side, and rear of the self-driving car 1. It includes one or more cameras that take pictures of the surroundings outside the vehicle.

The sensor group 108 includes an opening/closing detection sensor that detects the opening/closing of a door or a window, a sensor that detects the wearing of a seatbelt, a seating sensor that detects that a passenger is seated in a seat such as a driver's seat or a passenger seat, etc. In addition, it consists of a human sensor (infrared sensor) that detects people in the vicinity outside the vehicle, and various sensors that acquire information to assist autonomous driving. Various sensors for acquiring information to assist autonomous driving include, for example, vibration sensors for detecting vibrations of vehicles and tires, rotation speed sensors for detecting tire rotation speed, and sensors for detecting direction. These include a geomagnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration, and a gyro sensor (gyroscope) for detecting angle and angular velocity. In this embodiment, the sensor group 108 also includes sensors that detect blinking of a right turn signal, left turn signal (turn signal), hazard lamp (emergency flashing light), etc., and lighting of a backlight, brake light, etc. ing.

The surrounding situation understanding unit 109 uses images taken by the radar group 106, the sensor group 108, and the camera group 107 to identify moving objects (including people) around the own vehicle, the number of lanes on the road, and the movement of the own vehicle. Be aware of your surroundings, such as middle lanes, uphill slopes, and downhill slopes. The surrounding situation grasping unit 109 grasps surrounding obstacles and moving objects by performing processing based on Bayesian theory, for example. Information on the surrounding environment, surrounding obstacles, and moving objects grasped by the surrounding situation grasping unit 109 is used in the inter-vehicle communication control processing unit 117 and behavior control unit 118, which will be described later, to comply with traffic regulations and ensure safety. Used to determine behavior.

Further, in this embodiment, the surrounding situation understanding unit 109 has a function of recognizing traffic signs and traffic signs from images taken around the own vehicle by the camera group 107. The traffic markings and traffic signs recognized by the surrounding situation understanding unit 109 are used by a behavior control unit 118, which will be described later, to behave in accordance with traffic regulations.

The current position detection unit 110 corresponds to the current position detection unit 204 of the in-vehicle device 2 of the first embodiment, and receives radio waves from a GPS satellite to detect the current position of the own vehicle. In order to further improve the accuracy of the position detected by the radio waves from the GPS satellite, the current position detection unit 110 uses not only the information of the current position detected by receiving the radio waves from the GPS satellite, but also the one included in the sensor group 108. ~ Detects and confirms the current position with higher accuracy by using images captured by multiple sensors, the radar group 106, the camera group 107 (combined with the navigation function), and by performing processing based on Bayesian theory, for example. That's what I do.

In the automatic driving mode, the self-driving car 1 uses the current position detecting unit 110 and the surrounding situation understanding unit 109 to collect position information, etc., obtained by receiving radio waves from the radar group 106, camera group 107, sensor group 108, and GPS satellites. , that is, information corresponding to information obtained from human eyes and ears, using Bayesian theory, etc. Based on this, the control unit 101 generates intelligent information such as changing the course of the own vehicle and avoiding obstacles. Processing (AI (artificial intelligence)) and control (AI (artificial intelligence)) are performed to generate automatic driving operation information. Then, based on the generated automatic driving operation information, the motor drive control unit 103 drives the motor drive unit 121, and the steering drive control unit 104 drives the steering drive unit 122, thereby performing autonomous movement control. . Therefore, in this embodiment, the autonomous movement control means includes the control unit 101, the radar group 106, the camera group 107, the sensor group 108, the surrounding situation understanding unit 109, the current position detection unit 110, the motor drive control unit 103, and the motor drive control unit 103. It is composed of a drive section 121, a steering drive control section 104, a steering drive section 122, and a car navigation function section 113, which will be described later.

The display unit 111 includes, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). The touch panel 112 has a touch sensor that allows touch input using a finger superimposed on the display screen of the display unit 111 made of an LCD. A display image including software buttons (including a keyboard character input button) is displayed on the display screen of the display unit 111 under the control of the control unit 101. When the touch panel 112 detects a touch by a finger on a software button displayed on the display screen, the touch panel 112 transmits the touch to the control unit 101. The control unit 101 that receives this is configured to execute control processing corresponding to the software button. Note that the software buttons may be handled by using a separate keyboard or the like.

A car navigation database 124 connected to the car navigation function section 113 stores domestic maps and route guidance data in advance. The car navigation function unit 113 is a function unit that provides guidance to assist the self-driving car 1 in moving to a designated destination based on the map and route guidance data stored in the car navigation database 124. It is. The car navigation function unit 113 performs a route search based on the departure point, stopover point, destination, and search conditions set and input by the user (driving car or passenger), creates route guidance data, and creates route guidance data. Route guidance processing is executed using the data. In this embodiment, the car navigation function unit 113 is configured to perform slightly different route guidance processing in manual driving mode and automatic driving mode.

That is, in the manual driving mode, the car navigation function unit 113 displays the current position detected and confirmed by the current position detection unit 110 on a map that explicitly displays the route to the destination on the display screen of the display unit 111. In addition to displaying a superimposed image of your vehicle's location, the vehicle's location (current location) on the map is moved as the vehicle moves, and route guidance such as intersections and junctions on the route is displayed. Provide audio guidance where necessary. This is similar to a normal car navigation function.

On the other hand, in the automatic driving mode, when the current position of the own vehicle is away from the route to the destination, the car navigation function unit 113 notifies the behavior control unit 118 (described later) of the direction and distance of the distance. In addition, when the current position of the vehicle is on the route to the destination, as the vehicle moves, information to change the course direction along the route is provided before an intersection or junction on the route. The control unit 118 is notified.

Under the control of the control unit 101, the behavior control unit 118 performs the following actions based on the information notified from the car navigation function unit 113, the current position confirmation result of the current position detection unit 110, and the grasp result of the surrounding situation understanding unit 109. , to control the motor drive unit 121 through the motor drive control unit 103 and the steering drive unit 122 through the steering drive control unit 104 so that the own vehicle moves along the route as instructed. Generate automatic driving operation information. Therefore, by providing route guidance to the destination by the car navigation function unit 113 and the control unit 101 in the automatic driving mode, the automatic driving vehicle 1 can travel to the destination even when no passenger is present.

In this embodiment, the car navigation function unit 113 also provides instructions for flashing direction indicators when turning right or left, and flashing hazard lamps when making an emergency stop, etc. in the automatic driving mode. Indicator control information regarding the indicator (left indicator, right indicator, or both) is also included in the route guidance data. Based on the indicator control information included in this route guidance data, the behavior control unit 118 executes blinking control of the instructed indicator at the position where the current position becomes the indicator control point.

Note that the indicator control information is not limited to the information on the point where the light is to be turned on and the indicator that is to be turned on and off, but may be the information on the point where the light is to be turned on and the indicator to be turned on. For example, information about the point where the backlight (backlight) is turned on when driving in reverse (lights white), the brake light (brake light) is turned on (lights red) when braking, and the indicator to turn on (backlight, Indicator control information (for brake lights, or both) may also be included in the route guidance data. As in the case of blinking control, the behavior control unit 118 controls the lighting of the instructed indicator at the position where the current position becomes the indicator control point based on the indicator control information included in this route guidance data. Execute.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, behavior that affects the behavior of other cars in the vicinity (hereinafter referred to as "other vehicle influencing behavior") is predetermined, and the car navigation function unit 113 includes information on other cars in the route guidance data of the search results. Information on the occurrence of behavior influenced by other vehicles is included corresponding to the point where the behavior influenced by the vehicle needs to be executed. Behaviors that may affect other vehicles include behavior in which self-driving cars turn right or left, change lanes, merge on public roads or expressways, and enter congested vehicle lines. and is registered in the self-driving vehicle 1.

The other vehicle influencing behavior occurrence information includes information about the occurring other vehicle influencing behavior and information about the point where the other vehicle influencing behavior is performed. This other vehicle influencing behavior occurrence information is inserted corresponding to the same point on the route where the other vehicle influencing behavior is actually executed, or a point just before the point on the route. For example, as will be described later, right turns, left turns, merging, etc. are preset in the self-driving car 1 as behaviors that influence other vehicles, and the car navigation function unit 113 uses information on the occurrence of behaviors that influence other vehicles to determine whether these behaviors are necessary. It is inserted corresponding to the intersection on the route, the same point as the confluence point, or the point before it. This other vehicle influencing behavior occurrence information is used as information for a transmission trigger for inter-vehicle communication, as will be described later. The insertion point of the information on the point where behavior influenced by other vehicles occurs may be the same point as the point where the turn signal or hazard lamp is instructed to flash, or the point where the backlight or brake light is instructed to turn on, or it may be a point earlier than that point. .

The own vehicle information storage unit 114 stores own vehicle information consisting of mode information including information as to whether the own vehicle has an automatic driving mode, and information for distinguishing and identifying the own vehicle from other vehicles. There is. This self-vehicle information is input by a worker and stored at the factory where the automatic driving vehicle 1 is manufactured. Further, when the automatic driving vehicle 1 is sold, the information is input and stored by the seller at a store such as a dealer. Of course, the operator's or seller's own vehicle information may be input directly or may be input by downloading from a predetermined server such as an automobile company. Furthermore, when the own vehicle information is input after the sale of the automatic driving vehicle 1, the information is input by the owner or user of the automatic driving vehicle 1, the manager, the management company, or the like and is stored.

In this example, the mode information stored in the own vehicle information storage unit 114 includes whether the vehicle is a manual specification vehicle or a self-driving vehicle with an automatic driving mode, and if it is a self-driving vehicle, the manual driving mode and the automatic driving mode. It includes information such as which type is the type among multiple types, such as a type that can be switched between the two types, a type that can only be operated in automatic driving mode, and a type that can be operated unmanned. In addition, if it is possible to identify the developer, version, etc. of the AI (Artificial Intelligence) installed and used in self-driving cars, what the source is, how high the level is, etc., please provide such information. may be included as own vehicle information. In addition, in the case of AI, it generally evolves through learning and improves safety and driving performance, so there is a high correlation between driving time and distance and safety and driving performance that rely on AI. Therefore, travel time and travel distance may be included as own vehicle information. Note that AI may be installed in hardware such as an LSI, or in software.

In addition, the information stored in the own vehicle information storage unit 114 for distinguishing and identifying the self-driving vehicle 1 from other vehicles includes not only information different from other vehicles but also the specifications of the self-driving vehicle 1. Needless to say, it may also include information such as. Examples of own vehicle information stored in the own vehicle information storage unit 114 include country code (which country the car is in), manufacturer (car company), vehicle type, vehicle name, body color, engine displacement, and drive. Type (gasoline vehicle, PHV (Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle), EV (Electric Vehicle), fuel cell vehicle, etc.), presence or absence of automatic driving mode, number of passengers allowed, license plate number, general vehicle or special vehicle (ambulance, fire department, etc.) (automobiles, police cars, taxis, buses, etc.) or other manufacturer options (manufacturers can freely set these).

The traveling speed and direction detection unit 115 detects automatic driving based on the sensor output of the speed sensor of the sensor group 108 or from the change in the current position detected by the current position detection unit 110 during the time change from the clock unit 116. The traveling speed of the vehicle 1 is detected, and the traveling speed of the self-driving vehicle 1 is also detected from the sensor outputs of the acceleration sensor, gyro sensor, and direction sensor of the sensor group 108. The clock unit 116 generates time information of year, month, day, hour, minute, and second.

The vehicle-to-vehicle communication control processing unit 117 uses the wireless communication unit 102 in this embodiment to control the reception standby operation, the transmission operation, and the reception operation of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication. This inter-vehicle communication control processing section 117 will be described in detail later.

The behavior control unit 118 controls the behavior of the own vehicle in the automatic driving mode. That is, in the automatic driving mode, the automatic driving car 1 of this embodiment moves at the current position detected by the current position detecting unit 110 according to the route guidance information to the destination determined by the route search by the car navigation function unit 113. Drive while carrying out the necessary behavior. The behavior control unit 118 is a functional unit that determines the behavior that the automatic driving vehicle 1 should perform based on the route guidance information at the current position detected by the current position detection unit 110, and controls the execution of the behavior. .

Further, in the self-driving vehicle 1 of this embodiment, when the behavior to be performed at that time is determined in the vehicle-to-vehicle communication control processing section 117 as described later, the behavior control section 118 controls the behavior that should be performed at that time. Control actions to be executed preferentially.

The audio input/output unit 119 takes in audio signals of surrounding sounds collected by the microphone 125, and supplies audio signals for notifying the driver etc. to the speaker 126 so as to emit the sound. In this embodiment, among the surrounding sounds picked up by the microphone 125, for example, the siren sound of an emergency vehicle (ambulance, fire engine, police car, etc.) is used to determine the behavior in the inter-vehicle communication control processing unit 117 and the behavior control unit 118. It is used during processing, and in this case, behavior is determined so that priority is given to emergency vehicle travel. In this embodiment, a necessary message audio signal to notify the driver is generated by the control unit 101, the inter-vehicle communication control processing unit 117, etc., and the message audio signal is emitted through the speaker 126.

As described above, the electronic control circuit unit 10 of the automatic driving vehicle 1 is configured, and among the processing blocks shown in FIG. The processing functions of the control unit 105, the surrounding situation understanding unit 109, the current position detection unit 110, the car navigation function unit 113, the traveling speed and direction detection unit 115, the inter-vehicle communication control processing unit 117, and the behavior control unit 118 are performed by the control unit 101. can be realized as software processing performed by executing a program.

[Configuration example of inter-vehicle communication control processing unit 117]
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram for explaining the processing functions of the inter-vehicle communication control processing section 117. That is, in this embodiment, the inter-vehicle communication control processing section 117 includes a communication monitoring section 1170, a transmission processing section 200, and a reception processing section 300 as functional sections.

When the vehicle-to-vehicle communication application program is launched, the communication monitoring unit 1170 performs standby monitoring for receiving a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request from another vehicle, and determines whether a trigger for transmitting a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request has occurred in the own vehicle. monitoring.

The transmission trigger for the inter-vehicle communication request occurs when the timing for the self-driving vehicle 1 to perform a predetermined behavior that influences the behavior of other vehicles in the vicinity is reached. In this example, as mentioned above, when a self-driving car makes a right or left turn, changes lanes, merges on a public road or highway, enters a line of vehicles in traffic jams, etc. The following behaviors are determined in advance as behaviors influenced by other vehicles, and the communication monitoring unit 1170 monitors the occurrence of these behaviors influenced by other vehicles.

In this embodiment, as described above, when creating the route guidance data, the car navigation function unit 113 sets the other vehicle influence behavior at the same point as the point on the route where the other vehicle influence behavior is required, or at a point before the point where the other vehicle influence behavior is required. Behavior occurrence information is inserted. In this embodiment, the communication monitoring unit 1170 detects whether the current position is not limited to the manual driving mode or the automatic driving mode, and when route guidance is being performed by the car navigation function unit 113, the current position is not limited to the manual driving mode or the automatic driving mode. The occurrence of a call trigger is detected when the point where occurrence information is inserted is reached. When the communication monitoring unit 1170 detects that a call trigger has occurred, it activates the call processing unit 200 and sends a call trigger occurrence notification and information on the detected other vehicle influencing behavior to the call processing unit 200. Control to supply.

In addition, in the manual driving mode, when route guidance by the car navigation function unit 113 is not being performed, the communication monitoring unit 1170 detects the driver's operation to start blinking the direction indicators or hazard lamps (which may be accompanied by a brake operation). At the same time, the system detects the occurrence of a transmission trigger and recognizes the behavior influenced by other vehicles based on the blinking operation of turn signals and hazard lamps that have been operated to start blinking.

In this case, since it may not be possible to specify the behavior influenced by other vehicles using only the direction indicator, it may be possible to involve the driver's operation through the touch panel. For example, when the right blinker of a turn signal to the right is flashed, it may mean a right turn or a lane change. Therefore, when the driver operates the turn signal to the right, right turn and lane change operation buttons (icon buttons) are displayed on the display screen of the display unit 111. Furthermore, when the left turn signal of the turn signal to the left is blinked, it may mean a left turn, or it may mean stopping the vehicle by moving to the left side. In this case, on the display screen of the display unit 111, operation buttons (icon buttons) indicating to turn left and to stop the vehicle on the left side are displayed. The driver operates any of the operation buttons displayed on the display screen of the display unit 111. This operation is detected by the touch panel 112. This button operation by the driver in addition to the turn signal operation allows the driver to reliably recognize the behavior influenced by other vehicles.

Of course, when a predetermined situation is recognized from images captured by the camera group 107, such as when entering an intersection or an expressway, the occurrence of a transmission trigger is detected, or the transmission trigger is generated and other vehicles at that time are detected. Influence behavior may be recognized. Additionally, when it receives radio wave information from traffic lights installed at intersections and beacons installed at predetermined intervals along roads, and recognizes specific situations such as when entering an intersection or entering a highway. Additionally, the occurrence of the transmission trigger may be detected, or the transmission trigger may be generated, and the behavior influenced by other vehicles at that time may be recognized.

Then, when the communication monitoring unit 1170 detects that a transmission trigger has occurred, it activates the transmission processing unit 200 and controls it to supply a transmission trigger occurrence notification and information on the recognized behavior influenced by other vehicles.

Further, when the communication monitoring unit 1170 detects the reception of a car-to-vehicle communication request from another car, it activates the reception processing unit 300 and controls the reception processing unit 300 to supply a reception notification of the car-to-car communication request to the reception processing unit 300. do.

The outgoing call processing unit 200 executes outgoing outgoing processing, which will be described later, and notifies the communication monitoring unit 1170 when it is completed. Further, the reception processing section 300 executes a reception processing to be described later, and notifies the communication monitoring section 1170 of the completion of the reception processing. When the communication monitoring unit 1170 receives this notification of termination, it performs standby monitoring for reception of a car-to-car communication request from another car, and also monitors whether a trigger for sending a car-to-car communication request has occurred in the own car. Return.

<<Outgoing processing unit 200>>
As shown in FIG. 2, the transmission processing unit 200 includes an inter-vehicle communication requesting unit 201, a communication path generation management unit 202, a behavior schedule information generation and transmission unit 203, a reply information analysis unit 204, and another vehicle behavior confirmation unit. 205 and a behavior determining unit 206.

When the vehicle-to-vehicle communication requesting section 201 receives the notification of occurrence of the transmission trigger from the communication monitoring section 1170, it transmits a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request through the wireless communication section 102.

The communication path generation management unit 202 monitors response information of other vehicles corresponding to the inter-vehicle communication request, and generates a communication path with one or more other vehicles that have sent the response information. The communication path generation management unit 202 then manages the subsequent inter-vehicle communication, and when it detects that the inter-vehicle communication has ended, it notifies the communication monitoring unit 1170 to that effect.

The behavior schedule information generation and transmission unit 203 determines the other vehicle influencing behavior that the own vehicle is about to perform and the scheduled position ( The behavior schedule information including the information on the location) is generated and transmitted to other vehicles through the communication path generated by the communication path generation management unit 202. In this embodiment, the behavior schedule information sent to other vehicles further includes the current position of the own vehicle detected by the current position detection unit 110 and information for specifying the own vehicle stored in the own vehicle information storage unit 114. information, and information on the running speed and running direction of the own vehicle detected by the running speed and direction detection unit 115 are also included.

The reply information analysis unit 204 analyzes the reply information sent from the other car that has received the behavior schedule information, and analyzes the behavior of the other car with respect to the other car influence behavior of the own car.

The other vehicle behavior confirmation unit 205 identifies the behavior of other vehicles that is involved in the other vehicle influence behavior of the own vehicle from among the behaviors of other vehicles detected by the analysis results of the reply information analysis unit 204, and When it is determined that the behavior of the own vehicle that affects other vehicles can be safely executed, a confirmation notification indicating that the behavior of the other vehicle has been confirmed is sent to the other vehicle.

The behavior determining unit 206 determines a behavior to be safely executed in response to the behavior of the other vehicle to which the other vehicle behavior confirmation unit 205 has sent the confirmation notification. When the behavior determination unit 206 performs the behavior determination process, the results of the understanding by the surrounding situation understanding unit 109 are also referred to. That is, for example, when an emergency vehicle is present, the emergency vehicle is given priority, and when a traffic sign or sign is detected, the vehicle determines to behave in accordance with the traffic rules based on it.

The behavior determining unit 206 performs different processes depending on whether the vehicle is in manual driving mode or automatic driving mode. That is, when the own vehicle is in the manual driving mode, the behavior determining unit 206 informs the driver of the behavior of the other vehicle by, for example, a message displayed on the display screen of the display unit 111 or a voice message transmitted through the speaker 126. A behavior to be notified is determined, and information on the determined behavior is passed to the behavior control unit 118 to be executed. The driver can recognize from this notification that the other vehicle influencing behavior can be executed safely, and can execute the other vehicle influencing behavior by manual operation.

Further, when the own vehicle is in the automatic driving mode, the behavior determining unit 206 determines the behavior of the other vehicle to perform automatic driving safely in response to the behavior of the other vehicle to which the other vehicle behavior confirmation unit 205 has sent the confirmation notification. A behavior is determined, and information about the determined behavior is passed to the behavior control unit 118 to be executed. Thereby, the behavior control unit 118 can safely execute the other vehicle influencing behavior.

<<Reception processing unit 300>>
As shown in FIG. 2, the reception processing unit 300 includes a communication path generation management unit 301, a behavior schedule information analysis unit 302, a communication path maintenance necessity determination unit 303, a behavior determination unit 304, and a reply information generation and transmission unit. 305 and a confirmation notification reception detection unit 306.

When the communication path generation management unit 301 receives the reception notification of the inter-vehicle communication request from the communication monitoring unit 1170, it determines whether the own vehicle is in the automatic driving mode, and if it is in the automatic driving mode, it responds to the inter-vehicle communication request. Response information is generated and transmitted to the originating vehicle that has transmitted the inter-vehicle communication request, and a communication path with the originating vehicle is created. Note that while this communication channel is being generated, the control unit 101 performs control so that switching from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode is not possible.

On the other hand, if the own vehicle is in the manual driving mode when receiving the notification of receipt of the inter-vehicle communication request, in this embodiment, the communication path generation management unit 301 does not respond to the inter-vehicle communication request and communicates with the originating vehicle. path is not generated. When the communication path generation management unit 202 generates the communication path, it manages the subsequent inter-vehicle communication, and when it detects that the inter-vehicle communication has ended, it notifies the communication monitoring unit 1170 to that effect.

Additionally, if the vehicle is in manual driving mode when receiving a notification of a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request, the system will forcefully switch to automatic driving mode or ask the driver for permission to switch to automatic driving mode. , When permission is received from the driver, the mode is switched to automatic driving mode. Once in automatic driving mode, response information in response to the inter-vehicle communication request is generated and sent to the originating vehicle, and communication with the originating vehicle is initiated. A communication path may also be generated.

The behavior schedule information analysis unit 302 analyzes the behavior schedule information sent from the originating vehicle through the communication channel generated by the communication channel generation management unit 301, and determines what behavior that the originating vehicle plans to execute that influences other vehicles. Analyze and detect the current location, traveling speed, traveling direction of the originating vehicle, the location of the point where the other vehicle influencing behavior is executed, the affected lane, etc., and use the detected analysis results to determine whether communication channel maintenance is necessary. 303.

The communication channel maintenance necessity determining unit 303 determines whether or not the own vehicle will actually be affected when the other vehicle influencing behavior of the transmitting vehicle is executed, based on the analysis result of the behavior schedule information analyzing unit 302, and When it is determined that the system will be affected by the interference, it is determined to maintain the generated communication path, and when it is determined that it will not be affected, the generated communication path is disconnected and inter-vehicle communication with the originating vehicle is terminated at this point.

When the communication channel maintenance necessity determining unit 303 determines to maintain the generated communication channel, the behavior determining unit 304 determines the behavior of the own vehicle based on the analysis result of the behavior schedule information by the behavior schedule information analysis unit 302. Let's decide. For example, based on the current position and traveling speed of the own vehicle, the current position and traveling speed of the originating vehicle, and the position of the point where the originating vehicle executes the behavior influenced by other vehicles, it is preferable to prioritize the behavior influenced by other vehicles of the originating vehicle. When it is determined that it is better for the own vehicle to first pass through a point where the originating vehicle performs the behavior influenced by other vehicles, it is determined to "pass through first." Furthermore, when it is determined based on the above information that the behavior of the originating vehicle influenced by other vehicles can be prioritized, it is determined, for example, to "drive slowly and give priority to the behavior influenced by other vehicles of the originating vehicle." The behavior determining unit 304 supplies information on the determined behavior to the reply information generating and transmitting unit 305.

Note that when the behavior determination unit 304 performs the behavior determination process, the results of the understanding by the surrounding situation understanding unit 109 are also referred to. That is, for example, when an emergency vehicle is present, the emergency vehicle is given priority, and when a traffic sign or sign is detected, the vehicle determines to behave in accordance with the traffic rules based on it.

The reply information generating and transmitting unit 305 generates reply information including the information on the determined behavior from the behavior determining unit 304, the position information of the own vehicle, and the own vehicle information for identifying the own vehicle, and generates the reply information. The returned information is sent to the sending vehicle.

The confirmation notification reception confirmation unit 306 determines whether or not a confirmation notification has been received from the originating vehicle in response to the response information sent from the response information generation and transmission unit 305. determines that the behavior of the own vehicle has been confirmed, and supplies information on the behavior of the own vehicle to the behavior control unit 118 so that the behavior of the own vehicle determined by the behavior determination unit 304 is executed.

In this way, when the self-driving vehicle 1 of this embodiment receives a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request from another vehicle, the self-driving vehicle 1 accepts the vehicle-to-vehicle communication request when the self-driving vehicle is in the self-driving mode, and the sending vehicle that transmitted the vehicle-to-vehicle communication request Vehicle-to-vehicle communication is performed with the vehicle to determine the behavior of the vehicle. Then, when the vehicle-to-vehicle communication determines the behavior of the own vehicle to give priority to the behavior of the originating vehicle influenced by other vehicles, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication receives a confirmation notification from the originating vehicle and executes the behavior of the own vehicle. .

In this case, the sending vehicle is confident that the other vehicle that sent the response information will give priority to the other vehicle's behavior, since it is in autonomous driving mode. Therefore, it is possible to reliably and safely execute the own vehicle's behavior influenced by other vehicles.

On the other hand, the self-driving car 1 that sent the response information to give priority to the self-driving vehicle's behavior that affects other vehicles receives a confirmation notification regarding the self-vehicle's behavior from the sending vehicle, and executes the self-driving vehicle's behavior. Therefore, it is predicted that the calling vehicle will confirm and understand the behavior of its own vehicle through inter-vehicle communication, and then execute the behavior that will affect other vehicles, ensuring safety and executing the behavior of its own vehicle. be able to.

[Example of processing operation in automatic driving vehicle 1 of embodiment]
Next, the processing operations of the inter-vehicle communication control processing section 117 of the automatic driving vehicle 1 according to the embodiment configured as described above will be explained with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 to 7. Note that the following description will be made assuming that the control unit 101 implements the processing functions of the inter-vehicle communication control processing unit 117 as software processing by executing a program.

First, an example of the processing operation in the communication monitoring section 1170 of the inter-vehicle communication control processing section 117 will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The control unit 101 waits and monitors the reception of an inter-vehicle communication request from another vehicle through the wireless communication unit 102, and also monitors whether a transmission trigger has occurred in the own vehicle (step S101). Then, the control unit 101 determines whether or not a call trigger has been detected (step S102), and when it is determined that a call trigger has been detected, it activates the call processing unit 200 and issues a call trigger occurrence notification and other detected calls. Information on vehicle-influenced behavior is controlled to be supplied to the transmission time processing unit 200 (step S103).

Then, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the call processing in the call processing unit 200 has been completed (step S104), and when determining that the call processing has not been completed, the control unit 101 returns to step S103 to continue the call processing. do. Further, when it is determined in step S104 that the call processing has ended, the control unit 101 returns the processing to step S101 and repeats the processing from step S101 onwards.

Further, when it is determined in step S102 that a transmission trigger is not detected, the control unit 101 determines whether or not reception of a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request is detected (step S105), and the control unit 101 determines whether reception of a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request is detected (step S105). When it is determined that this is the case, the reception processing unit 300 is activated and controlled to supply the reception notification of the inter-vehicle communication request to the reception processing unit 300 (step S106).

Then, the control unit 101 determines whether or not the reception processing in the reception processing unit 300 has ended (step S107), and when determining that it has not ended, returns to step S106 to continue the reception processing. do. Further, when it is determined in step S107 that the reception process has ended, the control unit 101 returns the process to step S101 and repeats the process from step S101 onwards.

If it is determined in step S105 that reception of the inter-vehicle communication request has not been detected, the control unit 101 returns the process to step S101 and repeats the process from step S101 onward.

Next, an example of the processing operation of the transmission time processing section 200 of the inter-vehicle communication control processing section 117 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 and 5.

When the control unit 101 receives the transmission trigger occurrence notification, it starts the flowchart of FIG. 4 and sends a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request through the wireless communication unit 102 (step S111). Then, the control unit 101 monitors whether or not reception of response information from another vehicle is detected (step S112), and when determining that response information from another vehicle has not been received for a predetermined time or longer, for example, A message indicating that there are no other vehicles in the vicinity with which vehicle-to-vehicle communication is possible is generated and displayed on the display screen of the display unit 111, and a sound is emitted through the speaker 126 to notify the driver. (Step S114). Then, this call processing routine is ended.

Further, when it is determined in step S112 that reception of response information from another vehicle has been detected, the control unit 101 generates a communication path with the other vehicle (step S113). In this case, when response information from a plurality of other vehicles is received, a communication path is created between each of the plurality of other vehicles.

Next, the control unit 101 receives the information on the other vehicle influencing behavior sent from the communication monitoring unit 1170 together with the outgoing trigger occurrence notification, the information on the scheduled execution position (point) of the other vehicle influencing behavior, and the own vehicle. Behavior schedule information including information on traveling speed and traveling direction is generated and transmitted to other vehicles through the generated communication path (step S115).

Next, the control unit 101 waits for reception of reply information from another vehicle (step S116), and when determining that reception of reply information from another car has been detected, the control unit 101 analyzes the received reply information to send a reply. The other vehicle that has approached the other vehicle is identified (step S117), further necessary inter-vehicle communication is performed with the identified other vehicle, and information on the behavior determined by the other vehicle is acquired (step S118).

Next, when the control unit 101 confirms the determined behavior of the other vehicle, it generates a confirmation notification and sends it to the other vehicle (step S119).

Next, the control unit 101 determines whether the own vehicle is in the manual driving mode or the automatic driving mode (step S121 in FIG. 5). When it is determined in this step S121 that the own vehicle is in the manual driving mode, the control unit 101 generates a notification message of the confirmed behavior of the other vehicle and displays it on the display screen of the display unit 111, A sound is emitted through the speaker 126 to notify the driver and urge him or her to behave in accordance with the behavior of the other vehicle (step S122).

Further, when it is determined in step S121 that the own vehicle is in the automatic driving mode, the control unit 101 can safely execute the other vehicle influencing behavior by the own vehicle according to the confirmed behavior of the other vehicle. The behavior of the own vehicle is determined and transmitted to the behavior control unit 118 (step S123). When the control unit 101 executes the function of the behavior control unit 118 as a program process, the control unit 101 executes the determined behavior.

After steps S122 and S123, the control unit 101 waits for the execution of the behavior of the own vehicle (behavior influenced by other vehicles) to be completed (step S124), and when it is determined that the behavior has been completed, the control unit 101 waits for the execution of the behavior of the own vehicle (behavior influenced by other vehicles) to be completed. A notification of completion of execution of behavior influenced by other vehicles is sent to (step S125). Then, the control unit 101 disconnects the communication path with the other vehicle (step S126), displays a message on the display screen of the display unit 111 to indicate the end of the behavior processing through inter-vehicle communication, and emits an audio message through the speaker 126. and notifies the driver (step S127). With the above steps, the outgoing call processing routine is completed.

Next, an example of the processing operation of the reception processing section 300 of the inter-vehicle communication control processing section 117 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7.

When the control unit 101 detects reception of an inter-vehicle communication request from another vehicle, it activates the reception processing unit 300 to start the flowchart of FIG. 6 . First, the control unit 101 determines whether the own vehicle is a self-driving vehicle having only the self-driving mode (step S131). Then, in step S131, when it is determined that the own vehicle is a self-driving vehicle having only the self-driving mode, the control unit 101 sends response information to the vehicle-to-vehicle communication request to the originating vehicle that has transmitted the vehicle-to-vehicle communication request. , and generates a communication path with the originating vehicle (step S132).

Further, when it is determined in step S131 that the own vehicle is not an automatic driving vehicle that has only the automatic driving mode, the control unit 101 determines whether or not it is in the automatic driving mode (step S133). When it is determined in step S133 that the vehicle is in the automatic driving mode, the control unit 101 sends response information to the vehicle-to-vehicle communication request to the originating vehicle that has transmitted the vehicle-to-vehicle communication request, and establishes a communication path between the vehicle and the vehicle. is generated (step S132).

When it is determined in step S133 that the automatic driving mode is not in progress, the control unit 101 determines whether switching to the automatic driving mode is possible (step S134). In this step S134, for example, the driver is asked, "Since there is a request for inter-vehicle communication, can I switch to automatic driving mode?", and in response to the inquiry, whether or not the driver has responded with permission to switch to automatic driving mode. Determine whether

If it is determined in this step S133 that switching to the automatic driving mode is not possible (the driver refuses to switch), the control unit 101 ends this processing routine without generating a communication path (step S135). do.

Further, when it is determined in step S134 that switching to the automatic driving mode is possible (the driver allows switching), the control unit 101 switches to the automatic driving mode (step S136), and requests inter-vehicle communication. The response information for the inter-vehicle communication request is sent to the originating vehicle that has transmitted the message, and a communication path is created with the originating vehicle (step S132).

After step S132, the control unit 101 receives behavior schedule information from the originating vehicle and analyzes it (step S137). Then, based on the analysis result, the control unit 101 determines whether the other vehicle influencing behavior indicated by the behavior schedule information from the originating vehicle influences the behavior of the own vehicle (step S138), and determines that there is no influence. If so, the generated communication path is disconnected (step S139), and this processing routine is ended.

Further, when it is determined in step S138 that the other vehicle-influenced behavior of the transmitting vehicle influences the behavior of the own vehicle, the control unit 101 sends own vehicle information for identifying the own vehicle, the current position of the own vehicle, and the traveling direction of the own vehicle. Reply information including speed, traveling direction, etc. is generated and sent to the originating vehicle (step S141 in FIG. 7).

Then, if necessary, the control unit 101 performs further inter-vehicle communication with the originating vehicle to determine the behavior of the own vehicle (step S142). Then, the control unit 101 determines the behavior of the own vehicle based on the result of the inter-vehicle communication with the originating vehicle, and transmits the determined behavior of the own vehicle to the originating vehicle (step S143).

Then, the control unit 101 waits for the confirmation notification from the originating vehicle (step S144), and when determining that the confirmation notification has been received, transmits the message to the behavior control unit 118 to execute the determined behavior of the own vehicle. (Step S145).

Next, the control unit 101 waits for receiving a notification of completion of execution of the behavior influenced by other vehicles from the originating vehicle (step S146), and when determining that the notification of completion of execution has been received, disconnects the communication path with the originating vehicle. (Step S147). Then, the control unit 101 cancels the prohibition of switching to the manual driving mode (step S148), and notifies the driver of the end of the behavior processing through vehicle-to-vehicle communication through the display screen of the display unit 111 and by the sound emitted from the speaker. (Step S149). This reception processing routine then ends.

[Example of behavior executed by vehicle-to-vehicle communication regarding behavior influenced by other vehicles]
In the following explanation, for convenience, all automobiles will be explained as having the inter-vehicle communication control processing unit 117 of the automatic driving vehicle 1 of the embodiment. Note that the automatic driving vehicle 1 of the embodiment cannot communicate with a vehicle that is not equipped with the inter-vehicle communication control processing unit 117, so the vehicle determines its behavior in response to the behavior influenced by other vehicles. Remove it from target cars.

<Merge>
FIG. 8 shows a case in which vehicle A "merges" from a side road 2 onto a wide road 3 with two lanes on each side, which is an example of behavior influenced by other vehicles. Note that this situation is similar to the case of merging onto a two-lane main road 3 from a road 2 for merging onto a main road on an expressway.

In the example of FIG. 8, it is assumed that car B, which is another vehicle, is traveling in the left lane 3L of the wide road 3 in the direction of travel, and car C, which is another vehicle, is traveling in the right lane 3R. There is.

When Car A comes near the merging point, a transmission trigger is generated and an inter-vehicle communication request is sent. As described above, this transmission trigger is generated when the driver operates a direction indicator or the like, when a predetermined situation is recognized from images captured by the camera group 107, or when the route guidance data in the car navigation function section 113 includes the trigger. Occurs based on information on other vehicles influencing behavior.

The inter-vehicle communication request issued by car A is received by cars B and C, and communication channels are once created between car A and each of cars B and C. Vehicle B receives the information of "merging" as the behavior of vehicle A influenced by other vehicles sent through the communication channel, and the vehicle is driving in front of the merging point in the left lane 3L, which is affected by the "merging". Therefore, it is determined that "merging", which is the behavior of vehicle A that influences other vehicles, will affect the behavior of the own vehicle, and the communication path is maintained.

On the other hand, since car C is traveling in the right lane 3R, which has no direct effect on ``merging'', even if it is just before the merging point, it is ``merging'', which is the behavior of car A that is influenced by other cars. determines that it will not affect the behavior of the own vehicle, and disconnects the communication path.

Vehicle B, which has maintained the communication path, then determines whether it is possible to merge with vehicle A in front of it, based on vehicle A's current position, vehicle A's traveling speed, vehicle A's traveling direction, and whether or not vehicle A can merge in front of it. If it is determined that merging is possible based on the current position, the speed of the vehicle, the direction of travel of the vehicle, and images of vehicle A and its surroundings taken by the vehicle's camera, it is safer. Taking this into consideration, the system determines the behavior, for example, ``slow down and give priority to merging with car A,'' and notifies car A of this behavior.

Car A receives and confirms the determined behavior information from car B, sends a confirmation notification to car B, and executes the merging behavior as shown by the dotted line in FIG. Upon receiving the confirmation notification from car A, car B executes the behavior it has determined while predicting that car A will behave in a ``merging'' manner. As a result of the above, vehicle A can safely perform the "merging" behavior, which is a behavior influenced by other vehicles. Note that if there is another car (not shown) following behind Car B, Car A will communicate with the other car in the same way as Car B, as in the case shown in FIG. 9, which will be described later. When the vehicle A completes the merging behavior according to the behavior of the vehicle B to allow the merging of the vehicle A, the other vehicle following the vehicle B also ends the inter-vehicle communication.

<Entering during traffic jams>
Next, the example of FIG. 9 shows a case where car A enters a congested lane 4 from a side road 21 or enters an oncoming lane 5 of a congested road 4 as an example of behavior influenced by other vehicles. There is.

In this case, when vehicle A comes near the merging point, a transmission trigger is generated and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request is transmitted. As described above, in the manual driving mode, this transmission trigger is generated based on the driver's operation of the turn signal. Furthermore, when the car navigation function is operating, the occurrence of behavior influenced by other vehicles is generated based on the occurrence information of behavior influenced by other vehicles included in the route guidance data. However, in this case, the behavior affected by other vehicles is that the autonomous vehicle 1 determines from the images taken by the camera group 107 that there is a convoy of vehicles in traffic jam, and the autonomous vehicle 1 makes a "left turn". is defined as "approaching a convoy of vehicles in traffic jam (left turn)", and "turning right" into the oncoming lane 5 is defined as "approaching beyond a convoy of vehicles in congested traffic (right turn)".

The inter-vehicle communication request issued by car A is received by cars B, C, D, E, F, and G in lane 4 during traffic congestion, and H and I cars traveling in oncoming lane 5. A communication path is once created between the vehicle and vehicle A. The subsequent operations are different depending on whether the vehicle enters lane 4 in a traffic jam (turn left) or enters the oncoming lane 5 of lane 4 in traffic congestion (turn right), so they will be explained separately.

<<Entering into a convoy in traffic jam (left turn)>>
Vehicles B and C receive the message "Entering into a congested vehicle convoy" as the behavior of vehicle A influenced by other vehicles sent through the communication channel, and their own vehicles enter the lane affected by the behavior influenced by other vehicles. 4, but since it has already passed the approach point, it is determined that the behavior of vehicle A that is influenced by other vehicles does not affect the behavior of its own vehicle, and the communication path is disconnected. Then, cars D to G receive the information that car A is entering into a congested vehicle line as the behavior that influences other vehicles sent through the communication channel, and their own vehicles are affected by the behavior that influences other vehicles. Since A is in lane 4 and is driving in front of the entry point, the behavior of car A, which is influenced by other cars, ``entering a line of vehicles in traffic jams,'' is considered to affect the behavior of the own car. , maintain communication channels.

In addition, the H vehicle and I vehicle in the oncoming lane 5 are affected by the influence of other vehicles on A's vehicle because "entering into a convoy during traffic congestion" is an event in lane 4. It determines that the behavior does not affect the behavior of its own vehicle, and disconnects the communication path.

Cars D to G, which maintained the communication path, check whether car A can enter in front of their own cars using car A's current position, car A's traveling speed, and car A's traveling direction. The judgment is made based on the current position of the own vehicle, the traveling speed of the own vehicle, the direction of travel of the own vehicle, and furthermore, the image of Car A and its surroundings taken by the camera of the own car. Then, since car D's own vehicle is in a position that prevents car A from entering, car D behaves, for example, by ``allowing car A to enter after the own car passes the entry point.'' Decide and notify car A of it. In addition, cars E to G determine that it is possible for car A to enter in front of their own car, and decide on a behavior such as ``allowing car A to enter in front of their own car.'' Notify car A.

After vehicle D has passed, vehicle A, which has received the above notification, determines that it is possible to enter the congested vehicle line in front of vehicle E, and executes the corresponding behavior. When this behavior is completed, car A notifies cars D to G that the behavior has ended, so the communication path between car A and each of these cars D to G is cut off, and inter-vehicle communication is terminated. Become.

<<Entering beyond a line of vehicles in traffic jams (right turn)>>
In this case as well, cars B to G on lane 4 operate in the same manner as in the case of "entering a convoy in traffic jam" described above. That is, cars E to G decide on the behavior of "allowing car A to enter in front of their own cars" and notify car A of the behavior.

In this case, since vehicle H in lane 5 is traveling ahead of the entry point of vehicle A in lane 5, the behavior of its own vehicle is affected by the behavior of vehicle A influenced by other vehicles. Decide that the communication will be received and maintain the communication channel. Car I is in lane 5, where car A is about to enter, but since it is traveling past the entry point of car A, the behavior of car A is influenced by other cars. Determine that behavior will not be affected and disconnect the communication channel.

Vehicle H, which has maintained the communication path, then determines whether or not vehicle A can enter in front of its own vehicle, based on vehicle A's current position, vehicle A's traveling speed, vehicle A's traveling direction, and whether or not vehicle A can enter in front of its own vehicle. The determination is made based on the current position, the speed of the vehicle, the direction of travel of the vehicle, and images of vehicle A and its surroundings taken by the vehicle's camera. When vehicle H determines that vehicle A can enter in front of its own vehicle, it determines a behavior such as "allowing vehicle A to enter in front of its own vehicle," and Notify the car.

Vehicle A, which receives this notification from vehicle H along with the notifications from vehicles E to G described above, crosses the congested vehicle line and enters lane 5, thereby performing a behavior influenced by other vehicles. When this behavior ends, car A notifies cars D to G as well as car H that the behavior has ended, so the communication path between car A and each of these cars D to G and H is cut off. The vehicle-to-vehicle communication is then terminated.

Furthermore, if vehicle H decides to not allow vehicle A to enter in front of its own vehicle and notifies vehicle A of this, vehicle A will enter lane 4 and move into lane 5. The vehicle then waits in front of the vehicle, performs inter-vehicle communication with another vehicle (not shown) following vehicle H, and the other vehicle determines the behavior of "allowing vehicle A to enter in front of the vehicle." and waits until it is notified to car A. Of course, even if there is a notification from cars E to G mentioned above, unless car H gives permission to enter, car A will not enter lane 4, judging that it will obstruct the passage of cars E to G. Alternatively, you may wait in front of lane 4.

<Turn right or left at an intersection>
Next, the example of FIG. 10 shows a case where car A, which is traveling in lane 6, turns right at an intersection and enters lane 9, as an example of behavior influenced by other vehicles.

In this case, when vehicle A comes near the intersection at the right turn point, a transmission trigger is generated and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request is transmitted. In the manual driving mode, this transmission trigger is generated based on the driver operating the right turn turn signal. Furthermore, when the car navigation function is operating, the occurrence of behavior influenced by other vehicles is generated based on the occurrence information of behavior influenced by other vehicles included in the route guidance data.

The inter-vehicle communication request issued by car A is received by cars B, C, D, E, and F in the vicinity of car A, and a communication path is once created with car A.

Car B, which is on the road 8 on the left in front of car A and intersects with lane 6 in which car A is traveling, is immediately in front of the intersection, so car A's other vehicle influence behavior is to avoid the intersection. ``Right turn'' affects the behavior of the own vehicle, so the generated communication path is maintained. In addition, car C, which is driving behind car A in lane 6, judges that A's behavior of ``turning right at an intersection'', which is influenced by other cars, does not directly affect the behavior of its own car. , disconnect the communication path. In addition, cars D and E, which are driving in front of the intersection in oncoming lane 7, use the generated communication path because the behavior of car A, which is a behavior influenced by other cars, ``turn right at the intersection'' affects the behavior of their own cars. maintain. In addition, vehicle F, which is traveling past the intersection in oncoming lane 7, uses the generated communication path because the behavior of vehicle A that affects other vehicles, ``turn right at the intersection,'' does not affect the behavior of its own vehicle. disconnect.

Vehicle B, which has maintained the communication path, will have priority in lanes 6 and 7 over the road on which it is, for example, so if there is a stop sign or a traffic sign, vehicle A will In response, the system determines the behavior of ``I will stop temporarily and give priority to your vehicle's right turn,'' and notifies vehicle A of this behavior.

In addition, cars D and E, which maintained the communication path, check whether car A can make a right turn in front of their own cars by using car A's current position, car A's traveling speed, and car A's traveling direction. When it is determined that a right turn is possible based on the current position of the vehicle, the speed at which the vehicle is traveling, the direction in which the vehicle is traveling, and images of vehicle A and its surroundings taken by the vehicle's camera. , taking safety into consideration, for example, decides on a behavior such as ``slow down and give priority to car A's right turn,'' and notifies car A of this behavior.

Vehicle A receives and confirms the determined behavior information from vehicles B, D, and E, and sends confirmation notifications to vehicles B, D, and E, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. and execute the right turn behavior. Car B, car D, and car E receive the confirmation notification from car A and execute the behavior determined by their own vehicles while predicting that car A will behave as a "right turn." As a result of the above, vehicle A can safely perform a "right turn" behavior that is a behavior influenced by other vehicles.

When this right turn behavior is completed, car A notifies cars B, D, and E of the end of the behavior, so the communication path between car A and each of these cars B, D, and E is cut off. The vehicle-to-vehicle communication is then terminated.

In the above example of a right turn, it is assumed that there is no traffic light at the intersection, but if a traffic light is installed, priority will be given to responding to the traffic light, which will limit the behavior of cars A to E. Because of this, the right turn behavior may change. In this example, car B, which is on the road 8 on the left in front of car A and intersects lane 6 in which car A is traveling, is just in front of the intersection, but the behavior of car A is influenced by other cars. When making a right turn at an intersection, the traffic light (red light) causes the vehicle to stop temporarily in front of the intersection. Therefore, Car B determines that it will not affect the behavior of its own car, and cuts off the generated communication path. Note that in this example, cars C to F behave the same way as when there is no traffic light.

Note that the presence or absence of a traffic light and the instructions given by the traffic light (red light, green light, yellow light, only right turns allowed, only left turns allowed, only straight ahead allowed, etc.) can be recognized from images captured by the camera group 107. . It is also possible to receive radio waves emitted by traffic lights and obtain the presence or absence of the traffic lights and the contents of instructions given by the traffic lights.

In the above example, the behavior of turning right was explained, but in the case of a left turn, cars D and E are not affected by car A, so the behavior of turning left is different in that respect. Furthermore, if the road into which the vehicle is attempting to turn left is a wide road with a center line or median strip, vehicle B will be in a different lane from the lane into which vehicle A is attempting to enter, so in this case A left turn does not have to be considered a behavior that affects other vehicles. However, if the road into which the vehicle is attempting to turn left is a narrow road with no center line or median strip, the left turn of vehicle A will be influenced by other vehicles compared to vehicle B.

First, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request issued by vehicle A is received by vehicles B, C, D, E, and F in the vicinity of vehicle A, and a communication path is once created with vehicle A. Until then, there is no difference whether it is a right turn or a left turn.

Car B, which is on the road 8 on the left in front of car A and intersects with lane 6 in which car A is traveling, is immediately in front of the intersection, so car A's other vehicle influence behavior is to avoid the intersection. ``Left turn'' affects the behavior of the own vehicle, so the generated communication path is maintained.

In addition, car C, which is driving behind car A in lane 6, judges that A's behavior of ``turning left at an intersection'', which is influenced by other cars, does not directly affect the behavior of its own car. , disconnect the communication path. Furthermore, for cars D and E, which are driving in front of the intersection in oncoming lane 7, the behavior of car A, which is influenced by other cars, ``turning left at the intersection'' does not directly affect the behavior of their own cars. It is determined that the communication path is severed. Furthermore, vehicle F, which is traveling past the intersection in oncoming lane 7, uses the generated communication path because the behavior of vehicle A that affects other vehicles, ``turn left at the intersection,'' does not affect the behavior of its own vehicle. disconnect.

Vehicle B, which maintained the communication path, then behaves to vehicle A by saying, ``I will drive slowly, so please be careful when turning left.'' Vehicle A enters the oncoming lane after turning left. is determined and notified to car A.

Car A receives and confirms the determined behavior information from car B, sends a confirmation notification to car B, and executes a left turn behavior (not shown). Car B receives the confirmation notification from car A, and executes the behavior determined by itself while predicting that car A will behave in a "left turn" behavior. As a result of the above, vehicle A can safely perform the "left turn" behavior, which is a behavior influenced by other vehicles.

When this left turn behavior ends, car A notifies car B of the end of the behavior, so the communication path between cars A and B is cut off, and inter-vehicle communication ends.

In the left turn example above, it is assumed that there is no traffic light at the intersection, but if a traffic light is installed, priority will be given to responding to the traffic light, which will limit the behavior of cars A to E. Because of this, the left turn behavior may change. In this example, car B, which is on the road 8 on the left in front of car A and intersects lane 6 in which car A is traveling, is just in front of the intersection, but the behavior of car A is influenced by other cars. When making a left turn at an intersection, the vehicle must stop temporarily in front of the intersection due to the traffic light (red light). Therefore, Car B determines that it will not affect the behavior of its own car, and cuts off the generated communication path. Alternatively, Car B may recognize from the image taken by the camera that the road it is on is a narrow road, and may temporarily stop on the left shoulder so as not to obstruct Car A's left turn. Note that in this example, cars C to F behave the same way as when there is no traffic light.

Note that the examples of right and left turns mentioned above apply to countries where vehicles drive on the left, such as Japan, the United Kingdom, and India, but they apply to countries where vehicles drive on the right, such as the United States, France, Germany, Italy, and China. In this case, in the case of a left turn, the other vehicle influence behavior is required for the vehicle in the oncoming lane, and in the case of a right turn, the other vehicle influence behavior is not required for the vehicle in the oncoming lane, so the behavior settings must be changed.

The driver may manually specify the country and driving on the right or left side, but the automatic driving vehicle 1 itself may determine whether to drive on the right or left side in the following manner. That is, the automatic driving vehicle 1 stores in its storage unit the countries where vehicles drive on the left and the countries where vehicles drive on the right. Then, the self-driving car 1 identifies the country in which the vehicle is currently driving based on the current position detected by the current position detection unit 110, and refers to the storage unit according to the specified country in which the vehicle is currently driving. or whether to drive on the left.

Note that instead of the self-driving car 1 itself specifying the country in which it is currently driving, or determining whether to drive on the right or left depending on the specified country, the current position detection unit 110 of the self-driving car 1 detects the current location. Information about the current location of the vehicle is sent, for example, via the Internet, to a server equipped with a storage unit that stores countries where the vehicle drives on the left and countries where the vehicle drives on the right. Countries may receive information on whether to drive on the left or the right.

[Other embodiments or modifications]
In the above-described embodiment, the reception processing unit responds to the inter-vehicle communication request only when the own vehicle is an autonomous vehicle or is in an autonomous driving mode, so that the other vehicle communicating between the originating vehicle and the other vehicle, This is now limited to self-driving cars or cars that are in self-driving mode.

However, by including information indicating whether the other vehicle is a self-driving vehicle or in self-driving mode in the response information to a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request, the originating vehicle can determine whether the other vehicle is a self-driving vehicle or in self-driving mode. By determining whether the vehicle is in autonomous driving mode or not, and creating a communication path only with an autonomous vehicle or a vehicle that is in autonomous driving mode based on the determination result, communication between the originating vehicle and the vehicle can be improved. The other vehicles that may be visited may be limited to self-driving vehicles or vehicles that are in self-driving mode.

Furthermore, in the explanation of the above embodiment, the behavior influenced by other vehicles was explained only with respect to the behavior accompanied by instructions from turn signals. In some cases, instructions are not provided using an indicator. In addition, there are times when there are no lanes at roundabouts at stations and it is difficult to know how to move. In such a case, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication button may be operated in the manual driving mode. In the automatic driving mode, such other vehicle influencing behavior may be set in advance as the other vehicle influencing behavior included in the route guidance data as the transmission trigger generation point. Regardless of the manual driving mode or automatic driving mode, when it is recognized from the images captured by the camera group 107 that the vehicle is entering an intersection or a station rotary, a transmission trigger is generated and inter-vehicle communication is started. It may also be possible to recognize behavior influenced by other vehicles.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, vehicles are separated based on the existence of priority roads, priority relationships based on road width, priority relationships based on differences in ascending and descending slopes, etc., as stipulated in traffic regulations such as the Road Traffic Act. Although the priority relationship is not explained, when the surrounding situation understanding unit 109 understands the priority relationship between these vehicles, it goes without saying that the behavior influenced by other vehicles is determined based on the understood priority relationship between the vehicles. .

Please note that traffic laws and priority relationships between vehicles may differ depending on the country, or even within the same country depending on the region such as state (USA), province (China), or prefecture (Japan). In this case, the self-driving car 1 identifies the region, country, state, province, prefecture, etc. in which the vehicle is currently driving based on the current position detected by the current position detection unit 110, and determines the country or region in which the vehicle is currently driving. The behavior influenced by other vehicles may be determined based on traffic laws and priority relationships between vehicles.

The example described in the above-mentioned embodiment is only an example, and it goes without saying that it can be applied in various situations. For example, when taking a car out of a garage at home or onto the road from a parking lot, the behavior influenced by other cars through inter-vehicle communication is effective. Particularly when reversing out of a garage or parking lot onto the road, it may be necessary to turn the vehicle around, which requires behavior that influences other vehicles by maintaining a distance between vehicles. In this case, a transmission trigger may be generated when the backlight is turned on as the vehicle travels in reverse, and inter-vehicle communication may be started to recognize the behavior influenced by other vehicles at that time.

In addition, since there is a danger to other vehicles when suddenly accelerating or braking, the system detects these operations, generates a transmission trigger, and starts vehicle-to-vehicle communication to alert other vehicles at that time. Influence behavior may be recognized. In addition, in the case of sudden braking, the brakes are applied and the backlights are turned on, so when the brake lights are turned on, a transmission trigger is generated and communication between cars is started and the behavior of other cars at that time is recognized. You may also do so.

In the example described above, the operation has been described assuming that all the vehicles are equipped with the vehicle-to-vehicle communication function, but it is conceivable that there may be vehicles that are not equipped with the vehicle-to-vehicle communication function. In consideration of such cases, a vehicle equipped with a vehicle-to-vehicle communication function that is near the point where the other-vehicle influence behavior is about to be carried out can communicate with other vehicles, such as images taken with a camera, of the vehicles driving in front of and behind the own vehicle. Information is sent to the vehicle that is attempting to behave in a way that affects other vehicles. By analyzing this information, a vehicle that is trying to behave in a way that affects other vehicles can obtain information about vehicles that are near the point where the behavior is about to be performed, and can safely avoid being influenced by other vehicles. It can be used as useful information when performing a behavior.

Further, although the self-driving car in the above embodiment has a configuration including an automatic driving mode and a manual driving mode, it may be a self-driving car that has only an automatic driving mode, or an unmanned self-driving car. It may be.

Note that the automobile of the present invention is not limited to four-wheeled automobiles, but includes motorcycles, tricycles, and others. Further, the automobile of the present invention is not limited to a regular automobile, a light automobile, or a truck, but may also be a bus, a tractor, a dump truck, a shovel car, a forklift, a one-person automobile, a motorized bicycle, an electric wheelchair, or the like. Of course, depending on the type of vehicle, such as general four-wheeled cars, public transportation vehicles such as buses, large vehicles such as trucks and tractors, special vehicles, motorcycles, motorized bicycles, electric wheelchairs, etc., traffic regulations and distances between vehicles may vary. Since the priority relationships are different, the vehicle of the present invention can determine the behavior influenced by other vehicles based on the traffic regulations depending on the type and the priority relationship between vehicles.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Automatic driving vehicle, 101...Control unit, 102...Wireless communication unit, 105...Manual/automatic driving mode switching control unit, 107...Camera group, 108...Sensor group, 109...Ambient situation understanding unit, 110...Current position detection 111...Display section, 113...Car navigation function section, 114...Vehicle information storage section, 115...Traveling speed and direction detection section, 117...Vehicle-to-vehicle communication control processing section, 118...Behavior control section

Claims (26)

A vehicle equipped with a manual driving mode and an automatic driving mode capable of autonomous driving,
a wireless communication unit that has a transmitting and receiving function and performs wireless communication between vehicles;
monitoring means for monitoring reception of inter-vehicle communication requests from other vehicles through the wireless communication unit;
When the monitoring means receives a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request from the other vehicle, it determines whether or not the own vehicle is in the automatic driving mode, and when the vehicle is in the automatic driving mode, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication request is received. communication path generation means for generating a communication path between the other vehicle that has transmitted the communication request;
An automobile characterized by comprising: The automobile according to claim 1, wherein the communication path is not generated when the own vehicle is in the manual driving mode. The automobile according to claim 1 or 2, wherein switching from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode is disabled while the vehicle is communicating with the other vehicle. Behavior schedule information analysis means for analyzing behavior schedule information sent from the other vehicle through the communication path generated by the communication path generation means and for notifying other vehicle influencing behavior that affects the behavior of other vehicles in the vicinity. and,
Behavior determining means for determining the behavior of the own vehicle corresponding to the behavior schedule information based on the analysis result of the behavior schedule information analysis means;
reply information transmitting means for transmitting reply information including information on the behavior of the own vehicle determined by the behavior determining means to the other vehicle through the communication channel;
The automobile according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it comprises: The behavior schedule information includes current position information of the other vehicle and information regarding a driving route related to the behavior influenced by the other vehicle,
The behavior schedule information analysis means determines whether or not the driving of the own vehicle will be affected based on the current position information of the other vehicle included in the behavior schedule information and the information regarding the driving route related to the other vehicle influencing behavior. The vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the communication path generated by the communication path generation means is disconnected when it is determined that there is no influence. The behavior determining means acquires information on the traveling speed of the other vehicle in inter-vehicle communication with the other vehicle, and determines the traveling speed of the other vehicle detected from the acquired information and the traveling speed of the own vehicle. The automobile according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the behavior of the own vehicle is determined based on the speed. Equipped with a camera that takes pictures of the surroundings of the vehicle,
The behavior determining means recognizes traffic markings and/or traffic signs from images captured by the camera, determines traffic laws around the own vehicle based on the recognition results, and determines the traffic laws in the vicinity of the own vehicle in consideration of the determined traffic laws. The automobile according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the behavior of the own vehicle is determined. Equipped with a camera that takes pictures of the surroundings of the vehicle,
Claims 4 to 7 are characterized in that the behavior determining means determines the surrounding situation of the own vehicle from the image taken by the camera, and determines the behavior of the own vehicle in consideration of the determined surrounding situation. A vehicle described in any of the following. Claim 4, wherein the behavior schedule information includes information for identifying the other vehicle, and the reply information includes information for identifying the own vehicle. - The automobile according to any one of claims 8 to 9. The automobile according to any one of claims 4 to 9, wherein the behavior influenced by other vehicles differs depending on whether the vehicle drives on the left or on the right. The automobile according to any one of claims 4 to 10, wherein the other vehicle influencing behavior is set based on the presence or absence of a traffic light. The vehicle according to any one of claims 4 to 11, wherein the other vehicle influencing behavior is set based on a priority relationship between vehicles. It is equipped with a camera that photographs the surroundings of the own vehicle and/or a microphone that collects sounds from the surroundings of the own vehicle. Equipped with a means to detect emergency vehicles from the sounds surrounding the car,
The automobile according to any one of claims 4 to 12, wherein the behavior determining means determines the behavior of the own vehicle giving priority to the emergency vehicle. The automobile according to any one of claims 4 to 13, wherein the communication path is disconnected when a notification of completion of the other vehicle influencing behavior is received from the other vehicle. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein when the own vehicle is in the manual driving mode, the vehicle is switched to the automatic driving mode and the communication path generating means generates the communication path. A car navigation function unit that forms route guidance data including trigger information for inter-vehicle communication in response to points on the route guidance where it is necessary to execute other vehicle influencing behavior that affects the behavior of other vehicles in the vicinity. The automobile according to any one of claims 1 to 15, comprising: While the car navigation function unit is performing route guidance using the route guidance data, at a point on the route where the trigger information is detected, a request for inter-vehicle communication is made to other nearby cars through the wireless communication unit. The motor vehicle according to claim 16, characterized in that: Equipped with a camera that takes pictures of the surroundings of the vehicle,
Any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that recognition of a predetermined situation from an image taken by the camera is detected as trigger information for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and a request for vehicle-to-vehicle communication is made to other nearby vehicles. The car mentioned. The automobile according to claim 18, wherein the predetermined situation includes entering an intersection, entering a highway, or entering a roundabout at a station. The automobile according to any one of claims 1 to 19, further comprising inter-vehicle communication requesting means for requesting inter-vehicle communication to other nearby cars through the wireless communication unit. Equipped with a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request button,
21. The vehicle according to claim 20, wherein when the vehicle-to-vehicle communication request button is operated, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication request means requests vehicle-to-vehicle communication to other nearby vehicles through the wireless communication unit. The vehicle-to-vehicle communication requesting means detects reception of radio wave information from a beacon installed on the road as trigger information for the vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and requests vehicle-to-vehicle communication to other nearby vehicles. The motor vehicle according to claim 20 or claim 21. The vehicle-to-vehicle communication requesting means detects at least one of backlight lighting, brake light lighting, sudden acceleration, and sudden braking as trigger information for the vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and requests vehicle-to-vehicle communication to other nearby vehicles. The automobile according to any one of claims 20 to 22, wherein: When the vehicle-to-vehicle communication request is made to other vehicles in the vicinity and response information is not received from the other vehicles in the vicinity within a predetermined time, the driver receives a message to the effect that there are no other vehicles in the vicinity with which vehicle-to-vehicle communication is possible. The motor vehicle according to any one of claims 17 to 23, characterized in that the vehicle notifies the following. In response to a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request from the other vehicle, the other vehicle is a self-driving vehicle that autonomously performs the behavior of its own vehicle, or is in an automatic driving mode that autonomously performs the behavior of its own vehicle. means for receiving response information including information about whether there is a
Based on the received response information, it is determined whether the other vehicle is a self-driving vehicle that autonomously executes the behavior of its own vehicle or is in an automatic driving mode that autonomously executes the behavior of its own vehicle. Discrimination means;
Equipped with
The communication path generating means is configured to generate an automatic driving vehicle that is determined to be a self-driving vehicle that autonomously performs the behavior of the self-vehicle, or an automatic vehicle that autonomously performs the behavior of the self-vehicle based on the determination result of the discriminator. The automobile according to any one of claims 1 to 24, wherein a communication path is created between the other vehicle determined to be in the driving mode. A computer equipped in a car that has a manual driving mode and an automatic driving mode that allows autonomous driving, has a transmitting and receiving function, and is equipped with a wireless communication unit for wireless communication between cars,
monitoring means for monitoring reception of inter-vehicle communication requests from other vehicles through the wireless communication unit;
When the monitoring means receives a vehicle-to-vehicle communication request from the other vehicle, it determines whether or not the own vehicle is in the automatic driving mode, and when the vehicle is in the automatic driving mode, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication request is received. communication path generation means for generating a communication path with another vehicle that has transmitted a communication request;
Automotive program to function as.

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