JP6168223B2 - Driving support device and driving support method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support device and a driving support method for supporting a row running by a plurality of vehicles.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique is known in which a plurality of vehicles are arranged in order in the traveling direction, and the vehicles behind the leading vehicle are caused to travel following the preceding vehicle, thereby causing the vehicles to travel in a row. An example of a system that embodies such technology is described in Patent Document 1.

  The system described in Patent Literature 1 includes travel plan generation means for generating a travel plan for each of a plurality of vehicles forming a platoon. The travel plan generation means generates a travel plan in order from a vehicle that is enclosed in front and rear by at least one of a vehicle that forms a convoy and a vehicle that does not form a convoy. Thereby, in this system, since the front and rear are sandwiched between other vehicles, a travel plan is generated in order from the vehicle having the highest possibility of rear-end collision with the other vehicles before and after that.

JP 2008-146169 A

  By forming the platoon based on the relationship between the own vehicle and the other vehicles before and after the own vehicle as in the system of Patent Document 1, the possibility of a rear-end collision of the own vehicle is certainly reduced, and as a result, the safety of the platoon It comes to be improved.

  However, a plurality of vehicles forming a platoon may not all have the same characteristics, and if an attempt is made to expand the scope of platooning, a platoon is formed by vehicles having various characteristics. It cannot be avoided. That is, in recent years, it has been demanded that safety is appropriately ensured for a formation formed by a plurality of vehicles having various characteristics.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a driving support device and a driving support method that can more suitably ensure the safety of vehicles traveling in a row. is there.

Hereinafter, means for solving the above-described problems and the effects thereof will be described.
In order to achieve the above object, a driving support device is a driving support device that supports driving by platooning of a plurality of vehicles, and relates to an out-of-vehicle information acquisition device that is mounted on a vehicle and acquires information outside the vehicle. A device information acquisition unit that acquires information from each vehicle that travels in the platoon and each vehicle information acquisition device from which the information has been acquired is assigned a higher rank in the order of excellent acquisition characteristics of information outside the vehicle. And a determination unit that determines a vehicle having a higher rank outside information acquisition device as a vehicle suitable for at least one of the first vehicle and the last vehicle in the platoon based on the rank assigned to each of the outside information acquisition devices. The determination unit, when there are a plurality of vehicles having the vehicle exterior information acquisition device to which the highest rank is given, from the current arrangement position of the vehicles, And gist determining the vehicle movement amount is small to move the head or the tail as a vehicle suitable for the leading vehicle or the end vehicle convoy.

  In order to achieve the above object, a driving support method is a driving support method for supporting driving by platooning of a plurality of vehicles, wherein the device information acquisition unit is mounted on a vehicle and acquires information outside the vehicle. A step of acquiring information related to a certain out-of-vehicle information acquisition device separately from each vehicle traveling in the platoon, and the rank assigning unit has an acquisition characteristic of out-of-vehicle information for each out-of-vehicle information acquisition device from which the information has been acquired. The step of assigning a higher rank in order of superiority, and the determining unit determines whether the vehicle having the vehicle information acquisition device with the higher rank is the vehicle of the leading vehicle or the vehicle at the end of the platoon based on the rank assigned to each vehicle information acquisition device. Determining a vehicle suitable for at least one of the vehicles, and when the determination unit has a plurality of vehicles having an external information acquisition device to which the highest rank is assigned, Determining a vehicle movement amount is small to move from positions of standing at the head or tail of the convoy as a vehicle suitable for the leading vehicle or the end vehicle convoy and gist.

  According to such a configuration or method, the vehicle outside information acquisition device excellent in information acquisition characteristics outside the vehicle by determining the leading vehicle and the tail vehicle of the platoon based on the rank given to the vehicle outside information acquisition device. It becomes the vehicle which has. For example, by using a vehicle with an external information acquisition device with excellent acquisition characteristics as the first vehicle or the last vehicle, acquisition of information on other vehicles or obstacles approaching the first or last vehicle is included in the vehicle Among the information acquisition apparatuses outside the vehicle, the apparatus having an excellent acquisition characteristic is effectively performed. In other words, by placing an out-of-vehicle information acquisition device having excellent acquisition characteristics within a range that can be selected in the platoon in a platoon formed from a plurality of vehicles, it is as high as possible in the platoon. Safety can be ensured. Thereby, the safety | security of the vehicle which carries out platooning by a platoon can be ensured more suitably.

  Moreover, according to such a structure or method, the moving amount | distance of the vehicle determined as a head vehicle or the last vehicle of a formation can be decreased. In addition, the amount of movement of other vehicles that accompanies the movement of the vehicle determined as the head vehicle or the tail vehicle to the head or tail can be reduced.

  As a preferred configuration, the rank assigning unit ranks the information outside the vehicle in the order of the vehicle information acquisition device that is excellent in the information acquisition characteristic of the information ahead of the vehicle, and the determination unit has the rank of the assigned rank. Among these, a vehicle having a vehicle information acquisition device with a high rank is determined as a vehicle suitable for the leading vehicle.

  According to such a configuration, the leading vehicle in the platoon is determined to be a vehicle having an out-of-vehicle information acquisition device with excellent information acquisition characteristics of out-of-vehicle information ahead of the vehicle. This makes it possible to more effectively acquire information on other vehicles and obstacles that approach the front of the formation.

  As a preferred configuration, the rank assigning unit ranks the information outside the vehicle higher in the order of the vehicle outside information acquisition device having excellent information acquisition characteristics of the information behind the vehicle, and the determining unit has the rank of the assigned rank. Among these, a vehicle having a vehicle information acquisition device with a higher rank is determined as a vehicle suitable for the last vehicle.

  According to such a configuration, the rearmost vehicle in the platoon is determined to be a vehicle having an out-of-vehicle information acquisition device having excellent information acquisition characteristics of out-of-vehicle information behind the vehicle. This makes it possible to more effectively acquire information on other vehicles and obstacles that approach the rear of the formation.

  As a preferred configuration, the rank assigning unit is arranged in the order of the information acquisition device outside the vehicle excellent in information acquisition characteristics in front of the vehicle, "radio wave radar", "optical radar", "compound camera", "monocular camera", " The order is “no sensor”.

  According to such a configuration, the rank is easily given to the outside information acquisition device by determining the rank according to the type of the outside information acquisition device that acquires the information outside the vehicle ahead of the vehicle. Therefore, it becomes easy to determine a vehicle having an out-of-vehicle information acquisition device with excellent information acquisition performance in front of the vehicle as the leading vehicle.

  As a preferred configuration, the rank assigning unit is arranged in the order of the outside information acquisition device having excellent information acquisition characteristics of the information behind the vehicle in the order of “radio wave radar”, “optical radar”, “compound camera”, “monocular camera”, “ The order is “no sensor”.

  According to such a configuration, the rank is easily assigned to the outside information acquisition device by determining the rank according to the type of the outside information acquisition device that acquires information outside the vehicle behind the vehicle. Therefore, it becomes easy to determine the vehicle having the vehicle outside information acquisition device having excellent performance of acquiring information outside the vehicle behind the vehicle as the last vehicle.

  As a preferred configuration, the rank assigning unit ranks the vehicle information acquisition device in a plurality of stages even between the “monocular camera” and the “no sensor”. The order of the acquisition device is “rear side radio wave radar”, “rear side compound eye camera”, and “rear side monocular camera”.

  According to such a configuration, since the rank of the vehicle outside information acquisition device that acquires the information outside the vehicle behind the vehicle is determined in more detail, the vehicle outside information acquisition device suitable for the last vehicle based on the rank determined in detail. It becomes possible to more appropriately determine a vehicle having

  As a preferred configuration, when a vehicle is added to the platoon and the rank given to the out-of-vehicle information acquisition device of the added vehicle is lower than the first vehicle or the last vehicle of the platoon, the determination unit is added. The vehicle to be added to the center of the formation.

  According to such a configuration, when a vehicle is added to the platoon, the process for creating the formation plan of the platoon is reduced by adding a vehicle that is not the first or last vehicle to the center of the platoon. be able to.

  As a preferred configuration, when the rank of the outside information acquisition device of the leading vehicle or the last vehicle of the platoon changes, a vehicle suitable for at least one of the leading vehicle or the ending vehicle of the platoon through the determination unit is redetermined.

  According to such a configuration, when the leading vehicle or the last vehicle in the platoon leaves the platoon or the acquisition characteristics of the outside information acquisition device of the leading vehicle or the last vehicle change, the leading vehicle or the last vehicle By re-determining the vehicle, a vehicle including an outside information acquisition device having excellent acquisition characteristics is appropriately arranged in the first vehicle and the last vehicle in the platoon. As a result, even if the rank of the outside information acquisition device for the leading vehicle or the last vehicle in the platoon changes, the platoon safety can be maintained at a high level as much as possible.

The schematic diagram which shows the aspect of the platoon about one Embodiment of the platoon of the vehicle carrying a driving assistance device. The block diagram which shows the schematic structure about the 1st vehicle which forms a formation in this embodiment. The block diagram which shows the schematic structure about the 2nd vehicle which forms a formation in this embodiment. The block diagram which shows the rank information with which the driving assistance device of this embodiment is provided. The list by which the rank with respect to a front information acquisition device is defined in this embodiment. The list by which the rank with respect to a back information acquisition device is defined in this embodiment. The flowchart which shows the procedure in which the driving assistance apparatus of this embodiment produces the formation plan of a formation. The flowchart which shows the procedure in which the driving assistance device of this embodiment selects the vehicle used as the candidate of a head vehicle. The flowchart which shows the procedure in which the driving assistance device of this embodiment selects the vehicle used as the last vehicle candidate.

An embodiment embodying a driving support device will be described with reference to FIGS. First, a vehicle platoon for which formation of a platoon is supported by the driving assistance device will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle row 10 is formed of a plurality of vehicles arranged in order starting from the traveling direction F side. In other words, in the present embodiment, the convoy 10 is formed by the first vehicle 100 disposed at the head of the convoy 10, and the second vehicle 200 that follows the first vehicle 100 and is disposed at the end of the convoy. Has been. In the present embodiment, the case where the row is formed by two vehicles is illustrated, but the number of vehicles forming the row may be three or more.

  The first vehicle 100 and the second vehicle 200 can communicate with each other via inter-vehicle communication C. In this platoon 10, platoon information including an organization plan such as information on the position of each vehicle in the platoon 10 is transmitted from the first vehicle 100 to the second vehicle 200 via the inter-vehicle communication C. Therefore, the first and second vehicles 100 and 200 travel while maintaining the arrangement determined in the platoon 10 based on the platoon information.

  In such a row, the first vehicle 100 that is the leading vehicle of the row 10 is operated as usual by the driver. On the other hand, a subsequent vehicle such as the second vehicle 200 located behind the first vehicle 100 travels following the preceding vehicle, so that the burden on the driver for the driving operation is reduced. In addition, if a driving assistance device that automatically follows the vehicle is mounted on such a succeeding vehicle, the burden on the driver for driving operation is further reduced. Such platooning is expected to improve fuel efficiency by reducing the air resistance of the following vehicles, and to reduce traffic congestion by shortening the inter-vehicle distance.

Next, the configuration of the first vehicle 100 and the second vehicle 200 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first vehicle 100 and the second vehicle 200 are vehicles such as automobiles, and are vehicles such as passenger cars, buses, trucks, and the like that travel on the road.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the first vehicle 100 includes a driving support unit 110 that performs various types of driving support including driving support related to platooning, and a vehicle control unit 120 that is connected to the driving support unit 110 and controls driving of the vehicle. And a communication unit 130 connected to the driving support unit 110 and capable of inter-vehicle communication C with other vehicles or the like. Further, the first vehicle 100 is a front information acquisition unit 140 that acquires information outside the vehicle, which is information related to the driving environment in front of the vehicle, and provides the information to the driving support unit 110 and the like, and information related to the driving environment behind the vehicle. A rear information acquisition unit 150 that acquires information outside a certain rear vehicle and provides the information to the driving support unit 110 and the like is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the second vehicle 200 has a configuration similar to that of the first vehicle 100. That is, the second vehicle 200 is connected to the driving support unit 210 including a function for supporting driving by platooning, the driving support unit 210, and connected to the driving control unit 220 and the driving support unit 210. And a communication unit 230 capable of inter-vehicle communication C with other vehicles. Further, the second vehicle 200 is a front information acquisition unit 240 that acquires information outside the vehicle, which is information related to the driving environment in front of the vehicle, and provides the information to the driving support unit 210 and the like, and information related to the driving environment behind the vehicle. A rear information acquisition unit 250 that acquires information outside a certain rear vehicle and provides the information to the driving support unit 210 and the like. Therefore, about the structure of the 2nd vehicle 200, the structure different from the 1st vehicle 100 is demonstrated, and the following is described about the same structure, and detailed description is omitted.

First, the configuration of the first vehicle 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
The communication unit 130 performs inter-vehicle communication C with other vehicles such as the second vehicle 200 via wireless communication. The communication unit 130 transmits and receives various types of information including information related to driving support such as formation information between the first vehicle 100 and the second vehicle 200. In addition, the communication unit 130 exchanges information with the driving support unit 110 regarding various types of information transmitted to and received from other vehicles.

  The vehicle control unit 120 includes one or a plurality of ECUs that drive and control various devices of the vehicle. The ECU constituting the vehicle control unit 120 includes a microcomputer including a CPU (arithmetic unit), ROM, RAM, and other storage devices. Examples of the ECU constituting the vehicle control unit 120 include an ECU that controls driving of a vehicle such as a braking device, a driving device, and a steering device. For example, the ECU constituting the vehicle control unit 120 is a brake control ECU that controls a brake actuator of the vehicle, an engine control ECU that controls an engine, a steering control ECU that controls a steering actuator, or the like.

  The vehicle control unit 120 receives a signal related to driving support from the driving support unit 110 and performs drive control of the vehicle such as deceleration control, acceleration control, and steering control based on the input signal related to driving support. For example, based on a signal from the driving support unit 110, the vehicle control unit 120 performs drive control of the vehicle corresponding to radar cruise control in which the vehicle travels following the preceding vehicle while maintaining a distance from the preceding vehicle. In addition, the vehicle control unit 120 performs drive control of the vehicle corresponding to the lane keeping assist that supports the vehicle traveling along the lane based on the signal from the driving support unit 110.

  In the present embodiment, the vehicle control unit 120 controls the driving of the vehicle in response to a signal that supports the formation running input from the driving support unit 110. As a result, the first vehicle 100 is drive-controlled so as to correspond to the driving support for the platooning performed by the driving support unit 110. For example, the vehicle control unit 120 assists the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle based on the acceleration / deceleration instruction received from the driving support unit 110, thereby causing the vehicle to follow the vehicle while maintaining a predetermined inter-vehicle distance. it can. In the present embodiment, since the first vehicle 100 does not have a preceding vehicle to follow, the first vehicle 100 does not follow the preceding vehicle, but the following traveling or the like can be performed as necessary. it can.

  The front information acquisition unit 140 is a front sensor as three information devices outside the vehicle, that is, a front millimeter-wave radar 141 and a front laser radar 142 as devices for acquiring information such as vehicles and obstacles ahead of the first vehicle 100. And a front compound eye camera 143.

  The forward millimeter wave radar 141 is a radio wave radar using radio waves (30 GHz to 300 GHz) having a wavelength of 1 to 10 mm, and the position, distance, and speed of vehicles and obstacles in the detection range in front of the vehicle in the detection direction. Can be detected (acquired). Since the front millimeter wave radar 141 is a radar using radio waves, it can be expected to detect (acquire) a vehicle and an obstacle with high accuracy since the influence of weather such as heavy rain, snow, and fog and the influence of day and night are small. That is, the front millimeter wave radar 141 acquires information such as vehicles and obstacles in the detection range with excellent acquisition characteristics.

  The forward laser radar 142 is an optical radar (so-called LIDAR) using laser light having a wavelength of several hundred to several hundreds of nanometers, and is a position of a vehicle or an obstacle in a detection range in front of the vehicle that is a detection direction. , Distance, and speed can be detected (acquired). Since the front laser radar 142 is a radar that uses laser light, it has a characteristic that the detection (acquisition) accuracy of a vehicle or an obstacle may be deteriorated due to the influence of weather such as heavy rain, snow, or fog. doing. In other words, although the forward laser radar 142 has practicality maintained in the acquisition characteristics of vehicles and obstacles, the acquisition characteristics may be lower than the forward millimeter wave radar 141 due to the influence of the weather and the like.

  The front compound eye camera 143 is a detection device mainly using visible light, and can detect (acquire) the position and distance of a vehicle or an obstacle in a detection range in front of the vehicle that is a detection direction. Since the front compound eye camera 143 is a detection device for a vehicle or the like using an image captured by the camera, the time required for image processing cannot be ignored, the influence of weather such as heavy rain, snow, fog, day and night, inside and outside the tunnel The detection (acquisition) accuracy of vehicles, obstacles, and the like may be reduced due to the influence of surrounding light and dark. In other words, the front compound eye camera 143 maintains practicality in vehicle and obstacle detection accuracy, but its acquisition characteristics are affected by the weather, processing time, brightness outside the vehicle, etc., the front millimeter wave radar 141 and the front laser. It may be lower than the radar 142.

  The rear information acquisition unit 150 is a device for acquiring information on the vehicle behind the first vehicle 100, obstacles, and the like as rear sensors, that is, a rear millimeter wave radar 151 and a rear laser radar 152. And a rear compound eye camera 153.

  The rear millimeter wave radar 151 is a radio wave radar similar to the front millimeter wave radar 141. That is, the rear millimeter wave radar 151 has predetermined acquisition characteristics that can detect (acquire) the position and distance of a vehicle or an obstacle in the detection range behind the vehicle that is the detection direction.

  Since the rear laser radar 152 is an optical radar similar to the front laser radar 142, a detailed description thereof is omitted. That is, the rear laser radar 152 can detect (acquire) the position and distance of a vehicle or an obstacle in the detection range behind the vehicle that is the detection direction. Although the rear laser radar 152 maintains the practicality of the acquisition characteristics of vehicles and obstacles, the acquisition characteristics may be lower than the rear millimeter wave radar 151 due to the weather or the like.

  Since the rear compound eye camera 153 is a detection device similar to the front compound eye camera 143, a detailed description thereof is omitted. That is, the rear compound eye camera 153 can detect (acquire) the position and distance of a vehicle or an obstacle in the detection range behind the vehicle that is the detection direction. Although the rear compound eye camera 153 maintains practicality in the acquisition characteristics of the vehicle and the obstacle, the acquisition characteristics are higher than those of the rear millimeter wave radar 151 and the rear laser radar 152 due to the weather, processing time, brightness outside the vehicle, and the like. May decrease.

  The driving support unit 110 performs various driving support for the vehicle. The driving support unit 110 includes a microcomputer including a CPU (arithmetic unit), ROM, RAM, and other storage devices. In the present embodiment, the driving support unit 110 holds various information, a row running support unit 111 that supports driving by row running, a row formation support unit 112 that creates a formation plan for the row 10 from a plurality of vehicles, and the like. And a storage unit 113.

  The storage unit 113 includes all or a part of a storage area provided in a known storage device, and various information necessary for various driving support is stored in the storage area. Various information includes front sensor rank information 117 and rear sensor rank information 118. The front sensor rank information 117 has ranks determined in descending order of acquisition characteristics for acquiring information such as detection accuracy of each sensor and various sensors that detect vehicles and obstacles in front of the vehicle. doing. The rear sensor rank information 118 has ranks determined in descending order of acquisition characteristics for acquiring information such as detection accuracy of each sensor for various sensors that detect vehicles and obstacles behind the vehicle, that is, in an excellent order. doing. In the present embodiment, the rank indicating that the acquisition characteristic is the best is “1”, and the rank is acquired in order of increasing numbers such as “2”, “3”, “4”,. Characteristics are lowered.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the front sensor rank information 117, “front millimeter wave radar” is set to rank “1”, “front radar laser” is set to rank “2”, and rank “3” is set. Is set to “front compound eye camera”, rank “4” is set to “front monocular camera”, and rank “5” is set to “no sensor”.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the rear sensor rank information 118, “rear millimeter wave radar” is set for rank “1”, “rear radar laser” is set for rank “2”, and rank “3”. Is set to “rear compound eye camera” and rank “4” is set to “rear monocular camera”. In the rear sensor rank information 118, “rear side millimeter wave radar” is set for rank “5”, “rear side compound camera” is set for rank “6”, and rank “7” is set. “Rear side monocular camera” is set, and “No sensor” is set to rank “8”.

  Such ranking is determined based on experience, experiment, logic, and the like based on the detection distance, detection angle, detection resolution, detection accuracy, detection condition, detectable object, and detectable information of the sensor. Information that can be detected may include a distance from the host vehicle, a relative speed, a relative position, and the like. There may be a plurality of rankings depending on conditions such as urban areas, suburban roads, and highways, road congestion, and time zones.

  The platoon travel support unit 111 shown in FIG. 2 supports driving of the platoon 10 formed from a plurality of vehicles based on the platoon information corresponding to the platoon 10.

  For example, the platoon traveling support unit 111 supports the driving operation of the vehicle following the preceding vehicle by outputting an instruction to the vehicle control unit 120 to follow the preceding vehicle at a specified position of the platoon 10. To do. The platoon traveling support unit 111 notifies the driver of the position of the platoon 10 on a display screen of an unillustrated HMI (Human Machine Interface) or by voice guidance from a speaker. Thereby, the platoon traveling support unit 111 assists driving that moves the vehicle to the designated position of the platoon 10, or assists driving that maintains the designated position. Furthermore, the platooning travel support unit 111 guides that the preceding vehicle being followed leaves via the HMI, or sets the inter-vehicle distance to the new preceding vehicle to a predetermined distance after the preceding vehicle leaves. So that the driving speed is adjusted. In addition, the row running support unit 111 adjusts the speed so as to increase the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle when a new vehicle interrupts between the preceding vehicle and the new vehicle is added after the new vehicle is added. Driving assistance to follow the new vehicle.

  The formation organization support unit 112 creates an organization formation plan based on predetermined characteristics from a plurality of vehicles having various characteristics. The formation organization support unit 112 detects vehicles that can participate in the formation 10 via the inter-vehicle communication C by the communication unit 130. In addition, when the formation support unit 112 detects a vehicle that can participate in the formation 10, it determines whether or not to incorporate the detected vehicle into the formation through an inquiry to the driver. Further, the information necessary for creating the formation plan for the formation is obtained, and the formation support unit 112 creates the formation plan for the formation including the vehicles that are to form the formation.

  If a formation plan for a formation has already been created, the formation support unit 112 creates (re-creates) a formation plan for the formation as needed. When a vehicle is added to the formation, the formation formation support unit 112 recreates the formation plan for the formation based on a plurality of vehicles including the vehicle. In addition, when the leading vehicle or the last vehicle leaves the platoon, the platoon formation support unit 112 recreates the platoon formation plan based on a plurality of vehicles excluding the leaving vehicle. Furthermore, the formation organization support unit 112 recreates a formation organization plan based on a plurality of vehicles forming the formation when the highest level of the leading vehicle or the last vehicle decreases. In re-creating a formation plan for a formation when adding a vehicle, the formation support unit 112 arranges the addition vehicle in the center of the formation when the vehicle to be added is not determined to be the first vehicle or the last vehicle. To decide. This facilitates the process for creating the formation plan for the platoon, for example, it becomes unnecessary to clearly define the superiority or inferiority of the vehicles other than the first vehicle and the last vehicle.

  In this embodiment, the formation organization support unit 112 determines a vehicle that is suitable as a leading vehicle or a tail vehicle based on an acquisition characteristic that is a characteristic of acquiring information outside the vehicle of a front sensor and a rear sensor mounted on each vehicle. To do. Then, the formation organization support unit 112 creates an organization formation plan in which the determined vehicles are arranged at the head and the tail. The acquisition characteristics include a detection distance, a detection angle, a detection resolution, a detection accuracy, a detection condition, an object that can be detected, information that can be detected, and the like.

  More specifically, the formation organization support unit 112 includes a device information acquisition unit 114 that acquires information on a front sensor and a rear sensor of a vehicle, a rank assignment unit 115 that ranks the acquired front sensor and rear sensor, And a determination unit 116 that determines a leading vehicle and a trailing vehicle based on ranks assigned to the front sensor and the rear sensor.

  The device information acquisition unit 114 acquires the information of the front sensor and the information of the rear sensor from the own vehicle or another vehicle via the inter-vehicle communication C as information necessary for creating the formation plan of the platoon. The information of the front sensor and the information of the rear sensor include an acquisition characteristic that is a characteristic of information such as a vehicle and an obstacle with respect to the detection direction of the sensor.

  The rank assigning unit 115 assigns a rank to the acquired front sensor and rear sensor based on the acquisition characteristics. Based on the forward sensor rank information 117, the rank assigning unit 115 assigns ranks to the three forward sensors included in the forward information acquisition unit 140 of the first vehicle 100 that is the host vehicle. The device information acquisition unit 114 assigns a rank “1” because the front millimeter wave radar 141 has the sensor type “front millimeter wave radar”, and the front laser radar 142 has the sensor type “front laser radar”. Rank “2”, and the front compound eye camera 143 assigns rank “3” because the sensor type is “front compound eye camera”.

  Based on the rear sensor rank information 118, the rank assigning unit 115 assigns ranks to the three front sensors included in the rear information acquiring unit 150 of the first vehicle 100 that is the host vehicle. The device information acquisition unit 114 assigns a rank “1” because the rear millimeter wave radar 151 is “rear millimeter wave radar” and the rear laser radar 152 is “rear laser radar”. Therefore, the rear compound eye camera 153 is assigned the rank “3” because the sensor type is “rear compound eye camera”.

  The rank assigning unit 115 identifies the highest rank assigned to the front sensor and the highest rank assigned to the rear sensor for each vehicle. For example, for the first vehicle 100 that is the host vehicle, the rank assigning unit 115 specifies the highest rank of the front sensor as “1” and specifies the highest rank of the rear sensor as “1”.

  The determination unit 116 determines a vehicle suitable for the first vehicle and the vehicle suitable for the last vehicle based on the highest ranks of the front sensor and the rear sensor attached to the vehicle. That is, the determination unit 116 selects a vehicle having a high highest rank assigned to the front sensor, that is, a vehicle having a sensor with excellent acquisition characteristics of information outside the vehicle ahead of the vehicle as a candidate for the top vehicle. In addition, the determination unit 116 selects a vehicle having a high highest rank assigned to the rear sensor, that is, a vehicle having a sensor excellent in acquisition characteristics of information outside the vehicle behind the vehicle, as the last vehicle candidate. The determination unit 116 first determines, from among a plurality of vehicles forming the platoon, a vehicle having the highest front sensor highest rank as a leading vehicle. Subsequently, the determination unit 116 determines the vehicle having the highest rear sensor highest rank as the last vehicle, excluding the vehicle determined as the first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles forming the formation.

Next, the configuration of the second vehicle 200 will be described with reference to FIG.
The communication unit 230 has the same configuration as that of the communication unit 130 of the first vehicle 100. The second vehicle 200 transmits and receives various types of information including information related to driving support such as formation information to and from other vehicles such as the first vehicle 100 by inter-vehicle communication C via the communication unit 230. In addition, the communication unit 230 exchanges information with the driving support unit 210 about various types of information transmitted to and received from other vehicles.

  The vehicle control unit 220 has a configuration similar to that of the vehicle control unit 120 of the first vehicle 100, and includes an ECU that drives and controls a vehicle such as a braking device, a driving device, and a steering device. In the present embodiment, the vehicle control unit 220 controls the drive of the vehicle in response to a signal that supports the formation running input from the driving support unit 210. As a result, the second vehicle 200 is driven and controlled so as to correspond to the driving assistance performed by the driving assistance unit 210.

  The front information acquisition unit 240 includes two front sensors, that is, a front laser radar 241 and a front monocular camera 242 as a device for acquiring information such as a vehicle and an obstacle ahead of the second vehicle 200.

  The front laser radar 241 is an optical radar having a configuration similar to that of the front laser radar 142 of the first vehicle 100. Therefore, the front laser radar 241 can detect (acquire) the position and distance of a vehicle or an obstacle in the detection range in front of the vehicle that is the detection direction. Although the forward laser radar 241 maintains practicality in the acquisition characteristics of vehicles and obstacles, the acquisition characteristics may be lower than the forward millimeter wave radar 141 of the first vehicle 100 due to the weather or the like.

  The front monocular camera 242 is a detection device mainly using visible light, and can detect (acquire) the position of a vehicle or an obstacle in a detection range in front of the vehicle that is a detection direction. Although the front monocular camera 242 maintains practicality in the acquisition characteristics of vehicles and obstacles, the acquisition characteristics may be lower than that of the front laser radar 241 due to weather, processing time, brightness outside the vehicle, and the like.

  The rear information acquisition unit 250 includes two rear sensors, that is, a rear laser radar 251 and a rear monocular camera 252 as a device for acquiring information such as a vehicle and an obstacle behind the second vehicle 200. .

  The rear laser radar 251 is an optical radar similar to the front laser radar 241. That is, the rear laser radar 251 has an acquisition characteristic that can detect (acquire) the position and distance of a vehicle or an obstacle in the detection range behind the vehicle that is the detection direction. Although the rear laser radar 251 maintains practicability in the detection accuracy of the vehicle and the obstacle, the detection accuracy of the vehicle or the like may be lower than that of the rear millimeter wave radar 151 of the first vehicle 100.

  The rear monocular camera 252 is a detection device similar to the front monocular camera 242. That is, the rear monocular camera 252 can detect (acquire) the position and distance of a vehicle or an obstacle in the detection range behind the vehicle that is the detection direction. Although the rear monocular camera 252 maintains practicality in the acquisition characteristics of vehicles and obstacles, the acquisition characteristics may be lower than that of the rear laser radar 251 due to weather, processing time, brightness outside the vehicle, and the like.

  The driving support unit 210 has the same configuration as that of the driving support unit 110 of the first vehicle 100 except that the configuration corresponding to the formation support unit 112 of the first vehicle 100 is not provided. That is, the driving support unit 210 includes a convoy travel support unit 211 that supports driving by convoy travel, and a storage unit 213 that holds various types of information.

  The storage unit 213 has the same configuration as that of the storage unit 113 of the first vehicle 100 except that it does not store information related to the formation of the formation plan of the convoy, and the storage area is required for various driving assistances. Various information is stored.

  The convoy travel support unit 211 has the same configuration as the convoy travel support unit 111 of the first vehicle 100 except that the convoy information is acquired from the first vehicle 100. That is, the convoy travel support unit 211 acquires convoy information including the formation plan of the convoy from the first vehicle 100 via the inter-vehicle communication C. The convoy travel support unit 211 assists driving in the convoy of vehicles formed based on the convoy information corresponding to the convoy 10 acquired from the first vehicle 100 in the convoy 10 formed of a plurality of vehicles. In addition, the convoy travel support unit 211 acquires the updated convoy information from the first vehicle 100 when the convoy information is updated, and performs driving support based on the acquired convoy information.

  When it is determined that the second vehicle 200 is to be incorporated into the platoon, information necessary for the formation plan of the platoon is sent to the first vehicle 100 via the communication unit 230, and device information of the first vehicle 100 is transmitted. Acquired by the acquisition unit 114. Information necessary for the formation planning of the convoy includes information on the front laser radar 241 and the front monocular camera 242 that are the two front sensors of the second vehicle 200, and the two rear sensors of the second vehicle 200 Information of a certain rear laser radar 251 and rear monocular camera 252 is included. In other words, the rank assigning unit 115 of the first vehicle 100 assigns rank “2” to the front laser radar 241 and rank “4” to the front monocular camera 242 based on the front sensor rank information 117, and the rear sensor. Based on the rank information 118, the rank “2” is assigned to the rear laser radar 251, and the rank “4” is assigned to the rear monocular camera 252. Accordingly, the rank assigning unit 115 specifies the highest rank of the front sensor as “2” and the highest rank of the rear sensor as “2” for the second vehicle 200. Then, the highest ranks of the front sensor and the rear sensor of the specified second vehicle 200 are used for determining the leading vehicle and the last vehicle by the determining unit 116.

Subsequently, the operation will be described.
With reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the driving support unit 110 of the first vehicle 100 2 of the first and second vehicles 100 and 200 based on the acquisition characteristics of information outside the vehicle of the front sensor and the rear sensor. A procedure for forming the platoon 10 from a single vehicle will be described. The driving support unit 110 performs the process of creating the formation plan of the formation by the formation formation support unit 112 each time a vehicle that can participate in the formation 10 is detected.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7, the formation organization support unit 112 of the driving assistance unit 110 performs a process of selecting a leading vehicle candidate when a process of creating a formation organization plan is started (step S <b> 10 in FIG. 7).

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the process of selecting the leading vehicle candidate is started, the device information acquisition unit 114 of the formation support unit 112 acquires information on the front sensor for each vehicle forming the formation (FIG. 8). Step S11). In the present embodiment, the device information acquisition unit 114 acquires information about the front millimeter wave radar 141, the front laser radar 142, and the front compound eye camera 143 from the first vehicle 100 as information on the front sensor, Information from the front laser radar 241 and the front monocular camera 242 is acquired from the vehicle 200.

  The rank assigning unit 115 of the formation support unit 112 assigns a rank corresponding to the acquired front sensor based on the front sensor rank information 117 and specifies the highest rank of the front sensor for each vehicle (step S12 in FIG. 8). ). In the present embodiment, the rank assigning unit 115 ranks “1” for the front millimeter wave radar 141 of the first vehicle 100, ranks “2” for the front laser radar 142, and ranks “2” for the front compound eye camera 143. 3 ”is assigned, and the highest rank of the front sensor of the first vehicle 100 is specified as“ 1 ”. The rank assigning unit 115 assigns rank “2” to the front laser radar 241 of the second vehicle 200 and rank “4” to the front monocular camera 242, respectively. The highest rank is specified as “2”.

  When the highest rank of the front sensor of each vehicle is specified, the determination unit 116 of the formation support unit 112 first selects a vehicle having a higher rank given to the front sensor (step S13 in FIG. 8), and this selection is performed. The determined vehicle is determined as a leading vehicle candidate (step S14 in FIG. 8). In the present embodiment, only one vehicle having the sensor with the highest rank is selected as the vehicle with the higher rank assigned to the front sensor, and this selected one vehicle is determined as the leading vehicle candidate. . That is, the determination unit 116 includes the first sensor having the highest rank from the first vehicle 100 having the highest front sensor rank “1” and the second vehicle 200 having the highest front sensor rank “2”. One vehicle 100 is determined as a leading vehicle candidate.

And the process which selects a head vehicle candidate is complete | finished, and it returns to FIG.7 S10.
Moreover, the formation organization support part 112 performs the process which selects the last vehicle candidate (step S20 of FIG. 7).

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the process of selecting the last vehicle candidate is started, the device information acquisition unit 114 of the formation support unit 112 acquires information on the rear sensor for each vehicle forming the formation (FIG. 9). 9 step S21). In the present embodiment, the device information acquisition unit 114 acquires information about the rear millimeter wave radar 151, the rear laser radar 152, and the rear compound eye camera 153 from the first vehicle 100 as information on the rear sensor. Information from the rear laser radar 251 and the rear monocular camera 252 is acquired from the vehicle 200.

  The rank assigning unit 115 of the formation organization supporting unit 112 assigns a rank corresponding to the acquired rear sensor based on the rear sensor rank information 118 and specifies the highest rank of the rear sensor for each vehicle (step S22 in FIG. 9). ). In the present embodiment, the rank assigning unit 115 ranks “1” for the rear millimeter wave radar 151, rank “2” for the rear laser radar 152, and rank “2” for the rear compound camera 153 of the first vehicle 100. 3 ”is assigned, and the highest rank of the rear sensor of the first vehicle 100 is specified as“ 1 ”. The rank assigning unit 115 assigns rank “2” to the rear laser radar 251 and rank “4” to the rear monocular camera 252 of the second vehicle 200, and The highest rank is specified as “2”.

  When the highest rank of the rear sensor of each vehicle is specified, the determination unit 116 of the formation support unit 112 first selects a vehicle with a higher rank assigned to the rear sensor (step S23 in FIG. 9) and selects this. The determined vehicle is determined as the last vehicle candidate (step S24 in FIG. 9). In the present embodiment, two vehicles having a high rank assigned to the rear sensor are selected, and the two selected vehicles are determined as the last vehicle candidates. That is, the determination unit 116 includes the first vehicle 100 having the highest rank from the first vehicle 100 having the highest rear sensor rank “1” and the second vehicle 200 having the highest rear sensor rank “2”. 100 and the second highest ranked vehicle 200 are determined as the last vehicle candidates.

Then, the process of selecting the last vehicle candidate is terminated, and the process returns to step S20 in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, when the first vehicle candidate and the last vehicle candidate are selected, the determination unit 116 determines the first vehicle and the last vehicle (step S30 in FIG. 7). In the present embodiment, since the leading vehicle is determined with priority over the last vehicle, the formation support unit 112 first determines the leading vehicle and then determines the trailing vehicle. First, the determination unit 116 determines the first vehicle 100 as the leading vehicle from one leading vehicle candidate. Subsequently, the determination unit 116 excludes the first vehicle 100 determined as the leading vehicle from the two last vehicle candidates, and determines the remaining second vehicle 200 as the last vehicle. As a result, the formation organization support unit 112 creates an organization organization plan in which the first vehicle is the first vehicle 100 and the last vehicle is the second vehicle 200.

  When the formation plan for the formation in which the leading vehicle and the last vehicle are determined is created, the formation formation support unit 112 supports formation of the formation based on the formation plan for the formation (step S40 in FIG. 7). That is, the formation formation support unit 112 transmits formation information including the created formation formation plan to the first and second vehicles 100 and 200. In each of the first and second vehicles 100 and 200, the platooning travel support units 111 and 211 provide driving support related to the platooning based on the platoon formation plan included in the transmitted platoon information. Due to the driving assistance performed in this manner, the first vehicle 100 is the leading vehicle and the second vehicle 200 is the rearmost vehicle.

  In other words, the formation 10 formed by formation information including the formation plan of the formation includes the front millimeter-wave radar 141 which is a front sensor having the best information acquisition characteristic of the vehicle front among the vehicles constituting the formation 10. One vehicle 100 is arranged at the head of the formation. Thereby, it is expected that the platoon 10 can secure high safety in the forward direction which is the traveling direction. In the platoon 10, a second vehicle 200 having a rear laser radar 251, which is a rear sensor having the most excellent information acquisition characteristic of the information behind the vehicle among the vehicles constituting the platoon 10, is disposed at the tail end of the platoon. The rear laser radar 251 is a rear sensor that is expected to ensure high safety behind the rear millimeter-wave radar 151 of the first vehicle 100, so that the highest safety in the platoon 10 is possible. Sex will be secured. Thereby, it is expected that the platoon 10 can secure high safety behind the tail end.

  According to such a driving support device, a vehicle having excellent information acquisition characteristics outside the vehicle can be selected from the first and second vehicles 100 and 200 constituting the platoon 10 as far as possible. The tail vehicle is the highest in the range in which the information acquisition characteristic of information outside the vehicle in the platoon 10 is possible. Thereby, the safety of the vehicle traveling in the platoon by such a platoon 10 can be more suitably ensured.

As described above, according to the driving support apparatus and the driving support method according to the present embodiment, the effects listed below can be obtained.
(1) The leading vehicle (first vehicle 100) and the last vehicle (second vehicle 200) of the platoon 10 are determined based on the ranks given to the front sensor and the rear sensor, and the information outside the vehicle The vehicle has a front sensor and a rear sensor excellent in acquisition characteristics. For example, by using a vehicle having a front sensor and a rear sensor with excellent acquisition characteristics as a leading vehicle or a tail vehicle, information on other vehicles or obstacles approaching the head or the tail of the column can be acquired. Among the front sensor and the rear sensor included in the device, it is effectively performed by a device having excellent acquisition characteristics. In other words, by arranging the front sensor and the rear sensor having excellent acquisition characteristics in the range that can be selected in the row 10 formed from a plurality of vehicles at the top and the rear of the row 10, the range that is possible for the row 10 High safety can be ensured. Thereby, the safety | security of the vehicle which carries out platooning by the platoon 10 can be ensured more suitably.

  (2) The leading vehicle of the platoon 10 is determined to be the first vehicle 100 having the front millimeter wave radar 141 which is a front sensor having excellent information acquisition characteristics outside the vehicle ahead of the vehicle. As a result, it becomes possible to more effectively acquire information such as other vehicles approaching the front of the platoon 10 and obstacles.

  (3) The last vehicle in the platoon 10 is determined to be the second vehicle 200 having the rear laser radar 152 which is a rear sensor having excellent characteristics of acquiring information outside the vehicle behind the vehicle. This makes it possible to more effectively acquire information on other vehicles and obstacles approaching to the rear of the platoon 10.

  (4) By determining the rank according to the type of the front sensor that acquires information outside the vehicle ahead of the vehicle, it is easy to assign the rank to the front sensor. Thereby, it becomes easy to determine a vehicle having a front sensor with excellent information acquisition performance outside the vehicle ahead as the leading vehicle.

  (5) By determining the rank according to the type of the rear sensor that acquires information outside the vehicle behind the vehicle, it is easy to assign the rank to the rear sensor. Thereby, it becomes easy to determine a vehicle having a rear sensor with excellent information acquisition performance behind the vehicle as the last vehicle.

  (6) By adding a rear side sensor to the rear sensor that acquires information outside the vehicle behind the vehicle, the rank to the rear sensor is determined in more detail. Based on the rank determined in detail, a vehicle having a rear sensor suitable as the last vehicle can be determined more appropriately.

  (7) When a vehicle is added to the platoon 10, the process for creating a platoon formation plan can be reduced by adding a vehicle that is not the first or last vehicle to the center of the platoon.

  (8) When the leading vehicle or the last vehicle in the column 10 leaves the column, or when the acquisition characteristics of the front sensor or the rear sensor of the leading vehicle or the last vehicle change, the leading vehicle or the last vehicle is redetermined. To do. As a result, in the platoon 10, vehicles including a front sensor and a rear sensor having excellent acquisition characteristics are appropriately arranged in the leading vehicle and the last vehicle. In other words, even if the ranks of the front sensors and rear sensors of the leading vehicle and the rearmost vehicle of the platoon 10 change, the safety of the platoon 10 can be maintained at a high level within a possible range.

(Other embodiments)
In addition, the said embodiment can also be implemented with the following aspects.
In the above embodiment, the platoon formation support unit 112 exemplifies a case where a process for creating a platoon formation plan is performed each time a vehicle that can participate in the platoon 10 is detected. However, this is not a limitation, and the formation support unit also determines the formation of the formation when the acquisition characteristics of the front sensor and rear sensor of the vehicles participating in the formation change or the front sensor and rear sensor become unavailable. You may make it perform the process for creating a composition plan again. This makes it possible to maintain the safety of the platoon as high as possible even when the acquisition characteristics fluctuate due to an abnormality in the front sensor or the rear sensor.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the platoon 10 is formed of the first vehicle 100 and the second vehicle 200 is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the formation may be formed of three or more vehicles. At this time, the vehicle that has not been determined as the first vehicle or the last vehicle may be arranged at any position in the platoon. Regardless of the position of such a vehicle, safety in the direction of movement of the platoon and safety in the rear of the platoon are maintained by appropriately selected leading and trailing vehicles.

  For example, vehicles other than the head and tail of the platoon may be arranged at a position where the amount of movement is small, such as the current position, or may be arranged based on conditions unrelated to the acquisition characteristics of the front sensor and the rear sensor. However, they may be arranged based on the acquisition characteristics.

Thereby, the improvement of the design freedom of a driving assistance device comes to be aimed at.
In the above embodiment, the case where the highest rank assigned to the first vehicle 100 and the second vehicle 200 is different is illustrated in the above embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the same rank vehicle may be determined as the leading vehicle candidate or the last vehicle candidate. It should be noted that the first vehicle and the last vehicle may be determined under any condition from a plurality of first vehicle candidates and the last vehicle candidate having the same rank.

  For example, a vehicle on the side closer to the head may be determined as the head vehicle. Moreover, you may determine the vehicle in the side close | similar to the tail as a tail vehicle. In this way, it is possible to reduce the amount of movement of the vehicle determined as the first vehicle or the last vehicle in the platoon. In addition, the amount of movement of other vehicles that accompanies the movement of the vehicle determined as the head vehicle or the tail vehicle to the head or tail can be reduced.

  In addition, a vehicle with a low rear sensor rank may be determined as a leading vehicle from a plurality of leading vehicle candidates of the same rank. Furthermore, a vehicle with a lower rank of the front sensor may be determined as the last vehicle from a plurality of leading vehicle candidates of the same rank. In this way, the possibility of leaving a vehicle having a sensor with more excellent acquisition characteristics as the last-determined vehicle or the leading vehicle determined second is increased. Thereby, the improvement of the design freedom of a driving assistance device comes to be aimed at.

  In the above embodiment, the case where a millimeter wave radar, a radar laser, a compound eye camera, and a monocular camera are mounted as sensors on the vehicle has been illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the sensor mounted on the vehicle may be any device as long as it can acquire information that can be used for safety confirmation in front and rear. For example, a device (telematics) that can receive information provided in real time by road-to-vehicle communication, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device, a magnetic nail sensor that detects a magnetic nail provided on a road, and a communication device that can communicate via a leaky coaxial cable Etc. If such a sensor is also given a rank and given, it can be used in such a driving support device. As a result, the degree of freedom in design of the driving support device can be improved and the applicability can be expanded.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the front information acquisition unit 140 of the first vehicle 100 is provided with three sensors, that is, the front millimeter wave radar 141, the front laser radar 142, and the front compound eye camera 143 is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the front information acquisition unit may be provided with at least one of a front millimeter wave radar, a front laser radar, a front compound camera, and other sensors. Whatever front sensor, if a rank is assigned to the front sensor based on the forward sensor rank information, a vehicle suitable as the leading vehicle can be selected based on the assigned rank information. As a result, the degree of freedom in design of the driving support device can be improved and the applicability can be expanded.

  Similarly, the rear information acquisition unit 150 of the first vehicle 100 is illustrated with three rear sensors, that is, a rear millimeter wave radar 151, a rear laser radar 152, and a rear compound eye camera 153. Similarly, at least one rear sensor may be provided.

  Similarly, the case where the front information acquisition unit 240 of the second vehicle 200 is provided with two front sensors, that is, the front laser radar 241 and the front monocular camera 242, is also illustrated. At least one forward sensor may be provided.

  Further, similarly, the rear information acquisition unit 250 of the second vehicle 200 is illustrated as having two rear sensors, that is, a rear laser radar 251 and a rear monocular camera 252. At least one rear sensor may be provided.

  In the above-described embodiment, the front sensor rank information 117 is exemplified for the case where the front millimeter wave radar, the front radar laser, the front compound eye camera, the front monocular camera, and the sensorless are set in the rank order. However, this is not limiting, and the rank order in the front sensor rank information may vary depending on the evaluation criteria for the acquisition characteristics. For example, in the order of forward millimeter wave radar, forward radar laser, forward compound eye camera, forward monocular camera, and no sensor. It does not have to be. Thereby, the improvement of the design freedom of a driving assistance device is aimed at.

  Similarly, in the above-described embodiment, the rear sensor rank information 118 includes the rear millimeter wave radar, the rear radar laser, the rear compound camera, the rear monocular camera, the rear side millimeter wave radar, the rear side compound camera, the rear order in the rank order. A case where a side monocular camera and no sensor are set is illustrated. However, not limited to this, the rank order in the rear sensor rank information may differ depending on the evaluation criteria of the acquisition characteristics, such as rear millimeter wave radar, rear radar laser, rear compound camera, rear monocular camera, rear side millimeter wave radar, The order of the rear side compound eye camera, the rear side monocular camera, and the sensorless may not be used. Thereby, the improvement of the design freedom of a driving assistance device is aimed at.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the front sensor rank information 117 is set to the front millimeter wave radar, the front radar laser, the front compound eye camera, the front monocular camera, and the sensorless is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the front sensor rank information includes two or more sensors in different ranks among front millimeter wave radar, front radar laser, front compound eye camera, front monocular camera, no sensor, and other sensors. It only has to be done. Thereby, the improvement of the design freedom of a driving assistance device is aimed at.

  Similarly, in the above embodiment, the rear sensor rank information 118 includes rear millimeter wave radar, rear radar laser, rear compound camera, rear monocular camera, rear side millimeter wave radar, rear side compound eye camera, rear side A case where a monocular camera and no sensor are set is illustrated. However, the rear sensor rank information includes, but is not limited to, rear millimeter wave radar, rear radar laser, rear compound camera, rear monocular camera, rear side millimeter wave radar, rear side compound camera, rear side monocular camera, sensor It is only necessary that two or more sensors are included in different ranks among none and other sensors. Thereby, the improvement of the design freedom of a driving assistance device is aimed at.

  In the above embodiment, the case where one rank corresponds to one sensor has been illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and one rank may be given to a plurality of sensors. At this time, the rank may be determined in advance according to a set of a plurality of sensors, or may be calculated from a parameter or the like given to each rank. Thereby, the improvement of the design freedom of a driving assistance device is aimed at.

  -In above-mentioned embodiment, the rank provision part 115 illustrated about the case where a rank is provided to a sensor in order of a front sensor and a back sensor. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and ranks may be assigned to the sensors in the order of the rear sensor and the front sensor. Thereby, the improvement of the design freedom of a driving assistance device is aimed at.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the first vehicle candidate is first determined and then the last vehicle candidate is determined is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the last vehicle candidate may be determined first, and then the first vehicle candidate may be determined. At this time, by selecting two leading vehicle candidates, even if one of the leading vehicle candidates is determined as the last vehicle, the leading vehicle can be determined thereafter. Thereby, the improvement of the design freedom of a driving assistance device is aimed at.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the first vehicle is determined first and then the last vehicle is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the last vehicle may be determined first and then the first vehicle may be determined. . Thereby, the improvement of the design freedom of a driving assistance device is aimed at.

  In the above embodiment, the formation support unit 112 has exemplified the case where both the first vehicle and the last vehicle in the formation are determined. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the formation organization support unit may determine only the first vehicle in the formation, or may determine only the last vehicle in the formation. Even if only the leading vehicle is determined, a vehicle having an excellent function within the range that can be selected is arranged in front of the vehicle so that the safety of the formation is enhanced. Even if only the last vehicle is determined, the safety of the platoon is enhanced by arranging a vehicle having an excellent function within a selectable range behind the vehicle.

Thereby, the improvement of the design freedom of a driving assistance device comes to be aimed at.
In each of the above embodiments, the case where the leading vehicle in the platoon is determined based on the level of the front sensor and the last vehicle is determined based on the level of the rear sensor is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the leading vehicle and the trailing vehicle may be determined based on acquisition characteristics relating to information outside the vehicle, such as sensors for the entire vehicle. If the acquisition characteristics of the sensors of the entire vehicle are excellent, it is predicted that the acquisition characteristics for the front and the rear will be high. Therefore, it is possible to determine a vehicle suitable for the leading vehicle and the trailing vehicle. Thereby, the improvement of the design freedom of a driving assistance device and the expansion of an application range come to be aimed at.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the formation support unit 112 is mounted on the first vehicle 100 is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and if the formation information such as the first vehicle or the second vehicle can be transmitted, a part or all of the formation formation support unit may be provided other than the first vehicle. For example, a formation formation support unit may be provided in the second vehicle, and if the communication unit can communicate with a center outside the vehicle, information such as acquisition characteristics of sensors of the vehicles forming the formation is acquired. The center may create a formation plan for the formation.

  Further, the formation organization support unit may be mounted on a plurality of vehicles such as a first vehicle and a second vehicle. At this time, it suffices to determine any one formation support unit for creating a formation formation plan.

Thereby, the improvement of the freedom degree of composition of a driving support device comes to be aimed at.
In the above embodiment, the case where the driving support device supports driving of an automobile or the like is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the driving support device may support driving of a moving body other than an automobile, for example, a railway, a ship, a robot, and the like. Thereby, the application range of a driving assistance device can be expanded.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Convoy, 100 ... 1st vehicle, 110 ... Driving support part, 111 ... Convoy travel support part, 112 ... Convoy formation support part, 113 ... Memory | storage part, 114 ... Device information acquisition part, 115 ... Rank provision part, 116 Determining unit, 117: Front sensor rank information, 118: Rear sensor rank information, 120 ... Vehicle control unit, 130 ... Communication unit, 140: Front information acquisition unit, 141 ... Front millimeter wave radar, 142 ... Front laser radar, 143 ... front compound eye camera, 150 ... rear information acquisition unit, 151 ... rear millimeter wave radar, 152 ... rear laser radar, 153 ... rear compound eye camera, 200 ... second vehicle, 210 ... driving support unit, 211 ... row running support unit 213, storage unit, 220, vehicle control unit, 230, communication unit, 240, front information acquisition unit, 241 ... front laser radar, 242 ... front monocular camera, 2 0 ... rear information acquisition unit, 251 ... rear laser radar, 252 ... rear monocular camera, C ... inter-vehicle communication.

Claims (9)

A driving support device that supports driving by platooning of a plurality of vehicles,
An apparatus information acquisition unit that acquires information on an out-of-vehicle information acquisition device, which is an apparatus that is mounted on a vehicle and acquires information outside the vehicle, from each vehicle traveling in the platoon;
A rank assigning unit that gives higher ranks in order of excellent acquisition characteristics of information outside the vehicle to each vehicle information acquisition device from which the information is acquired;
A determination unit for determining a vehicle having a higher rank outside vehicle information acquisition device as a vehicle suitable for at least one of the first vehicle or the last vehicle of the platoon based on the rank given to each of the outside vehicle information acquisition devices;
The determination unit, when there are a plurality of vehicles having an outside information acquisition device to which the highest rank is assigned, a vehicle with a small amount of movement from the current arrangement position of the vehicles to the head or the tail of the platoon. A driving support device characterized in that it is determined as a vehicle suitable for the first vehicle or the last vehicle in the platoon. The rank assigning part ranks higher in order of the information acquisition device outside the vehicle, which is excellent in information acquisition characteristics of the information ahead of the vehicle,
The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines a vehicle having a higher rank outside vehicle information acquisition device as the vehicle suitable for the leading vehicle among the assigned ranks. The rank assigning unit ranks the information outside the vehicle higher in the order of the information acquisition device outside the vehicle, which is excellent in the acquisition characteristics of the information behind the vehicle,
The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines a vehicle having an out-of-vehicle information acquisition device having a higher rank among the assigned ranks as a vehicle suitable for the last vehicle. The rank assigning unit is a sequence of “radio wave radar”, “optical radar”, “compound camera”, “monocular camera”, “no sensor” in order of the information acquisition device outside the vehicle excellent in information acquisition characteristics in front of the vehicle. The driving support device according to claim 2. The rank assigning unit is a sequence of “radio wave radar”, “light radar”, “compound eye camera”, “monocular camera”, “no sensor” in order of the information acquisition device outside the vehicle having excellent information acquisition characteristics behind the vehicle. The driving support device according to claim 3. The rank assigning unit ranks the vehicle information acquisition device in a plurality of stages even between the “monocular camera” and the “no sensor”, and ranks the ranks in the order of the excellent vehicle information acquisition device. The driving support device according to claim 5, wherein “a rear side radio wave radar”, “a rear side compound camera”, and “a rear side monocular camera”. When a vehicle is added to the platoon, and the rank given to the outside information acquisition device of the added vehicle is lower than the leading vehicle or the last vehicle of the platoon, the determining unit identifies the added vehicle as the platoon. The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the driving support device is determined as a vehicle to be added to the center of the vehicle. The vehicle suitable for at least one of the head vehicle or the tail vehicle of the row through the determination unit is re-determined when the rank of the outside information acquisition device of the head vehicle or the tail vehicle of the row changes. The driving support device according to any one of the above. A driving support method for supporting driving by platooning of a plurality of vehicles,
A device information acquisition unit that acquires information on an out-of-vehicle information acquisition device that is mounted on a vehicle and acquires out-of-vehicle information from each vehicle traveling in the platoon;
A step in which the rank assigning unit assigns a higher rank in order of excellent acquisition characteristics of information outside the vehicle to each vehicle information acquisition device from which the information has been acquired;
A step of determining, based on the rank assigned to each of the vehicle information acquisition devices, a vehicle having a vehicle information acquisition device having a higher rank as a vehicle suitable for at least one of the first vehicle and the last vehicle in the platoon; Have
The determination unit, when there are a plurality of vehicles having an outside information acquisition device to which the highest rank is assigned, a vehicle with a small amount of movement from the current arrangement position of the vehicles to the head or the tail of the platoon. A driving support method characterized in that the vehicle is determined to be suitable for the first vehicle or the last vehicle in the platoon.

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