JP5200674B2 - Information provision system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing system.

  In recent years, ITS (Intelligent Transport System) is known as a traffic system that uses information communication technology to solve road traffic problems such as traffic accidents and traffic jams.

For example, Non-Patent Document 1 discloses an information providing system that provides information to a driver in order to suppress a traffic jam in a sag portion where a road gradient changes. For example, in a three-lane road, traffic volume tends to concentrate on the overtaking lane and the second traveling lane as a premise that traffic congestion occurs in the sag portion. Therefore, from the viewpoint of leveling the traffic in each lane, information that prompts a lane change to the left lane is provided for vehicles traveling in all lanes at a predetermined distance upstream from the sag portion. .
Hidehito Hatanaka and three others, “Efforts to Realize Traffic Measures for Congestion of Expressway Sag Using ITS”, Traffic Engineering, Traffic Engineering Research Group, October 2006 (Vol.41, Special Issue)

  By the way, according to this method, information is provided to the vehicle traveling in the overtaking lane or the second traveling lane at the same timing. In this case, it is expected that each vehicle cannot smoothly move in the lane and the traffic level cannot be effectively leveled.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide information at an appropriate timing for each lane.

  In order to solve such a problem, the present invention provides service information so that the information providing means differs from the change point to the upstream side in the information provision position for each lane.

  According to the present invention, since the information provision position can be shifted for each lane, it is possible to provide information at an optimum position for each lane.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information providing system provides service information to the vehicle C through communication between road-side infrastructure (information providing means) provided on the road and the vehicle C traveling on the road, so-called road-to-vehicle communication. It is. The information providing system according to the present embodiment provides information from the viewpoint of suppressing traffic jams, and can be applied to a vehicle road having three or more lanes on one side, for example, an expressway. This information providing system provides, as service information, information related to a traffic event caused by a change point (sag part) A at which the road gradient changes, specifically, information for suppressing traffic congestion caused by the sag part A. .

  In the present embodiment, the description will be made on the assumption that the road is composed of three lanes on one side, specifically, the first traveling lane L1, the second traveling lane L2, and the overtaking lane L3. Here, the first travel lane L1 is an end side lane (in this embodiment, the leftmost lane) of the three lanes, and the second travel lane L2 is the three lanes, A lane adjacent to the first travel lane. The extra lane L3 is a lane (the lane located at the rightmost end in the present embodiment) located on the end side facing the first travel lane L1 among the three lanes.

  The road-side infrastructure has a function of transmitting information for each lane to a vehicle traveling in the lane, and is configured by a plurality of communication units 10 in the present embodiment. Each communication unit 10 is arranged on the road, and transmits service information (for example, a service ID indicating the type of information to be provided to the occupant) to the vehicle C. The communication unit 10 is arranged, for example, for each lane from the viewpoint that information can be provided for each lane. Here, as one of the features of the present embodiment, the communication unit 10 corresponding to the overtaking lane L3 (hereinafter referred to as “third communication unit 10”) is arranged upstream of the sag portion A by a predetermined distance. The communication unit 10 corresponding to the second lane L2 (hereinafter referred to as “second communication unit 10”) is disposed upstream of the third communication unit 10. Further, the communication unit 10 corresponding to the first travel lane L1 (hereinafter referred to as “first communication unit 10”) is, for example, at a position equivalent to the second communication unit 10 or more than the second communication unit 10. It is provided upstream. Here, in the present embodiment, the upstream refers to the side going back in the traveling direction of the vehicle set in the lane with respect to a certain point, and the downstream refers to the traveling direction of the vehicle set in the lane based on a certain point. The side that has advanced along. In other words, the vehicle traveling in the lane goes from the upstream side to the downstream side.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the communication unit 10. As the communication unit 10, a communication means using near infrared rays as a communication medium, so-called optical beacon can be used. Since near infrared rays have high directivity, a communication area corresponding to the lane width can be secured. Therefore, the situation where the communication area Z of an optical beacon interferes with a vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane can be suppressed. That is, the communication unit 10 can transmit service information in a spot manner to vehicles traveling in the corresponding lane.

  Service information transmitted from each communication unit 10 is centrally managed by the traffic management system (processing means) 1. The traffic management system 1 monitors traffic conditions on the road and creates / updates service information to be provided to the driver. Therefore, information corresponding to the current traffic situation is reflected in the service information transmitted via each communication unit 10. The traffic management system 1 is connected to individual communication units 10 by wire or wirelessly and can communicate with each other.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the in-vehicle information providing apparatus 20. The in-vehicle information providing apparatus (in-vehicle information providing means) 20 is an apparatus that acquires service information from the communication unit 10 provided on the road side and provides this service information to the occupant. The in-vehicle information providing apparatus 20 includes a control unit (execution unit) 21, a memory (storage unit) 22, a monitor (display unit) 23, a speaker (output unit) 24, a beacon reception unit (reception unit) 25, a GPS reception unit ( Receiving means) 26, a DSRC receiving unit (receiving means) and map data 28.

  The control unit 21 has a function of controlling the entire system in an integrated manner, and controls the system by operating according to a control program. As the control unit 21, a microcomputer mainly composed of a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and an I / O interface can be used. In relation to the present embodiment, the control unit 21 sets information to be provided to the occupant (hereinafter referred to as “provided information”) based on the service information acquired from the communication unit 10 side. The provision information is set by reading data (display data or audio data) corresponding to the service ID from the memory 22 based on the service ID included in the service information, or data (display data or audio data) corresponding to the service ID. ). And the control part 21 controls the monitor 23 or the speaker 24, and shows provision information to a passenger | crew.

  The memory 22 stores a control program and various data for operating the control unit 21. The memory 22 includes a ROM in which control programs and data are fixedly stored, and a RAM used as a work area of the microcomputer. The data stored in the ROM includes provision information (for example, bitmap data) associated with service information from the communication unit 10.

  The monitor 23 is provided in a part of the instrument panel, for example. As the monitor 23, known display means such as a liquid crystal display device can be used. The monitor 23 displays the provided information under the control of the control unit 21. The speaker 24 outputs the provided information by voice under the control of the control unit 21.

  The beacon receiving unit 25 receives service information transmitted from the communication unit 10. Specifically, the beacon receiving unit 25 establishes communication with the communication unit 10 after passing through the communication area Z (see FIG. 2) by the communication unit 10. The beacon receiving unit 25 acquires service information transmitted from the communication unit 10. The beacon receiving unit 25 extracts service information from the near infrared rays transmitted from the communication unit 10 and outputs this service information to the control unit 21.

  The GPS receiver 26 acquires information from a satellite by GPS (Global Positioning System) and detects the current vehicle position based on this information. The detected vehicle position is output to the control unit 21.

  The DSRC receiving unit 27 acquires service information from a DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication) communication unit that is one of road-side infrastructures that transmit service information to the vehicle C. DSRC is called narrow area communication, and provides service information from a radio wave beacon (DSRC communication unit) to the vehicle side using spot communication using a radio frequency of 5.8 GHz band, for example. The DSRC receiving unit 27 extracts service information from the radio wave transmitted from the DSRC communication unit and outputs the service information to the control unit 21.

  The map data 28 is a database in which map information for navigation is associated with position information, and is stored in a hard disk device or the like. The map information includes a node representing a specific point on the road and a road link representing a connection between the specific points. When the control unit 21 reads necessary information from the map data 28 based on information such as position information and vehicle speed detected by the GPS reception unit 26, the control unit 21 displays the information on the monitor 23 or performs audio through the speaker 24. Can be output. The map data 28 may be stored in a recording medium such as a DVD or a CD-ROM and read by the in-vehicle information providing apparatus 20.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of information provision according to this embodiment. The process shown in this flowchart is called at a predetermined cycle and executed by the traffic management system 1.

  First, in step 1 (S1), the traffic information of each lane L1-L3 is detected. For example, when an optical beacon is used as the communication unit 10, the traffic situation can be detected by the communication unit 10 itself. However, in the case where a sensor for detecting the traffic situation is separately installed, the traffic situation can be detected using this sensor. The traffic situation detected by these sensing means is transmitted to the traffic management system 1. The traffic management system 1 determines the traffic volume Q1 related to the first travel lane L1 and the speed V1 (for example, average speed) of the vehicle C, the traffic volume Q2 related to the second travel lane L2 and the vehicle based on the sensing results of the individual detection means. C speed V2 (for example, average speed), traffic volume Q3 related to the overtaking lane L3, and speed V3 (for example, average speed) of the vehicle C are specified.

In step 2 (S2), it is determined whether or not there is a traffic jam in the second travel lane L2 and the overtaking lane L3. Specifically, the traffic management system 1 determines that a traffic jam has occurred when all of the conditions shown in Formulas 1 to 4 are satisfied.
(Formula 1)
Q2> Q2th
(Formula 2)
Q3> Q3th
(Formula 3)
V2 <V2th
(Formula 4)
V3 <V3th
Here, Q2th, Q3th, V2th, and V3th are determination values for traffic jam determination, and are values set through experiments and simulations.

  If an affirmative determination is made in step 2, that is, if a traffic jam has occurred, the process proceeds to step 6 (S6) described later. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step 2, that is, if there is no traffic jam, the process proceeds to step 3 (S3).

In step 3, it is determined whether the traffic volume in the second lane L2 and the overtaking lane L3 is large. In the case where occurrence of traffic congestion is predicted in the sag part A, the traffic volume tends to concentrate on the second lane L2 and the overtaking lane L3. Therefore, it is determined whether or not a traffic jam is likely to occur based on the determination in step 3. Here, the traffic volume determined in Step 3 is a traffic volume that does not cause traffic jams. Specifically, the traffic management system 1 determines that the traffic volume is large enough to predict the occurrence of traffic congestion in the sag portion A when all of the conditions shown in Formulas 5 to 8 are satisfied.
(Formula 5)
Q2> Q2th
(Formula 6)
Q3> Q3th
(Formula 7)
V2 ≧ V2th
(Formula 8)
V3 ≧ V3th
If an affirmative determination is made in step 3, the process proceeds to step 4 (S4). On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step 3, the process proceeds to step 6.

In step 4, it is determined whether or not the vehicle in the second travel lane L2 can change the lane to the first travel lane L1. Specifically, the traffic management system 1 determines that the lane can be changed when the condition shown in Formula 9 is satisfied.
(Formula 9)
Q1 <Q2 ≦ Q3
If an affirmative determination is made in step 4, that is, if it is possible to change lanes, the process proceeds to step 5 (S5). On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step 4, that is, if the lane cannot be changed, the process proceeds to step 6.

  In step 5, information is provided. Specifically, the traffic management system 1 passes the second lane L2 and the overtaking lane L3 to the left lane through the second communication unit 10 and the third communication unit 10. Provide service information that prompts you to change lanes.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory view illustrating the display form of the presentation information by the in-vehicle information providing apparatus 20. For example, when the vehicle C traveling on the overtaking lane L <b> 3 passes the communication area Z by the third communication unit 10, the beacon receiving unit 25 establishes communication with the communication unit 10. Then, the beacon receiving unit 25 acquires service information transmitted from the communication unit 10 and outputs this service information to the control unit 21.

  The control unit 21 refers to service information, for example, a service ID, reads corresponding data from the memory 22 as presentation information, and causes the monitor 23 to display the presentation information. As shown in FIG. 5, the lanes are indicated as L1a to L3a in the presentation information (service information) displayed on the monitor 23, and the lane change to the left lane is encouraged by the arrow B starting from the vehicle. It is the composition. Further, regarding the circles D1 to D3 shown corresponding to the lane, the circle D1 is displayed in blue, and the circles D2 and D3 are displayed in red, thereby prompting a lane change to the left lane.

  Further, the control unit 21 refers to service information, for example, a service ID, reads data corresponding to the service information as presentation information from the memory 22, and outputs the presentation information through the speaker 24. For example, a message such as “There is a risk of traffic congestion in this lane, please change to the left lane” will be used.

  Furthermore, the traffic management system 1 may further provide information indicating that the traveling lane is maintained to the vehicle C traveling on the first traveling lane L1 via the first communication unit 10.

  On the other hand, in step 6, the information provision is stopped. Specifically, the traffic management system 1 does not provide information to the vehicle C traveling in the corresponding lane via the first to third communication units 10.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the road-side infrastructure including the plurality of communication units 10 provides service information such that the information provision position for each lane differs from the sag portion A to the upstream side. According to this configuration, since the position of information provision for each lane can be shifted, it is possible to provide service information at an optimum position for each lane. As a result, it is possible to effectively achieve leveling of the traffic volume for each lane, thereby suppressing the occurrence of traffic congestion on the road and realizing smooth traffic. In addition, since the user can easily understand the contents of the information provided, an improvement in acceptability can be expected.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the vehicle road has the right end side lane set as the overtaking lane L3, and the two lanes from the lane adjacent to the overtaking lane to the left end side lane are traveling lanes They are set as L2 and L1, respectively. Here, the road-side infrastructure includes two communication units 10 that are provided in the overtaking lane L3 and the second traveling lane L2, respectively, and each transmits service information in a communication area corresponding to the lane width. The communication unit 10 in the overtaking lane L3 is arranged upstream from the sag portion A by a predetermined distance, and the communication unit 10 in the second traveling lane L2 is arranged upstream from the communication unit 10 in the overtaking lane L3. The

  According to such a configuration, the communication units 10 are sequentially offset from the upstream to the downstream from the second traveling lane L2 to the overtaking lane L3, that is, are arranged differently in position. Thereby, the provision timing of service information has priority over the second lane L2 over the overtaking lane L3. Therefore, the vehicle C traveling in the second travel lane L2 can be preferentially changed to the first travel lane side. Therefore, the traffic volume of the second lane L2 is large, and even if the vehicle C in the overtaking lane L3 tries to change the lane to the second lane L2, there is no space and the occurrence of a situation where the lane cannot be changed can be suppressed. Thereby, there is no possibility of impairing the effectiveness of the service by providing information. Moreover, since the situation that a lane change occurs at the same time in the second lane L2 and the overtaking lane L3 is suppressed, it is possible to improve traffic safety.

  In the present embodiment, the first traveling lane L1 includes the first communication unit 10, but from the viewpoint of providing information by this service, the first communication unit 10 is not necessarily provided. That is, since the service information that prompts the user to change the lane is not provided to the vehicle in the first travel lane L1, it is possible to suppress the erroneous operation. However, when the first communication unit 10 is provided as in the present embodiment, it is preferable to provide service information indicating that the lane is maintained from the first communication unit 10. In this case, since the lane movement from the first travel lane L1 to the second travel lane L2 can be suppressed, the traffic level in each lane can be leveled effectively.

  In the above-described embodiment, the description has been given on the assumption of a three-lane road, but the present invention can be applied to a road constituted by three or more lanes. In this case, the communication unit 10 in the overtaking lane is arranged upstream of the sag portion A by a predetermined distance. Each of the traveling lane communication units 10 is disposed on the upstream side of the overtaking lane communication unit 10 and is disposed on the upstream side as the traveling lane is farther from the overtaking lane. Thereby, information can be provided sequentially from the traveling lane far from the overtaking lane to the overtaking lane. Thereby, the effect mentioned above can be show | played similarly to a three-lane road.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, the communication unit 10 transmits service information by establishing communication with the vehicle-mounted information provision apparatus 20 mounted in the vehicle C that passes through its communication area Z. Here, the in-vehicle information providing apparatus 20 presents the acquired service information to the occupant after passing through the communication area Z or after passing through the communication area Z.

  According to this configuration, service information can be provided at a position that is regulated by the service area.

  In the present embodiment, the in-vehicle information providing apparatus 20 includes a beacon receiving unit 25 that receives service information from the road-side infrastructure, a monitor 23 that displays service information to the occupant, and a speaker that outputs the service information to the occupant. 24, a memory 22 for storing the control program, and a control unit 21 for executing the control program. According to this configuration, service information can be presented to the occupant.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, each of the communication units 10 is an optical beacon that uses infrared as a communication medium. According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain information for each lane.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the communication unit 10 provides, as service information, information that prompts a lane change from the currently traveling lane to the first traveling lane. Accordingly, it is possible to prompt the vehicle to change the lane effectively.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the traffic management system 1 determines whether or not to provide service information based on the traffic volume upstream of the sag portion A and the traveling speed of the vehicle. Before the traffic jam occurs in the sag portion A, the traffic volume tends to concentrate on the overtaking lane L3 and the second traveling lane L2. For this reason, it becomes possible to take measures against traffic congestion by leveling the non-uniformity of traffic in each lane. Therefore, it is preferable not to implement when the traffic volume is low or when there is a traffic jam, when the traffic volume is high but the traffic volume on the first lane L1 is also high. Thereby, service information can be provided at an appropriate timing.

  In addition, this embodiment can add the following changes, for example. The communication unit 10 transmits a service ID as service information, but may include display data or audio data, and further an operation program. In the embodiment described above, basic data such as display data or audio data and an operation program is stored in advance by the in-vehicle information providing apparatus 20. However, when basic data is transmitted from the communication unit 10, it is not necessary for the in-vehicle information providing apparatus 20 to hold such information in advance. When the basic data is transmitted from the communication unit 10 side, for example, a setup communication unit 10 is prepared upstream of the first communication unit 10. The communication unit 10 for setup establishes communication when the vehicle passes through the communication area, and transmits basic data to the in-vehicle information providing apparatus 20. The in-vehicle information providing apparatus 20 that has acquired the basic data sets up the basic data and acquires service information (service ID) from the first to third communication units 10, thereby providing service information to the passenger. Present.

  In addition, from the viewpoint of providing service information in units of lanes, the communication unit 10 using a highly directional optical beacon is used as the road infrastructure. However, a radio wave beacon (DSRC) having a wide communication area can be used as the communication unit 10. In this case, since selective information transmission for each lane is difficult, the road-side infrastructure may use a method that allows the in-vehicle information providing apparatus 20 to recognize the lane together with the communication unit 10. preferable. As a method for recognizing a lane, magnetic nails and GPS information can be used. A magnetic nail is a magnetic body embedded in a lane, and is provided for each lane. By providing the in-vehicle information providing apparatus 20 with a sensor (not shown) that can detect a change in magnetic flux, it can be determined that the vehicle is in a predetermined lane position from the change in magnetic flux. On the other hand, the GPS information is information for detecting its own position, but is preferably information with little error. Examples of this type of GPS information include RTK-GPS, which measures a positioning error at a reference station and increases positioning accuracy by canceling a known error. Another GPS information includes a GPS that uses a plurality of frequencies to reduce positioning errors due to frequency fading. The in-vehicle information providing apparatus 20 acquires GPS information, so that the lane position can be specified by measuring the current position.

Configuration diagram schematically showing the information provision system Explanatory drawing of the communication unit 10 The block diagram which shows typically the structure of the vehicle-mounted information provision apparatus 20 Flow chart showing the flow of information provision It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the display form of service information.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Communication unit 11 Memory 20 Vehicle-mounted information provision apparatus 21 Control part 22 Memory 23 Monitor 24 Speaker 25 Beacon receiving part 26 GPS receiving part 27 DSRC receiving part 28 Map data

Claims (9)

In the information provision system,
An information providing means provided on a vehicle road having a plurality of lanes in one direction and providing information for each lane to a vehicle traveling in the lane;
Processing means for providing information on traffic events caused by a change point at which the road gradient changes as service information to the vehicle via the information providing means,
The information providing means provides service information to each lane on the upstream side of the vehicle travel with respect to the change point, and one lane of the plurality of lanes is downstream of the vehicle travel with respect to the other lanes. And providing the service information. In the vehicle road, the lane on one end side is set as an overtaking lane, and two or more lanes from the lane adjacent to the overtaking lane to the other end side lane are set as traveling lanes, respectively. ,
The information providing means includes a plurality of communication units that are provided in each of the lanes other than the other end side lane on the vehicle road and each transmit the service information in a communication area corresponding to a lane width. And
The overtaking lane communication unit is arranged upstream of the change point by a predetermined distance,
Each of the communication units of the travel lane is disposed on the upstream side of the communication unit in the overtaking lane, and is disposed such that the travel lane farther from the overtaking lane is located on the upstream side. The information providing system according to claim 1. The communication unit transmits the service information by establishing communication with an in-vehicle information providing means mounted on a vehicle passing through its communication area,
The vehicle-mounted information providing unit presents the acquired service information to a passenger at a timing when the vehicle passes through the communication area or after the vehicle passes through the communication area. Information provision system.   The on-vehicle information providing means includes a receiving means for receiving the service information from the information providing means, a display means for displaying the service information to an occupant, an output means for outputting the service information to the occupant, and a control program The information providing system according to claim 3, further comprising: storage means for storing data; and execution means for executing the control program. 5. The information providing system according to claim 2 , wherein each of the communication units is an optical beacon using infrared as a communication medium. 6.   The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the information providing unit includes a radio wave beacon using radio waves as a communication medium and a magnetic nail arranged for each lane.   The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the information providing unit includes a radio wave beacon using radio waves as a communication medium and GPS information. Wherein the information providing unit, as the service information, from the lane currently running, providing information according to claim 2, characterized in that it provides information that prompts the lane change to the lane direction of the other end system.   9. The information providing system according to claim 8, wherein the processing means determines whether or not to provide the service information based on a traffic volume upstream of the change point and a traveling speed of a vehicle.

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