JP6610760B1 - Information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

An information processing apparatus avoids an obstacle without collapsing a formation. An information processing apparatus (1) refers to an obstacle information acquisition unit that acquires obstacle information indicating one or more obstacles, and refers to the obstacle information so as to maintain the formation. A control information generating unit that generates control information for controlling the operation of one or a plurality of target moving bodies. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile information processing apparatus.

  In recent years, development related to automatic driving of a moving body has been advanced in various aspects. For example, obstacles are recognized and measured by an image sensor installed in a vehicle as an example of a moving body, the possibility of collision between the vehicle and the obstacle is judged, and the target trajectory of the vehicle is corrected so as to avoid the collision. An operation control device has been developed (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-168694 (published March 8, 2018)

  On the other hand, when transporting luggage or the like, there may be a case where a plurality of vehicles travel in a formation.

  In the running of such a convoy vehicle, even if the collision of an obstacle to a certain vehicle can be prevented by using the conventional automatic driving technique, the convoy may be collapsed.

  In view of the above problems, an object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of avoiding an obstacle while maintaining a formation when a plurality of moving objects travel in a formation. .

In order to solve the above-described problem, an information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus that controls operation of one or more target moving bodies included in a row of moving bodies. An obstacle information acquisition unit for acquiring obstacle information indicating an obstacle, and a control for controlling the operation of the one or more target moving bodies so as to maintain the formation with reference to the obstacle information A control information generating unit that generates information; and an output unit that outputs the control information.
According to the above configuration, when a plurality of moving bodies travel while forming a row, collision between the moving body and an obstacle can be avoided without destroying the row.

In the information processing apparatus according to the above aspect, the control information generation unit refers to the obstacle information, and each of the one or more obstacles is virtually set around the target moving body. The control information may be generated according to whether it belongs to the region.
According to the above configuration, when a plurality of moving bodies travel in a formation, they move so as to avoid collision with obstacles according to the degree of possibility that the obstacles collide with the moving bodies. You can control your body's running and continue running without destroying your formation.

In the information processing apparatus according to the above aspect, the control information generation unit may perform a vector indicating movement of at least one of the one or more obstacles and movement of at least one of the one or more target moving bodies. The control information may be generated with reference to the vector shown.
According to said structure, the collision possibility of a mobile body and an obstruction can be estimated correctly, and the danger of a collision can be avoided.

In the information processing apparatus according to the above aspect, the control information generation unit determines whether an avoidance operation for avoiding the one or more obstacles is possible, and determines the one or more obstacles. If avoidance operation for avoidance is possible, control information indicating the avoidance operation is generated,
If an avoidance operation for avoiding the one or more obstacles is impossible, control information indicating an emergency stop may be generated.
According to said structure, when it determines with the collision of an obstruction being unavoidable if a moving body continues a movement, danger can be avoided by carrying out an emergency stop of a moving body.

In the information processing apparatus according to the above aspect, there are a plurality of target mobile bodies included in the row of the mobile bodies, and the obstacle information acquisition unit is configured to start from a first target mobile body among the plurality of target mobile bodies. The obstacle information may be acquired, and control information related to driving of a second target moving body that is different from the first target moving body among the plurality of target moving bodies may be generated.
According to the above configuration, the first target moving body detects the collision risk against the obstacle of the second target moving body among the plurality of moving bodies that move by organizing the formation, and the detected obstacle By notifying the second target moving body of the object information, the second target moving body can avoid a collision with an obstacle, so the number of sensor attachments and the sensor measurement are maintained while maintaining the obstacle measurement range. The range can be reduced.

In the information processing apparatus according to the above aspect, the first target moving body may be located behind the second target moving body in the formation.
According to the above configuration, the backward moving body can accurately detect the possibility of collision between the forward moving body and the obstacle and notify the forward moving body, while maintaining the obstacle measurement range. The number of sensors attached and the measurement range of the sensor can be reduced.

An operation control method according to an aspect of the present invention is an operation control method for controlling the operation of one or more target mobile objects included in a row of mobile objects, and includes obstacle information indicating one or more obstacles. An obstacle information acquisition step to acquire, and a control information generation step of generating control information for controlling operation of the one or more target moving bodies so as to maintain the formation with reference to the obstacle information; And an output step of outputting the control information.
According to said structure, the effect similar to the information processing apparatus which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention is acquired.

An information processing program according to an aspect of the present invention is an information processing program for causing a computer to function as the information processing apparatus described above, and causes the computer to function as the control information generation unit.
According to said structure, the effect similar to the information processing apparatus which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention is acquired.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, when a plurality of moving bodies move by forming a formation, collision with an obstacle can be avoided without destroying the formation.

It is a block diagram which illustrates typically the example of functional composition of operation control device (information processor) 1 concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed the coordinate in the sensor 11 of the operation control apparatus 1 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed typically the obstacle avoidance operation | movement while the vehicle provided with the driving control apparatus 1 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention formed a formation and is moving. It is a figure which shows an example of the information stored in the avoidance operation | movement buffer in the driving control apparatus 1 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the process for performing the obstacle avoidance operation | movement or the emergency stop operation | movement while the vehicle provided with the driving control apparatus 1 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention organizes a formation, and is moving. FIG. 6 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 5. It is a block diagram which illustrates typically the example of functional composition of operation control devices 101 and 201 concerning another embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed typically the mode in which the vehicle provided with the operation control apparatus 101 and 201 which concerns on another embodiment of this invention formed the formation, and is moving. It is the figure which showed typically a mode that the vehicle provided with the driving control apparatus 101 and 201 which concerns on another embodiment of this invention formed a formation, and performs an obstacle avoidance operation | movement while moving. It is the flowchart which showed the process which avoids an obstruction in a front vehicle, while the vehicle provided with the emotion driving control apparatus 101 which concerns on another embodiment of this invention forms a formation and moves. It is a flowchart which shows the determination step based on the information of the obstruction information receiving part in FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment according to an aspect of the present invention (hereinafter, also referred to as “this embodiment”) will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
An information processing apparatus (operation control apparatus) 1 according to the first embodiment is an information processing apparatus that controls the operation of one or a plurality of target moving bodies included in a row of moving bodies. As an example, the information processing apparatus 1 is configured such that while the three vehicles 10, 20, and 30 as moving bodies form a platoon and move, the second vehicle 20 maintains the platoon and Control to avoid collision with approaching obstacles. In this embodiment, a human driver drives only the leading vehicle 10, and the second and subsequent vehicles 20 and 30 are controlled by automatic driving so as to follow the leading vehicle 10. However, this does not limit the present embodiment, and the leading vehicle 10 may be controlled by automatic driving. In the present embodiment, the moving body is not limited to a vehicle, and the moving body may be a load carrying robot or the like, or a flying body such as a drone. Further, the number of mobile bodies included in the formation is not limited to this embodiment. Further, the vehicle referred to in the present embodiment includes a vehicle on which a character or the like is boarded, forms a formation in a theme park, and performs a parade.

<Configuration>
First, a configuration example of the operation control device 1 in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the driving control device 1 includes a sensor 11, an obstacle detection unit 2, a collision determination unit 3, a control switching unit 4, an avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5, a platoon tracking operation instruction generation unit 7, an inter-vehicle distance control. A unit 6 and a steering angle control unit 8 are provided.

  In the above configuration, the sensor 11 and the obstacle detection unit 2 are configured to acquire obstacle information indicating one or more obstacles, and are collectively referred to as an obstacle information acquisition unit. Further, the collision determination unit 3, the control switching unit 4, the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5, and the platoon tracking operation instruction generation unit 7 refer to the obstacle information so as to maintain the platoon. It is the structure which produces | generates the control information for controlling a driving | running | working of a target moving body, and also calls a control information generation part. The inter-vehicle distance control unit 6 and the steering angle control unit 8 are configured to output the control information, and are collectively referred to as an output unit.

<Sensor 11>
The sensor 11 includes an image sensor as an example, generates sensor data indicating one or a plurality of obstacles existing in a region around the vehicle 20, and supplies the generated sensor data to the obstacle detection unit 2.

<Obstacle detection unit 2>
The obstacle detection unit 2 acquires obstacle information indicating one or more obstacles. Specifically, sensor data indicating one or more obstacles detected by the sensor 11 is received. Then, obstacle information including information such as the position of the obstacle and a movement vector is calculated for one or a plurality of obstacles from the received sensor data.

<Collision determination unit 3>
In the collision determination unit 3, referring to the obstacle information notified from the obstacle detection unit 2, when the vehicle 20 continues to travel as it is, there is a possibility that the vehicle 20 may collide with the obstacle. And whether or not the vehicle 20 is likely to avoid a collision with an obstacle. Then, the determination result is supplied to the control switching unit 4.

<Control switching unit 4>
The control switching unit 4 controls the traveling of the vehicle based on the determination result of the collision possibility and the collision avoidance possibility supplied from the collision determination unit 3.

  Specifically, when the collision determination unit 3 determines that “no collision possibility”, the control switching unit 4 causes the platoon follow-up operation instruction generation unit 7 to perform processing for continuing the platooning of the vehicle. Make it.

  When the collision determination unit 3 determines “possibility of collision” and “possibility of collision avoidance”, the control switching unit 4 instructs the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5 for the obstacle avoiding operation of the vehicle 20. Perform the process. Here, the “obstacle avoiding operation” is an operation for avoiding the obstacle while moving the moving body. In the present embodiment, the “obstacle avoidance operation” will be described as not including an emergency stop, but this does not limit the present embodiment.

  When the collision determination unit 3 determines “possibility of collision” and “no possibility of collision avoidance”, the control switching unit 4 sends the vehicle 20 to the inter-vehicle distance control unit 6 and the steering angle control unit 8. The emergency stop state is set.

<Avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5 and formation tracking operation instruction generation unit 7>.
The avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5 and the platoon follow-up operation instruction generation unit 7 refer to the obstacle information, and provide control information for controlling the operation of the one or more target moving bodies so as to maintain the platoon. Generate.

  Specifically, the obstacle information is supplied from the obstacle detection unit 2 to the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5 and the platoon tracking operation instruction generation unit 7. When the collision determination unit 3 determines that “there is a possibility of collision”, the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5 can maintain the formation while the vehicle 20 avoids the obstacle with reference to the obstacle information. Thus, the inter-vehicle distance target value and the relative angle target value for controlling the driving of the vehicle 20 are generated.

  When the collision determination unit 3 determines “no collision possibility”, the platoon follow-up operation instruction generation unit 7 controls the driving of the vehicle 20 so as to continue the platooning. And a relative angle target value is generated.

  Furthermore, the collision determination unit 3 determines whether an avoidance operation for avoiding the one or more obstacles is possible.

  When an avoidance operation for avoiding one or more obstacles is possible, control information indicating the avoidance operation is generated. If an avoidance operation for avoiding one or more obstacles is impossible, control information indicating an emergency stop is generated.

  That is, when the collision determination unit 3 determines that “a collision with an obstacle can be avoided”, the control switching unit 4 instructs the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5 so that the collision avoidance is possible. And instructing the generation of the relative angle target value. When the collision determination unit 3 determines that “a collision avoidance with an obstacle is impossible”, the control switching unit 4 causes the inter-vehicle distance control unit 6 and the steering angle control unit 8 to set an emergency stop state. A method for calculating the inter-vehicle distance and the relative angle will be described later.

<Vehicle distance control unit 6, steering angle control unit 8>
The inter-vehicle distance control unit 6 and the steering angle control unit 8 receive the control information (the inter-vehicle distance target value and the relative angle target value) generated by the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5 and the platoon tracking operation instruction generation unit 7, and this control information Is output. Specifically, the inter-vehicle distance target value and the relative angle target value generated by the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5 or the platoon follow-up operation instruction generation unit 7 are output to an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 9 of the vehicle 20.

  The ECU 9 controls each part of the vehicle 20 so that the inter-vehicle distance and the relative angle with the vehicle 10 become the inter-vehicle distance target value and the relative angle target value supplied from the inter-vehicle distance control unit 6 and the steering angle control unit 8.

  When the collision determination unit 3 determines that “no collision avoidance possibility”, the control switching unit 4 sets the inter-vehicle distance control unit 6 and the steering angle control unit 8 to the emergency stop state.

<Vehicle distance and relative angle in sensor>
Here, the inter-vehicle distance and the relative angle in the sensor 11 (image sensor) of the vehicle 20 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. In the sensor 11 of the vehicle 20, the center of the vehicle body of the host vehicle 20 is set as coordinates (0, 0). The vehicle width direction of the vehicle 20 is the X axis, and the long axis direction of the vehicle, ie, the traveling direction of the vehicle body is the Y axis. The position of the obstacle is represented by coordinates (Xn, Yn) which are relative positions with respect to the center of the vehicle 20 as coordinates (0, 0). The inter-vehicle distance between the front vehicle 10 and the vehicle 20 is defined by a distance L in the Y-axis direction between the rearmost part of the front vehicle 10 and the frontmost part of the rear vehicle 20. The relative angle θ1 between the preceding vehicle 10 and the vehicle 20 is an angle formed by a straight line connecting the center of the vehicle body of the vehicle 20 and the center point of the rearmost portion of the vehicle 10 with the Y axis.

<Track of the formation>
Next, the trajectory of the platoon in the first embodiment of the operation control device 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As described above, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, three mobile bodies (vehicles 10, 20, and 30) are traveling in a formation. As an example, among the three vehicles, the driver is driving only the leading vehicle 10, and the second vehicle 20 and the third vehicle 30 are made to follow the leading vehicle 10 by the driving control device 1. It is controlled by automatic operation. The second vehicle 20 is mounted with the operation control device 1 including the sensor 11 and the obstacle detection unit 2 as described above.

  In FIG. 2, an area (detection area) A <b> 2 surrounded by a solid line around the vehicle 20 indicates an area that can be detected by the sensor 11. A region (dangerous area) A1 surrounded by a dotted line around the vehicle 20 has a collision determination unit when there is a collision risk between the obstacle and the vehicle 20 when an obstacle is detected in this region. This is a region determined by 3.

The avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5 of the vehicle 20 refers to the obstacle information, and according to which one or a plurality of obstacles belong to which region virtually set around the target moving body, Generate control information. That is, when the sensor 11 and the obstacle detection unit 2 detect one or more obstacles in the detection area A2, the obstacle information about the obstacle is supplied to the collision determination unit 3. The collision determination unit 3 determines that an obstacle existing in the danger area A1 among the detected obstacles has a risk of colliding with the host vehicle. Then, the control switching unit 4 instructs the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5 of the vehicle 20 to generate control information indicating the avoidance operation. The generated control information is temporarily stored in an avoidance operation buffer described later.
3A, 3 </ b> B, and 3 </ b> C, when the obstacle detection unit 2 of the vehicle 20 performs an obstacle avoiding operation when the obstacle O existing in the danger area A <b> 1 is detected. It shows the changes in the formation in chronological order.

  When the collision determination unit 3 determines that there is a possibility of collision avoidance, the avoidance operation shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C is performed.

  First, at the time of FIG. 3A, the sensor 11 of the vehicle 20 detects the obstacle O existing in the detection area A2. The obstacle detection unit 2 calculates the position and movement vector of the obstacle O based on the data from the sensor 11. The avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5 of the vehicle 20 generates control information with reference to a vector indicating the movement of at least one of the obstacles and a vector indicating the movement of the vehicle 20.

That is, the collision determination unit 3 of the vehicle 20 determines whether or not the obstacle O and the vehicle 20 collide from the travel vector of the vehicle 20 and the movement vector of the obstacle O calculated by the obstacle detection unit 2. . When the obstacle O is on the travel vector of the vehicle 20, it is determined that the vehicle 20 may collide with the obstacle O. If the obstacle O is not on the travel vector of the vehicle 20, it is determined that there is no possibility that the vehicle 20 collides with the obstacle O.
When the collision determination unit 3 determines that “there is a possibility of collision”, the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5 controls the control information (specifically, the inter-vehicle distance target) for the vehicle 20 to avoid a collision with an obstacle. Value and relative angle target value). In the case of FIG. 3B, in order to avoid an obstacle O approaching from the right side of the vehicle 20, the control switching unit 4 of the vehicle 20 moves the vehicle 20 to the front vehicle 10 by 20 degrees (relative angle target value θ1). (= −20 degrees), the vehicle 20 is controlled to travel in the left direction so as to avoid a collision with the obstacle O.

  As shown in FIG. 3C, the control switching unit 4 moves the vehicle 20 to the front vehicle 10 by 20 degrees (the relative angle target value θ1 = −20 degrees) until the obstacle O goes too far behind the vehicle 20. Control is performed so that the vehicle follows the leading vehicle 10 while being maintained.

  Therefore, the vehicle 20 can appropriately avoid the collision with the obstacle O by the control switching unit 4 of the vehicle 20. After the obstacle O goes too far behind the vehicle 20, the collision determination unit 3 determines “no collision possibility”, so the avoidance operation flag becomes invalid. Then, the control switching unit 4 controls the vehicle 20 to be in a row following operation. At this time, since the control switching unit 4 sets the relative angle target value θ1 = 0 degree, the vehicle 20 can return to the original traveling state by turning 20 degrees in the right direction.

  Thus, in the above embodiment, the operation control device 1 of the vehicle 20 can control the traveling of the vehicle 20 so as to avoid the vehicle 20 colliding with the obstacle O while maintaining the formation. .

  Here, when the absolute value of the relative angle θ1 for avoiding the obstacle is equal to or less than a threshold value (for example, 40 degrees), the collision determination unit 3 may turn the vehicle 20 to the right or left. Determine that the formation can be maintained while avoiding obstacles. However, when the absolute value of θ1 exceeds the threshold, the collision determination unit 3 determines that the formation cannot be maintained when the vehicle 20 is turned to the right or left.

And when it determines with the vehicle 20 not avoiding the collision with the collision object O, the vehicle 20 is stopped urgently.
As described above, the control information generated by the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5 of the vehicle 20 is also supplied to the other vehicles 10 and 30 included in the platoon. In the control switching unit of the vehicles 10 and 30, the traveling of the vehicles 10 and 30 is switched so as to maintain a row of three vehicles according to the control information acquired from the vehicle 20. Specifically, the travel is switched so that the inter-vehicle distance L and the relative angle with the vehicle 20 are within the threshold.

<Evasion buffer>
Next, an example of information stored in the avoidance operation buffer used in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The collision determination unit 3 temporarily stores in the avoidance operation buffer the sensor data and the determination result about the collision avoidance possibility regarding the obstacle determined as “possibility of collision” among one or more detected obstacles. To do. The control switching unit 4 reads the information stored in the avoidance operation buffer, and controls the operation of the vehicle based on the information.

  Specifically, in the avoidance operation buffer, as shown in FIG. 4, for each obstacle determined to have a collision possibility, the obstacle number, the collision avoidance possibility, the obstacle position (Xn, Yn), and the avoidance operation A vector (xn, yn) is stored. If there is an obstacle that is determined as “impact avoidance” among the obstacles, the avoidance operation flag is invalidated and the emergency stop flag is validated. When it is determined that “a collision can be avoided” for all obstacles, the avoidance operation flag is enabled and the emergency stop flag is disabled. When there is no information regarding the obstacle, both the avoidance operation flag and the emergency stop flag are invalidated.

<Operation of Operation Control Device 1>
Next, with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, processing when the vehicle 20 avoids a collision with an obstacle or performs an emergency stop while traveling in a row will be described. FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are flowcharts illustrating a process in which the operation control device 1 for the vehicle 20 according to the present embodiment avoids a collision between the vehicle 20 and an obstacle or performs an emergency stop.

(Step S9)
In step S9, the operation control device 1 of the vehicle 20 is started.

(Step S10)
When the sensor 11 of the operation control device 1 detects N obstacles in the detection area A2, the obstacle detection unit 2 detects N obstacles based on the sensor data supplied from the sensor 11 in step S10. The position and speed vector of the obstacle are calculated for each of the above. Obstacle information including the calculated position of the obstacle and the velocity vector of the obstacle is supplied to the collision determination unit 3.

(Step S11)
Subsequently, in step S11 and subsequent steps, the collision determination unit 3 determines the possibility of collision and the possibility of collision avoidance for each of the N obstacles. First, in step S11, the obstacle number i is set to 0 (i = 0).

(Step S12)
In step S12, the collision determination unit 3 clears the avoidance operation buffer and sets N as the number of obstacles. Thereafter, the obstacle number i is incremented by 1, and the i-th obstacle is sequentially processed.

(Step S13)
Subsequently, in step S13, it is determined whether i <N for each obstacle. If i <N (Yes in step S13), the processing from step S14 to step S18 is repeated. If i <N is not satisfied (No in step S13, that is, if the processing from step S13 to step S18 has been completed for all N obstacles), the process proceeds to step S19.

(Step S14)
In step S14, the collision determination unit 3 determines whether an obstacle (i = 1) is present in the danger area A1. If it is detected that an obstacle exists in the danger area A1 (Yes in step S14), the process proceeds to step S17. If it is determined that no obstacle exists in the danger area A1 (No in step S14), the process proceeds to step S15.

(Step S15)
In step S <b> 15, the collision determination unit 3 determines whether the obstacle is on the travel vector of the vehicle 20. If it is determined that the obstacle is on the travel vector of the vehicle 20 (Yes in step S15), the process proceeds to step S21. If the obstacle is not on the travel vector of the vehicle 20 (No in step S15), the process proceeds to step S16.

(Step S16)
In step S <b> 16, the collision determination unit 3 determines whether or not an obstacle can avoid a collision with the vehicle 20. If it is determined that the obstacle can avoid a collision with the vehicle 20 (Yes in step S16), the process proceeds to step S18. If the first obstacle cannot avoid a collision with the vehicle 20 (No in step S16), the process proceeds to step S21.

(Step S17)
In step S <b> 17, the collision determination unit 3 determines whether there is a possibility that an obstacle will collide with the vehicle 20. When it is determined that the first obstacle may collide with the vehicle 20 (Yes in step S17), the process proceeds to step S18. If there is no possibility that the obstacle collides with the vehicle 20 (No in step S17), the obstacle number i is incremented by one and the process returns to step S13. Thereafter, the processing from step S13 to step S18 is repeated for the next obstacle.

(Step S18)
In step S18, the avoidance operation condition for the i-th obstacle is stored in the avoidance operation buffer. Thereafter, the obstacle number i is incremented by 1, and the process returns to step S13, and the processes from step S13 to step S18 are repeated for the (i + 1) th obstacle.

(Step S19)
In step S19, the collision determination unit 3 determines whether there is a write in the avoidance operation buffer. If there is writing (Yes in step S19), the process proceeds to step S20. If there is no writing (No in step S19), that is, if there is no obstacle to avoid, the process proceeds to step S22.

(Step S20)
In step S20, the collision determination unit 3 determines whether an avoidance operation is possible. If it is determined that the avoidance operation is possible (Yes in step S20), the process proceeds to step S23. If it is determined that the avoidance operation is not possible (No in step S20), the process proceeds to step S21.

(Step S21)
In step S21, the collision determination unit 3 validates the emergency stop flag. This information is supplied to the control switching unit 4.

(Step S22)
In the case of No in step S19, since it is determined that there is no obstacle to be avoided, the avoidance operation flag and the emergency stop flag are invalidated in step S22.

(Step S23)
In the case of Yes in step S20, since it is determined that the avoidance operation is possible, in step S23, the avoidance operation flag is enabled and the emergency stop flag is disabled. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S24.

(Step S24)
In step S24, an avoidance operation condition (avoidance operation vector) is set. This control information is supplied to the control switching unit 4.

(Step S25)
In step S <b> 25, the collision determination unit 3 supplies emergency stop flag information, avoidance operation flag information, and avoidance operation conditions to the control switching unit 4.

(Step S26)
In step S26, the control switching unit 4 determines whether or not the emergency stop flag is valid. If it is determined that the emergency stop flag is valid (Yes in step S26), the process proceeds to step S30. If it is not determined that the emergency stop flag is valid (No in step S26), the process proceeds to step S27.

(Step S27)
In step S27, the control switching unit 4 determines whether the avoidance operation flag is valid. If it is determined that the avoidance operation flag is valid (Yes in step S27), the process proceeds to step S31. If it is not determined that the avoidance operation flag is valid (No in step S27), the process proceeds to step S28.

(Step S28)
In step S <b> 28, the control switching unit 4 instructs the platoon follow-up operation instruction generation unit 7 to generate control information (an inter-vehicle distance target value and a relative angle target value) for maintaining the platoon. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S29.

(Step S29)
In step S29, the inter-vehicle distance control unit 6 and the steering angle control unit 8 are set to the formation tracking state. Then, it progresses to step S33 and complete | finishes a process.

(Step S30)
In step S30, the inter-vehicle distance control unit 6 and the steering angle control unit 8 are set to the emergency stop state. Then, it progresses to step S33 and complete | finishes a process.

(Step S31)
In step S31, the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5 is instructed to generate control information (target distance between vehicles, target value of relative angle). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S32.

(Step S32)
In step S32, the inter-vehicle distance control unit 6 and the steering angle control unit 8 are set to the avoidance operation state. Then, it progresses to step S33 and complete | finishes a process.

<Additional notes when the moving object is a flying object>
As already described, in this embodiment, the moving body may be a flying body. When the moving body is a flying body, the operation control apparatus 1 controls the moving body not only in the X and Y directions (horizontal direction) but also in the Z direction (vertical direction).

  For example, in FIG. 2 described above, coordinates in the sensor 11 when the moving body moves in a horizontal direction such as a vehicle are shown. However, when the moving body is a flying body, the coordinates in the sensor 11 are set not only in the X and Y directions (horizontal direction) but also in the Z direction (vertical direction).

  In this case, the obstacle detection unit 2 also detects an obstacle in the vertical direction of one or a plurality of moving bodies. The collision determination unit 3 determines the possibility of collision and the possibility of collision avoidance even for an obstacle that approaches the moving body from the vertical direction. Further, when the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 5 and the platoon tracking operation instruction generation unit 7 generate the inter-vehicle distance target value and the relative angle target value, these control information are three-dimensional values. As a result, the moving body is controlled three-dimensionally.

Second Embodiment
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those described in the above embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

  In the above-described first embodiment, when a plurality of vehicles travel while forming a platoon, one of the vehicles 20 detects an obstacle to the own vehicle and controls collision avoidance. The present invention is not limited to this. In the present embodiment, when a plurality of moving bodies (vehicles 110, 120, and 130) are moving while forming a platoon, the collision determination unit of the moving body (vehicle 120) that travels forward is a plurality of moving bodies. Obstacle information is acquired from a moving body (vehicle 130) that travels behind the body, and control information relating to driving of the vehicle 120 different from the vehicle 130 is generated. That is, the rear vehicle 130 that is the first target moving body notifies the front vehicle 120 that is the second target moving body of the information related to the obstacles around the vehicle 120, so that the front vehicle 120 is obstructed. It is configured to avoid things.

<Configuration>
FIG. 7 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a functional configuration example of the operation control apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment. First, a configuration example of the operation control device 101 of the second vehicle 120 and the operation control device 201 of the third vehicle 130 in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

<Configuration of Operation Control Device 201 of Third Vehicle 130>
A configuration example of the operation control apparatus 201 of the third vehicle 130 in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 7A, the operation control device 201 of the third vehicle 130 includes a sensor 211, a forward vehicle obstacle detection unit 202, and an obstacle information transmission unit 212. The sensor 211 detects an obstacle existing around the second vehicle 120. The forward vehicle obstacle detection unit 202 calculates the position and speed vector of the obstacle present around the second vehicle 120 based on the sensor data of the obstacle supplied from the sensor 211. The obstacle information transmission unit 212 transmits the obstacle information calculated by the forward vehicle obstacle detection unit 202 to the second vehicle 120.

<Configuration of Operation Control Device 101 of Second Vehicle 120>
Next, a configuration example of the operation control apparatus 101 of the second vehicle 120 in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 7B, the operation control device 101 of the second vehicle 120 includes an obstacle information receiving unit 112. The obstacle information reception unit 112 receives obstacle information for the vehicle 120 from the obstacle information transmission unit 212 of the third vehicle 130. Obstacle information for the vehicle 120 received by the obstacle information receiving unit 112 is supplied to the collision determination unit 103 of the vehicle 120. Then, the collision determination unit 103 of the vehicle 120 determines the possibility of collision of the vehicle 120 against the obstacle and the possibility of collision avoidance based on the obstacle information transmitted from the vehicle 130. Based on the determination result, the control information generation unit of the vehicle 120 generates control information related to the driving of the vehicle 120.

  Since the other structure of the operation control apparatus 101 of the vehicle 120 is the same as that of the operation control apparatus 1 of 1st Embodiment, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the obstacle information acquired by the second vehicle 120 or the third vehicle 130 is supplied to the leading vehicle 110 with the driver, and the driver It is also possible to control the leading vehicle 110.

<Detection area and danger area>
FIG. 8 shows the positional relationship between the three vehicles 110, 120, and 130 that are traveling in a row of this embodiment and the areas detected by the sensors of the vehicle 130. In FIG. 8, a region surrounded by a solid line indicates a detection area B <b> 2 by the sensor 211 of the vehicle 130. A region surrounded by a dotted line indicates a danger area B1 for the vehicle 120. If there is an obstacle in the danger area B1, it is determined that there is a possibility of collision with the second vehicle 120. The obstacle information transmission unit 212 of the third vehicle 130 transmits this obstacle information to the second vehicle 120. The obstacle information receiving unit 112 of the second vehicle 120 receives the obstacle information from the third vehicle 130. Then, the collision determination unit 103 of the second vehicle 120 determines the possibility of collision between the host vehicle 120 and the obstacle and the possibility of collision avoidance based on the obstacle information from the vehicle 130. When the collision determination unit 103 of the vehicle 120 determines “possibility of collision” and “possibility of collision avoidance”, the control switching unit 104 of the vehicle 120 causes the vehicle 120 to perform an avoidance operation. When the collision determination unit 103 of the vehicle 120 determines “possibility of collision” and “no collision avoidance”, the control switching unit 104 of the vehicle 120 causes the vehicle 120 to stop urgently.

<Track of the formation>
Next, the trajectory will be described in the formation in the second embodiment with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 3 of the first embodiment. That is, FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which three mobile bodies (vehicles 110, 120, and 130) are traveling in a formation. In this embodiment as well, only the first of the three vehicles is driven by a human driver so that the second vehicle 120 and the third vehicle 130 follow the first vehicle 110. It is controlled by automatic operation. FIG. 9 shows a case where an obstacle existing around the second vehicle 120 is detected by a sensor provided in the vehicle 130 that travels the farthest and the detection result is transmitted to the vehicle 120. . The vehicle 130 is provided with a sensor 211. The sensor 211 can detect an obstacle present in the detection area B2 surrounded by a solid line in FIG. Then, it is determined that an obstacle existing in the danger area B1 surrounded by the broken line has a risk of colliding with the vehicle 120.

  FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C show changes in the platoon when the vehicle 130 detects the obstacle O existing in the danger area B1 in time series. With reference to FIGS. 9A, 9 </ b> B, and 9 </ b> C, the avoidance operation when the obstacle O approaches the vehicle 120 will be described. First, at the time of FIG. 9A, the sensor 211 of the vehicle 130 detects the obstacle O existing in the detection area B2. The obstacle O approaches the right side surface of the vehicle 120 and enters the danger area B1. The obstacle information transmission unit 212 of the vehicle 130 transmits the detected obstacle information to the vehicle 120.

  At the time of FIG. 9B, the vehicle 120 receives the obstacle information from the driving control device 201 of the vehicle 130 in the obstacle information receiving unit 112 of the driving control device 101. According to this obstacle information, the possibility of collision of the obstacle with respect to the host vehicle and the possibility of collision avoidance are determined. And the driving | running | working of the own vehicle is changed according to a determination result. In the case of FIG. 9B, the collision determination unit 103 determines “possibility of collision” and “possibility of collision avoidance” for the obstacle O approaching the right side surface of the vehicle 120. In order to avoid a collision with the obstacle O, the control switching unit 104 turns the vehicle 120 to the left by θ1.

  When the obstacle O goes too far behind the vehicle 120, as shown in FIG. 9C, the control switching unit 104 of the vehicle 12 turns the vehicle 120 rightward by θ1. Therefore, the vehicle 120 travels following the leading vehicle 110 as it is.

<Operation of Driving Control Device 201 of Vehicle 130>
Next, the operation of the operation control apparatus 101 of the vehicle 120 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 shows the possibility of collision and avoidance between the host vehicle 120 and the obstacle based on the obstacle information received from the third vehicle 130 by the operation control apparatus 101 of the vehicle 120 in the present embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the process for.

  In the processing according to the present embodiment, the collision determination unit 103 may detect an obstacle collision based on the obstacle information received from the vehicle 130 behind in addition to the obstacle information from the obstacle detection unit 102 of the preceding vehicle. And determine the possibility of collision avoidance. For this reason, the determination step (step S500) based on the obstacle information from the rear vehicle 130 received by the obstacle information receiving unit 112 during the processing is included. However, the other points are the same as the flowchart showing the process for performing the obstacle avoidance operation or the emergency stop operation of the operation control device 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Therefore, the flowchart of the determination step based on the information received by the obstacle information receiving unit 112 is shown in FIG. 11, and the other description is omitted.

<Operation of Driving Control Device 101 of Vehicle 120>
The process in the determination step based on the information of the obstacle information receiving unit 112 in the preceding vehicle 120 will be described with reference to FIG.

(Step S511)
In step S511, the operation control apparatus 101 of the vehicle 120 is started.

(Step S512)
In step S512, the obstacle number j is set to 0 (j = 0).

(Step S513)
Subsequently, in step S513, the collision determination unit 103 sets the number M of obstacles notified from the vehicle 130.

(Step S514)
Subsequently, in step S514, the collision determination unit 103 determines whether or not j <M for each obstacle. If j <M (Yes in step S514), the process proceeds to step S515. Thereafter, the processing from step S515 to step S520 is repeated for each obstacle. If j <M is not satisfied (No in step S514, that is, if the processes from step S515 to step S520 have been completed for all M obstacles), the process proceeds to step S530 and the process is terminated.

(Step S515)
In step S515, it is determined whether an obstacle (j = 0) is present in the danger area B1. If it is determined that no obstacle exists in the danger area B1 (No in step S515), the process proceeds to step S519. If it is determined that an obstacle is present in the danger area B1 (Yes in step S515), the process proceeds to step S516.

(Step S516)
In step S516, the collision determination unit 103 determines whether or not the obstacle is on the travel vector of the vehicle 120. If it is determined that the obstacle is on the travel vector of the vehicle 120 (Yes in step S516), the process proceeds to step S518. If the obstacle is not on the travel vector of the vehicle 20 (No in step S516), the process proceeds to step S517.

(Step S517)
In step S517, the collision determination unit 103 determines whether or not an obstacle can avoid a collision with the vehicle 120. If it is determined that the obstacle can avoid a collision with the vehicle 120 (Yes in step S517), the process proceeds to step S520. When the obstacle cannot avoid the collision with the vehicle 120 (No in step S517), the process proceeds to step S518.

(Step S518)
In step S518, the collision determination unit 103 enables the emergency stop flag. After that, it progresses to step S530 and complete | finishes a process.

(Step S519)
In step S519, the collision determination unit 103 determines whether or not an obstacle can avoid a collision with the vehicle 120. If it is determined that the obstacle can avoid a collision with the vehicle 120 (Yes in step S519), the process proceeds to step S520. When the obstacle cannot avoid the collision with the vehicle 120 (No in step S519), the process proceeds to step S518.

(Step S520)
In step S520, the collision determination unit 103 stores the avoidance action condition (avoidance action vector) in the avoidance action buffer. Thereafter, the obstacle number j is incremented by one and the process returns to step S514, and the processes from step S515 to step S520 are repeated for each obstacle thereafter.

  When the above process is completed for all obstacles (Yes in step S514), the process proceeds to step S530, and the process based on the information received by the obstacle information receiving unit 112 is terminated.

  Thereafter, the process returns to step S19 in FIG. 10, and the processes after step S19 described in the first embodiment are performed.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the vehicle 130 traveling behind detects an obstacle approaching the vehicle 120 traveling forward, and transmits information related to the obstacle to the vehicle 120. In the vehicle 120 that has received the obstacle information from the vehicle 130, in addition to the obstacle information from the obstacle detection unit provided in the host vehicle, the obstacle information from the vehicle 130 is also used to control the traveling of the vehicle. be able to. Therefore, an obstacle can be accurately detected without increasing the number of attached sensors and the measurement range of the sensor, and safe traveling can be performed.

In this embodiment, the example provided with the obstacle information acquisition part (the sensor 111 and the obstacle detection part 102) also in the front vehicle 120 was shown. However, the front vehicle 120 is not provided with an obstacle information acquisition unit, and the obstacle information acquisition unit provided in the leading vehicle 110 detects an obstacle between the vehicle 110 and the vehicle 120 and transmits the obstacle information. It is good also as a structure notified to the vehicle 120 via a part. Moreover, in the front vehicle 120 of this embodiment, the obstacle information is received from the back vehicle 130, and the collision determination part 103 of the front vehicle 120 determines the obstacle collision possibility and obstacle avoidance possibility. Indicated. However, the collision determination unit of the rear vehicle 130 may determine the possibility of obstacle collision and the possibility of obstacle avoidance of the front vehicle 120 and transmit the determination result to the front vehicle 120. In this case, traveling of the front vehicle is controlled based on the determination result in the rear vehicle 130.
The program and the control method for controlling the operation control device (information processing device) also have the same effect as the information processing device when controlling the movement of the moving body that performs the platooning.

[Example of software implementation]
The control blocks (particularly the collision determination unit 3 and the control switching unit 4) of the information processing apparatus 1 may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or realized by software. May be.
In the latter case, the information processing apparatus 1 includes a computer that executes instructions of a program that is software for realizing each function. The computer includes, for example, one or more processors and a computer-readable recording medium storing the program. In the computer, the processor reads the program from the recording medium and executes the program, thereby achieving the object of the present invention. As the processor, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) can be used. As the recording medium, a “non-temporary tangible medium” such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. Further, a RAM (Random Access Memory) for expanding the program may be further provided. The program may be supplied to the computer via an arbitrary transmission medium (such as a communication network or a broadcast wave) that can transmit the program. Note that one embodiment of the present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1, 101, 201, 211 Operation control device (information processing device)
2 Obstacle detection unit 3, 103 Collision determination unit 4 Control switching unit 5 Avoidance operation instruction generation unit 6 Inter-vehicle distance control unit 7 Convoy follow-up operation instruction generation unit 8 Steering angle control unit 9 ECU
10, 20, 30, 110, 120, 130 Vehicle 11, 211 Sensor 112 Obstacle information receiver 202 Front vehicle obstacle detector 212 Obstacle information transmitter A1, B1 Danger area A2, B2 Detection area i Number θ1 Relative angle

Claims (5)

Of the plurality of target mobile bodies included in the row of mobile bodies including the first target mobile body and a second target mobile body different from the first target mobile body, the second target mobile body An information processing device for controlling driving,
An obstacle information acquisition unit for acquiring obstacle information indicating one or more obstacles;
A control information generating unit that generates control information for controlling the operation of the second target moving body so as to maintain the formation with reference to the obstacle information;
Equipped with a,
The obstacle information acquisition unit
Among the plurality of target moving bodies, obtain the obstacle information from the first target moving body ,
The control information generation unit
The control information is generated by referring to the obstacle information and depending on which of the regions that each of the one or more obstacles is virtually set around the first target moving body. And
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first target moving body is located behind the second target moving body in the formation. The control information generation unit
A vector indicating movement of at least one of the one or more obstacles;
A vector indicating the movement of the second target moving body ;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control information is generated with reference to FIG. The control information generation unit
Determining whether an avoidance operation for avoiding the one or more obstacles is possible;
If an avoidance operation for avoiding the one or more obstacles is possible, control information indicating the avoidance operation is generated,
The control information indicating an emergency stop is generated when an avoidance operation for avoiding the one or more obstacles is impossible. Information processing device. Of the plurality of target mobile bodies included in the row of mobile bodies including the first target mobile body and a second target mobile body different from the first target mobile body, the second target mobile body An information processing method executed by an information processing device that controls driving,
An obstacle information acquisition step of acquiring obstacle information indicating one or more obstacles by an obstacle information acquisition unit;
A control information generating step of generating control information for controlling the operation of the second target moving body so as to maintain the formation by referring to the obstacle information;
An output step of outputting the control information by an output unit ,
In the obstacle information acquisition step, the obstacle information acquisition unit includes:
Of the plurality of target moving bodies, obtaining the obstacle information from a first target moving body,
In the control information generation step, the control information generation unit
The control information is generated by referring to the obstacle information and depending on which of the regions that each of the one or more obstacles is virtually set around the first target moving body. And
The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the first target moving body is located behind the second target moving body in the formation.   An information processing program for causing a computer to function as the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control information generation unit and the obstacle information acquisition unit are caused to function. Information processing program.

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