JP6613509B2 - Vehicle control device, vehicle control method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a program.

  A technique is known in which the host vehicle follows the preceding vehicle while keeping the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle at a predetermined distance (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2017-150422 A

  However, in the conventional technology, when the behavior of the preceding vehicle changes, the speed of the own vehicle is frequently adjusted to keep the distance between the preceding vehicle and the preceding vehicle in accordance with the change of the behavior of the preceding vehicle. There was a case where it was changed. As a result, it may be difficult to make the host vehicle follow the preceding vehicle smoothly.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a program that can cause the host vehicle to smoothly follow the preceding vehicle. I will.

  (1): A recognition unit for recognizing other vehicles in the vicinity of the host vehicle, and a follow-up driving for causing the host vehicle to follow a preceding vehicle existing in front of the host vehicle among the other vehicles recognized by the recognition unit. A driving control unit that executes the following, and when the driving control unit is in a state where the behavior of the preceding vehicle is unstable, out of the speed of the preceding vehicle that has fluctuated in the unstable behavior A vehicle control device that determines a lowest speed as a target speed of the host vehicle during the follow-up traveling.

(2): In the vehicle control device according to (1), an index indicating a degree of variation per predetermined time of a physical quantity obtained by observing the preceding vehicle when the behavior is unstable is a threshold value or more. It is a state of.
(3): In the vehicle control device according to (2), the physical quantity includes at least a change amount of the position, and the operation control unit varies the change amount of the position of the preceding vehicle per predetermined time. When the index indicating the state is equal to or greater than a threshold, it is determined that the behavior of the preceding vehicle is the unstable state, and the behavior of the preceding vehicle is determined to be the unstable state, The lowest speed among the speeds of the preceding vehicle that fluctuates in an unstable behavior is determined as the target speed of the host vehicle during the following traveling.

( 4 ): In the vehicle control device according to any one of (1) to (3) , the driving control unit is configured such that the preceding vehicle in which the behavior is unstable is Every time the speed becomes lower than the target speed, the target speed at the time of following traveling is repeatedly updated to a lower speed, and in the process of repeatedly updating the target speed, the speed of the host vehicle becomes less than a predetermined speed. In the case of a failure, the travel route is changed.

( 5 ): In the vehicle control device according to any one of (1) to (3) , the driving control unit is configured so that the preceding vehicle in which the behavior is unstable is Every time the speed becomes lower than the target speed, the target speed at the time of following traveling is repeatedly updated to a lower speed, and in the process of repeatedly updating the target speed, the speed of the host vehicle becomes less than a predetermined speed. In this case, the own vehicle is changed to another lane.

( 6 ): The recognizing unit recognizes other vehicles around the own vehicle, and the driving control unit includes the other vehicle recognized by the recognizing unit in the preceding vehicle existing in front of the own vehicle. When following driving is performed to follow the vehicle, and the behavior of the preceding vehicle is in an unstable state, the lowest speed among the speeds of the preceding vehicle fluctuated in the unstable behavior is set to the following A vehicle control method for determining a target speed of the host vehicle when traveling.

( 7 ): A process for recognizing other vehicles around the own vehicle on the in-vehicle computer, and follow-up running that causes the preceding vehicle to follow a preceding vehicle existing ahead of the own vehicle among the recognized other vehicles. When the process to be executed and the behavior of the preceding vehicle are in an unstable state, the lowest speed among the speeds of the preceding vehicle that has fluctuated in the unstable behavior is set to And a program for executing a process for determining the target speed of the vehicle.

According to (1) to ( 7 ), the host vehicle can smoothly follow the preceding vehicle.

It is a lineblock diagram of vehicles system 1 using a vehicle control device of a 1st embodiment. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of a first control unit 120 and a second control unit 160. FIG. It is a figure which shows a mode that a target track is produced | generated based on a recommended lane. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process performed by the automatic driving | operation control apparatus 100 of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the scene where the target speed Vtg is updated. It is a figure which shows an example of the scene where the target track which overtakes the preceding vehicle PV is produced | generated. It is a figure which shows an example of the scene where the path | route to the destination is changed. It is a figure which shows an example of the change of the target speed Vtg at the time of following driving | running | working. It is a block diagram of the vehicle system 2 of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the automatic driving | operation control apparatus 100 and / or the driving assistance control apparatus 300 of embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the vehicle control device will be described as being applied to a vehicle capable of automatic driving (autonomous driving). The automatic driving is a mode in which, for example, one or both of steering and acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle is controlled to drive the vehicle without depending on the operation of a passenger on the vehicle. The automatic driving may include driving assistance such as ACC (Adaptive Cruse Control) and LKAS (Lane Keeping Assist).

<First Embodiment>
[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle system 1 using the vehicle control device of the first embodiment. A vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a host vehicle M) on which the vehicle system 1 is mounted is, for example, a vehicle such as a two-wheel, three-wheel, or four-wheel vehicle, and a drive source thereof is an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or a gasoline engine, an electric motor, Or a combination of these. When the electric motor is provided, the electric motor operates using electric power generated by the electric generator connected to the internal combustion engine or electric discharge power of the secondary battery or the fuel cell.

  The vehicle system 1 includes, for example, a camera 10, a radar device 12, a finder 14, an object recognition device 16, a communication device 20, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 30, a vehicle sensor 40, a navigation device 50, An MPU (Map Positioning Unit) 60, a driving operator 80, an automatic driving control device 100, a travel driving force output device 200, a brake device 210, and a steering device 220 are provided. These devices and devices are connected to each other by a multiple communication line such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) communication line, a serial communication line, a wireless communication network, or the like. The configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and a part of the configuration may be omitted, or another configuration may be added.

  The camera 10 is a digital camera using a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). One or a plurality of cameras 10 are attached to any part of a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the host vehicle M) on which the vehicle system 1 is mounted. When imaging the front, the camera 10 is attached to the upper part of the front windshield, the rear surface of the rearview mirror, or the like. For example, the camera 10 periodically and repeatedly images the periphery of the host vehicle M. The camera 10 may be a stereo camera.

  The radar device 12 radiates a radio wave such as a millimeter wave around the host vehicle M and detects a radio wave (reflected wave) reflected by the object to detect at least the position (distance and direction) of the object. One or a plurality of radar devices 12 are attached to arbitrary locations of the host vehicle M. The radar apparatus 12 may detect the position and speed of an object by FM-CW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) method.

  The finder 14 is LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). The finder 14 irradiates light around the host vehicle M and measures scattered light. The finder 14 detects the distance to the object based on the time from light emission to light reception. The irradiated light is, for example, pulsed laser light. One or a plurality of the finders 14 are attached to arbitrary locations of the host vehicle M.

  The object recognition device 16 performs sensor fusion processing on the detection results of some or all of the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 to recognize the position, type, speed, and the like of the object. The object recognition device 16 outputs the recognition result to the automatic driving control device 100. Further, the object recognition device 16 may output the detection results of the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 as they are to the automatic driving control device 100 as necessary.

  The communication device 20 communicates with another vehicle m existing around the host vehicle M using, for example, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth (registered trademark), DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), or the like. It communicates with various server apparatuses via a wireless base station. The other vehicle m may be, for example, a vehicle in which automatic driving is performed or a vehicle in which manual driving is performed, similar to the host vehicle M, and is not particularly limited. Unlike the automatic driving described above, the manual driving means that acceleration / deceleration and steering of the host vehicle M are controlled according to the operation of the occupant with respect to the driving operator 80.

  The HMI 30 presents various information to the occupant of the host vehicle M and accepts an input operation by the occupant. The HMI 30 includes various display devices, speakers, buzzers, touch panels, switches, keys, and the like.

  The vehicle sensor 40 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the speed of the host vehicle M, an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration, a yaw rate sensor that detects an angular velocity around the vertical axis, a direction sensor that detects the direction of the host vehicle M, and the like.

  The navigation device 50 includes, for example, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 51, a navigation HMI 52, and a route determination unit 53. The first map information 54 is stored in a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory. Holding. The GNSS receiver 51 specifies the position of the host vehicle M based on the signal received from the GNSS satellite. The position of the host vehicle M may be specified or supplemented by an INS (Inertial Navigation System) using the output of the vehicle sensor 40. The navigation HMI 52 includes a display device, a speaker, a touch panel, keys, and the like. The navigation HMI 52 may be partly or wholly shared with the HMI 30 described above. The route determination unit 53 is, for example, a route from the position of the host vehicle M specified by the GNSS receiver 51 (or any input position) to the destination input by the occupant using the navigation HMI 52 (hereinafter, referred to as “route”). The route on the map is determined with reference to the first map information 54. The first map information 54 is information in which a road shape is expressed by, for example, a link indicating a road and nodes connected by the link. The first map information 54 may include road curvature and POI (Point Of Interest) information. The on-map route determined by the route determination unit 53 is output to the MPU 60. Further, the navigation device 50 may perform route guidance using the navigation HMI 52 based on the on-map route determined by the route determination unit 53. In addition, the navigation apparatus 50 may be implement | achieved by the function of terminal devices, such as a smart phone and a tablet terminal which a passenger | crew holds, for example. Further, the navigation device 50 may transmit the current position and the destination to the navigation server via the communication device 20 and acquire the on-map route returned from the navigation server.

  For example, the MPU 60 functions as the recommended lane determining unit 61 and holds the second map information 62 in a storage device such as an HDD or a flash memory. The recommended lane determining unit 61 divides the route provided from the navigation device 50 into a plurality of blocks (for example, every 100 [m] with respect to the vehicle traveling direction), and refers to the second map information 62 for each block. Determine the recommended lane. The recommended lane determining unit 61 performs determination such as what number of lanes from the left to travel. The recommended lane determining unit 61 determines a recommended lane so that the host vehicle M can travel on a reasonable route for proceeding to the branch destination when there is a branch point or a merge point in the route.

  The second map information 62 is map information with higher accuracy than the first map information 54. The second map information 62 includes, for example, information on the center of the lane or information on the boundary of the lane. The second map information 62 may include road information, traffic regulation information, address information (address / postal code), facility information, telephone number information, and the like. The second map information 62 may be updated at any time by accessing another device using the communication device 20.

  The driving operation element 80 includes, for example, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a shift lever, a steering wheel, a deformed steer, a joystick, and other operation elements. A sensor for detecting the amount of operation or the presence or absence of an operation is attached to the driving operator 80, and the detection result is the automatic driving control device 100, or the traveling driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device. A part or all of 220 is output.

  The automatic operation control device 100 includes, for example, a first control unit 120 and a second control unit 160. Each component of the 1st control part 120 and the 2nd control part 160 is realized when hardware processors, such as CPU (Central Processing Unit), run a program (software), for example. In addition, some or all of these components include hardware (circuits) such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), and GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). Part (including circuit)), or may be realized by cooperation of software and hardware.

  FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the first control unit 120 and the second control unit 160. The first control unit 120 includes, for example, a recognition unit 130 and an action plan generation unit 140. The first control unit 120 implements, for example, a function based on AI (Artificial Intelligence) and a function based on a predetermined model in parallel. For example, the “recognize intersection” function executes recognition of an intersection by deep learning or the like and recognition based on a predetermined condition (such as a signal that can be matched with a pattern and road marking) in parallel. It is realized by scoring and comprehensively evaluating. This ensures the reliability of automatic driving. The combination of the camera 10, the object recognition device 16, and the recognition unit 130 is an example of a “detection unit”.

  Based on information input from the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 via the object recognition device 16, the recognition unit 130 determines the positions of objects around the host vehicle M and the state such as speed and acceleration. recognize. The object includes another vehicle m and a stationary obstacle. For example, the position of the object is recognized as a position on an absolute coordinate with the representative point (the center of gravity, the center of the drive shaft, etc.) of the host vehicle M as the origin, and is used for control. The position of the object may be represented by a representative point such as the center of gravity or corner of the object, or may be represented by a represented area. The “state” of the object may include acceleration or jerk of the object, or “behavioral state” (for example, whether or not the lane is changed or is about to be changed). Further, the recognition unit 130 recognizes the shape of the curve through which the host vehicle M will pass based on the captured image of the camera 10. The recognizing unit 130 converts the shape of the curve from the captured image of the camera 10 to a real plane, and, for example, information representing the shape of the curve by using two-dimensional point sequence information or information equivalent to the model. To the action plan generation unit 140.

  Further, the recognition unit 130 recognizes, for example, a lane (traveling lane) in which the host vehicle M is traveling. For example, the recognizing unit 130 has a road lane marking line around the host vehicle M recognized from the road lane marking pattern (for example, an array of solid lines and broken lines) obtained from the second map information 62 and an image captured by the camera 10. The driving lane is recognized by comparing with the pattern. Note that the recognition unit 130 may recognize a travel lane by recognizing not only a road lane line but also a road lane line (road boundary) including a road lane line, a road shoulder, a curb, a median strip, a guardrail, and the like. . In this recognition, the position of the host vehicle M acquired from the navigation device 50 and the processing result by INS may be taken into account. The recognition unit 130 also recognizes road markings drawn on the road surface such as a temporary stop line, road signs, obstacles, red lights, toll gates, and other road events.

  When recognizing the traveling lane, the recognizing unit 130 recognizes the position and posture of the host vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane. For example, the recognizing unit 130 determines the relative position of the host vehicle M with respect to the travel lane by making an angle between the deviation of the reference point of the host vehicle M from the center of the lane and the line connecting the center of the lane in the traveling direction of the host vehicle M. And may be recognized as a posture. Instead of this, the recognition unit 130 determines the position of the reference point of the host vehicle M with respect to any side edge (road lane line or road boundary) of the travel lane, and the relative position of the host vehicle M with respect to the travel lane. You may recognize as.

  Moreover, the recognition part 130 may derive | lead-out recognition accuracy in said recognition process, and may output it to the action plan production | generation part 140 as recognition accuracy information. For example, the recognition unit 130 generates recognition accuracy information based on the frequency with which road lane markings can be recognized in a certain period.

  The action plan generation unit 140 includes, for example, an event determination unit 142, a target speed determination unit 144, a target rudder angle determination unit 146, a trajectory generation unit 148, and a vehicle behavior determination unit 150. For example, the event determination unit 142 travels in the recommended lane determined by the recommended lane determination unit 61 in principle, and further executes events that are sequentially executed in automatic driving so that the situation around the host vehicle M can be handled. decide. Events include, for example, constant-speed driving events that drive the same lane at a constant speed, follow-up driving events that drive at a constant speed while following the preceding vehicle, overtaking events that overtake the preceding vehicle, and avoidance of obstacles Braking and / or steering avoidance event, curve driving event traveling on a curve, passing event passing a predetermined point such as an intersection, pedestrian crossing, crossing, lane change event, merge event, branch event, automatic stop There are events, takeover events to end automatic operation and switch to manual operation.

  The target speed determination unit 144 determines the target speed Vtg of the host vehicle M for each event determined by the event determination unit 142. For example, when the event determined by the event determination unit 142 is a follow-up travel event, the target speed determination unit 144 determines that if the inter-vehicle distance D between the preceding vehicle PV and the host vehicle M is less than a predetermined distance Dth, The target speed Vtg of the host vehicle M is determined according to the speed of the traveling vehicle PV. The preceding vehicle PV is the other vehicle m existing in front of (in front of) the host vehicle M in the host lane among the one or more other vehicles m recognized by the recognition unit 130. For example, the target speed determination unit 144 determines the target speed Vtg to a speed that is the same as the speed of the preceding vehicle PV and that allows an error of about several [%] with respect to the speed of the preceding vehicle PV. In addition, when the event determined by the event determination unit 142 is a follow-up traveling event, the target speed determination unit 144 preliminarily determines that the inter-vehicle distance D between the preceding vehicle PV and the host vehicle M is equal to or greater than the predetermined distance Dth. The target speed Vtg is determined within a predetermined set speed (for example, about 30 to 100 [km / h]). Further, the target speed determination unit 144 is present around the legal speed of the lane determined as the recommended lane or around the host vehicle M when the event determined by the event determination unit 142 is another event different from the following traveling event. Based on the speed of the other vehicle m, the target speed Vtg is determined.

  Further, the target speed determination unit 144 changes the determined target speed Vtg according to the determination result by the vehicle behavior determination unit 150 described later. The target speed determination unit 144 may determine a target acceleration, a target jerk, or the like in addition to or instead of the target speed Vtg.

  The target rudder angle determination unit 146 determines the target rudder angle θtg of the host vehicle M for each event determined by the event determination unit. For example, when the event determined by the event determining unit 142 is a constant speed traveling event, a follow-up traveling event, a curve traveling event, or the like, the target rudder angle determining unit 146 determines the own lane among the lanes recognized by the recognizing unit 130. Based on the lane width, the target rudder angle θtg of each track point is determined so that the host vehicle M travels in the center of the host lane. In addition, the target rudder angle determination unit 146 is adjacent to the lane width of the own lane and the own lane when the event determined by the event determination unit 142 is an overtaking event, an avoidance event, a lane change event, a merge event, a branch event, or the like. Based on the lane width of the adjacent lane, the size and speed of other objects such as the other vehicle m, the target rudder angle θtg is determined so as to bring the own vehicle M from the own lane to the adjacent lane. Note that the target rudder angle determination unit 146 may change the determined target rudder angle θtg according to the determination result by the vehicle behavior determination unit 150 described later.

  The track generation unit 148 generates a target track on which the host vehicle M will travel in the future based on the target speed Vtg determined by the target speed determination unit 144 and the target rudder angle θtg determined by the target rudder angle determination unit 146. To do. The target trajectory includes a target speed Vtg as a speed element, and includes a target rudder angle θtg as a rudder angle element.

  For example, the target track is expressed as a sequence of points (track points) that the host vehicle M should reach. The track point is a point that the host vehicle M should reach for each predetermined travel distance (for example, about several [m]) on the road, and depending on the type of event, the relative positional relationship between the track points is It may be determined according to the target rudder angle θtg of each track point. In addition to the trajectory point, the target trajectory includes a target velocity Vtg, a target acceleration, and the like for each predetermined sampling time (second predetermined time Tb described later, for example, about 0 comma [sec]). Is determined as a speed factor. Further, the track point may be a position to which the host vehicle M should arrive at the sampling time for each predetermined sampling time. In this case, information on speed elements such as the target speed Vtg and the target acceleration is expressed by the interval between the trajectory points.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a target track is generated based on the recommended lane. As shown in the figure, the recommended lane is set so as to be convenient for traveling along the route to the destination. The action plan generation unit 140 activates a passing event, a lane change event, a branch event, a merge event, and the like when it reaches a predetermined distance (which may be determined according to the type of event) of the recommended lane switching point. If it becomes necessary to avoid an obstacle during the execution of each event, an avoidance trajectory is generated as shown in the figure.

  The vehicle behavior determination unit 150 determines whether or not the behavior of the other vehicle m recognized by the recognition unit 130 is in an unstable state. The state in which the behavior is unstable means, for example, that an index indicating a variation in physical quantity per first predetermined time Ta of another vehicle m is equal to or greater than a threshold value. The physical quantity is, for example, speed, angular velocity, position change amount, and the like. The speed includes a speed related to the vehicle traveling direction, a speed related to the vehicle width direction, or an absolute speed regardless of the direction. The amount of change in position includes, for example, displacement of the position of the other vehicle m in the vehicle traveling direction and displacement of the position of the other vehicle m in the vehicle width direction. The first predetermined time Ta is a time provided for observing a change in the physical quantity of the other vehicle m for a certain period. When the vehicle behavior determination unit 150 determines that the behavior of the other vehicle m is in an unstable state, a speed element such as the target speed Vtg is determined again, and a new target trajectory is generated.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 2, the second control unit 160 includes, for example, an acquisition unit 162, a speed control unit 164, and a steering control unit 166. A combination of the action plan generation unit 140, the speed control unit 164, and the steering control unit 166 is an example of the “driving control unit”.

  The acquisition unit 162 acquires information on the target trajectory (orbit point) generated by the trajectory generation unit 148 and stores the information in the memory.

  The speed control unit 164 and the steering control unit 166 are the driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering so that the host vehicle M passes the target track generated by the track generation unit 148 at a scheduled time. The device 220 is controlled. For example, the speed control unit 164 controls the traveling driving force output device 200 or the brake device 210 so that the speed of the host vehicle M approaches the target speed Vtg included as a speed element in the target track stored in the memory. The steering control unit 166 controls the steering device 220 so that the steering angle of the host vehicle M approaches the target steering angle θtg included as a steering angle element on the target track stored in the memory. The processing of the speed control unit 164 and the steering control unit 166 is realized by, for example, a combination of feedforward control and feedback control. As an example, the steering control unit 166 executes a combination of feed-forward control corresponding to the curvature of the road ahead of the host vehicle M and feedback control based on deviation from the target track.

  The traveling driving force output device 200 outputs a traveling driving force (torque) for traveling of the vehicle to driving wheels. The traveling driving force output device 200 includes, for example, a combination of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, a transmission, and the like, and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that controls these. The ECU controls the above-described configuration according to information input from the second control unit 160 or information input from the driving operator 80.

  The brake device 210 includes, for example, a brake caliper, a cylinder that transmits hydraulic pressure to the brake caliper, an electric motor that generates hydraulic pressure in the cylinder, and a brake ECU. The brake ECU controls the electric motor in accordance with the information input from the second control unit 160 or the information input from the driving operation element 80 so that the brake torque corresponding to the braking operation is output to each wheel. The brake device 210 may include, as a backup, a mechanism that transmits the hydraulic pressure generated by operating the brake pedal included in the driving operation element 80 to the cylinder via the master cylinder. The brake device 210 is not limited to the configuration described above, and is an electronically controlled hydraulic brake device that controls the actuator according to information input from the second control unit 160 and transmits the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder to the cylinder. Also good.

  The steering device 220 includes, for example, a steering ECU and an electric motor. For example, the electric motor changes the direction of the steered wheels by applying a force to a rack and pinion mechanism. The steering ECU drives the electric motor according to the information input from the second control unit 160 or the information input from the driving operator 80, and changes the direction of the steered wheels.

[Processing flow]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by the automatic operation control device 100 according to the first embodiment. The process of this flowchart is executed when, for example, the event determined by the event determination unit 142 (the event executed by the action plan generation unit 140) is a follow-up driving event. Moreover, the process of this flowchart may be repeatedly performed, for example, whenever the 2nd predetermined time Tb passes. The second predetermined time Tb is longer than the first predetermined time Ta (Ta <Tb).

  First, the recognizing unit 130 waits until the preceding vehicle PV is recognized (step S100). When the preceding vehicle PV is recognized, observation of the physical quantity (particularly speed) of the preceding vehicle PV is started (step S102). .

  Next, the recognition unit 130 determines whether or not the first predetermined time Ta has elapsed since the start of observation of the physical quantity of the preceding vehicle PV. When the recognition unit 130 determines that the first predetermined time Ta has not elapsed since the start of observation of the physical quantity of the preceding vehicle PV, the recognition unit 130 returns the process to S102 and continues to observe the physical quantity of the preceding vehicle PV. .

  On the other hand, when the recognition unit 130 determines that the first predetermined time Ta has elapsed since the start of the observation of the physical quantity of the preceding vehicle PV, the vehicle behavior determination unit 150 determines that the recognition unit 130 is over the first predetermined time Ta. Whether or not the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV is in an unstable state is determined based on the variation in the physical quantity of the preceding vehicle PV observed by (Step S106).

  For example, the vehicle behavior determination unit 150 determines that a part or all of various index values such as the average value, the median value, and the variance of the preceding vehicle PV at the first predetermined time Ta are equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. In some cases, it is determined that the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV is an unstable state, and otherwise, it is determined that the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV is not an unstable state (a stable state). If it is determined that the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV is not unstable, the process of this flowchart is terminated.

On the other hand, when the vehicle behavior determination unit 150 determines that the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV is in an unstable state, the target speed determination unit 144 determines whether the speed of the preceding vehicle PV is measured as a physical quantity when determining the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV. The minimum speed V _MIN is extracted from (step S108).

Next, the target speed determination unit 144 determines whether or not the extracted minimum speed V _MIN is equal to or higher than the predetermined speed Vth (step S110). The predetermined speed Vth is, for example, a lower limit speed (for example, about 30 [km / h]) of a set speed during follow-up traveling or other speed.

When the target speed determination unit 144 determines that the extracted minimum speed V _MIN is equal to or higher than the predetermined speed Vth, the target speed determination unit 144 further determines whether the minimum speed V _MIN is smaller than the target speed Vtg included as a speed element in the current target trajectory. Is determined (step S112).

When determining that the minimum speed V _MIN is smaller than the current target speed Vtg, the target speed determination unit 144 determines (updates) the target speed Vtg of the host vehicle M to the minimum speed V _MIN (step S114). At this time, the target rudder angle determination unit 146 may re-determine the target rudder angle θtg. That is, when the behavior of the other vehicle m is in an unstable state, the target rudder angle θtg which is the rudder angle element of the target track is re-determined in addition to or instead of the speed factor such as the target speed Vtg. Also good.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scene in which the target speed Vtg is updated. In the scene of (a) in the figure, the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV is stable, and in the scenes of (b) and (c), the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV is not stable. When the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV is stable as in the scene of (a), the target speed determination unit 144 sets the target speed Vtg of the host vehicle M to, for example, the same speed as the speed V1 of the preceding vehicle PV. To decide. On the other hand, when a transition is made from the scene (a) to the scene (b), the preceding vehicle PV is accelerating. In this case, the target speed determination unit 144 does not set the target speed Vtg of the host vehicle M as the minimum speed V2 of the preceding vehicle PV when accelerated, but the target speed Vtg (= V1) determined in the scene (a). To maintain. Moreover, when it changes from the scene of (a) to the scene of (c), the preceding vehicle PV is decelerating. In this case, the target speed determining unit 144 determines the target speed Vtg of the host vehicle M as the minimum speed V3 of the preceding vehicle PV when the vehicle is decelerated.

Next, the trajectory generation unit 148 newly generates a target trajectory for follow-up travel that updates at least the target speed Vtg (step S116). The speed control unit 164 and the steering control unit 166 are based on the target speed Vtg, which is a speed element of the target trajectory, and the target rudder angle θtg, which is a rudder angle element, and the driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and The steering device 220 is controlled so that the host vehicle M continues to follow the preceding vehicle PV while traveling at a constant speed at the target speed Vtg (ie, the minimum speed V _MIN ).

On the other hand, if the target speed determination unit 144 determines that the minimum speed V _MIN is larger than the current target speed Vtg, the process of S114 is omitted. That is, the target speed determining unit 144, without changing the target speed Vtg of the vehicle M to the minimum speed _{V MIN,} to maintain the target speed Vtg the current. In this case, the trajectory generation unit 148 may output the previously generated target trajectory to the speed control unit 164 and the steering control unit 166 without newly generating the target trajectory. When the target rudder angle θtg is changed although the target speed Vtg is not changed, the trajectory generation unit 148 may newly generate a target trajectory in which the target rudder angle θtg is changed.

On the other hand, in the process of S110, when it is determined that the minimum speed V _MIN is less than the predetermined speed Vth, the action plan generation unit 140 changes the own vehicle M to the adjacent lane once, and changes the preceding vehicle PV in the adjacent lane. A target trajectory to be overtaken is generated (step S118). Thereby, the processing of this flowchart is completed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scene where a target trajectory for overtaking the preceding vehicle PV is generated. For example, when the host vehicle M is traveling on the lane L1 and the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV is unstable, the minimum speed V _MIN of the preceding vehicle PV is determined as the target speed Vtg of the host vehicle M. Is done. At this time, the minimum speed V _MIN of the preceding vehicle PV may be a predetermined speed Vth or less. In this case, in order to pass the preceding vehicle PV below the predetermined speed Vth, the track generation unit 148 generates a target track from the lane L1 to the lane L2, and when the host vehicle M passes the preceding vehicle PV, A target track from the lane L2 to the lane L1 is generated. This makes it possible to overtake the preceding vehicle PV whose behavior is unstable and whose speed is low.

In the description of the flowchart described above, it is assumed that when the minimum speed V _MIN is less than the predetermined speed Vth, a target trajectory for overtaking the preceding vehicle PV is generated instead of a target trajectory for following travel. However, it is not limited to this. For example, when the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle PV is less than a predetermined distance Dth, a target track for overtaking the preceding vehicle PV may be generated. In addition, when the minimum speed V _MIN is less than the predetermined speed Vth, instead of generating a target track overtaking the preceding vehicle PV, the route itself to the destination may be changed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scene where the route to the destination is changed. For example, when the minimum speed V _MIN of the preceding vehicle PV in which the behavior is unstable is equal to or lower than a predetermined speed Vth, if the traveling lane is one lane, the host vehicle M is set as illustrated in FIG. It may not be possible to change lanes to adjacent lanes. In this case, the action plan generation unit 140 outputs a route change request to the navigation device 50 and the MPU 60. Receiving this, the navigation device 50 determines the route to the destination as another route, and the MPU 60 determines a recommended lane in the newly determined route. This changes the route to the destination. For example, when a route that detours to the lane L3 is determined as another route, the action plan generation unit 140 generates a target track that branches the host vehicle M into the lane L3, and the lane L1 from the lane L1 to the lane L3 Change it.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a change in the target speed Vtg during follow-up traveling. The horizontal axis in the figure represents time, and the vertical axis represents speed. Times t1 to t8 represent times sampled every second predetermined time Tb.

For example, since the degree of variation in the speed of the preceding vehicle PV is less than the threshold at the sampling time t1, representative speeds (average speed V in the illustrated example) such as an average value or a median speed of the preceding vehicle PV. _AVE (t1)) is determined as the target speed Vtg until the next sampling time t2.

At the sampling time t2, since the degree of variation in the speed of the preceding vehicle PV is equal to or greater than the threshold, the lowest speed V _MIN (lowest speed) among the speeds of the preceding vehicle PV observed during the first predetermined time Ta. t2) is extracted. At this time, when the minimum speed V _MIN (t2) is compared with the current target speed Vtg (for example, average speed V _AVE (t1)), the minimum speed V _MIN (t2) is smaller, so the minimum speed V _MIN (t2) is determined as the target speed Vtg until the next sampling time t3.

At the sampling time t3, since the degree of variation in the speed of the preceding vehicle PV is less than the threshold value, the target speed Vtg determined at the sampling time t2 (minimum speed V _MIN (t2)) is maintained without being changed.

At the sampling time t4, since the degree of variation in speed of the preceding vehicle PV is equal to or greater than the threshold, the lowest speed V _MIN (lowest speed) among the speeds of the preceding vehicle PV observed during the first predetermined time Ta. t4) is extracted. At this time, when the minimum speed V _MIN (t4) is compared with the current target speed Vtg (minimum speed V _MIN (t2)), the minimum speed V _MIN (t4) is smaller. _MIN (t4) is determined as the target speed Vtg until the next sampling time t5.

Similarly, at the sampling time t5, the degree of variation in the speed of the preceding vehicle PV is equal to or greater than the threshold value, so that the lowest speed of the preceding vehicle PV observed during the first predetermined time Ta is the lowest. V _MIN (t5) is extracted. At this time, when comparing the minimum speed V _MIN (t5) and the current target speed Vtg (minimum speed V _MIN (t4)), the minimum speed V _MIN (t5) is smaller, so the minimum speed V _MIN (t5) is smaller. _MIN (t5) is determined as the target speed Vtg until the next sampling time t6.

At the sampling time t6, although the degree of variation in speed of the preceding vehicle PV is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the lowest speed V _MIN (lowest speed) among the speeds of the preceding vehicle PV observed during the first predetermined time Ta. Since t6) is larger than the current target speed Vtg (minimum speed V _MIN (t5)), the target speed Vtg is maintained without being changed.

Similarly, at the sampling time t7, although the degree of variation in the speed of the preceding vehicle PV is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the lowest speed with the lowest speed among the speeds of the preceding vehicle PV observed during the first predetermined time Ta. Since V _MIN (t7) is larger than the current target speed Vtg (minimum speed V _MIN (t5)), the target speed Vtg is maintained without being changed.

At the sampling time t8, since the degree of variation in the speed of the preceding vehicle PV is equal to or greater than the threshold, the lowest speed V _MIN (lowest speed) among the speeds of the preceding vehicle PV observed during the first predetermined time Ta. t8) is extracted. At this time, when the minimum speed V _MIN (t8) is compared with the current target speed Vtg (minimum speed V _MIN (t5)), the minimum speed V _MIN (t8) is smaller, so the minimum speed V _MIN (t8) is smaller. _MIN (t8) is determined as the target speed Vtg until the next sampling time t9.

As described above, when the process of the flowchart described above is repeated each time the second predetermined time Tb elapses, when the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV is in an unstable state, the target speed Vtg of the host vehicle M is set to the preceding vehicle. In order to repeat the change to the lowest minimum speed V _MIN among the changing speeds of the PV, the host vehicle M is caused to follow the preceding vehicle PV without approaching the preceding vehicle PV whose behavior is unstable. be able to.

  In the above-described example, when the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV is in a stable state, the target speed Vtg is described as being maintained at the target speed Vtg determined at the previous sampling time. Without limitation, when a certain predetermined condition is satisfied, the target speed Vtg may be updated even if the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV is stable. The predetermined condition is, for example, that the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV is in a stable state at each sampling time for a predetermined number of times.

  For example, when the predetermined number of times is two, in the example of FIG. 8, it is continuous that the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV is stable at the sampling times t6 and t7. In this case, at the sampling time t7, the target speed determination unit 144 determines the target speed Vtg up to the next sampling time t2 to a representative speed such as an average value or a median speed of the preceding vehicle PV. As a result, when the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV transitions from an unstable state to a stable state, the host vehicle M that has been kept moving away from the preceding vehicle PV so far can approach the preceding vehicle PV. it can. As a result, since the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle PV is shortened, interruption of other vehicles can be suppressed, and the follow-up traveling can be performed more smoothly.

According to the first embodiment described above, the recognition unit 130 that recognizes the other vehicle m around the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m that is recognized by the recognition unit 130 before the vehicle M exists in front of the host vehicle M. An action plan generation unit 140 that generates a target trajectory that causes the host vehicle M to follow the traveling vehicle, a speed control unit 164 that controls acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle M according to the target trajectory generated by the action plan generation unit 140, and a target trajectory And the steering control unit 166 that controls the steering of the host vehicle M according to the above, and when the behavior plan generation unit 140 is in an unstable state, the preceding vehicle that has fluctuated in the unstable behavior Since the minimum speed V _MIN is determined as the target speed of the host vehicle M during the follow-up traveling, the host vehicle can smoothly follow the preceding vehicle.

Second Embodiment
Hereinafter, a second embodiment will be described. In 1st Embodiment mentioned above, it demonstrated as what performs the automatic driving | operation which produces | generates a target track | truck and controls the acceleration / deceleration of the own vehicle M, and steering. In contrast, the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment described above in that driving assistance such as ACC, LKAS, and ALC (Auto Lane Change) is simply performed. The following description will focus on differences from the first embodiment, and descriptions of functions and the like common to the first embodiment will be omitted.

  FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of the vehicle system 2 of the second embodiment. The vehicle system 2 according to the second embodiment includes, for example, the camera 10, the radar device 12, the finder 14, the object recognition device 16, the communication device 20, the HMI 30, the vehicle sensor 40, the driving operator 80, and the driving force output device 200 described above. In addition to the brake device 210 and the steering device 220, a driving support control device 300 is provided. These apparatuses and devices are connected to each other by a multiple communication line such as a CAN communication line, a serial communication line, a wireless communication network, or the like. The configuration illustrated in FIG. 9 is merely an example, and a part of the configuration may be omitted, or another configuration may be added.

  The HMI 30 of the second embodiment includes, for example, a switch for starting follow-up travel (for example, ACC) (hereinafter, follow-up travel start switch) and a switch for starting lane change (for example, ALC) (hereinafter, start of lane change). Switch). Further, as a switch for starting the follow-up running, a winker lever may be substituted for the lane change start switch.

  The driving support control device 300 includes, for example, a preceding vehicle recognition unit 310, a lane recognition unit 320, a following travel control unit 330, and a lane change control unit 340. Each of these components is realized, for example, when a hardware processor such as a CPU executes a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (circuit unit; including circuitry) such as LSI, ASIC, FPGA, GPU, etc., or by cooperation of software and hardware. May be. A combination of the following traveling control unit 330 and the lane change control unit 340 is another example of the “driving control unit”.

  For example, the preceding vehicle recognition unit 310 recognizes the preceding vehicle PV based on information input from the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 through the object recognition device 16.

  For example, the lane recognition unit 320 recognizes a lane marking on the road from the image captured by the camera 10 and determines the lane partitioned by the two lane markings closest to the host vehicle M among the recognized lane markings. Recognize as Further, the lane recognition unit 320 may recognize an adjacent lane adjacent to the own lane, for example. For example, the lane recognition unit 320 recognizes a region between the lane line closest to the host vehicle M next to the lane line of the own lane and the lane line of the own lane as an adjacent lane.

For example, when the follow-up travel start switch is operated, the follow-up travel control unit 330 controls the travel driving force output device 200 and the brake device 210 so that the front-running vehicle PV recognized by the front-running vehicle recognition unit 310 The host vehicle M is accelerated or decelerated within a predetermined vehicle speed range so as to keep the distance between the vehicle M and the vehicle constant. At this time, the follow-up travel control unit 330 determines whether or not the behavior of the preceding vehicle PV that is the subject of follow-up is in an unstable state. It is determined to be the lowest minimum speed V _MIN in the rate of change of the previous run vehicle PV target speed Vtg of the vehicle M at the time. The follow-up travel control unit 330 repeats updating the target speed Vtg every time the second predetermined time Tb elapses. As a result, as in the first embodiment, the host vehicle M can be made to follow the preceding vehicle PV without approaching the preceding vehicle PV whose behavior is unstable. When the target speed Vtg is equal to or lower than the lower limit speed of the set vehicle speed, the follow-up travel control unit 330 may stop the follow-up travel.

  For example, when a lane change start switch or a blinker lever is operated, the lane change control unit 340 controls the steering device 220 to change the own vehicle M to an adjacent lane. The lane change control unit 340 also moves the host vehicle M to the adjacent lane when the target speed Vtg is equal to or lower than the lower limit speed of the set vehicle speed when the following traveling control unit 330 is executing following traveling and the following traveling stops. You may change lanes. This makes it possible to overtake the preceding vehicle PV whose behavior is unstable and whose speed is low.

According to the second embodiment described above, when driving support such as ACC is performed, it is determined whether or not the behavior of the preceding vehicle is unstable, and the behavior of the preceding vehicle is unstable. If so, in order to determine the minimum speed V _MIN among the speeds of the preceding vehicle as the target speed of the own vehicle M at the time of ACC, the own vehicle smoothly follows the preceding vehicle as in the first embodiment. Can be made.

[Hardware configuration]
The automatic driving control device 100 and / or the driving support control device 300 according to the above-described embodiment is realized by, for example, a hardware configuration as illustrated in FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the automatic driving control device 100 and / or the driving support control device 300 according to the embodiment.

  The automatic operation control device 100 and / or the driving support control device 300 includes a communication controller 400-1, a CPU 400-2, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 400-3, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 400-4, a flash memory, an HDD ( A secondary storage device 400-5 such as a hard disk drive) and a drive device 400-6 are connected to each other by an internal bus or a dedicated communication line. The drive device 400-6 is loaded with a portable storage medium such as an optical disk. The program 400-5a stored in the secondary storage device 400-5 is expanded in the RAM 400-3 by a DMA controller (not shown) or the like and executed by the CPU 400-2. 120 and the second control unit 160 are realized, and the driving support control device 300 implements a preceding vehicle recognition unit 310, a lane recognition unit 320, a follow-up travel control unit 330, and a lane change control unit 340. The program referred to by the CPU 400-2 may be stored in a portable storage medium attached to the drive device 400-6, or may be downloaded from another device via the network NW.

The above embodiment can be expressed as follows.
Storage for storing the program;
And a processor,
The processor executes the program,
Recognize other vehicles around your vehicle,
Among the recognized other vehicles, a follow-up running is performed to cause the host vehicle to follow a preceding vehicle existing in front of the host vehicle,
When the behavior of the preceding vehicle is in an unstable state, the lowest speed among the speeds of the preceding vehicle that fluctuated in the unstable behavior is set as the target speed of the host vehicle during the following traveling. Configured to determine,
Vehicle control device.

Moreover, you may express the said embodiment as follows.
A recognition unit for recognizing other vehicles around the vehicle,
An operation control unit that performs a follow-up traveling that causes the host vehicle to follow a preceding vehicle existing in front of the host vehicle among other vehicles recognized by the recognition unit;
The operation control unit determines the lowest speed among the speeds of the preceding vehicle that fluctuated in the course of a predetermined time as the target speed of the host vehicle during the following traveling,
Vehicle control device.

  As mentioned above, although the form for implementing this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, this invention is not limited to such embodiment at all, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention, various deformation | transformation and substitution Can be added.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 ... Vehicle system, 10 ... Camera, 12 ... Radar device, 14 ... Finder, 16 ... Object recognition device, 20 ... Communication device, 30 ... HMI, 40 ... Vehicle sensor, 50 ... Navigation device, 60 ... MPU, 80 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Driving operator 100 ... Automatic driving control device 120 ... 1st control part 130 ... Recognition part 140 ... Action plan production | generation part 142 ... Event determination part 144 ... Target speed determination part 146 ... Target rudder angle determination 148: Trajectory generation unit, 150 ... Vehicle behavior determination unit, 160 ... Second control unit, 162 ... Acquisition unit, 164 ... Speed control unit, 166 ... Steering control unit, 200 ... Driving force output device, 210 ... Brake Device: 220 ... Steering device, 300 ... Driving support control device, 310 ... Pre-running vehicle recognition unit, 320 ... Lane recognition unit, 330 ... Tracking travel control unit, 340 ... Lane change control , M ... the vehicle, m ... other vehicles

Claims (7)

A recognition unit for recognizing other vehicles around the vehicle,
An operation control unit that performs a follow-up traveling that causes the host vehicle to follow a preceding vehicle existing in front of the host vehicle among other vehicles recognized by the recognition unit;
When the behavior of the preceding vehicle is in an unstable state, the operation control unit determines the lowest speed among the speeds of the preceding vehicle that has fluctuated in the unstable behavior as the tracking vehicle during the following traveling. Decide on the target speed of your vehicle,
Vehicle control device. The state in which the behavior is unstable is a state in which an index indicating a degree of variation per predetermined time of a physical quantity obtained by observing the preceding vehicle is a threshold value or more.
The vehicle control device according to claim 1.   The physical quantity includes at least a change in position,
  The operation controller is
    If the index indicating the variation in the amount of change in the position of the preceding vehicle per predetermined time is in a state of a threshold value or more, it is determined that the behavior of the preceding vehicle is in the unstable state,
    When it is determined that the behavior of the preceding vehicle is in the unstable state, the own vehicle during the following traveling is set to the lowest speed among the speeds of the preceding vehicle that have fluctuated in the unstable behavior. To determine the target speed of the
  The vehicle control device according to claim 2. The operation controller is
Each time the preceding vehicle in which the behavior is unstable becomes a speed lower than the target speed during the follow-up running, the target speed during the follow-up running is repeatedly updated to a lower speed,
In the process of repeating the update of the target speed, when the speed of the host vehicle becomes less than a predetermined speed, the travel route is changed.
The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . The operation controller is
Each time the preceding vehicle in which the behavior is unstable becomes a speed lower than the target speed during the follow-up running, the target speed during the follow-up running is repeatedly updated to a lower speed,
In the process of repeating the update of the target speed, if the speed of the own vehicle becomes less than a predetermined speed, the lane is changed to another lane,
The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . The recognition unit recognizes other vehicles around the host vehicle,
The driving control unit executes a follow-up traveling that causes the host vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle existing in front of the host vehicle among other vehicles recognized by the recognition unit, and the behavior of the preceding vehicle is unstable. When the vehicle is in an unstable state, the lowest speed among the speeds of the preceding vehicle that fluctuated in the unstable behavior is determined as the target speed of the host vehicle during the follow-up traveling.
Vehicle control method. On-board computer
A process of recognizing other vehicles around the host vehicle,
Among the recognized other vehicles, a process of executing a follow-up traveling that causes the host vehicle to follow a preceding vehicle existing in front of the host vehicle;
When the behavior of the preceding vehicle is in an unstable state, the lowest speed among the speeds of the preceding vehicle that fluctuated in the unstable behavior is set as the target speed of the host vehicle during the following traveling. Process to determine,
A program for running

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