JP6614317B1 - Information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

In an information processing apparatus, a row of moving bodies is efficiently organized based on specifications of sensors. An information processing apparatus (1) includes an acquisition unit (103) that acquires sensor attribute information that is information related to an attribute of a sensor mounted on a mobile body, and a movement to be included in a platoon according to the sensor attribute information. A formation information generation unit (104) that generates formation information indicating at least one of the order of the bodies and the moving objects included in the formation. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus applied to a system for determining a formation of a plurality of moving bodies and a method for measuring and controlling each moving body.

  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 on March 8, 2018) However, in automatic driving as described above, in order not to make a blind spot for an obstacle, a sensor having a field of view of 360 degrees is arranged, It is necessary to arrange a plurality of sensors. As a result, the sensor cost is increased, which increases the hardware cost.

  In addition, when multiple vehicles are traveling in a row, in addition to recognition and measurement of obstacles, the distance between vehicles and the relative angle between vehicles must be measured in order to follow a vehicle traveling in front. I must. For this reason, the sensor cost has further increased, raising the hardware cost.

  In the present invention, in view of the above-mentioned problems, a technique that can arrange a plurality of moving bodies so as to efficiently cover a dangerous area such as an obstacle according to the specifications of the sensor mounted on the moving body, and as a result can reduce the sensor cost. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention provides an information processing apparatus that generates formation information of a formation including a plurality of moving bodies, and includes at least some moving bodies of the plurality of moving bodies. A sensor information acquisition unit that acquires sensor attribute information, which is information related to the attributes of the sensors installed in the vehicle, and according to the sensor attribute information, the mobile body included in the platoon, and the order in the platoon of the mobile body included in the platoon A formation information generation unit that generates formation information indicating at least one of them.

  According to the above configuration, when a plurality of moving bodies travels in a formation, it is possible to efficiently cover a dangerous area such as an obstacle without increasing the number of sensors or the measurement range of the sensors. it can. For this reason, it is possible to perform safe row running while suppressing the sensor cost.

  In the information processing apparatus according to the above aspect, the sensor attribute information may include sensor cost information indicating a cost of the sensor.

  According to the above-described configuration, it is possible to perform safe traveling by reliably recognizing an obstacle or the like without increasing the sensor cost in the row traveling of the moving body.

  According to the above configuration, the sensor attribute information includes sensor type information indicating the type of the sensor.

  According to said structure, an obstacle etc. can be recognized reliably and a safe driving | running can be performed, without increasing sensor cost.

  In the information processing apparatus according to the above aspect, the sensor attribute information may include information indicating a measurement range of the sensor.

  According to the above configuration, when a plurality of moving bodies travels in a formation, it is possible to efficiently cover a dangerous area such as an obstacle without increasing the number of sensors or the measurement range of the sensors. it can. For this reason, it is possible to perform safe row running while suppressing the sensor cost.

  In the information processing apparatus according to the above aspect, the information indicating the measurement range of the sensor may include information indicating a measurable angle of the sensor and information indicating a measurable distance of the sensor.

  According to said structure, dangerous driving | running | working can be performed efficiently, covering dangerous areas, such as an obstruction, without increasing sensor cost.

  In the information processing apparatus according to the above aspect, the formation information generation unit includes a moving body in which a sensor having a relatively large measurable angle is mounted and a sensor in which the measurable angle is relatively small. The formation information may be generated so as to be behind the body.

  According to the above configuration, if the backward moving body accurately detects the possibility of collision between the forward moving body and the obstacle and notifies the forward moving body, the number of sensors attached while maintaining the obstacle measurement range. And the measurement range of individual sensors can be reduced.

  In the information processing apparatus according to the above aspect, the formation information generation unit generates the formation information by further referring to information on the number of moving bodies to be included in the formation.

  According to said structure, the said formation information production | generation part can produce | generate formation information in an appropriate driving | running | working order according to the number of the mobile bodies which should be included in the said formation.

  An information processing method according to an aspect of the present invention relates to an attribute of a sensor mounted on at least a part of a plurality of moving objects in the information processing method for generating formation information of a formation including a plurality of moving objects. Sensor information acquisition step for acquiring sensor attribute information, which is information, and generation of formation information indicating at least one of a moving object to be included in the formation and an order within the formation of the moving object to be included in the formation in accordance with the sensor attribute information And a formation information generation step.

  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 according to any one of the above, and causes the computer to function as the formation 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, they can efficiently cover the measurement range by the sensor based on the specifications of the sensors included in the moving body, and travel safely. Can do. For this reason, sensor cost can be reduced.

It is a block diagram which illustrates typically the example of functional composition of the system to which information processor 100 concerning one embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is the figure which showed typically the measurement range of the sensor with which the vehicle which applies the information processing apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention was equipped. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a measurement range of sensors provided in each vehicle when the vehicles shown in FIG. 2 form a formation. It is a figure equivalent to FIG. 3 in a prior art example. It is a table | surface which shows an example of the information stored in the database of the system to which the information processing apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which illustrates typically an example of functional composition of vehicles to which information processor 100 concerning one embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is the flowchart which showed the process which produces | generates the formation information of the vehicle in the system to which the information processing apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is applied. FIG. 8 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 8. 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>
<Configuration>
<Information processing system 1>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a functional configuration example of an information processing system 1 to which an information processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. First, a functional configuration example of an information processing system 1 to which the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment is applied will be described with reference to FIG.

The information processing system 1 includes vehicles 11, 12, and 13, a vehicle body information database 101, a sensor attribute information database 102, and an information processing device 100 as examples of moving bodies. In the present embodiment, the moving body is not limited to a vehicle, and the moving body may be a luggage transport 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.
<Vehicles 11, 12, and 13>
As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 1 includes three vehicles 11, 12, and 13 as an example. Three vehicles move in a formation. However, the number of vehicles is not limited to this embodiment. In this embodiment, a human driver drives only the first vehicle among the three vehicles, and the second and subsequent vehicles are organized so that they are controlled by automatic driving so as to follow the first vehicle. .

<Car body information database 101>
The vehicle body information database 101 includes vehicle body information (vehicle length, vehicle body width, vehicle weight, vehicle type, driving performance, etc.) relating to each vehicle supplied from a plurality of moving bodies (including vehicles 11, 12, and 13). Is stored. Note that the vehicle body information can more generally express the size, weight, type, movement performance, and the like of the moving body as the moving body information.

<Sensor attribute information database 102>
The sensor attribute information database 102 stores sensor attribute information that is information related to the attributes of sensors mounted on at least some of the plurality of vehicles 11, 12, and 13. Specifically, the vehicles 11, 12, and 13 include sensors SR11, SR12, and SR13, respectively. In the sensor attribute information database 102, attribute information of sensors included in the vehicles 11, 12, and 13 is stored. Details of the information stored in the vehicle body information database 101 and the sensor attribute information database 102 will be described later.
<Information processing apparatus 100>
The information processing apparatus 100 is an information processing apparatus that generates formation information of a formation including a plurality of vehicles. In the present embodiment, the information processing apparatus 100 is applied to form a platoon composed of vehicles 11, 12, and 13.
The information processing apparatus 100 includes an acquisition unit 103 and a formation information generation unit 104. More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 100 includes an acquisition unit 103, a formation information generation unit 104, a UI (user interface) unit 105, a control information generation unit 106, and an output unit 107.
<Acquisition unit 103>
The acquisition unit 103 of the information processing apparatus 100 acquires vehicle body information and sensor attribute information from the vehicle body information database 101 and the sensor attribute information database 102.

<UI unit 105>
The UI unit 105 includes an operation receiving unit that receives an operation from the user, and a presentation unit that presents information to the user.

  The user can input from the UI unit 105 the vehicles to be included in the platoon (eg, vehicles 11, 12, and 13) and the number of vehicles to be included in the platoon.

<Convoy information generation unit 104>
The formation information generation unit 104 generates formation information indicating at least one of the vehicles included in the formation and the order in the formation of the vehicles included in the formation, according to the sensor attribute information. In addition, the formation information generation unit 104 generates formation information by further referring to information on the number of vehicles to be included in the formation. For example, the platoon information generation unit 104 includes three vehicles 11, 12, and 13 in the platoon, and the platoon indicating the traveling order of the vehicles 11, 12, and 13 in the platoon based on the sensor attribute information. Generate information.
<Control information generation unit 106>
The control information generation unit 106 generates control information for three vehicles based on the vehicle body information. The control information includes measurement conditions and control conditions. The measurement condition is, for example, how long the time interval between vehicles, the relative angle, or obstacles around the vehicle are measured in the measurement unit (described later) of each vehicle. It is information that defines whether or not to do so. For this reason, the measurement condition may be referred to as measurement regulation information. The control condition is information that defines what values are set for the inter-vehicle distance, the relative angle, and the like. For this reason, the control condition may be called control regulation information. The generated control information is output to the output unit 107.

<Output unit 107>
The output unit 107 acquires control information supplied from the control information generation unit 106 and outputs the control information to the vehicles 11, 12, and 13.

  Each vehicle organizes and travels based on the control information supplied from the output unit 107. In addition, measurement and control in the vehicle are performed based on measurement conditions and control conditions included in the control information supplied from the output unit 107.

<Comparative example>
Here, the measurement ranges of the sensors in the vehicles 11, 12, and 13 applied to this embodiment will be described in comparison with a comparative example. First, the measurement range of the sensor in the row of comparative examples will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the comparative example, three vehicles 21, 22, and 23 run in a formation. Each vehicle is provided with sensors SR21, SR22, and SR23. As shown in FIG. 4, each of the sensors SR21, SR22, and SR23 has measurement ranges B1, B2, and B3 that extend approximately 360 degrees around the vehicle body of each vehicle. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 4, the measurement ranges B1, B2, and B3 of the respective sensors partially overlap. And around the intermediate vehicle 22, the measurement ranges B1, B2, and B3 of the three sensors overlap.

  For this reason, the entire platoon including three vehicles incurs an extra sensor cost, resulting in an increase in the overall hardware cost.

<Measurement range of sensor of each vehicle in embodiment 1>
On the other hand, in this embodiment, the vehicles 11, 12, and 13 included in the platoon each have a measurement range as shown in FIG. That is, the sensor SR11 of the vehicle 11 has a substantially measurement range A1 that extends approximately 360 degrees around the vehicle body of the vehicle 11 in a substantially circular shape. On the other hand, the sensors SR12 and SR13 of the vehicle 12 and the vehicle 13 have measurement ranges A2 and A3 that extend in a semicircular shape by 180 degrees around the vehicle bodies of the vehicles 12 and 13, respectively.

  In the present embodiment, for example, when the three vehicles form a formation, the formation information generation unit 104 forms the formation in the order of the vehicle 12, the vehicle 13, and the vehicle 11, for example, as shown in FIG. Each vehicle exchanges control information with each other through inter-vehicle communication, and the control unit of each vehicle maintains the distance between the vehicles, the relative angle with the preceding vehicle, etc. so that the row can be maintained while traveling safely. Control.

  In the present embodiment, the formation information generation unit 104 uses the sensors SR12 and SR13 having a relatively small measurable angle of 180 degrees when the vehicle 11 on which the sensor SR11 having a relatively measurable angle of 360 degrees is mounted. The formation information is generated so as to be behind the mounted vehicles 12 and 13. Specifically, the vehicle 12 and the vehicle 13 including the sensor SR12 and the sensor SR13 having only a semicircular measurement range of 180 degrees forward travel around the first vehicle, the second vehicle, and approximately 360 degrees around the vehicle body. The formation information is generated so that the vehicle 11 having the sensor SR11 having a circular measurement range travels in the rearmost direction.

  For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3, the part where the measurement range of each sensor overlaps is smaller than the case of the comparative example shown in FIG. Moreover, the danger area for obstacles is sufficiently covered. As described above, according to the information processing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the formation information that can travel safely can be generated while the sensor measurement range is less wasteful and the sensor cost is kept low. .

  In addition, for example, the formation information generation unit 104 is configured such that a vehicle including a sensor having a semicircular measurement range 180 degrees behind travels the first vehicle, a vehicle not including the sensor travels second, and the vehicle body is centered. It is good also as a structure which produces | generates formation information so that the vehicle provided with the sensor which has the circular measurement range of about 360 degree | times to drive | work behind. In this case, the second vehicle can control traveling based on information from the first vehicle and the rear vehicle. For this reason, the second vehicle can travel safely without being equipped with a sensor, and the sensor cost can be reduced.

  In addition, the formation information generation unit 104 may be configured to generate formation information so that a vehicle with a larger vehicle body size is more forward with reference to the vehicle body information. This makes it difficult for the following vehicle to receive air resistance, so that the energy consumption of the entire convoy is suppressed.

<Car body information and sensor attribute information>
Next, specific contents of the vehicle body information and sensor attribute information stored in the vehicle body information database 101 and the sensor attribute information database 102 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b).

  FIG. 5A shows an example of vehicle body information stored in the vehicle body information database 101. The vehicle body information mainly includes information related to the size of the vehicle body. Specifically, the vehicle body length and the vehicle body width of each vehicle 11, 12, and 13 included in the platoon are included.

FIG. 5B shows sensor attribute information stored in the sensor attribute information database 102. The sensor attribute information includes information regarding the sensors SR11, SR12, and SR13 provided in each vehicle 11, 12, and 13. Specifically, the sensor attribute information includes sensor cost information indicating the sensor cost, sensor type information indicating the sensor type, and information indicating the measurement range of the sensor. More specifically, the information indicating the measurement range of the sensor includes information indicating the measurable angle of the sensor and information indicating the measurable distance of the sensor.
For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 5B, the sensor attribute information includes the following information regarding each sensor provided in the vehicles 11, 12, and 13.
Sensor ID (sensor identification information): SR11, SR12, SR13
・ Cost (sensor cost information): high, low, medium ・ Sensor type (sensor type information): A, B, C
・ Measurable distance (information indicating sensor measurement range): 30 m, 30 m, 30 m
SR11 has a measurable distance of 30 m and a measurable angle of 360 degrees, and the measurement range is substantially circular with the vehicle 11 as the center. The sensor SR11 is a high cost sensor. On the other hand, the sensors SR12 and SR13 have a measurable distance of 30 m and a measurable angle of 180 degrees, and the measurement range is a semicircle centered on the vehicle body of the vehicle 11. That is, when the sensors SR12 and SR13 are attached so as to be able to detect a range of 180 degrees in front of the vehicle body, the range of 180 degrees extending to the rear of the vehicle body cannot be detected. Sensors SR12 and SR13 are low-cost sensors compared to sensor SR11.

  As described above, the vehicle body information database 101 and the sensor attribute information database 102 store the vehicle body information and sensor attribute information described above. In the control information generation unit 106 of the information processing apparatus 100, information for controlling the traveling of the vehicle including the traveling order of the vehicles 11, 12, and 13 included in the platoon based on the vehicle body information and the sensor attribute information. Is generated.

<Functional configuration in vehicles 11, 12, 13>
Next, the configuration of the control unit on the vehicle side whose traveling is controlled based on the control information generated by the information processing apparatus 100 will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the control unit 110 of the vehicle 11, 12, or 13 that receives the formation information generated by the information processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. .

  A functional configuration example of the control unit 110 of the vehicle 11 will be described with reference to FIG. Since the functional configuration of the control unit in the vehicle is the same for the vehicles 12 and 13 as well, the functional configuration of the control unit 110 of the vehicle 11 will be described as an example, and the functional configuration of the control unit of the vehicles 12 and 13 will be described. Omitted.

  The vehicle 11 control unit 110 includes a command receiving unit 211, an inter-vehicle communication unit 212, a storage unit 213, a convoy travel management unit 214, a measurement / control method switching unit 215, a measurement unit 216, and a convoy travel control unit 217. Furthermore, the measurement unit 216 includes an inter-vehicle distance measurement unit 218, a relative angle measurement unit 219, an obstacle measurement unit 220, and a collision determination unit 221. The row running control unit 217 includes an inter-vehicle distance control unit 222, a steering angle control unit 223, a row tracking operation instruction generation unit 224, and an avoidance operation instruction generation unit 225.

<Command receiving unit 211>
First, the command receiving unit 211 receives control information output from the output unit 107 of the information processing apparatus 100.

<Vehicle Communication Unit 212>
In the inter-vehicle communication unit 212, information on the actual running state of the vehicle, for example, a measured inter-vehicle distance, a relative angle with a preceding vehicle, or a possibility of collision with a detected obstacle is determined from a measurement unit 216 described later. Results etc. are supplied at regular time intervals. In addition, information on the actual running state of the vehicle measured by the measuring units of the other vehicles 12 and 13 included in the platoon is also supplied to the inter-vehicle communication unit 212.

<Storage unit 213>
The storage unit 213 temporarily stores the control information received by the command receiving unit 211.

<Convoy travel management unit 214>
The convoy travel management unit 214 comprehensively manages the travel state of the vehicle based on the information related to the actual travel state of the vehicle received by the inter-vehicle communication unit 212 and the control information stored in the storage unit 213.

<Measurement / control system switching unit 215>
The measurement / control method switching unit 215 switches the measurement and control methods in the measurement unit 216 and the row running control unit 217. Below, the structure of each part in the measurement part 216 and the row running control part 217 is demonstrated.

<Vehicle distance measurement unit 218>
The inter-vehicle distance with at least one of the front vehicle and the rear vehicle is measured.

<Relative angle measurement unit 219>
Measure the relative angle with the vehicle ahead. In the present specification, the relative angle refers to an angle formed by a straight line connecting the center of the vehicle body of the rear vehicle and the center point of the rearmost portion of the front vehicle with the traveling direction of the front vehicle.

<Obstacle measuring unit 220>
The obstacle measuring unit 220 acquires obstacle information indicating one or more obstacles around the vehicle 11. Specifically, sensor data indicating one or more obstacles detected by the sensor SR11 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 221>
The collision determination unit 221 refers to the obstacle information supplied from the obstacle measurement unit 220 to determine whether or not there is a possibility of collision with an obstacle when the vehicle 11 continues to travel as it is. Then, it is determined whether or not the vehicle 11 may avoid a collision with an obstacle.

<Convoy Travel Control Unit 217>
The convoy travel control unit 217 controls the travel of the vehicle based on the control information received by the command receiving unit 211 and the measurement result supplied from the measurement unit 216.

  <Convoy follow-up operation instruction generation unit 224 and avoidance operation instruction generation unit 225>.

  The convoy follow-up operation instruction generation unit 224 and the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 225 refer to the control information received by the command receiving unit 211 and the information related to the measurement result from the measurement unit 216 so as to maintain the convoy. A control condition for controlling the traveling of the vehicle is generated.

  Specifically, information relating to the collision possibility and the collision avoidance possibility is supplied from the collision determination unit 221 to the platoon follow-up operation instruction generation unit 224 and the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 225. When the collision determination unit 221 determines that “there is a possibility of collision”, the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 225 refers to the determination result so that the vehicle 11 can maintain the formation while avoiding the obstacle. The inter-vehicle distance target value and the relative angle target value for controlling the operation of the vehicle 11 are generated.

  When the collision determination unit 221 determines “no collision possibility”, the platoon follow-up operation instruction generation unit 224 controls the driving of the vehicle 11 so as to continue the platooning. And a relative angle target value is generated.

  Furthermore, the collision determination unit 221 determines whether or not 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 221 determines that “a collision with an obstacle can be avoided”, the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 225 sets an inter-vehicle distance target value and a relative angle target value that allow collision avoidance. Generate. When the collision determination unit 221 determines that “a collision avoidance with an obstacle is impossible”, the vehicle distance control unit 222 and the steering angle control unit 223 described later are set to an emergency stop state.

<Vehicle distance control unit 222, steering angle control unit 223>
The inter-vehicle distance control unit 222 and the steering angle control unit 223 receive the control conditions (the inter-vehicle distance target value and the relative angle target value) generated by the platoon follow-up operation instruction generation unit 224 and the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 225. The travel of the vehicle 11 is controlled based on the above.

  Furthermore, as described above, the control information generated by the avoidance operation instruction generation unit 225 of the vehicle 11 is also supplied to the other vehicles 12 and 13 included in the platoon via the inter-vehicle communication unit 212. The row running control unit of the vehicles 12 and 13 controls the running of the vehicles 12 and 13 so as to maintain the row of three vehicles according to the control information acquired from the vehicle 11. Specifically, the traveling is switched so that the inter-vehicle distance and relative angle with the vehicle 11 are within a predetermined range.

<Operation of Information Processing System 1>
Next, the operation of the information processing system 1 will be described. 7, 8, and 9 are flowcharts illustrating processing for generating formation information of a formation consisting of the vehicles 11, 12, and 13 in the information processing system 1 to which the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is. Processing for generating formation information in the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Step S100)
In step S100, the UI unit 105 specifies the vehicle to be included in the platoon and the number of vehicles to be included in the platoon. As an example, the user designates vehicles 11, 12, and 13 and inputs 3 which is the number of formations.

(Step S101)
In step S101, the platoon information generating unit 104, based on the information input to the UI unit 105 in step S100, from the vehicle body information database 101, vehicle body information (vehicle body length) regarding the vehicles 11, 12, and 13 to be included in the platoon. , Body width, etc.).

(Step S102)
In step S102, the formation information generation unit 104 determines whether it is possible to form a formation with the vehicles 11, 12, and 13 designated by the user. For example, it is determined that a vehicle cannot be formed between vehicles having greatly different vehicle sizes, traveling speeds, and the like. In addition, it is determined that a vehicle cannot be organized between vehicles having significantly different road conditions suitable for vehicle travel. If it is determined that the formation can be organized (Yes in step S102), the process proceeds to step S104. If it is determined that a formation cannot be organized (No in step S102), the process proceeds to step S103.

(Step S103)
In step S103, since it is determined in step S102 that the formation of the formation is impossible, the determination result is notified to the user through the UI unit 105.

(Step S104)
In step S104, since it is determined in step S102 that formation can be performed, the formation information generation unit 104 determines formation formation conditions. Specifically, the order of the vehicles 11, 12, and 13 in the platoon is determined. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S105.

(Step S105)
In step S <b> 105, the control information generation unit 106 determines specific measurement conditions and control conditions for the vehicles 11, 12, and 13. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S106.

(Step S106)
In step S106, the output unit 107 issues a command for instructing setting of measurement conditions and control conditions for each vehicle.

(Step S107)
In step S107, the output unit 107 transmits a measurement condition and control condition setting command for each vehicle to the command receiving unit 211 of each vehicle.

(Step S108)
In step S108, the command receiving unit 211 of each vehicle 11, 12, and 13 receives the measurement condition and control condition setting commands issued in step S106.

(Step S109)
In step S109, the measurement condition and the control condition received by the command receiving unit 211 are stored in the storage unit 213 of each vehicle. Then, it progresses to step S110.

(Step S110)
In step S110, the measurement / control method switching unit 215 sets the formation condition determined in step S104 for each of the vehicles 11, 12, and 13. Then, it progresses to step S111.

(Step S111)
In step S111, the measurement / control method switching unit 215 switches the measurement condition and the control condition of each vehicle.

(Step S112)
In step S112, the convoy travel management unit 214 acquires the convoy formation condition stored in the storage unit 213. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S113.

(Step S113)
In step S113, the convoy travel management unit 214 confirms the vehicles positioned in the front and rear in the convoy based on information from the inter-vehicle communication unit 212. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S114.

(Step S114)
In step S114, the convoy travel management unit 214 determines whether the order of vehicles in the convoy matches the convoy formation condition acquired from the storage unit 213 in step S112. If it is determined that they match (Yes in step S114), the process proceeds to step S116. If it is determined that they do not match (No in step S114), the process proceeds to step S115.

(Step S115)
In step S115, the order of the vehicles in the platoon is changed to match the platoon formation condition acquired from the storage unit 213 in step S112. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S116. Note that the process of changing the order of the vehicles in the platoon may be performed by automatic correction by automatic driving, or may be performed manually by the driver according to the platooning conditions.

(Step S116)
In step S116, the convoy travel management unit 214 determines whether or not the measurement conditions and control conditions set in the control unit of each vehicle match the measurement conditions and control conditions determined in step S105. If it is determined that they match (Yes in step S116), the process proceeds to step S118. If it is determined that they do not match (No in step S116), the process proceeds to step S117.

(Step S117)
In step S117, the measurement conditions and control conditions of the control unit of each vehicle are matched with the measurement conditions and control conditions determined in step S105. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S118.

(Step S118)
Convoy operation preparation is completed.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the formation condition can be determined based on the vehicle body information and sensor attribute information obtained from the vehicle body information database 101 and the sensor attribute information database 102, respectively. Even when forming a convoy that includes vehicles that are not fully equipped, it is possible to drive safely while reducing sensor costs. In addition, since the convoy travel management unit 214 can confirm the convoy formation condition, measurement condition, and control condition before the operation, safe operation management can be performed.

<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 information processing apparatus 100 controls the moving body not only in the horizontal direction but also in the vertical direction.

  In this case, the obstacle measuring unit 220 also detects an obstacle in the vertical direction of one or a plurality of moving objects. The collision determination unit 221 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 225 and the platoon tracking operation instruction generation unit 224 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.

[Example of software implementation]
The control blocks of the information processing apparatus 100 (in particular, the acquisition unit 103, the formation information generation unit 104, the control information generation unit 106) and the control units of each vehicle (in particular, the collision determination unit 221 and the measurement / control method switching unit 215) It may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or may be realized by software.

  In the latter case, the information processing apparatus 100 and the control unit of each vehicle include 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.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information processing system 100 Information processing apparatus 11, 12, 13, 21, 22, 23 Vehicle 101 Car body information database 102 Sensor attribute information database 103 Acquisition part 104 Convoy information generation part 106 Control information generation part 107 Output part 110 Control part 211 Command Reception unit 212 Communication unit 213 Storage unit 214 Convoy travel management unit 215 Measurement / control method switching unit 216 Measurement unit 217 Convoy travel control unit 218 Inter-vehicle distance measurement unit 219 Relative angle measurement unit 220 Obstacle measurement unit 221 Collision determination unit 222 Inter-vehicle distance Distance control unit 223 Steering angle control unit 224 Convoy follow-up operation instruction generation unit 225 Avoidance operation instruction generation unit A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3 Measurement ranges SR11, SR12, SR13, SR21, SR22, SR23 Sensor 105 UI unit

Claims (2)

In an information processing apparatus that generates formation information of a formation including a plurality of moving objects,
A sensor information acquisition unit that acquires sensor attribute information, which is information relating to the attributes of the sensors mounted on at least some of the moving bodies;
According to the sensor attribute information,
Mobiles to be included in the formation, and
A formation information generation unit for generating formation information indicating at least one of the in-convoy orders of mobile objects to be included in the formation;
With
Before SL convoy information generation unit, measurable angle moving body mounted with the relatively large sensor, wherein such a rear of the moving body is measurable angle is equipped with a relatively small sensor convoy An information processing apparatus characterized by generating information. In an information processing method for generating formation information of a formation including a plurality of moving objects,
A sensor information acquisition step for acquiring sensor attribute information, which is information relating to attributes of sensors mounted on at least some of the moving bodies;
According to the sensor attribute information,
Mobiles to be included in the formation, and
A formation information generation step for generating formation information indicating at least one of the in-convoy orders of mobile objects to be included in the formation;
Including
In the formation information generation step, the formation information is set so that a mobile object equipped with a sensor having a relatively large measurable angle is behind a mobile object equipped with a sensor having a relatively small measurable angle. An information processing method characterized by generating the information.

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