JP6885977B2 - Data structure of map data and vehicle driving control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a data structure of map data including road information representing a road on which a vehicle travels, and a vehicle driving control device that controls the driving of a vehicle using the map data.

In recent years, various self-driving vehicles have been proposed that operate independently according to an environment such as a road traffic environment (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such an autonomous vehicle, the mounted control unit (ECU: computer) determines the environment (for example, the traveling lane, the distance from the vehicle in front, and the signal state at the intersection) based on the detection information from various sensors. , Road surface condition, presence / absence of obstacles, etc.) so that actions according to the acquired environment (for example, going straight, turning right, turning left, stopping, decelerating, changing lanes, stopping, etc.) can be performed. Control. Then, the self-driving vehicle autonomously travels by performing an operation according to the control by the control unit (computer).

JP-A-2017-165393

The above-mentioned vehicle operation control is a power system and a braking system so that the control unit (ECU: computer) operates according to the environment based on the detection information from various sensors (including cameras, radars, etc.). , Controls the steering system, etc. However, in order to properly control the driving of a vehicle, it is necessary to acquire and process a huge amount of information about the environment of the vehicle. Therefore, in order to put it into practical use, there are many problems such as how much information must be processed at high speed and appropriate control must be performed in a short time.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a data structure of map data capable of providing information so as to reduce the burden of driving control of a vehicle.

The present invention also provides a vehicle driving control device that acquires such map data and controls the driving of the vehicle.

Data structure of the map data according to the present invention, roads include road information representing the road, a data structure of map data used in similar computer, associated with the road information, represented by the road information The legal text specific information that specifies the legal text that represents the traffic rules to be observed when the vehicle travels , and the content of the specific legal text of the vehicle traveling on the road represented by the road information by the computer. It is configured to include legal text specific information used for the according control.

According to such a configuration, when the computer acquires the map data, it is possible to acquire the legal text specific information corresponding to the road information representing the road including the traveling position of the vehicle. As a result, in the vehicle equipped with the computer, it is possible to control the driving according to the traffic rule represented by the legal text specified by the acquired legal text specific information.

In the data structure of the map data according to the present invention, the location and the vehicle traveling direction front side up to the place the traffic rules represented by the legal text of the road represented by the previous SL road information is applied The legal text information can be associated with the rule-related area including the predetermined area.

According to such a configuration, the computer acquires the map data to obtain the legal text representing the traffic rule corresponding to the rule-related area including the place where the traffic rule is applied on the road including the traveling position of the vehicle. it is possible to obtain the legal text identification information that identifies. Thus, in the vehicle equipped with the computer, at the time the vehicle is in traveling the rule relation area, reaches a place where traffic rules represented by the legal text identified by the legal text specific information that apply, Driving control according to the traffic rules becomes possible.

In the data structure of the map database according to the present invention, the legal text representing the traffic rules are legal sentences Road Traffic Law, it can be configured.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to control driving on the road in accordance with the traffic rules represented by the legal text of the Road Traffic Act of the vehicle.

The vehicle driving control device according to the present invention is a vehicle driving control device that controls the driving of a vehicle, and is configured by a computer, and the vehicle travels on a road information representing a road and a road represented by the road information. It has a processing unit that acquires map data of a structure associated with legal text specific information that specifies a legal text that represents a traffic rule to be observed at the time, and the processing unit is a traveling position that represents the traveling position of the vehicle. A legal text corresponding to a driving position acquisition means for acquiring information and a road information representing a road including a driving position represented by the driving position information acquired by the driving position acquisition means from the map data. possess a specific information acquiring means, and a traffic rule corresponding control means for executing the operation control based on the traffic rules represented by legal text that is specified by the acquired legal text specific information by the legal text specific information acquiring means The traffic rule-compliant control means is provided in response to legal text specific information, and is a unit that performs rule-based control related to vehicle driving in accordance with the traffic rules represented by the legal text specified in the legal text specific information. When the legal text specific information is acquired by the legal text specific information acquisition means, the unit that performs the rule-based control corresponding to the legal text specific information is activated to perform driving control based on the traffic rule. It will be configured to be done.

According to such a configuration, when the processing unit (computer) mounted on the vehicle acquires the traveling position information, the processing unit (computer) represents the road including the traveling position of the vehicle represented by the traveling position information from the acquired map data. Acquire legal text specific information corresponding to road information. The traffic rule represented by the legal text specified by the legal text specific information is a traffic rule to be observed when traveling on a road including the traveling position, and the processing unit performs driving control according to the traffic rule.

In the vehicle driving device according to the present invention, the map data is the place to which the traffic rule represented by the legal text of the road represented by the road information is applied and the front of the vehicle traveling direction up to the place. It has a structure in which the legal text specific information is associated with a rule-related area including a predetermined area of the above, and the legal text specific information acquisition means is based on the travel position information acquired by the travel position acquisition means from the map data. The legal text specific information corresponding to the rule-related area including the traveling position of the vehicle represented is acquired, and the traffic rule-corresponding control means obtains the legal text specific information while the vehicle travels in the rule-related region. It monitors whether or not the vehicle has reached the place where the traffic rule represented by the legal text specified in is applied, and when the vehicle reaches the place where the traffic rule is applied, the rule It can be configured to execute operation control by a unit that performs base control.

According to such a configuration, when the processing unit (computer) mounted on the vehicle acquires the traveling position information, the road rule including the traveling position of the vehicle represented by the traveling position information from the acquired map data. Acquire legal text specific information corresponding to the related area. The traffic rule represented by the legal text specified by the legal text specific information is a traffic rule to be observed when traveling on the road including the traveling position, and the processing unit is a processing unit in which the vehicle travels in the rule-related area. When the vehicle reaches a place to which the traffic rule is applied, driving control according to the traffic rule is executed.

According to the data structure of the map data according to the present invention, by acquiring the map data, it is possible to acquire the traffic rule specific information that specifies the traffic rule to be observed on each road. It is possible to control the operation of the vehicle according to the traffic rules specified in. As a result, the burden of operation control can be reduced.

Further, according to the vehicle driving control device according to the present invention, on each road, the driving control of the vehicle can be performed according to the traffic rule specified by the traffic rule specific information associated with the road information representing the road on the map data. As this is done, the burden of driving control on each road can be further reduced.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a data structure of a map database according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a clause number that specifies the legal text of the Road Traffic Act associated with a road connecting to an intersection. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents of Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act and the contents of Article 36, Paragraph 2 of the Road Traffic Act cited in Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an application scene of Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a vehicle driving control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually showing a data structure of map data according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the map data 100 is stored in, for example, a storage device mounted on a vehicle or the like or a server on a network such as a cloud, and a computer directly accesses the storage device or the server via a communication device. It can be obtained by. The map data 100 has a hierarchical structure of a link layer 110, a lane layer 120, and a road shape layer 130. This hierarchical structure is known as the structure of a digital road map. The link layer 110 is a layer represented by a combination of nodes and links (lines) connecting the roads to the nodes. Nodes correspond to intersections and other nodes in the road network representation, and links (lines) correspond to nodes and road sections between nodes. The lane layer 120 represents each lane (lane) of the road by a line (center line or a reference line for traveling) and a surface (a travelable area). The road shape layer 130 represents the shape of each road. In the map database 100, road information representing the road on which the vehicle travels is configured by the information of each layer of the link layer 110, the lane layer 120, and the road shape layer 13.

The map data 100 further includes a traffic rule specific layer 140. The traffic rule specific layer 140 is the traffic to be observed when the vehicle travels on the road represented by the road information composed of the information of the above-mentioned three layers, the link 110, the lane layer 120 and the road shape layer 130. It represents the clause number (traffic rule specific information: legal text specific information) that specifies the legal text of the Road Traffic Act (hereinafter, as appropriate, the Road Traffic Act), which is a rule. The map data 100 has a structure of four layers associated with each other as described above, so that the road information is composed of information of three layers of a link layer 110, a lane layer 120, and a road shape layer 130. It will have a structure (road / rule-corresponding structure) associated with a clause number that specifies the legal text of the Road Traffic Act that should be observed when a vehicle travels on the road represented by the road information of the rule specific layer 140. ..

According to the above-mentioned four-layer structure (road / rule-corresponding structure) of the map data 100, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the road information representing the road R1 connected to the intersection includes the road information when the vehicle travels on the road R1. Article numbers (7, 18, 34, 35, 36, 38) that specify the legal text of the Road Traffic Act (Articles 7, 18, 34, 35, 36, 38, 43) to be observed. , 43) will be associated. In addition, each clause number specifies the legal text of the following traffic rules.
7: Obligation to follow the signal of the traffic light (Article 7 of the Road Traffic Act)
18: Traffic on the left side, etc. (Article 18 of the Road Traffic Act)
34: Turn left or right (Article 34 of the Road Traffic Act)
35: Designated traffic classification (Article 35 of the Road Traffic Act)
36: Relationship with other vehicles at intersections (Article 36 of the Road Traffic Act)
38: Priority for pedestrians, etc. on pedestrian crossings (Article 38 of the Road Traffic Act)
43: Temporary stop at designated place (Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act)

A more specific correspondence between road information and clause numbers will be explained, for example, by taking Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act as an example. As shown in Fig. 3, Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act states that vehicles must make a temporary stop at an intersection where traffic control is not performed or in the immediate vicinity of the intersection, and Article 36, Paragraph 2 of the Road Traffic Act. Is applied mutatis mutandis, and at intersections where traffic control is not performed, traffic rules are stipulated that vehicles, etc. passing through the intersection road, which is a priority road, must not be obstructed. The text of Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act applies to vehicles at and near the intersection on the road connecting to the intersection.

The map data 100 does not simply associate the clause number (43) of Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act of the traffic rule specific layer 140 with the road information indicating the road connecting to the intersection, but as shown in FIG. 4, for example, the intersection. The intersection ISC or the immediate vicinity thereof, which is the place to which Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act is applied, on the road R1 connecting to the ISC (represented by the road information composed of the information of the three levels 110, 120, 130) and its vicinity. It has a structure (area / rule-corresponding structure) that corresponds to the rule-related area Er including a predetermined area in the vehicle traveling direction up to the place.

For example, a computer mounted on a vehicle and acquiring map data 100 having the above-mentioned structure may be used.
It is possible to obtain the clause number of the Road Traffic Act corresponding to the road information (information represented by the three levels 110, 120, 130) representing the road including the traveling position of the vehicle. As a result, the vehicle equipped with the computer can control the driving according to the contents of the legal text (article) of the Road Traffic Act specified by the clause number acquired when traveling on the road.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the computer of the vehicle traveling on the road R1 connected to the intersection ISC is particularly related to the rules of the road (represented by the road information) including the traveling position of the vehicle. When entering the area Er, it is possible to obtain the clause number "43" that specifies Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act corresponding to the rule-related area Er of the road. Then, the above-mentioned driving control can be performed according to the content of the traffic law (Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act) specified by the clause number. For example, in accordance with the contents of Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act, it is possible to perform driving control for pausing or driving control that does not interfere with the progress of vehicles passing through the intersection in the immediate vicinity of an intersection where traffic control is not performed. it can.

A vehicle driving control device mounted on a vehicle and performing driving control as described above is configured, for example, as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 5, this vehicle driving control device has an ECU 10 (processing unit: computer) for driving control. The ECU 10 has a recognition process unit 11, a determination process unit 12, and a control process unit 13, respectively, which execute processing according to a program. The recognition process unit 11 acquires information from the sensor group 20 including various sensors such as a camera mounted on the vehicle, a millimeter-wave radar, a lidar (laser scanner), and a GNSS / INS (global positioning satellite system / inertial navigation system). It recognizes the vehicle conditions and the environmental conditions outside the vehicle. The determination process unit 12 makes various determinations for executing operation control based on the recognition result of the recognition process unit 11. The control process unit 13 controls the actuator group 30 including various actuators related to accelerator, braking, steering, etc. for vehicle driving according to the determination by the determination process unit 11.

The map data 100 is stored in a server on the cloud or a storage device mounted on the vehicle. The navigation system 150 mounted on the vehicle uses the map data 100 to execute a route search to a set destination according to a predetermined algorithm. The navigation system 150 acquires route data (four-layer structure: see FIG. 1), which is map data for the road (route) on which the vehicle travels from the current position to the destination obtained by the route search. Then, the navigation system 150 performs a process for guiding the vehicle to the destination based on the traveling position data of the vehicle acquired from the sensor group 20 and the route data.

The ECU 10 has a function (traveling position acquisition means) of acquiring the route data and traveling position data (traveling position information) from the navigation system 150. Further, when the ECU 10 refers to the route data (four-layer structure: see FIG. 1), the traveling position represented by the traveling position data has entered the rule-related area Er to which the clause number is associated. It also has a function (traffic rule specific information acquisition means) for acquiring a clause number (traffic rule specific information: legal text specific information) associated with the rule-related area Er from the route data. The judgment process unit 12 and the control process unit 13 included in the ECU 10 have a function of executing judgment / control based on the traffic rule represented by the legal text of the Road Traffic Act specified by the provided clause number (rule-based control: traffic rule). Corresponding control means).

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a vehicle driving control device mounted on the vehicle Vc1 in a situation where the vehicle Vc1 traveling on the road R1 connected to the intersection ISC where traffic control is not performed is approaching the intersection ISC. The operation of is described.

In the ECU 10 of the vehicle driving control device, for example, the recognition process unit 11 determines the state (vehicle speed, traveling direction, inclination, etc.) and environment (road shoulder line, sign, obstacle, etc.) of the vehicle Vc1 based on each information from the sensor group 20. The determination process unit 12 determines the state and environment of the vehicle Vc1 based on the recognition result, and the control process unit 13 determines the accelerator, braking, and steering of the vehicle Vc1 based on the determination result. Controls the drive of the actuator. As a result, the vehicle Vc1 travels on the road R1 along the recognized shoulder line at a predetermined speed toward the intersection ISC.

In the process, the ECU 10 corresponds to the rule-related area Er from the route data (four-layer structure: see FIG. 1) related to the road R1 at the timing when the traveling position of the vehicle Vc1 enters the rule-related area Er of the road R1. Obtain the attached clause number "43". Then, the rule-based control unit based on the traffic rule of Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act of the judgment process unit 12 and the control process unit 13 is activated.

Then, in the ECU 10, based on the recognition result in the recognition process unit 11 based on the information from the sensors 20, the judgment process unit 12 has the presence / absence of the road sign for the stop sign and the presence / absence of the stop line, respectively. , Judgment as to whether or not it is immediately before the intersection ISC (predetermined distance from the intersection ISC) (judgment of "at the intersection where traffic control is not performed or immediately before it" in Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act). Then, if it is determined that the road signs and stop line pause is present, based on the determination result, to stop "transient in manner (Road Traffic Law Article 43 vehicle Vc1 is stopped just before the road signs and stop line operation of do shall "), the control process unit 13 controls the actuator 30 according to the braking. In addition, it is determined that the vehicle Vc1 has reached the position immediately before the intersection ISC (predetermined position) without recognizing the road sign or stop line ("Intersection without traffic control" in Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act. The control process unit 13 controls the actuator 30 related to braking so that the vehicle Vc1 stops (the operation of "must be paused" in Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act). ..

After that, the determination process unit 12 determines whether or not there is a vehicle passing through the priority roads R2 and R3 intersecting the road R1 based on the recognition result by the recognition process unit 11 based on the information of the sensor group 20. .. The decision process unit 12, when determining the presence of a vehicle Vc2, Vc3 for traffic priority road R2, R3, control processing unit 13, in as (Road Traffic Law Article 43 vehicle Vc1 maintains the stopped state " The operation of "Do not obstruct the progress of vehicles passing through the crossroads"), and the control of the actuator 30 related to braking is maintained. Further, when the judgment process unit 12 determines that the vehicles Vc2 and Vc3 passing through the priority roads R2 and R3 do not exist (the condition that "the vehicle passing through the crossing road must not be obstructed" in Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act. The braking process unit 13 controls the actuator 30 related to braking, accelerator, and steering so that the vehicle Vc1 goes straight, turns left, or turns right according to the route data after releasing the braking.

According to the driving control device as described above, in each road, the clause number (traffic rule) associated with the road information (link layer 110, lane layer 120, road shape layer 130) representing the road on the map data 100. Since the driving control of the vehicle is performed according to the content (traffic rule) of the road traffic law specified in the specific information), the burden of driving control on each road can be further reduced. In particular, until the vehicle enters the rule-related area Er set on the road, the judgment of the conditions of the legal text of the Road Traffic Act (for example, "at an intersection where traffic control is not performed or in the immediate vicinity" of Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act " Since it is not necessary to make a judgment), the burden of operation control can be further reduced.

In the above-mentioned example, the case of Article 43 of the Road Traffic Act is not limited to this, and driving control based on the contents of other legal texts of the Road Traffic Act can also be realized by the same method.

Further, the traffic rule is not limited to the Road Traffic Act, and may be a rule defined by a region or a rule defined by a law to be enacted in the future.

The driving control according to the traffic rule is not limited to the rule-based control based on the traffic rule as described above, and may be, for example, the driving control according to another method using AI or the like.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications thereof. Various modifications can be made based on the gist of the present invention, and these are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.

The map data data structure according to the present invention has an effect that the burden of vehicle operation control can be reduced, and is useful as a map data data structure including road information representing the road on which the vehicle travels.

10 ECU (computer)
11 Recognition process unit 12 Judgment process unit 13 Control process unit 20 Sensor group 30 Actuator group 100 Map database 110 Link layer 120 Lane layer 130 Road shape layer 140 Traffic rule specific layer 150 Navigation system

Claims (3)

A vehicle driving control device that controls the driving of a vehicle.
A structure composed of a computer and in which road information representing a road and legal text specific information specifying a legal text representing a traffic rule to be observed when a vehicle travels on the road represented by the road information are associated with each other. Has a processing unit to acquire the map data of
The processing unit
A traveling position acquisition means for acquiring traveling position information representing the traveling position of the vehicle, and
A legal text specific information acquisition means for acquiring legal text specific information corresponding to road information representing a road including a travel position represented by the travel position information acquired by the travel position acquisition means from the map data, and a legal text specific information acquisition means.
Have a, a traffic rule corresponding control means for executing the operation control based on the traffic rules represented by legal text that is specified by the acquired legal text specific information by the legal text specific information acquiring means,
The traffic rule-compliant control means
It has a unit that is provided in response to legal text specific information and performs rule-based control related to vehicle driving in accordance with the traffic rules represented by the legal text specified in the legal text specific information.
When the legal text specific information is acquired by the legal text specific information acquisition means, the unit that performs the rule-based control corresponding to the legal text specific information is activated to perform driving control based on the traffic rule. Control device. The map data is applied to a rule-related area including a place to which the traffic rule represented by the legal text of the road represented by the road information is applied and a predetermined area in front of the vehicle traveling direction up to the place. It has a structure in which the above-mentioned legal text specific information is associated with each other.
The means for acquiring legal text specific information is
From the map data, the legal text specific information corresponding to the rule-related area including the traveling position of the vehicle represented by the traveling position information acquired by the traveling position acquisition means is acquired.
The traffic rule-compliant control means
While the vehicle travels in the rule-related area, it monitors whether or not the vehicle has reached a place to which the traffic rule represented by the legal text specified in the legal text specific information is applied, and monitors the traffic rule. The vehicle operation control device according to claim 1, wherein when the vehicle reaches a place to which the above is applied, the operation control by the unit that performs the rule-based control is executed. The vehicle driving control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the legal text representing the traffic rule is a legal text of the Road Traffic Act.

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