JP6765219B2 - Vehicle control systems, communication systems, vehicle control methods, and vehicle control programs - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to vehicle control systems, communication systems, vehicle control methods, and vehicle control programs.

In recent years, research has been conducted on a technology for automatically controlling at least one of acceleration / deceleration and steering of the own vehicle (hereinafter referred to as automatic driving). In connection with this, a technique for executing automatic operation control in a predetermined standard control mode or a control mode different from the standard control mode is disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ..

JP-A-2015-89801

In the case of automatic driving, it is conceivable to take a traveling mode in which the vehicle follows another vehicle traveling in front of the own vehicle. However, in the conventional technology, when the speed of the vehicle following during automatic driving is different from the speed assumed by the vehicle occupant, it is assumed that the vehicle occupant is uncomfortable. In such a case, the vehicle occupants may be burdened during automatic driving.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and one of the objects of the present invention is to reduce the burden on the vehicle occupants during automatic driving.

(1) One aspect of the present invention includes a display unit for displaying an image, an input unit for inputting driving conditions, a recognition unit for recognizing the position and state of peripheral vehicles existing in the vicinity of the vehicle, and the peripheral vehicle. An automatic driving control unit that automatically performs at least one of speed control and steering control of the vehicle based on the position and state of the vehicle, and a display control unit that displays an image on the display unit. The operation control unit selects a vehicle to be followed that corresponds to the traveling condition from the peripheral vehicles, executes platooning that follows the selected vehicle, and the display control unit is the recognition unit. Among the plurality of peripheral vehicles whose position and state are recognized by, a peripheral vehicle having the same destination as the vehicle, or a peripheral vehicle having a part or all of the route to the destination common to the vehicle. When there are a plurality of accompanying vehicles, the display unit displays a plurality of speed conditions that specify the speed of the vehicle, and the automatic driving control unit displays the plurality of speed conditions on the display unit. After that, when an operation for selecting any one of the plurality of speed conditions is input to the input unit, the accompanying vehicle satisfying the selected speed condition among the plurality of accompanying vehicles is followed. This is a vehicle control system that is selected as the target vehicle.
In the vehicle control system of the aspect (1), the plurality of speed conditions include a first speed condition for traveling the vehicle at the first speed and a second speed condition larger than the first speed. It includes a second speed condition for driving the vehicle at a speed and a third speed condition for driving the vehicle at a third speed higher than the second speed.

The aspect (3) is a plurality of vehicle control systems according to the aspect (1) or (2) , wherein the automatic driving control unit has different degrees of duty to monitor the surroundings of the vehicle imposed on the occupants of the vehicle. The mode automatically performs at least one of the speed control and the steering control, and the vehicle reduces the peripheral monitoring obligation when performing the platooning .

As for the aspect (4), in the vehicle control system according to the aspect (3) , the plurality of modes include a mode in which execution is restricted according to the state of the recognition unit, and the automatic driving control unit. but when running the platoon, it is intended to alleviate the mode of restrictions in accordance with the state of the recognition unit.

The aspect (5) is the vehicle control system according to any one of the aspects (1) to (4) , wherein the automatic driving control unit shares a part of the route to the destination with the vehicle. When the accompanying vehicle is selected as the vehicle to be followed, the vehicle to be followed is switched to another accompanying vehicle when the route is not the same or before the time.

In the vehicle control system according to any one of the aspects (1) to (5), the aspect (6) is a driving skill among the peripheral vehicles recognized by the recognition unit by the automatic driving control unit. The vehicle carrying the excellent occupants of the above is specified as the accompanying vehicle.

In the aspect (7), information on the vehicle equipped with the vehicle control system according to any one of the aspects (1) to (6) and the number or time of traveling as the leading vehicle in the platoon during the platooning is provided. An incentive giving server device that is acquired from the vehicle and, based on the acquired information, gives a predetermined incentive to the occupants of the vehicle that has traveled as the leading vehicle of the platoon or the vehicle that has traveled as the leading vehicle of the platoon. It is a communication system provided.

(8) In another aspect of the present invention, an in-vehicle computer mounted on a vehicle including a display unit for displaying an image and an input unit for inputting driving conditions is located in the vicinity of the vehicle and the position of a peripheral vehicle. Recognizing the state, based on the position and state of the peripheral vehicle, at least one of the speed control and the steering control of the vehicle is automatically performed, an image is displayed on the display unit, and the peripheral vehicle is displayed. A vehicle to be followed corresponding to the traveling conditions is selected, a platooning traveling is executed following the selected vehicle, and the destination is among the plurality of peripheral vehicles recognizing the position and the state. When there are a plurality of accompanying vehicles that are the same peripheral vehicles as the vehicle or peripheral vehicles in which a part or all of the route to the destination is the same as the vehicle, the speed of the vehicle is designated to the display unit. When a plurality of speed conditions are displayed, the plurality of speed conditions are displayed on the display unit, and then an operation for selecting any one of the plurality of speed conditions is input to the input unit, a plurality of speed conditions are displayed. This is a vehicle control method for selecting a accompanying vehicle satisfying the selected speed condition as the following vehicle among the accompanying vehicles .

(9) In another aspect of the present invention, a vehicle-mounted computer mounted on a vehicle including a display unit for displaying an image and an input unit for inputting driving conditions, a position of a peripheral vehicle existing in the vicinity of the vehicle, and Recognizing a state, automatically performing at least one of speed control and steering control of the vehicle based on the position and state of the peripheral vehicle, displaying an image on the display unit, and displaying the image on the peripheral vehicle. Among the plurality of peripheral vehicles recognizing the position and the state, selecting a vehicle to be followed corresponding to the traveling condition, executing a platooning traveling following the selected vehicle, and recognizing the position and the state. In addition, when there are a plurality of accompanying vehicles whose destination is the same as the vehicle or whose route to the destination is a peripheral vehicle in which part or all of the route is common to the vehicle, the vehicle is displayed with respect to the display unit. Displaying a plurality of speed conditions for designating the speeds of the above, displaying the plurality of speed conditions on the display unit, and then selecting one of the plurality of speed conditions for the input unit. When input, it is a vehicle control program for executing the selection of the accompanying vehicle satisfying the selected speed condition as the tracking target vehicle from the plurality of the accompanying vehicles .

According to the above aspects (1)-(3), the burden on the vehicle occupants can be reduced during automatic driving.

According to the above aspect (3), when the platooning is executed as one aspect of the automatic driving, in order to reduce the duty to monitor the surroundings, for example, a television program can be viewed, and the convenience of the vehicle occupants is improved. Can be made to.

According to the aspect (4) above, when the platooning is executed as one aspect of the automatic driving, the restricted mode can be executed in order to relax the restriction of the mode according to the state of the recognition unit. As a result, the convenience of the vehicle occupants can be improved.

According to the above aspect (1), when a companion vehicle whose route to the destination is partly common to the own vehicle is selected as the vehicle to be followed, the route is no longer the same, or more than this time. Before, in order to switch the vehicle to be followed to another accompanying vehicle, it is possible to sequentially change the accompanying vehicles having the same route halfway and automatically travel to the destination while continuing the platooning.

According to the above aspect (6), since the vehicle carrying the occupant with excellent driving skill is used as the accompanying vehicle, the burden on the vehicle occupant can be further reduced during the automatic driving.

According to the above aspect (7) , based on the information regarding the number of times the vehicle has traveled as the lead vehicle of the platoon during the platooning, the occupant of the vehicle traveling as the leading vehicle of the platoon or the vehicle traveling as the leading vehicle of the platoon is determined. Because the incentive is given, the leading vehicle of the platoon or the occupant of the leading vehicle can enjoy the benefit of running at the head of the platoon, and the platooning can be easily carried out.

It is a figure which shows typically the whole structure of the communication system 1 including the vehicle control system 100 in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the component of the own vehicle M. It is a functional block diagram centering on a vehicle control system 100 in 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram of HMI70. It is a figure which shows a mode that the relative position of the own vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane L1 is recognized by the own vehicle position recognition unit 140. It is a figure which shows an example of the action plan generated for a certain section. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the trajectory generation part 146. It is a figure which shows an example of the scene which changes the traveling mode to platooning. It is a figure which shows an example of the candidate of the orbit generated by the orbit candidate generation part 146B. It is a figure which represented the candidate of the orbit generated by the orbit candidate generation part 146B by the orbit point K. It is a figure which shows the lane change target position TA. It is a figure which shows the speed generation model when the speed of three peripheral vehicles is assumed to be constant. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation possibility information 188 for each mode. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen which the display device 82 displays when the platooning starts. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen which displays after the start of platooning is permitted. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the process performed by the vehicle control system 100. It is a figure which shows an example of the scene where the relationship between the following vehicle and the tracked vehicle is reversed during platooning. It is a figure which shows an example of the scene where the accompanying vehicle which has a common route exists halfway. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the process performed by the vehicle control system 100A in the 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the whole structure of the communication system 2 including the vehicle control system 100B in 3rd Embodiment. It is a functional block diagram centering on the vehicle control system 100B which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the vehicle control system, communication system, vehicle control method, and vehicle control program of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing components of a vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as own vehicle M) on which the vehicle control system 100 of each embodiment including the first embodiment is mounted. The vehicle on which the vehicle control system 100 is mounted is, for example, a two-wheeled, three-wheeled, four-wheeled vehicle, a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or a gasoline engine, or an electric vehicle powered by an electric motor. , Includes hybrid vehicles that combine an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. Electric vehicles are driven using, for example, power discharged by batteries such as secondary batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, metal fuel cells, and alcohol fuel cells.

As shown in FIG. 1, the own vehicle M includes sensors such as a finder 20-1 to 20-7, radars 30-1 to 30-6, a camera 40, a navigation device 50, and a vehicle control system 100. It will be installed.

Finder 20-1 to 20-7 are, for example, LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging, or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) that measures scattered light with respect to irradiation light and measures the distance to an object. For example, the finder 20-1 is attached to the front grill or the like, and the finder 20-2 and 20-3 are attached to the side surface of the vehicle body, the door mirror, the inside of the headlight, the vicinity of the side light, and the like. The finder 20-4 is attached to the trunk lid or the like, and the finder 20-5 and 20-6 are attached to the side surface of the vehicle body, the inside of the taillight, or the like. The above-mentioned finder 20-1 to 20-6 have, for example, a detection region of about 150 degrees in the horizontal direction. Further, the finder 20-7 is attached to a roof or the like. The finder 20-7 has, for example, a detection region of 360 degrees with respect to the horizontal direction.

Radars 30-1 and 30-4 are, for example, long-range millimeter-wave radars having a wider detection area in the depth direction than other radars. Further, the radars 30-2, 30-3, 30-5, and 30-6 are medium-range millimeter-wave radars having a narrower detection area in the depth direction than the radars 30-1 and 30-4.

Hereinafter, when finder 20-1 to 20-7 are not particularly distinguished, it is simply described as "finder 20", and when radar 30-1 to 30-6 are not particularly distinguished, it is simply described as "radar 30". The radar 30 detects an object by, for example, an FM-CW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) method.

The camera 40 is, for example, a digital camera that uses an individual image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The camera 40 is attached to the upper part of the front windshield, the back surface of the rearview mirror, and the like. The camera 40 periodically and repeatedly images the front of the own vehicle M, for example. The camera 40 may be a stereo camera including a plurality of cameras.

The configuration shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and a part of the configuration may be omitted or another configuration may be added.

FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram centered on the vehicle control system 100 according to the first embodiment. The own vehicle M includes a detection device DD including a finder 20, a radar 30, a camera 40, a navigation device 50, a communication device 55, a vehicle sensor 60, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 70, and a vehicle control system. The 100, the traveling driving force output device 200, the steering device 210, and the braking device 220 are mounted. These devices and devices are connected to each other by a multiplex communication line such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) communication line, a serial communication line, a wireless communication network, or the like. The vehicle control system in the claims does not only refer to the "vehicle control system 100", but may include configurations other than the vehicle control system 100 (detection device DD, HMI 70, etc.).

The navigation device 50 includes a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver, map information (navigation map), a touch panel display device that functions as a user interface, a speaker, a microphone, and the like. The navigation device 50 identifies the position of the own vehicle M by the GNSS receiver, and derives a route from that position to the destination specified by the user. The route derived by the navigation device 50 is provided to the target lane determination unit 110 of the vehicle control system 100. The position of the own vehicle M may be specified or complemented by an INS (Inertial Navigation System) using the output of the vehicle sensor 60. Further, when the vehicle control system 100 is executing the manual driving mode, the navigation device 50 guides the route to the destination by voice or navigation display. The configuration for specifying the position of the own vehicle M may be provided independently of the navigation device 50. Further, the navigation device 50 may be realized by, for example, the function of a terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal owned by the user. In this case, information is transmitted and received between the terminal device and the vehicle control system 100 by wireless or wired communication.

The communication device 55 performs wireless communication using, for example, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth (registered trademark), DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), or the like. The communication device 55, for example, performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication with another vehicle traveling around the own vehicle M to obtain a part or all of destination information, position information, and driving skill information from each vehicle to be communicated. get. The destination information is information indicating where the set destination is, and the location information is information indicating the absolute position of the vehicle such as latitude and longitude, or the relative position of the vehicle with respect to a target such as a tollgate. Is. Driving skill information is information on the driving skills of vehicle occupants, such as the types of licenses such as ordinary, large, and special, the number of years that a good driver's license has been renewed (the number of years that a good driver's license has been renewed), a bus, and so on. Information such as whether or not you have a special license (type 2 license) such as a taxi is included. The communication device 55 builds an ad hoc network with another vehicle, for example, when performing vehicle-to-vehicle communication with another vehicle. Further, the communication device 55 may acquire route information indicating a route from each vehicle to be communicated to a destination set for each peripheral vehicle.

The vehicle sensor 60 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the vehicle speed, an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration, a yaw rate sensor that detects the angular velocity around the vertical axis, an orientation sensor that detects the direction of the own vehicle M, and the like.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the HMI 70. The HMI 70 includes, for example, a configuration of a driving operation system and a configuration of a non-driving operation system. These boundaries are not clear, and the configuration of the driving operation system may include the functions of the non-driving operation system (or vice versa).

The HMI 70 has, for example, an accelerator pedal 71, an accelerator opening sensor 72, an accelerator pedal reaction force output device 73, a brake pedal 74, a brake depression sensor (or a master pressure sensor, etc.) 75, and a shift as a configuration of a driving operation system. It includes a lever 76, a shift position sensor 77, a steering wheel 78, a steering steering angle sensor 79, a steering torque sensor 80, and other driving operation devices 81.

The accelerator pedal 71 is an operator for receiving an acceleration instruction (or a deceleration instruction by a return operation) by a vehicle occupant. The accelerator opening sensor 72 detects the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 71, and outputs an accelerator opening signal indicating the amount of depression to the vehicle control system 100. Instead of outputting to the vehicle control system 100, it may be output directly to the traveling driving force output device 200, the steering device 210, or the brake device 220. The same applies to the configurations of other operation operation systems described below. The accelerator pedal reaction force output device 73 outputs a force (operation reaction force) in the direction opposite to the operation direction to the accelerator pedal 71, for example, in response to an instruction from the vehicle control system 100.

The brake pedal 74 is an operator for receiving a deceleration instruction by a vehicle occupant. The brake depression sensor 75 detects the depression amount (or depression force) of the brake pedal 74, and outputs a brake signal indicating the detection result to the vehicle control system 100.

The shift lever 76 is an operator for receiving an instruction to change the shift stage by the vehicle occupant. The shift position sensor 77 detects the shift stage instructed by the vehicle occupant and outputs a shift position signal indicating the detection result to the vehicle control system 100.

The steering wheel 78 is an operator for receiving a turning instruction by a vehicle occupant. The steering steering angle sensor 79 detects the operating angle of the steering wheel 78 and outputs a steering steering angle signal indicating the detection result to the vehicle control system 100. The steering torque sensor 80 detects the torque applied to the steering wheel 78 and outputs a steering torque signal indicating the detection result to the vehicle control system 100.

The other driving operation device 81 is, for example, a joystick, a button, a dial switch, a GUI (Graphical User Interface) switch, or the like. The other driving operation device 81 receives acceleration instructions, deceleration instructions, turning instructions, and the like, and outputs them to the vehicle control system 100.

The HMI 70 has, for example, a display device 82, a speaker 83, a contact operation detection device 84, a content reproduction device 85, various operation switches 86, a seat 88, a seat drive device 89, and a window glass 90 as configurations of a non-operation operation system. The window drive device 91 and the vehicle interior camera 92 are included. The configuration of the non-driving operation system of the HMI 70 and the navigation device 50 are examples of the “input unit”.

The display device 82 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electroluminescence) display device, which is attached to each part of the instrument panel, an arbitrary place facing the passenger seat or the rear seat, and the like. Further, the display device 82 may be a HUD (Head Up Display) that projects an image on a front windshield or other windows. The speaker 83 outputs sound. When the display device 82 is a touch panel, the contact operation detection device 84 detects the contact position (touch position) on the display screen of the display device 82 and outputs the contact position (touch position) to the vehicle control system 100. If the display device 82 is not a touch panel, the contact operation detection device 84 may be omitted.

The content playback device 85 includes, for example, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) playback device, a CD (Compact Disc) playback device, a television receiver, and various guidance image generation devices. The display device 82, the speaker 83, the contact operation detection device 84, and the content reproduction device 85 may be partially or wholly in common with the navigation device 50.

The various operation switches 86 are arranged at arbitrary positions in the vehicle interior. The various operation switches 86 include an automatic operation changeover switch 87 that instructs the start (or future start) and stop of the automatic operation. The automatic operation changeover switch 87 may be either a GUI (Graphical User Interface) switch or a mechanical switch. Further, the various operation switches 86 may include a switch for driving the seat drive device 89 and the window drive device 91.

The seat 88 is a seat on which a vehicle occupant sits. The seat driving device 89 freely drives the reclining angle, the position in the front-rear direction, the yaw angle, and the like of the seat 88. The window glass 90 is provided on each door, for example. The window driving device 91 opens and closes the window glass 90.

The vehicle interior camera 92 is a digital camera that uses an individual image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS. The vehicle interior camera 92 is attached to a rearview mirror, a steering boss, an instrument panel, or the like at a position where at least the head of a vehicle occupant who performs a driving operation can be imaged. The camera 40 periodically and repeatedly images the vehicle occupant, for example.

Prior to the description of the vehicle control system 100, the traveling driving force output device 200, the steering device 210, and the brake device 220 will be described.

The traveling driving force output device 200 outputs a traveling driving force (torque) for traveling the vehicle to the drive wheels. The traveling driving force output device 200 includes, for example, an engine, a transmission, and an engine ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that controls the engine when the own vehicle M is a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine. In the case of an electric vehicle powered by an electric motor, it is provided with a traveling motor and a motor ECU for controlling the traveling motor, and when the own vehicle M is a hybrid vehicle, the engine, the transmission, and the engine ECU and the traveling motor and It is equipped with a motor ECU. When the traveling driving force output device 200 includes only the engine, the engine ECU adjusts the throttle opening degree, the shift stage, and the like of the engine according to the information input from the traveling control unit 160 described later. When the traveling driving force output device 200 includes only the traveling motor, the motor ECU adjusts the duty ratio of the PWM signal given to the traveling motor according to the information input from the traveling control unit 160. When the traveling driving force output device 200 includes an engine and a traveling motor, the engine ECU and the motor ECU cooperate with each other to control the traveling driving force according to the information input from the traveling control unit 160.

The steering device 210 includes, for example, a steering ECU and an electric motor. The electric motor, for example, applies a force to the rack and pinion mechanism to change the direction of the steering wheel. The steering ECU drives the electric motor according to the information input from the vehicle control system 100, or the information of the steering steering angle or steering torque input, and changes the direction of the steering wheels.

The brake device 220 is, for example, an electric servo brake device including a brake caliper, a cylinder for transmitting hydraulic pressure to the brake caliper, an electric motor for generating hydraulic pressure in the cylinder, and a braking control unit. The braking control unit of the electric servo brake device controls the electric motor according to the information input from the traveling control unit 160 so that the brake torque corresponding to the braking operation is output to each wheel. The electric servo brake device may include a mechanism for transmitting the hydraulic pressure generated by operating the brake pedal to the cylinder via the master cylinder as a backup. The brake device 220 is not limited to the electric servo brake device described above, and may be an electronically controlled hydraulic brake device. The electronically controlled hydraulic brake device controls the actuator according to the information input from the traveling control unit 160 to transmit the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder to the cylinder. Further, the braking device 220 may include a regenerative brake by a traveling motor that can be included in the traveling driving force output device 200.

[Vehicle control system]
Hereinafter, the vehicle control system 100 will be described. The vehicle control system 100 is implemented, for example, by one or more processors or hardware having equivalent functions. The vehicle control system 100 is configured by combining a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) to which a communication interface is connected by an internal bus, an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit), and the like. It may be.

Returning to FIG. 2, the vehicle control system 100 includes, for example, a target lane determination unit 110, an automatic driving control unit 120, a travel control unit 160, an HMI control unit 170, and a storage unit 180. The automatic driving control unit 120 includes, for example, an automatic driving mode control unit 130, a vehicle position recognition unit 140, an outside world recognition unit 142, an action plan generation unit 144, a track generation unit 146, and a switching control unit 150. Be prepared. The combination of the detection device DD, the communication device 55, and the external world recognition unit 142 described above is an example of the “recognition unit”.

A part or all of the target lane determination unit 110, each unit of the automatic driving control unit 120, and the travel control unit 160 is realized by executing a program (software) by the processor. Further, a part or all of them may be realized by hardware such as LSI (Large Scale Integration) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware.

Information such as high-precision map information 182, target lane information 184, action plan information 186, and mode-specific operation availability information 188 is stored in the storage unit 180. The storage unit 180 is realized by a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a flash memory, or the like. The program executed by the processor may be stored in the storage unit 180 in advance, or may be downloaded from an external device via an in-vehicle Internet facility or the like. Further, the program may be installed in the storage unit 180 by mounting a portable storage medium in which the program is stored in a drive device (not shown). Further, the vehicle control system 100 may be decentralized by a plurality of computer devices.

The target lane determination unit 110 is realized by, for example, an MPU. The target lane determination unit 110 divides the route provided by the navigation device 50 into a plurality of blocks (for example, divides the route every 100 [m] with respect to the vehicle traveling direction), and refers to the high-precision map information 182 for each block. Determine the target lane. The target lane determination unit 110 determines, for example, which lane from the left to drive. The target lane determination unit 110 determines the target lane so that the own vehicle M can travel on a reasonable travel route to proceed to the branch destination, for example, when there is a branch point or a merging point on the route. .. The target lane determined by the target lane determination unit 110 is stored in the storage unit 180 as the target lane information 184.

The high-precision map information 182 is map information with higher accuracy than the navigation map included in the navigation device 50. The high-precision map information 182 includes, for example, information on the center of the lane, information on the boundary of the lane, and the like. Further, the high-precision map information 182 may include road information, traffic regulation information, address information (address / zip code), facility information, telephone number information, and the like. Road information includes information indicating the type of road such as highways, toll roads, national roads, and prefectural roads, the number of lanes of the road, the width of each lane, the slope of the road, and the position of the road (longitudinal, latitude, height). Includes 3D coordinates), lane curve curvature, lane confluence and branch point locations, road signs and other information. Traffic regulation information includes information that lanes are blocked due to construction work, traffic accidents, traffic jams, and the like.

The automatic operation mode control unit 130 determines the automatic operation mode to be executed by the automatic operation control unit 120. The mode of automatic operation in the present embodiment includes the following modes. The following is just an example, and the number of modes for automatic operation may be arbitrarily determined.

[Mode A]
Mode A is the mode with the highest degree of automatic operation. When Mode A is implemented, all vehicle controls, such as complex merge controls, are automatically performed, thus imposing the lowest level of peripheral monitoring obligations on the vehicle occupants. At this level, the vehicle occupant does not need to monitor the surroundings and the state of the own vehicle M (there is no obligation to monitor the surroundings).

Here, the traveling mode selected in the mode A includes, for example, platooning. This traveling mode is determined by the traveling mode determining unit 146A provided in the track generating unit 146, which will be described later. The platooning is a traveling mode in which the traveling locus of the following preceding vehicle is tracked and the vehicle travels on the traveling locus of the preceding vehicle or in the vicinity of the traveling locus of the preceding vehicle. The traveling locus may be recognized by the outside world recognition unit 142 based on the detection result of the detection device DD, or may be acquired from the vehicle in front via the communication device 55 (the “track” described later is referred to as the own vehicle M). It may be obtained from the vehicle in front instead of being generated in-house).

In platooning, the speed of the own vehicle M is determined so as to be the same speed as the speed of the vehicle in front. In such a case, the own vehicle M and the preceding vehicle form one platoon (vehicle group). Therefore, the own vehicle M, which is the following vehicle in the platoon, can automatically drive by simply monitoring the movement of the vehicle in front and the approaching vehicle from the side or the rear, and the load on control is also reduced. To.

Further, the traveling mode selected in the mode A may include a traveling mode such as low-speed follow-up traveling in addition to the platooning traveling. The low-speed follow-up traveling is, for example, a traveling mode in which a preceding vehicle traveling in front of (immediately before) the own vehicle M is followed on the own lane in which the own vehicle M is traveling, such as on a congested highway. Low-speed follow-up running is also called TJP (Traffic Jam Pilot). For various driving modes such as platooning and low-speed follow-up driving, for example, a speed limit of about 40 km / h is provided, and when the speed of the own vehicle M exceeds this speed limit, the mode is lowered by one and the mode shifts to mode B. To do.

[Mode B]
Mode B is the mode in which the degree of automatic operation is the second highest after mode A. When mode B is implemented, in principle, all vehicle control is automatically performed, but the driving operation of the own vehicle M is entrusted to the vehicle occupants depending on the situation. Therefore, the peripheral monitoring obligation level in mode B is set to a higher level than the peripheral monitoring obligation level in mode A. At this level, the vehicle occupant needs to monitor the surroundings and condition of the own vehicle M. For example, a speed limit of about 70 km / h is provided for various traveling modes selected in these modes B, and when the speed of the own vehicle M exceeds this speed limit, the mode is lowered by one and the mode shifts to mode C. To do.

[Mode C]
Mode C is the mode in which the degree of automatic operation is the second highest after mode B. When the mode C is implemented, the vehicle occupant needs to perform a confirmation operation on the HMI 70 according to the situation. Therefore, the peripheral monitoring obligation level in mode C is set to at least a higher level than the peripheral monitoring obligation level in mode A. In mode C, for example, when the vehicle occupant is notified of the lane change timing and the vehicle occupant performs an operation instructing the HMI 70 to change lanes, the lane change is automatically performed. Therefore, at the level in mode C, the vehicle occupant needs to monitor the surroundings and the state of the own vehicle M. The various driving modes selected in the mode C are provided with, for example, a speed limit of about 100 km / h, and when the speed of the own vehicle M exceeds this speed limit, the mode is lowered by one, for example, further than the mode C. It shifts to a lower mode with a low degree of automatic operation or a manual operation mode.

The automatic driving mode control unit 130 automatically operates based on the operation of the vehicle occupant with respect to the HMI 70, the event determined by the action plan generation unit 144, the driving mode determined by the track generation unit 146 (travel mode determination unit 146A), and the like. The mode is determined to be one of the above modes. The automatic operation mode control unit 130 notifies the HMI control unit 170 of information regarding the determined automatic operation mode.

The automatic driving mode that can be selected by the automatic driving mode control unit 130 may be limited according to the performance of the detection device DD of the own vehicle M. For example, when the performance of the detection device DD becomes lower than the reference value due to a failure of some sensors included in the detection device DD, or when the sensor on the rear end side of the vehicle is removed, the sensor of the detection device DD When the number is less than a certain number, some automatic operation modes (for example, mode A having the highest degree of automatic operation) may be restricted so as not to be selected in consideration of safety.

In any of the above automatic operation modes, the automatic operation mode control unit 130 may switch (override) from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode by operating the configuration of the operation operation system in the HMI 70. The override is, for example, when the operating force of the vehicle occupant of the own vehicle M on the driving operation system of the HMI 70 continues to exceed the threshold value for a predetermined time or longer, a predetermined amount of operation change (for example, the accelerator opening of the accelerator pedal 71, the brake pedal 74). (Brake depression amount, steering angle of the steering wheel 78) or more, or when the operation on the driving operation system is performed a predetermined number of times or more.

Further, the automatic operation mode control unit 130 may switch the currently executed automatic operation mode to another automatic operation mode (for example, mode A to mode B) at the timing when the traveling mode in each automatic operation mode ends. Alternatively, it may be switched to another driving mode that can be selected in the currently executed automatic driving mode.

When each automatic driving mode is executed, the automatic driving mode control unit 130 changes the driving mode from other non-platooning driving modes such as constant speed driving in which the speed of the own vehicle M is constant to platooning. If so, the currently executed automatic driving mode is treated as being changed to a mode in which the degree of automatic driving is higher than that of the automatic driving mode executed in other driving modes.

Further, the automatic operation mode control unit 130 is currently executed when each automatic operation mode is executed and the traveling mode is changed from another driving mode other than the platooning such as constant speed driving to the platooning. The automatic operation mode may be changed to mode A, which has the lowest degree of peripheral monitoring obligation among the fully automatic operation modes.

For example, when the driving mode is changed from constant speed driving to platooning while mode B is being executed, the automatic driving mode control unit 130 is less obliged to monitor the surroundings from mode B in the automatic driving mode. Change to mode A. As a result, when the own vehicle M is following the surrounding vehicles, the vehicle occupants do not need to monitor the surroundings (or become smaller), and the terminal device brought into the vehicle or the content reproduction installed in the vehicle interior is reproduced. The device 85 and the like can be operated freely.

Further, when the traveling mode is platooning, it can be regarded that the leading vehicle in the platoon recognizes the surrounding situation instead of the own vehicle M. In other words, by monitoring the leading vehicle of the platoon or the following vehicle of the leading vehicle, it can be considered that the own vehicle M indirectly recognizes the surrounding situation. In this case, the automatic operation mode control unit 130 limits the automatic operation mode to be executed even in a situation where, for example, the number of sensors of the detection device DD is insufficient and switching to a part of the automatic operation modes is restricted. You may change to the automatic operation mode that is set.

For example, in a situation where switching to mode A is restricted, when mode B, in which the degree of duty to monitor the surrounding area is low, is being executed, the driving mode is changed to platooning, the automatic driving mode. The control unit 130 may change the automatic operation mode to be executed from mode B to mode A. That is, when the automatic operation mode control unit 130 executes platooning as one mode in the automatic operation mode, the performance of the detection device DD is used as a reference because some sensors included in the detection device DD may fail. Even if the value is lower than the value, the restriction according to the performance of the detection device DD may be relaxed to enable the transition to the restricted automatic operation mode.

Further, when the traveling mode is changed from another traveling mode other than the platooning to the platooning, the automatic driving mode control unit 130 relaxes the limitable upper limit vehicle speed set for each automatic driving mode. As a result, the relative speed limit for the duty to monitor the surroundings of the own vehicle M is relaxed.

For example, consider a case where the running mode that can be selected in the mode A includes a low-speed following running in addition to the platooning, and the running mode is changed from the low-speed following running to the platooning. The degree (level) of these peripheral monitoring obligations is the same, or controlled so that the platooning is lower. On the other hand, regarding the speed limit, the platooning is set more gently. For example, the speed limit for low-speed follow-up running is, for example, about 40 km / h, whereas for platooning, it is set to, for example, 100 km / h. Therefore, in platooning, the relative speed limit for the duty to monitor the surroundings of the own vehicle M is relaxed. Such a relationship is established not only in low-speed follow-up running but also in other running modes and platooning.

The own vehicle position recognition unit 140 of the automatic driving control unit 120 has high-precision map information 182 stored in the storage unit 180 and information input from the finder 20, the radar 30, the camera 40, the navigation device 50, or the vehicle sensor 60. Based on the above, the lane in which the own vehicle M is traveling (traveling lane) and the relative position of the own vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane are recognized.

The own vehicle position recognition unit 140 is, for example, a pattern of a road marking line recognized from the high-precision map information 182 (for example, an arrangement of a solid line and a broken line) and a periphery of the own vehicle M recognized from an image captured by the camera 40. By comparing with the pattern of the road lane marking, the driving lane is recognized. In this recognition, the position of the own vehicle M acquired from the navigation device 50 and the processing result by the INS may be added.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how the own vehicle position recognition unit 140 recognizes the relative position of the own vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane L1. The own vehicle position recognition unit 140 is formed on, for example, a line connecting the deviation OS of the reference point (for example, the center of gravity) of the own vehicle M from the central CL of the traveling lane and the central CL of the traveling lane in the traveling direction of the own vehicle M. The angle θ is recognized as the relative position of the own vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane L1. Instead of this, the own vehicle position recognition unit 140 recognizes the position of the reference point of the own vehicle M with respect to any side end of the own lane L1 as the relative position of the own vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane. May be good. The relative position of the own vehicle M recognized by the own vehicle position recognition unit 140 is provided to the target lane determination unit 110.

The outside world recognition unit 142 recognizes the position, speed, acceleration, and other states of surrounding vehicles based on the information input from the finder 20, the radar 30, the camera 40, and the like. The peripheral vehicle is, for example, a vehicle that travels around the own vehicle M and travels in the same direction as the own vehicle M. The position of the peripheral vehicle may be represented by a representative point such as the center of gravity of another vehicle or a corner, or may be represented by an area represented by the outline of the other vehicle. The "state" of the peripheral vehicle may include the acceleration of the peripheral vehicle and whether or not the vehicle is changing lanes (or whether or not the vehicle is trying to change lanes), which is grasped based on the information of the various devices. Further, the outside world recognition unit 142 may recognize the positions of guardrails, utility poles, parked vehicles, pedestrians, and other objects in addition to peripheral vehicles.

The action plan generation unit 144 sets the start point of the automatic driving and / or the destination of the automatic driving. The starting point of the automatic driving may be the current position of the own vehicle M, or may be a point where an operation for instructing the automatic driving is performed. The action plan generation unit 144 generates an action plan in the section between the starting point and the destination of the automatic driving. Not limited to this, the action plan generation unit 144 may generate an action plan for any section.

An action plan consists of, for example, a plurality of events that are executed sequentially. The events include, for example, a deceleration event for decelerating the own vehicle M, an acceleration event for accelerating the own vehicle M, a lane keeping event for driving the own vehicle M so as not to deviate from the driving lane, and a lane change event for changing the driving lane. , Overtaking event to let own vehicle M overtake the preceding vehicle, branch event to change to the desired lane at the branch point, or to drive the own vehicle M so as not to deviate from the current driving lane, to join the main lane A merging event that accelerates or decelerates the own vehicle M in the merging lane to change the driving lane, shifts from the manual driving mode to the automatic driving mode at the start point of automatic driving, or manually changes from the automatic driving mode at the scheduled end point of automatic driving. Includes handover events and the like that shift to the operation mode. The action plan generation unit 144 sets a lane change event, a branch event, or a merging event at a place where the target lane determined by the target lane determination unit 110 is switched. The information indicating the action plan generated by the action plan generation unit 144 is stored in the storage unit 180 as the action plan information 186.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an action plan generated for a certain section. As shown in the figure, the action plan generation unit 144 generates an action plan necessary for the own vehicle M to travel on the target lane indicated by the target lane information 184. The action plan generation unit 144 may dynamically change the action plan according to the change in the situation of the own vehicle M, regardless of the target lane information 184. For example, in the action plan generation unit 144, the speed of the peripheral vehicle recognized by the outside world recognition unit 142 while the vehicle is traveling exceeds the threshold value, or the movement direction of the peripheral vehicle traveling in the lane adjacent to the own lane is in the direction of the own lane. When the vehicle turns, the event set in the driving section where the own vehicle M is scheduled to travel is changed. For example, when the event is set so that the lane change event is executed after the lane keep event, the vehicle is equal to or more than the threshold value from the rear of the lane change destination during the lane keep event according to the recognition result of the outside world recognition unit 142. When it is found that the event has progressed at the speed of, the action plan generation unit 144 may change the event following the lane keep event from the lane change event to the deceleration event, the lane keep event, or the like. As a result, the vehicle control system 100 can safely and automatically drive the own vehicle M even when the state of the outside world changes.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the trajectory generation unit 146. The track generation unit 146 includes, for example, a traveling mode determination unit 146A, a track candidate generation unit 146B, and an evaluation / selection unit 146C.

The traveling mode determining unit 146A, for example, when carrying out a lane keeping event, based on the peripheral vehicle recognized by the outside world recognition unit 142, the above-mentioned constant speed traveling, low speed following traveling, medium speed following traveling, high speed following traveling, Determine one of the following driving modes: deceleration driving, curve driving, obstacle avoidance driving, and platooning driving.

For example, the traveling mode determining unit 146A determines the traveling mode to be constant speed traveling when there is no other vehicle within a certain distance in front of the own vehicle M. In the traveling mode determining unit 146A, for example, if the speed of a peripheral vehicle (for example, a vehicle in front) is equal to or greater than the speed limit of mode A and equal to or less than the speed limit of mode B, and the inter-vehicle distance to the peripheral vehicle is equal to or greater than a certain value. In the mode B described above, for example, the traveling mode is determined to be constant speed traveling.

In addition, the traveling mode determining unit 146A determines the traveling mode to follow low-speed traveling in a traffic jam or the like. In addition, in a scene where the average speed of surrounding vehicles is higher than that in a traffic jam scene, the traveling mode determining unit 146A is more likely than a medium-speed following running or a medium-speed following running in which the driving mode is higher than the low-speed following running. Also, it is decided to run at high speed, which has a high speed when following. For example, in the traveling mode determination unit 146A, the speed of the peripheral vehicle (for example, the vehicle in front) recognized by the outside world recognition unit 142 is equal to or less than the speed limit of mode A, and the inter-vehicle distance to the peripheral vehicle is equal to or less than a certain value. For example, in the above-mentioned mode A, for example, the traveling mode is determined to be low-speed following traveling.

When various follow-up runs are carried out, lane changes, merging, branching, etc. are performed at timings based on the action plan generated by the action plan generation unit 144.

Further, the traveling mode determining unit 146A determines the traveling mode to decelerate traveling when the deceleration of the vehicle in front is recognized by the outside world recognition unit 142 or when an event such as stopping or parking is performed. Further, the traveling mode determining unit 146A determines the traveling mode to curve traveling when the outside world recognition unit 142 recognizes that the own vehicle M is approaching a curved road. Further, when the outside world recognition unit 142 recognizes an obstacle in front of the own vehicle M, the travel mode determination unit 146A determines the travel mode to be obstacle avoidance travel.

Further, the traveling mode determining unit 146A is a vehicle in which the same destination as the destination of the own vehicle M is set in the peripheral vehicles recognized by the outside world recognition unit 142, and a route to the destination of the own vehicle M. If there is a vehicle that shares all of the above, or a vehicle that shares a part of the route to the destination of the own vehicle M, the traveling mode is determined to be platooning. At the time of platooning, the automatic driving control unit 120 causes these vehicles to follow the own vehicle M, and is the same event as the event executed by the following vehicle regardless of the action plan generated by the action plan generation unit 144. Vehicle control.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which the traveling mode is changed to platooning. In the illustrated example, when the vehicle is following the vehicle m1, the vehicle to be followed is changed to the vehicle m2 traveling in the adjacent lane, and the platooning is performed. For example, the traveling mode determining unit 146A uses the communication device 55 to perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication with peripheral vehicles traveling within the communicable range, and acquires destination information and position information of each vehicle. In the illustrated example, the traveling mode determining unit 146A acquires the destination information and the position information from the vehicle m1 and the vehicle m2, respectively.

The traveling mode determining unit 146A refers to the acquired destination information, and refers to a peripheral vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as an accompanying vehicle) in which the same destination as the destination of the own vehicle M set for the navigation device 50 is set. Is specified from the vehicles to be communicated by the communication device 55. In the illustrated example, the destination of the vehicle m1 is different from the destination of the own vehicle M, and the destination of the vehicle m2 is the same as the destination of the own vehicle M, so that the vehicle m2 is specified as an accompanying vehicle. When there are a plurality of accompanying vehicles, the traveling mode determining unit 146A may refer to the position information of each peripheral vehicle and set the vehicle closest to the own vehicle M as the accompanying vehicle to be followed. When the route information is received by the communication device 55, the traveling mode determining unit 146A sets a route that is the same as the route to the destination of the own vehicle by referring to the route information. The vehicle may be treated as a companion vehicle.

Further, the traveling mode determining unit 146A identifies a vehicle having a common route at least halfway on the route to the destination of the own vehicle M when there is no accompanying vehicle among the peripheral vehicles. When the traveling mode determining unit 146A identifies a vehicle having a common route halfway, that is, when identifying a vehicle having a different destination but a part of the route to the destination, the vehicle accompanies this vehicle. Treat as.

Further, the driving mode determining unit 146A refers to the driving skill information received by the communication device 55, and selects a vehicle operated by the driver having the best driving skill from the plurality of accompanying vehicles as the accompanying vehicle. You may. For example, the driving mode determination unit 146A has a driver's license for a vehicle, a bus, etc. operated by the driver who has the longest renewal period of the excellent driver's license, and is a driver who drives the vehicle on a daily basis in business. The vehicle operated by the vehicle may be preferentially selected as the accompanying vehicle.

After identifying the accompanying vehicle, the traveling mode determining unit 146A transmits the follow-up request information to the accompanying vehicle by using the communication device 55. When the accompanying vehicle (vehicle m2 in the illustrated example) receives the follow-up request information, the display device in the vehicle interior or the like displays information indicating that the follow-up request has been made by another vehicle. As a response to this, when the vehicle occupant of the accompanying vehicle permits the follow-up using a predetermined user interface, the accompanying vehicle transmits the follow-up permission information indicating that the follow-up request has been accepted to the own vehicle M. When the follow-up permission information is received by the communication device 55, the travel mode determination unit 146A determines the travel mode to be platooning so as to follow the accompanying vehicle. The communication device 55 may receive information on the action plan or the traveling track generated by the accompanying vehicle together with the following permission information from the accompanying vehicle. In this case, the track generation unit 146 may generate a traveling track based on the action plan received from the accompanying vehicle, or may treat the traveling track received from the accompanying vehicle as the track generated by itself.

In addition, when a plurality of accompanying vehicles exist and the traveling conditions during platooning are specified by the vehicle occupants, the traveling mode determining unit 146A uses the accompanying vehicles that match the specified traveling conditions as the following vehicles during platooning. Select as. That is, the traveling mode determination unit 146A determines whether or not there is an accompanying vehicle that matches the traveling conditions so that the occupants of the vehicle requesting the formation can travel without stress among the plurality of accompanying vehicles. The running conditions include, for example, conditions for specifying the speed, acceleration / deceleration, steering speed, steering acceleration, etc. of the own vehicle M during platooning, and the speed, acceleration / deceleration, steering speed, steering acceleration, etc. of the leading vehicle during platooning. Contains the conditions to specify. Hereinafter, conditions for designating the speed, acceleration / deceleration, steering speed, steering acceleration, etc. of the own vehicle M or the leading vehicle during platooning will be described as "speed conditions". Whether or not the specified speed condition is satisfied is determined by performing inter-vehicle communication with a vehicle that can be the leading vehicle during platooning, acquiring information such as speed, acceleration / deceleration, steering speed, steering acceleration, etc., and this acquired information. Judgment is based on. Information such as speed, acceleration / deceleration, steering speed, steering acceleration, etc. may include only one of the current information and the past information, or may include both. In addition, some or all of the above information may be acquired by the outside world recognition unit 142 recognizing the "state" of a vehicle that can be the leading vehicle during platooning.

For example, if the specified speed condition is about 40 km / h or less, the traveling mode determining unit 146A selects the accompanying vehicle traveling at a speed within this condition as a following vehicle during platooning. Hereinafter, platooning in which the accompanying vehicle traveling at a low speed of about 40 km / h or less is the vehicle to be followed will be referred to as “low-speed platooning”.

Further, if the specified speed condition is about 40 km / h or more and less than about 70 km / h, the traveling mode determining unit 146A selects the accompanying vehicle traveling at a speed within this condition as the following vehicle during platooning. To do. Hereinafter, platooning in which an accompanying vehicle traveling at a medium speed of about 40 km / h or more and less than about 70 km / h is a vehicle to be followed will be referred to as “medium speed platooning”.

Further, if the specified speed condition is about 70 km / h or more, the traveling mode determining unit 146A selects the accompanying vehicle traveling at a speed within this condition as the following vehicle during platooning. Hereinafter, platooning in which the accompanying vehicle traveling at a high speed of about 70 km / h or more is the vehicle to be followed will be referred to as “high-speed platooning”.

The above classification according to the speed of platooning is only an example, and may be classified into 2 or 4 or more. For example, in addition to the above-mentioned platooning, platooning in which the own vehicle M is driven at another speed such as ultra-high-speed platooning may be included. The ultra-high-speed platooning is, for example, a platooning in which a speed condition of about 100 km / h or more is specified. In this case, the above-mentioned high-speed platooning is treated as platooning in which the accompanying vehicle traveling at a speed of about 70 km / h or more and less than about 100 km / h is the vehicle to be followed.

Further, the traveling mode determining unit 146A determines the traveling mode according to each event when executing not only the lane keeping event described above but also a lane change event, an overtaking event, a branching event, a merging event, a handover event, and the like. To do.

The traveling mode determining unit 146A notifies the HMI control unit 170 of information regarding the traveling mode determined for each event.

The track candidate generation unit 146B generates track candidates based on the travel mode determined by the travel mode determination unit 146A. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of orbital candidates generated by the orbital candidate generation unit 146B. The illustrated example shows the track candidates generated when the own vehicle M changes lanes from lane L1 to lane L2.

The track candidate generation unit 146B performs a track as shown in FIG. 8, for example, at a target position (track point K) at which the reference position (for example, the center of gravity or the center of the rear wheel axle) of the own vehicle M should reach at predetermined time in the future. It is decided as a group of. FIG. 9 is a diagram in which the orbital candidates generated by the orbital candidate generation unit 146B are represented by orbital points K. The wider the distance between the track points K, the faster the speed of the own vehicle M, and the narrower the distance between the track points K, the slower the speed of the own vehicle M. Therefore, the orbit candidate generation unit 146B gradually widens the interval between the orbit points K when it wants to accelerate, and gradually narrows the interval between the orbit points when it wants to decelerate.

As described above, since the orbital point K includes a velocity component, the orbital candidate generation unit 146B needs to give a target velocity to each of the orbital points K. The target speed is determined according to the traveling mode determined by the traveling mode determining unit 146A.

Here, a method for determining the target speed when changing lanes (including branching) will be described. The track candidate generation unit 146B first sets the lane change target position (or the merging target position). The lane change target position is set as a relative position with respect to the surrounding vehicles, and determines "between which peripheral vehicles the lane is changed". The track candidate generation unit 146B focuses on three peripheral vehicles based on the lane change target position, and determines a target speed when changing lanes. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a lane change target position TA. In the figure, L1 represents the own lane and L2 represents the adjacent lane. Here, in the same lane as the own vehicle M, the peripheral vehicle traveling in front of the own vehicle M is the preceding vehicle mA, the peripheral vehicle traveling in front of the lane change target position TA is the forward reference vehicle mB, and the lane change target position TA. The peripheral vehicle traveling immediately after is defined as the rear reference vehicle mC. The own vehicle M needs to accelerate and decelerate in order to move to the side of the lane change target position TA, but at this time, it is necessary to avoid catching up with the preceding vehicle mA. Therefore, the track candidate generation unit 146B predicts the future state of the three peripheral vehicles and determines the target speed so as not to interfere with each peripheral vehicle.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a speed generation model assuming that the speeds of the three peripheral vehicles are constant. In the figure, the straight lines extending from mA, mB, and mC indicate the displacement in the traveling direction when it is assumed that the respective peripheral vehicles travel at a constant speed. The own vehicle M must be between the front reference vehicle mB and the rear reference vehicle mC at the point CP where the lane change is completed, and must be behind the preceding vehicle mA before that. Under such restrictions, the track candidate generation unit 146B derives a plurality of time-series patterns of the target speed until the lane change is completed. Then, by applying the time-series pattern of the target velocity to a model such as a spline curve, a plurality of orbital candidates as shown in FIG. 9 are derived. The motion patterns of the three peripheral vehicles are not limited to the constant speed as shown in FIG. 11, and may be predicted on the premise of constant acceleration and constant jerk (jerk).

The evaluation / selection unit 146C evaluates the track candidates generated by the track candidate generation unit 146B from the two viewpoints of, for example, planning and safety, and selects a track to be output to the travel control unit 160. .. From the viewpoint of planning, for example, the trajectory is highly evaluated when the followability to the already generated plan (for example, the action plan) is high and the total length of the trajectory is short. For example, when it is desired to change lanes to the right, a track that once changes lanes to the left and returns is evaluated low. From the viewpoint of safety, for example, at each track point, the farther the distance between the own vehicle M and the object (peripheral vehicle, etc.) is, and the smaller the amount of change in acceleration / deceleration or steering angle, the higher the evaluation.

The changeover control unit 150 mutually switches between the automatic operation mode and the manual operation mode based on the signal input from the automatic operation changeover switch 87 and the like. Further, the switching control unit 150 switches from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode based on the operation of instructing acceleration, deceleration, or steering with respect to the configuration of the operation operation system in the HMI 70. For example, the switching control unit 150 switches from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode when the operation amount indicated by the signal input from the configuration of the operation operation system in the HMI 70 exceeds the threshold value for the reference time or longer. override). Further, the switching control unit 150 may return to the automatic operation mode when the operation for the operation system configuration in the HMI 70 is not detected for a predetermined time after switching to the manual operation mode by overriding. .. Further, the switching control unit 150 notifies the vehicle occupants of the handover request in advance when performing the handover control for shifting from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode at the scheduled end point of the automatic driving, for example. The information is output to the HMI control unit 170.

The travel control unit 160 controls the travel driving force output device 200, the steering device 210, and the brake device 220 so that the own vehicle M passes through the track generated by the track generation unit 146 on time.

When the automatic operation control unit 120 notifies the automatic operation mode information, the HMI control unit 170 controls the HMI 70 according to the type of the automatic operation mode with reference to the mode-specific operation availability information 188.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of operation availability information 188 for each mode. The mode-specific operation enable / disable information 188 shown in FIG. 12 has "manual operation mode" and "automatic operation mode" as operation mode items. Further, as the "automatic operation mode", the above-mentioned "mode A", "mode B", "mode C" and the like are included. Further, the mode-specific operation enable / disable information 188 is an operation for the navigation device 50, a "navigation operation", an operation for the content playback device 85, a "content playback operation", and an operation for the display device 82, as non-driving operation system items. It has a certain "instrument panel operation" and the like. In the example of the mode-specific operation enablement information 188 shown in FIG. 12, whether or not the vehicle occupant can operate the non-driving operation system is set for each of the above-mentioned operation modes, but the target interface device is limited to this. is not.

The HMI control unit 170 refers to the mode-specific operation availability information 188 based on the mode information acquired from the automatic operation control unit 120, and the devices (a part or all of the navigation device 50 and the HMI 70) that are permitted to be used, and Determine that the device is not permitted to be used. Further, the HMI control unit 170 controls whether or not the operation from the vehicle occupant to the non-driving operation system HMI 70 or the navigation device 50 is accepted based on the determination result.

For example, when the driving mode executed by the vehicle control system 100 is the manual driving mode, the vehicle occupant can configure the driving operation system of the HMI 70 (for example, the accelerator pedal 71, the brake pedal 74, the shift lever 76, and the steering wheel 78). To operate. Further, when the driving mode executed by the vehicle control system 100 is mode B, mode C, or the like of the automatic driving mode, the vehicle occupant is obliged to monitor the surroundings of the own vehicle M. In such a case, in order to prevent distraction (driver distraction) due to actions other than driving by the vehicle occupant (for example, operation of the HMI 70), the HMI control unit 170 configures the non-driving operation system of the HMI 70. Control is performed so that operations on a part or all of the above are not accepted. At this time, the HMI control unit 170 displays the existence of the peripheral vehicle of the own vehicle M and the state of the peripheral vehicle recognized by the outside world recognition unit 142 in order for the vehicle occupant to monitor the surroundings of the own vehicle M. The 82 may be displayed as an image or the like, and the HMI 70 may be made to accept a confirmation operation according to a scene when the own vehicle M is traveling.

Further, when the automatic driving mode is mode A, the HMI control unit 170 may relax the regulation of driver distraction and control to accept the operation of the vehicle occupant with respect to the non-driving operation system that has not accepted the operation. For example, the HMI control unit 170 causes the display device 82 to display an image, the speaker 83 to output audio, and the content reproduction device 85 to reproduce content from a DVD or the like. The content reproduced by the content reproduction device 85 may include, for example, various contents related to entertainment such as a television program, in addition to the content stored in a DVD or the like. Further, the "content reproduction operation" shown in FIG. 12 described above may mean such a content operation related to entertainment and entertainment.

Further, when the mode A is changed to the mode B or the mode C, that is, when the automatic driving mode is changed, which increases the duty to monitor the surroundings of the vehicle occupants, the HMI control unit 170 uses the navigation device 50 or the non-driving operation system. HMI 70 is made to output predetermined information. The predetermined information is information indicating that the duty to monitor the surroundings is increased, and information indicating that the operation tolerance for the navigation device 50 or the HMI 70 of the non-driving operation system is lowered (operation is restricted). The predetermined information is not limited to these, and may be, for example, information that prompts preparation for handover control.

As described above, the HMI control unit 170 warns the vehicle occupants, for example, before a predetermined time when the operation mode transitions from mode A to mode B or mode C described above, or before the own vehicle M reaches a predetermined speed. By notifying the vehicle occupant, it is possible to notify the vehicle occupant at an appropriate timing that the duty to monitor the surroundings of the own vehicle M is imposed on the vehicle occupant. As a result, the vehicle occupants can be given a preparation period for switching between automatic driving.

Further, the HMI control unit 170 uses the navigation device 50 or the HMI 70 when it is found that the traveling mode is determined to be platooning by referring to the information regarding the traveling mode notified by the traveling mode determining unit 146A. Notify the vehicle occupants that vehicle control based on platooning will be started.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the display device 82 when the platooning starts. On the screen of the display device 82, for example, a button B1 for permitting the start of platooning and a button B2 for prohibiting the start of platooning are displayed. For example, when the button B1 is touch-operated by the vehicle occupant, the track generation unit 146 outputs track information for platooning to the travel control unit 160, and the travel control unit 160 drives the vehicle. By controlling the force output device 200, the steering device 210, and the brake device 220, the own vehicle M performs platooning. On the other hand, when the button B2 is touch-operated or selected by the vehicle occupant, the traveling mode determining unit 146A redetermines the traveling mode to a traveling mode other than the platooning.

The platooning may be automatically started without the operation of the vehicle occupants. In this case, the HMI control unit 170 will start the platooning before the platooning is started, instead of displaying the screen requesting the permission to start the platooning on the display device 82 as shown in FIG. You may display the fact. Further, for example, before any of the automatic driving modes is started, the vehicle occupants may be asked whether or not to select if platooning is possible during the automatic driving mode.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen for designating a speed condition during platooning after the start of platooning is permitted. The screen shown in the figure is displayed when, for example, there are a plurality of accompanying vehicles and there are several options such as low-speed platooning, medium-speed platooning, and high-speed platooning as possible platooning candidates. As shown in the figure, for example, a button B3 for selecting "low-speed platooning", a button B4 for selecting "medium-speed platooning", and a button B5 for selecting "high-speed platooning" are displayed on the screen. To. When any of these buttons is selected by touch operation or the like, the traveling mode determining unit 146A determines the speed condition during platooning based on the vehicle occupant's selection operation. For example, when low-speed platooning is selected by the vehicle occupants, the traveling mode determination unit 146A travels at a speed of about 40 km / h or less among a plurality of accompanying vehicles that satisfy the speed conditions during low-speed platooning. The accompanying vehicle) is selected as the vehicle to be followed. The track candidate generation unit 146B generates a plurality of track candidates that cause the own vehicle M to follow the accompanying vehicle selected by the traveling mode determination unit 146A. As a result, the automatic driving control unit 120 can make the own vehicle M follow the accompanying vehicle satisfying the speed conditions desired by the vehicle occupants.

Further, when low-speed platooning is selected, the own vehicle M travels below the speed limit of mode A, so that the obligation to monitor the surroundings does not occur. Therefore, the vehicle occupants can watch television programs and the like when traveling in a low-speed platoon.

The HMI control unit 170 may display a screen on the display device 82 or the like for inputting a numerical value (speed value) of the speed condition for platooning. In this case, the traveling mode determining unit 146A may select the accompanying vehicle based on the input numerical value of the speed condition. When there is a traveling vehicle that satisfies the input speed condition value among the identified accompanying vehicles, the traveling mode determining unit 146A determines the traveling mode in the automatic driving mode as low-speed platooning, medium-speed platooning, and high-speed. Of several platooning such as platooning, the platooning that satisfies the speed condition is decided. On the other hand, if there is no accompanying vehicle that satisfies the input speed condition value among the specified accompanying vehicles, the HMI control unit 170 notifies the vehicle occupants that the platooning cannot be performed under the specified speed condition. At the same time, the screen for inputting the speed condition may be displayed again.

Also, if the screen for selecting permission or prohibition of platooning is displayed at the timing before the start of automatic driving, the input screen for specifying the speed limit during platooning is also at the timing before the start of automatic driving. May be displayed.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing performed by the vehicle control system 100. The processing of this flowchart is performed in a state where, for example, the automatic operation mode executed by the automatic operation mode control unit 130 is determined to be one of the automatic operation modes.

First, the HMI control unit 170 waits until the accompanying vehicle can be selected from the surrounding vehicles (step S100), and when the accompanying vehicle can be selected, the display device 82 is used to select whether or not to run in a platoon. Display the screen (step S102). The traveling mode determining unit 146A determines whether or not the start of the platooning is permitted on the screen of the HMI 70 (step S104), and if the starting of the platooning is not permitted, the traveling mode determining unit 146A determines the traveling mode. The driving mode other than the driving is determined again, and the processing of this flowchart is terminated.

On the other hand, when the start of platooning is permitted, the traveling mode determination unit 146A determines whether or not there are a plurality of selectable accompanying vehicles (step S106), and the selectable accompanying vehicle is one. In this case, the traveling mode in the automatic driving mode is determined to be platooning according to the speed of the accompanying vehicle (step S108).

On the other hand, when there are a plurality of selectable accompanying vehicles, the HMI control unit 170 uses, for example, a display device 82 to perform low-speed platooning and medium-speed platooning as candidates for platooning according to the respective speeds of the accompanying vehicles. A screen for selecting either platooning or high-speed platooning is displayed (step S110).

Next, the traveling mode determining unit 146A determines whether or not low-speed platooning is selected on the screen of the display device 82 (step S112), and if low-speed platooning is selected, follows the accompanying vehicle traveling at low speed. The target vehicle is determined (step S114). On the other hand, when low-speed platooning is not selected, it is determined whether or not medium-speed platooning is selected on the screen of the display device 82 (step S116). When the medium-speed platooning is selected, the traveling mode determination unit 146A determines the accompanying vehicle traveling at the medium speed as the vehicle to be followed (step S118).

On the other hand, when the medium-speed platooning is not selected, the traveling mode determination unit 146A determines the accompanying vehicle traveling at high speed as the vehicle to be followed (step S120). This completes the processing of this flowchart.

According to the first embodiment described above, based on the operation of designating the speed condition of the own vehicle M, a vehicle to be followed that matches the speed condition is selected from the surrounding vehicles, and the selected vehicle is followed. Since the platooning of the vehicle is executed as one aspect of the automatic driving, the burden on the vehicle occupants can be reduced during the automatic driving.

Further, according to the first embodiment described above, when the platooning is executed as one aspect of the automatic driving, for example, a television program can be viewed in order to reduce the obligation to monitor the surroundings, which is convenient for the vehicle occupants. Can be improved.

Further, according to the first embodiment described above, when the platooning is executed as one aspect of the automatic driving, in order to relax the limitation of the automatic driving mode, for example, even when the performance of the detection device DD is insufficient. Mode A, which does not require peripheral monitoring, can be executed. As a result, the convenience of the vehicle occupants can be improved.

<First modification in the first embodiment>
Hereinafter, the first modification of the first embodiment will be described. In the first modification, the following vehicle (following vehicle) and the following vehicle (followed vehicle) alternately alternate during the platooning.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which the relationship between the following vehicle and the followed vehicle is reversed during platooning. In the figure, m1 is a follow-up vehicle, and m2 is a follow-up vehicle. It is assumed that these vehicles are equipped with various devices such as the detection device DD and the communication device 55 shown in FIG. 2 described above, and the vehicle control system 100.

For example, when the vehicle occupant of the tracked vehicle m1 wants to watch a television program or the like behind the platoon, he operates the HMI 70 in the vehicle interior to transmit the tracking request information to the following vehicle m2. As a response to this, when the following vehicle m2 transmits the following permission information, the followed vehicle m1 changes lanes and gives way to the following vehicle m2 until the following vehicle m2 advances ahead of the own vehicle. Drive in the new lane. When the following vehicle m2 is located in front and a sufficient inter-vehicle distance can be secured, the followed vehicle m1 sets a lane change target position TA behind the following vehicle m2 and changes lanes to the original lane. As a result, the relationship between the tracked vehicle m1 and the following vehicle m2 is reversed. By repeating the above process until either the tracked vehicle m1 or the following vehicle m2 arrives at the destination, the mode A that does not require peripheral monitoring can be alternately executed in both vehicles. As a result, the convenience of both vehicle occupants can be improved.

<Second modification in the first embodiment>
Hereinafter, a second modification of the first embodiment will be described. In the second modification, the communication device 55 communicates with the information providing server device 300 that collects the destination information and the position information from each of the vehicles traveling on the road, and acquires the destination information and the position information of each vehicle. To do.

FIG. 17 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of the communication system 1 including the vehicle control system 100 in the second modification. The communication system 1 includes, for example, vehicle control systems 100-1 to 100-n mounted on each vehicle, and an information providing server device 300. Hereinafter, when the vehicle control systems 100-1 to 100-n are not particularly distinguished, they will be simply abbreviated as the vehicle control system 100.

For example, the vehicle control system 100 communicates with the information providing server device 300 via the radio base station BS. For example, wireless communication is performed between the vehicle control system 100 and the wireless base station BS using a mobile phone network or the like, and a WAN (Wide Area Network) is performed between the wireless base station BS and the information providing server device 300. Wired communication is performed using the network NW such as. Communication between the vehicle control system 100 and the information providing server device 300 may be performed by using a roadside device or the like installed at the roadside. The communication device 55 communicates with the information providing server device 300 via the network NW including the radio base station BS, and acquires the destination information and the position information for each vehicle from the information providing server device 300. Further, the communication device 55 may further acquire driving skill information from the information providing server device 300. This makes it possible to reduce the burden on the vehicle occupants during automatic driving, as in the above-described embodiment.

<Second embodiment>
Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described. In the vehicle control system 100A according to the second embodiment, there are a companion vehicle in which the same destination as the destination of the own vehicle M is set, and a companion vehicle having the same route to the destination of the own vehicle M. If not, it differs from the first embodiment in that the accompanying vehicles having a common route are sequentially changed halfway and the platooning continues to the destination. Hereinafter, the differences will be mainly described.

In the situation where a plurality of accompanying vehicles exist, the traveling mode determining unit 146A in the second embodiment accompanies the non-driving operation system of the HMI 70 to accompany the vehicle that follows the own vehicle M during platooning with a common route halfway. When the conditions specified for the vehicle are input as the driving conditions, the accompanying vehicle having a common route is specified from among the plurality of accompanying vehicles. For example, the traveling mode determination unit 146A derives a route from the current position of the peripheral vehicle to the destination of the peripheral vehicle with reference to the high-precision map information 182, and the route to the destination of the peripheral vehicle and the own vehicle. By comparing with the route to the destination of M, a vehicle having a common route is identified halfway. Further, when the route information is acquired by the communication device 55, the traveling mode determining unit 146A refers to the route information and compares the route indicated by the route information with the route to the destination of the own vehicle M. Vehicles with a common route may be specified halfway.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which an accompanying vehicle having a common route exists halfway. As shown in the figure, for example, the destination of the own vehicle M is set to the C point, the destination of the peripheral vehicle m1 is set to the D point, and the route to the D point is the end where the route is common to the middle. The point (hereinafter referred to as a relay point) is set to point B. Further, the destination of the peripheral vehicle m2 is set to the C point, and the relay point is set to the B point on the route to the C point. Further, the own vehicle M and the peripheral vehicle m1 are traveling in the same lane, and the peripheral vehicle m2 is traveling on a branch line that joins the lane in which the own vehicle M is traveling.

In such a case, the traveling mode determining unit 146A identifies the peripheral vehicle m1 traveling in the same lane as the accompanying vehicle, and determines the traveling mode to platooning so as to follow the peripheral vehicle m1 which is the accompanying vehicle. .. As a result, the own vehicle M follows the peripheral vehicle m1 and performs platooning.

When the own vehicle M approaches the vicinity of the point B which is the relay point, the traveling mode determination unit 146A changes the accompanying vehicle from the peripheral vehicle m1 to the peripheral vehicle m2. For example, in the traveling mode determination unit 146A, in the period from the completion of the merging of the peripheral vehicle m2 to the main lane (the lane in which the own vehicle M travels) to the passage of the peripheral vehicle m2 near the relay point B. , The accompanying vehicle is changed from the peripheral vehicle m1 to the peripheral vehicle m2. Then, the traveling mode determining unit 146A determines the traveling mode to be platooning so as to follow the peripheral vehicle m2 which is the accompanying vehicle. As a result, the own vehicle M can travel in a platoon to the destination while continuing the platooning by connecting the peripheral vehicles.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing performed by the vehicle control system 100A in the second embodiment. The processing of this flowchart will be described as an example when the destination information, the position information, and the like are acquired by vehicle-to-vehicle communication. However, as in the first embodiment described above, the processing is performed externally via the network NW. This may be performed when various information is acquired from the information providing server device 300.

First, the communication device 55 performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication with surrounding vehicles within a predetermined distance range, and acquires destination information and position information from each peripheral vehicle (step S200).

Next, the traveling mode determining unit 146A refers to the destination information acquired by the communication device 55, and sets the same destination as the destination of the own vehicle M in the vehicle to be communicated by the communication device 55. It is determined whether or not there is a companion vehicle or a companion vehicle having the same route to the destination of the own vehicle M (step S202). When any of the above-mentioned accompanying vehicles is present, the traveling mode determining unit 146A determines the traveling mode to platooning so as to follow the accompanying vehicle (step S204).

On the other hand, when there is no accompanying vehicle in which the same destination as the destination of the own vehicle M is set and the accompanying vehicle having the same route to the destination of the own vehicle M, the traveling mode determination unit 146A determines the traveling mode. It is determined whether or not there is an accompanying vehicle having a common route halfway among the vehicles to be communicated by the communication device 55 (step S206). When there is no accompanying vehicle having a common route halfway, the traveling mode determining unit 146A determines the traveling mode to a traveling mode other than the platooning (step S208).

On the other hand, when there is an accompanying vehicle having a common route halfway, the traveling mode determining unit 146A determines the traveling mode to platooning so as to follow the accompanying vehicle having a common route halfway (step S210). Next, the track generation unit 146 determines whether or not the own vehicle M has reached the vicinity of the relay point (step S212), and if the own vehicle M has not reached the vicinity of the relay point, the above-mentioned S210 is processed. Return and continue platooning. On the other hand, when the own vehicle M reaches the vicinity of the relay point, the track generation unit 146 returns the process to S202 described above. As a result, the vehicle to be followed during platooning can be switched from the currently referenced accompanying vehicle to another accompanying vehicle. The automatic driving control unit 120 may switch the vehicle to be followed during platooning to another accompanying vehicle at a point before the relay point. Further, the automatic driving control unit 120 may switch from the accompanying vehicle currently referred to to another accompanying vehicle at the timing when the scheduled arrival time required to reach the relay point elapses or at a timing earlier than this elapsed timing. This completes the processing of this flowchart.

According to the second embodiment described above, there are a companion vehicle in which the same destination as the destination of the own vehicle M is set, and a companion vehicle in which the entire route to the destination of the own vehicle M is common. If not, the accompanying vehicle having a common route is specified halfway, and the route to the destination of the own vehicle M and the route to the specified destination of the accompanying vehicle are no longer the same, or at this time. At the point in front, by switching the vehicle to be followed during platooning from the accompanying vehicle currently referred to to another accompanying vehicle, the accompanying vehicles with the same route are sequentially changed halfway, and the platooning is continued. You can drive automatically to your destination. As a result, for example, mode A, which does not require peripheral monitoring obligation, can be easily continued until the destination is reached, and the burden on the vehicle occupants can be further reduced.

<Third embodiment>
Hereinafter, the third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, when the own vehicle M permits the follow-up request of another vehicle to run in a platoon, the own vehicle M is provided with various benefits (incentives). It is different from the embodiment of. Hereinafter, the differences will be mainly described.

FIG. 20 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of the communication system 2 including the vehicle control system 100B in the third embodiment. The communication system 2 includes, for example, vehicle control systems 100B-1 to 100Bn mounted on each vehicle, an information providing server device 300, and an incentive giving server device 400. The incentive giving server device 400 gives a predetermined incentive to the occupants of the vehicle traveling as the leading vehicle of the platoon or the vehicle traveling as the leading vehicle of the platoon. The incentive granting server device 400 is, for example, an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System) payment server device. This device collects tolls for each vehicle that has passed, for example, a toll booth.

FIG. 21 is a functional configuration diagram centered on the vehicle control system 100B according to the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, the own vehicle M is further provided with an ETC on-board unit 95. Further, the vehicle control system 100B in the third embodiment further includes a counting unit 115. The ETC on-board unit 95 acquires vehicle information, an ETC card number, an entrance tollgate, an exit tollgate, a toll, and other information necessary for toll settlement from the inserted or placed ETC card, and uses these information as the entrance charge. Exchange at a place or exit toll booth. Then, the ETC on-board unit 95 rewrites the information in the ETC card based on the information exchanged at the tollgate. The ETC on-board unit 95 outputs identification information such as vehicle information and ETC card number among the information acquired from the ETC card to the vehicle control system 100B.

The counting unit 115 counts the number of times the tracking request information is received by the communication device 55 and the tracking permission information is transmitted as a response to the reception request information. Then, the counting unit 115 uses the communication device 55 to provide information indicating the number of times the counted tracking permission information is transmitted (hereinafter referred to as permission number information) and the identification information output by the ETC on-board unit 95. It is transmitted to the providing server device 300. The information providing server device 300 relays this information and transmits it to the incentive giving server device 400. Further, the counting unit 115 may directly transmit the permission number of times information and the identification information to the incentive granting server device 400 without going through the information providing server device 300 or other devices. Further, the information providing server device 300 and the incentive giving server device 400 may be an integrated device.

The incentive granting server device 400 refers to the received permission count information and determines the settlement amount for each vehicle based on the transmission count of the tracking permission information. For example, the incentive granting server device 400 reduces the settlement amount of the toll fee by increasing the discount amount as the number of times of transmission of the follow-up permission information increases. As a result, the vehicle equipped with the vehicle control system 100 can enjoy various benefits as the number of times of traveling at the head of the platoon increases, and as a result, the platooning becomes easier to be carried out.

Further, the incentive giving server device 400 may be a communication server device managed by a communication carrier or the like. In this case, when the incentive granting server device 400 receives the number of transmissions of the tracking permission information, the communication band of the radio wave received by the vehicle communication device 55 or the HMI 70 indicated by the identification information may be controlled based on the information. .. For example, the incentive granting server device 400 may increase the communication amount by widening the communication band as the number of times of transmission of the tracking permission information increases. As a result, the vehicle traveling at the head of the platoon is more likely to stabilize various communications. As a result, for example, in a vehicle that accepts many follow-up requests, a television program or the like can be easily played back without interruption, and the convenience of vehicle occupants is improved.

Further, the incentive granting server device 400 may be a point granting server device that grants points that can be used for various services. In this case, the incentive granting server device 400 may grant points to an electronic card or the like held by the occupant of the vehicle indicated by the identification information based on the number of transmissions of the tracking permission information. These points are used, for example, for discounting the purchase price of goods, discounting the purchase price of gasoline, etc., or are exchanged for electronic money. As a result, the vehicle occupants can enjoy various merits when traveling at the head of the platoon, and as a result, the platooning is facilitated.

In the third embodiment described above, when the own vehicle M permits the follow-up of the other vehicle and the other vehicle runs in a platoon as the following vehicle of the own vehicle M, the time during which the other vehicle is being followed Depending on the situation, various benefits may be brought to the own vehicle M. For example, the counting unit 115 counts the time during which the platooning is performed by the following vehicle after the follow-up permission information is transmitted by the communication device 55. More specifically, the counting unit 115 cancels the tracking from the other vehicle that has transmitted the tracking request information to the own vehicle M after the tracking permission information is transmitted by the communication device 55 as a response to the tracking request information. The time until the information to the effect (hereinafter referred to as follow-up cancellation information) is received is counted. Hereinafter, the time counted by the counting unit 115 will be described as a platooning duration.

The counting unit 115 transmits the platooning duration and the identification information output by the ETC on-board unit 95 to the incentive giving server device 400 via the information providing server device 300. The incentive granting server device 400 determines the settlement amount for each vehicle based on the length of the platooning duration received together with the identification information of the ETC on-board unit 95. For example, the incentive granting server device 400 reduces the settlement amount of the toll fee by increasing the discount amount as the vehicle has a longer platooning duration. As a result, the vehicle equipped with the vehicle control system 100 can enjoy the benefit of traveling at the head of the platoon, and as a result, the platooning is facilitated.

Further, when the incentive giving server device 400 is a communication server device, the longer the platooning duration is, the wider the communication band may be and the more the communication amount may be increased. Further, when the incentive giving server device 400 is a point giving server device, the amount of points given may be increased as the vehicle has a longer platooning duration. As a result, the vehicle equipped with the vehicle control system 100 can enjoy various benefits as the traveling time at the head of the platoon is longer, and as a result, the platooning becomes easier to be carried out.

Although the embodiments for carrying out the present invention have been described above using the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions are made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Can be added.

20 ... Finder, 30 ... Radar, 40 ... Camera, DD ... Detection device, 50 ... Navigation device, 55 ... Communication device, 60 ... Vehicle sensor, 70 ... HMI, 100 ... Vehicle control system, 110 ... Target lane determination unit, 120 ... Automatic driving control unit, 130 ... Automatic driving mode control unit, 140 ... Vehicle position recognition unit, 142 ... External world recognition unit, 144 ... Action plan generation unit, 146 ... Track generation unit, 146A ... Travel mode determination unit, 146B ... Track candidate generation unit, 146C ... Evaluation / selection unit, 150 ... Switching control unit, 160 ... Travel control unit, 170 ... HMI control unit, 180 ... Storage unit, 200 ... Travel drive force output device, 210 ... Steering device, 220 ... Brake device, M ... Own vehicle

Claims (9)

A display unit that displays images and
Input section where driving conditions are input and
A recognition unit that recognizes the position and state of surrounding vehicles existing around the vehicle,
An automatic driving control unit that automatically performs at least one of speed control and steering control of the vehicle based on the position and state of the peripheral vehicle.
A display control unit for displaying an image on the display unit is provided.
The automatic driving control section selects the vehicle to be tracked corresponding to the running condition from the periphery of the vehicle, running row running that travels following the selected vehicle,
In the display control unit, among the plurality of peripheral vehicles whose position and state are recognized by the recognition unit, a peripheral vehicle having the same destination as the vehicle, or a part or all of the route to the destination When there are a plurality of accompanying vehicles that are peripheral vehicles in common with the vehicle, the display unit is made to display a plurality of speed conditions that specify the speed of the vehicle.
After the plurality of speed conditions are displayed on the display unit, the automatic operation control unit may be present when an operation for selecting any one of the plurality of speed conditions is input to the input unit. Among the accompanying vehicles of the above, the accompanying vehicle satisfying the selected speed condition is selected as the vehicle to be followed.
Vehicle control system. The plurality of speed conditions include a first speed condition in which the vehicle is driven at the first speed, a second speed condition in which the vehicle is driven at a second speed larger than the first speed, and the second speed. Includes a third speed condition that causes the vehicle to travel at a higher third speed.
The vehicle control system according to claim 1. The automatic driving control unit automatically performs at least one of the speed control and the steering control in a plurality of modes in which the degree of duty to monitor the periphery of the vehicle imposed on the occupants of the vehicle is different from each other.
The vehicle reduces the peripheral monitoring obligation when performing the platooning.
The vehicle control system according to claim 1 or 2 . The plurality of modes include a mode in which execution is restricted according to the state of the recognition unit.
When the automatic driving control unit executes the platooning, the automatic driving control unit relaxes the restriction of the mode according to the state of the recognition unit.
The vehicle control system according to claim 3 . When the accompanying vehicle, which has a part of the route to the destination in common with the vehicle, is selected as the vehicle to be followed , the automatic driving control unit is at a time when the route is not the same, or is more than the time. Before, the vehicle to be followed is switched to another accompanying vehicle.
The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . The automatic driving control unit identifies, among the peripheral vehicles recognized by the recognition unit, a vehicle carrying an occupant having excellent driving skills as the accompanying vehicle.
The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . A vehicle equipped with the vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 .
Information on the number of times or time of traveling as the leading vehicle of the platoon during the platooning is acquired from the vehicle, and based on the acquired information, the vehicle traveling as the leading vehicle of the platoon or the vehicle traveling as the leading vehicle of the platoon. An incentive giving server device that gives a predetermined incentive to the occupants of
Communication system including. An in-vehicle computer mounted on a vehicle equipped with a display unit for displaying an image and an input unit for inputting driving conditions
Recognize the position and state of peripheral vehicles existing around the vehicle,
At least one of the speed control and the steering control of the vehicle is automatically performed based on the position and state of the peripheral vehicle.
An image is displayed on the display unit,
A vehicle to be followed that corresponds to the traveling conditions is selected from the peripheral vehicles, and the vehicle is selected.
Run the row running that travels following the selected vehicle,
Among the plurality of peripheral vehicles that recognize the position and the state, the peripheral vehicle whose destination is the same as the vehicle, or a companion vehicle whose destination is a peripheral vehicle in which part or all of the route to the destination is common to the vehicle. When there are a plurality of speed conditions, the display unit is displayed with a plurality of speed conditions that specify the speed of the vehicle.
When the operation of selecting any one of the plurality of speed conditions is input to the input unit after displaying the plurality of speed conditions on the display unit, the vehicle is selected from the plurality of accompanying vehicles. A companion vehicle satisfying the specified speed conditions is selected as the vehicle to be followed.
Vehicle control method. An in-vehicle computer mounted on a vehicle equipped with a display unit for displaying an image and an input unit for inputting driving conditions.
Recognizing the position and status of the peripheral vehicle existing around the vehicle,
The peripheral based on the position and condition of the vehicle, the vehicle speed control or steering control at least one automatically line Ukoto,
Displaying an image on the display unit,
To select a vehicle to be followed that corresponds to the traveling conditions from the peripheral vehicles.
Performing a row running that travels following the selected vehicle,
Among the plurality of peripheral vehicles that recognize the position and the state, the peripheral vehicle whose destination is the same as the vehicle, or a companion vehicle whose destination is a peripheral vehicle in which part or all of the route to the destination is common to the vehicle. When there are a plurality of speed conditions, the display unit is displayed with a plurality of speed conditions that specify the speed of the vehicle.
When the operation of selecting any one of the plurality of speed conditions is input to the input unit after displaying the plurality of speed conditions on the display unit, the vehicle is selected from the plurality of accompanying vehicles. To select a companion vehicle that satisfies the specified speed conditions as the vehicle to be followed.
A vehicle control program for executing .

Images