JP6906553B2 - Vehicle control device and vehicle control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle control device mounted on an autonomous driving vehicle, and more particularly to a vehicle control device capable of traveling at an appropriate inter-vehicle distance.

For example, the configuration and operation of the conventional vehicle control device disclosed in Patent Document 1 are as follows. The first track generation unit executes the process in the first cycle to generate the first track, which is the future target track of the own vehicle. The second track generator executes the process in a second cycle shorter than the first cycle, generates a second track based on the first track, and the own vehicle stops or is slow based on the external environment. When accelerating the own vehicle from the running state, a second track for starting the own vehicle earlier than the first track is generated. Then, the travel control unit controls the travel of the own vehicle based on the second track generated by the second track generation unit.

International Publication No. 2017/159539

As described above, the conventional vehicle control device improves the responsiveness of starting in the control from the time of stopping or running at low speed to the time of starting, but the own vehicle and other vehicles before and after the own vehicle have the same time. If the vehicle starts and is controlled with the same speed curve, the vehicle will travel in a narrow distance, which may put stress on the passengers.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device that reduces stress applied to passengers.

The vehicle control device according to the present invention is a vehicle control device that is mounted on a vehicle and controls the vehicle, and has a peripheral information acquisition unit that acquires peripheral information of the vehicle and a vehicle state amount that represents the state of the vehicle. A vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires at least the vehicle information including the vehicle information and an automatic driving control device that controls the automatic driving of the vehicle are provided, and the automatic driving control device uses the peripheral information and the vehicle information to perform a travel plan. It has a constraint condition determination unit that generates a constraint condition, a travel plan generation unit that generates a travel plan based on the constraint condition, and a vehicle control unit that automatically drives the vehicle according to the travel plan. The condition determination unit generates a constraint condition that maximizes the number of vehicles that a plurality of vehicles entering the intersection following the vehicle can pass within the passable time of the intersection, and the travel plan generation unit generates the constraint condition that maximizes the number of vehicles that can pass. By solving the optimization problem using a quadratic planning method or a genetic algorithm according to the constraint conditions, the driving plan is generated so as to optimize the evaluation index including at least the vehicle speed, and communication data is transmitted to and received from the outside. The restriction condition is imposed on the rear vehicle by transmitting the travel plan to the vehicle behind the vehicle via the communication unit.

According to the vehicle control device according to the present invention, since the travel plan is generated so as to optimize the evaluation index including at least the vehicle speed, the passenger is stressed as if the vehicle travels in a state where the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle is narrow. Is reduced.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle control device of Embodiment 1 which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the vehicle control method by the vehicle control device of Embodiment 1 which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which conceptually explains an example of a travel plan. It is a figure explaining the operation when the own vehicle is a leading vehicle stopped at a stop line. It is a figure which shows the setting example of the inter-vehicle distance when the inter-vehicle distance is a constraint condition. It is a figure which shows the setting example of the inter-vehicle distance when the inter-vehicle distance is a constraint condition. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle control device of Embodiment 2 which concerns on this invention.

<Embodiment 1>
<Device configuration>
Hereinafter, the first embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle control device 100 of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle control device 100 includes a peripheral information acquisition unit 1, a vehicle information acquisition unit 2, a notification unit 5, an actuator 6, and an automatic driving control device 10.

The peripheral information acquisition unit 1 has a sensor group that acquires peripheral information indicating the state of the surrounding environment of the own vehicle. The sensor group of the peripheral information acquisition unit 1 includes, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) device, an in-vehicle communication device, a peripheral sensor, a navigation system, and the like.

The GPS device receives GPS signals from a plurality of GPS satellites and positions the own vehicle. The in-vehicle communication device performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication between the own vehicle and another vehicle, or road-to-vehicle communication between the own vehicle and the roadside unit. Peripheral sensors are distance sensing sensors such as millimeter-wave radar and ultrasonic sonar, which detect the position of other vehicles, pedestrians, buildings, obstacles, and other objects in the vicinity of the own vehicle, and the detected objects In the case of a moving body such as another vehicle or a pedestrian, the moving speed of the moving body is detected. The navigation system uses the map information and the position information of the own vehicle acquired by the GPS device to display the current position of the own vehicle on the map or display the route from the current position of the own vehicle to the destination. .. The map information can be acquired from the outside using, for example, an in-vehicle communication device. The sensor of the peripheral information acquisition unit 1 is not limited to these, and an in-vehicle camera or the like may be used as the sensor as long as it can recognize the state of the surrounding environment of the own vehicle.

The vehicle information acquisition unit 2 acquires vehicle information, which is vehicle information. The vehicle information includes a vehicle state quantity representing the state of the vehicle. The vehicle information acquisition unit 2 includes, for example, a steering angle sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, a blinker sensor, a light sensor, a yaw rate sensor, and an acceleration sensor.

The steering angle sensor detects the steering angle of the own vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor detects the traveling speed of the own vehicle. The winker sensor detects the direction indicated by the direction indicator of the own vehicle. The light sensor detects the on and off of the lights of the own vehicle. The yaw rate sensor detects the yaw rate of the own vehicle, and the acceleration sensor detects the acceleration of the own vehicle.

The sensor group constituting the vehicle information acquisition unit 2 is not limited to the sensors illustrated above, and recognizes the operating state of the own vehicle, for example, a sensor that detects the operating state of a brake, a gear, a wiper, or the like. Other sensors may be used as long as they can be used.

The automatic driving control device 10 is a communication unit 11 that transmits / receives communication data with another vehicle and an external system 200 such as an infrastructure system, a vehicle input from the peripheral information acquisition unit 1 and a vehicle input from the vehicle information acquisition unit 2. Determine the constraint conditions for making a travel (speed) plan using information Constraint condition Judgment unit 12, peripheral information, vehicle information, communication data, and the constraint conditions should be used to drive the own vehicle at an appropriate inter-vehicle distance. It has a travel plan generation unit 13 that generates a travel plan and a vehicle control unit 14 that controls an actuator 6 according to a travel plan drafted by the travel plan generation unit 13.

In order to realize automatic driving, automatic braking, automatic acceleration / deceleration control such as ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control), automatic parking control, lane keeping control, etc. are required, and the automatic driving control device 10 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit). , DSP (Digital Signal Processor), etc., and these processors realize automatic operation by executing a program stored in a storage device (not shown).

The notification unit 5 notifies the passenger of various information output from the vehicle control unit 14 of the automatic driving control device 10, for example, the level of automatic driving, the failure state, the transfer of driving authority, the state transition of the own vehicle, and the like. It is a device, and is composed of a display device such as a liquid crystal display device and a HUD (Head-Up Display), and an HMI (Human Machine Interface) having an audio output device such as a speaker.

The actuator 6 is a general term for devices necessary for realizing automatic driving of the own vehicle such as steering, throttle, brake, shift, and blinker.

<Operation>
Next, a vehicle control method by the vehicle control device 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the own vehicle starts operating by turning on the ignition switch or the like, first, the peripheral information acquisition unit 1 and the vehicle information acquisition unit 2 acquire input information such as vehicle information, peripheral information, road-to-vehicle information, and vehicle-to-vehicle information (step). S1).

Then, based on the acquired information, the automatic driving control device 10 determines whether or not the own vehicle is stopped due to the external environment (step S2). That is, it detects that another vehicle exists in the vicinity of the own vehicle based on the peripheral information, and if the vehicle speed sensor detects the speed as the vehicle information, it is determined that the own vehicle is not stopped, but the speed is detected. If not, for example, it is determined that the own vehicle is stopped waiting for a traffic light.

If it is determined in step S2 that the vehicle has stopped (YES), the constraint condition determination unit 12 generates a constraint condition (step S3), and the travel plan generation unit 13 generates a constraint condition based on the generated constraint condition. A travel plan is generated (step S4). The constraint conditions and the method of generating the travel plan will be described later.

On the other hand, in step S2, when it is determined that the constraint has not stopped (NO), the constraint condition determination unit 12 updates the constraint condition (step S8). Since the vehicle is not stopped, that is, the vehicle is traveling according to the travel plan, the input information such as vehicle information and peripheral information is updated every moment, and the constraint condition is updated (regenerated) based on the updated input information. ..

Then, the travel plan generation unit 13 updates the travel plan based on the updated constraint conditions (step S9), and the vehicle control unit 14 controls the actuator 6 to travel according to the updated travel plan (step S10). If the vehicle is traveling without delay, it is not necessary to set the constraint condition in step S9. In that case, the travel plan is generated with no constraint condition in step S10.

After generating the travel plan in step S4, the vehicle control unit 14 determines from the input information whether or not the own vehicle can start from the state where it is stopped due to the external environment (step S5), and enables the vehicle to start. If it is determined that the vehicle has become (YES), the vehicle control unit 14 controls the actuator 6 according to the travel plan to travel (step S6).

On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S5 that the vehicle can be started (NO), the operation of step S1 or less is repeated.

In the state of traveling in steps S6 and S10, the vehicle control unit 14 repeatedly determines whether or not the own vehicle has finished traveling (step S7), and if it is determined that the traveling is completed (YES), If the series of operations is completed and it is not determined that the vehicle is finished (NO), the operations of step S1 and subsequent steps are repeated. The end of traveling is determined, for example, when the own vehicle arrives at the destination set by the navigation system or the like, or when the own vehicle is stopped by turning off the ignition switch.

Next, the processes of steps S3 and S4 will be further described by taking as an example the case where the own vehicle starts from the state where the own vehicle is stopped at the intersection.

<Starting from a stopped state at an intersection (when your vehicle is at the top)>
The case where the own vehicle is at the head of the convoy and starts from a stopped state at an intersection due to waiting for a traffic light will be described. The constraint condition determination unit 12 generates a constraint condition based on the input information, and inputs the generated constraint condition to the travel plan generation unit 13. The input information includes stop position information (information on whether or not the own vehicle is stopped at the beginning of the intersection), startable timing information (information on how many seconds later the vehicle can start), vehicle speed limit section, and vehicle speed limit time information. , Information on the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle behind, information on the passable time at the intersection, information on the braking performance, and information on the acceleration performance of the own vehicle.

<Stop position information>
The stop position information can be acquired from an external system 200 such as another vehicle and an infrastructure system via the communication unit 11.

As an example of acquiring from another vehicle, the own vehicle is at the beginning of the intersection by acquiring the position information (coordinates) of the stop line from the other vehicle and acquiring the position information of the own vehicle from the GPS device mounted on the own vehicle. That is, it can be determined whether or not the vehicle has stopped at the position of the stop line.

As an example of acquiring from the infrastructure system, the position information (coordinates) of the stop line is acquired from the infrastructure system, for example, the roadside machine located at the intersection, and the position information of the own vehicle is acquired from the GPS device mounted on the own vehicle. By doing so, it is possible to determine whether or not the own vehicle is stopped at the beginning of the intersection, that is, at the position of the stop line.

In addition to the above, an in-vehicle camera constituting the peripheral information acquisition unit 1, for example, a front camera, etc., determines whether or not there is a vehicle in front of the own vehicle, and a white line detection camera confirms the position of the stop line. It is possible to determine whether or not the own vehicle is stopped at the beginning of the intersection, that is, at the position of the stop line. The method of acquiring and determining the stop position information is not limited to the above method.

<Startable timing information>
The startable timing information can be acquired from the external system 200 such as another vehicle and the infrastructure system via the communication unit 11.

As an example of acquiring from another vehicle, for example, when the vehicle is stopped at an intersection, information on the time until the traffic light turns green from the other vehicle is acquired. The other vehicle is a vehicle having a function of acquiring signal information from an infrastructure system, for example, a traffic light at an intersection. By obtaining information on the time until the traffic light turns green, it is possible to make a running plan that starts the own vehicle at the same time as the timing when the traffic light turns blue.

In addition, when the vehicle is stopped due to traffic congestion or road construction regulations, information on the time when the leading vehicle has started is acquired from another vehicle. The other vehicle is in a position where the leading vehicle can be identified, and is, for example, a vehicle having a function of determining the start of the leading vehicle with an in-vehicle camera. By acquiring the time information when the leading vehicle has started, it is possible to make a traveling plan in which the own vehicle is started at the same time as the leading vehicle.

As an example of acquisition from the infrastructure system, for example, when the vehicle is stopped at an intersection, signal information is acquired from the infrastructure system, for example, a traffic light at an intersection, and time information until the signal turns green is acquired. By obtaining information on the time until the traffic light turns green, it is possible to make a running plan that starts the own vehicle at the same time as the timing when the traffic light turns blue.

In addition, when the vehicle is stopped due to traffic congestion or road construction regulations, the time when the leading vehicle starts is acquired from an infrastructure system, for example, a roadside aircraft arranged along the road. In this case, the leading vehicle is a vehicle having a function of transmitting the start time to the roadside aircraft, and the infrastructure system has a function of transmitting the information to the vehicles within the transmission range. By acquiring the time information when the leading vehicle has started, it is possible to make a traveling plan in which the own vehicle is started at the same time as the leading vehicle. The time information may be the time when the leading vehicle has started, or may be flag information indicating that the leading vehicle has started / not started.

In addition to the above, if there is a traffic light that displays the time until the signal turns blue, take a picture of the traffic light in front of the own vehicle with an in-vehicle camera that constitutes the peripheral information acquisition unit 1, for example, a front camera, and capture the camera image. It is also possible to analyze and obtain information on the time until it turns blue.

<Information on vehicle speed limit section and vehicle speed limit time>
Information on the vehicle speed limit section can be acquired from another vehicle and an external system 200 such as an infrastructure system via the communication unit 11.

As an example of acquiring from another vehicle, section information of the speed limit is acquired from another vehicle. In this case, the other vehicle is a vehicle having a function of acquiring section information of a speed limit from an infrastructure system, for example, a roadside machine arranged at an intersection.

As an example of acquiring from the infrastructure system, the section information of the speed limit is acquired from the infrastructure system, for example, the roadside machine arranged at the intersection.

Further, the information on the vehicle speed limit time can be set by the constraint condition determination unit 12 based on the information on the vehicle speed limit section. For example, when the vehicle speed limit section of 30 km / h continues for 500 m in the future, the vehicle speed limit time is set to 1 minute.

Further, it may be arbitrarily determined by the own vehicle without using information from the outside. For example, a section 20 m ahead of the stop position of the own vehicle may be set as a vehicle speed limiting section, or the vehicle speed may be limited to 30 km / h for 10 seconds after the own vehicle starts. In this case, the vehicle speed limit section and the vehicle speed limit time may be set from the position of the stop line instead of the stop position of the own vehicle.

<Information on the distance to the vehicle behind>
Information on the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle behind is input by a passenger such as a driver via the HMI of the navigation system, for example. In this case, the inter-vehicle distance may be set, or a rough setting such as a large distance, a medium distance, or a small distance may be selected, or the vehicle behind the vehicle may travel closer to the vehicle. You may set YES or NO as to whether it is good or bad.

<Information on the available time at intersections>
Information on the passable time at the intersection can be obtained from the infrastructure system via the communication unit 11. For example, by acquiring the time from when the signal turns blue to when it turns red from the traffic light at the intersection, information on the passable time of the intersection is acquired.

<Brake performance information>
The braking performance information includes information on the braking performance of the own vehicle and information on the braking performance of another vehicle, and the information on the braking performance of the own vehicle can be acquired as vehicle information from the vehicle information acquisition unit 2. Information on the braking performance of the other vehicle can be obtained from the other vehicle via the information communication unit 11. The braking performance can be determined by recording the braking distance in daily driving, and the braking performance can be determined on the assumption that the brake pads and discs will wear over time from the inspection time. .. The braking performance information acquired from another vehicle can be acquired by making the above-mentioned judgment on the other vehicle and transmitting the result as vehicle information to the outside.

<Information on acceleration performance of own vehicle>
Information on the acceleration performance of the own vehicle can be acquired as vehicle information from the vehicle information acquisition unit 2.

<Generation of constraints>
An example of the constraint condition generated by the constraint condition determination unit 12 based on the input information described above will be described below.

One of the constraint conditions is a constraint condition that limits the speed or acceleration until a predetermined distance or a predetermined time elapses from the stopped position. This is generated based on the information on the inter-vehicle distance to the rear vehicle included in the input information, and is a constraint for making a travel plan that changes the inter-vehicle distance according to the speed and acceleration of the rear vehicle and maintains the inter-vehicle distance. It is a condition.

By generating such a constraint condition, it is possible to reduce stress on the passengers including the driver due to the rear vehicle approaching too close.

When the vehicle has passed a certain time or a certain distance from the stop line, that is, when the constraint condition is solved, the vehicle speed is increased and the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle behind is increased. As a result, after passing through an intersection or the like, it is possible to smoothly shift to cruising.

Further, the above-mentioned constraint condition may be imposed not only on the vehicle immediately behind but also on all other vehicles traveling at the intersection. By limiting the speed so that it is slower than the speed limit, passengers of other vehicles do not receive stress due to the approaching distance between vehicles.

In addition, the travel plan established based on the constraint conditions is transmitted to the rear vehicle to "until a predetermined distance or a predetermined time elapses from the position where the leading vehicle was stopped" from the own vehicle which is the leading vehicle. Can impose a constraint that "limits speed". The rear vehicle subject to this constraint will accelerate to the speed limit in the order in which the constraint is resolved.

A driver monitor is added as a sensor of the vehicle information acquisition unit 2, and the stress is quantified by monitoring the driver's heart rate to acquire speed and acceleration information that stresses the passengers including the driver. However, it may be restricted so as not to have such a speed or acceleration. Of course, the speed and acceleration that stress the passenger may be obtained from known information to limit the speed and acceleration.

More simply, the driver monitor may detect the driver's line of sight and determine that the speed and acceleration are not stressful to the occupant if the driver is not looking ahead. In an emergency, the driver operates the vehicle, but otherwise the driver does not need to operate the vehicle. If the vehicle is capable of automatic driving of level 3 or higher, the driver may not be looking ahead. Since it is possible, it is conceivable to use the above-mentioned judgment method.

Further, as one of the constraint conditions, there is a constraint condition that maximizes the number of vehicles that can pass within the passable time of the intersection following the own vehicle. This is generated based on the information on the passable time of the intersection included in the input information, and sets the inter-vehicle distance, speed, and acceleration so that the number of vehicles that can pass through the intersection within the passable time of the intersection is as large as possible. .. Then, by transmitting the travel plan established based on the constraint conditions to the rear vehicle, both the rear vehicles that can receive the travel plan are made to follow the travel plan of the own vehicle, so that the travelable time is reached. It is possible to increase the number of vehicles that can pass through the intersection. Even if there is a rear vehicle that cannot receive the travel plan, if the rear vehicle has a function to maintain the inter-vehicle distance from the front vehicle, the own vehicle (leading vehicle) is a constraint condition. While traveling in the section, it is considered that the vehicle behind the vehicle operates following the own vehicle.

By generating such a constraint condition, the number of vehicles that can pass through the intersection within the passable time is increased, which contributes to the alleviation of traffic congestion.

Further, as one of the constraint conditions, there is a constraint condition that the vehicle starts when it becomes possible to travel, such as when the signal changes to a state indicating advance. This is generated based on the startable timing information included in the input information.

By generating such a constraint condition, the convoys start moving all at once at the timing when the signal changes to the state indicating the advance, which contributes to the alleviation of traffic congestion by reducing the loss time.

The constraint conditions described above may be used alone to make a running plan, but a plurality of constraints may be combined to make a running plan.

<Generation of driving plan>
Based on the constraint conditions described above, the travel plan generation unit 13 makes a travel plan so as to optimize evaluation indexes such as the number of vehicles passing at the intersection and the vehicle speed, acceleration, and inter-vehicle distance at which the passenger does not feel stress.

When the vehicle speed is used as the evaluation index, for example, if the vehicle speed is 30 km / h, no stress is felt, but if the vehicle speed is 40 km / h, stress is felt, 30 km / h is the optimized value.

Further, when acceleration is used as an evaluation index, if 0.1 G is the maximum acceleration that does not feel stress with respect to 1.0 G of gravitational acceleration, 0.1 G is an optimized value.

Further, when the inter-vehicle distance to the rear vehicle is used as the evaluation index, if the inter-vehicle distance 5 m is the shortest inter-vehicle distance that does not cause stress, 5 m is an optimized value.

In this way, the vehicle speed, acceleration, and inter-vehicle distance are parameters that are directly linked to the stress of the passenger, and are effective as evaluation indexes.

These evaluation indexes may be used alone to make a running plan, or a plurality of them may be combined to make a running plan. In addition, each index may be prioritized.

The specific value of the above-mentioned evaluation index may be set for each passenger, or may be adjusted to a value that does not cause stress while monitoring the passenger's condition while driving, for example, by a driver monitor. good.

The travel plan generation unit 13 basically makes a travel plan from the stop position of the own vehicle until a certain time or a certain distance has passed, but the certain time or a certain distance may be changed for each intersection.

As a method for generating a driving plan, the above-mentioned evaluation index is optimized, and for example, a method for solving an optimization problem such as a quadratic programming method or a genetic algorithm (GA) method can be considered. However, any one that optimizes the evaluation index as an effect index may be used.

The genetic algorithm is an optimization method based on the evolution of living organisms, in which the genes of strong individuals adapted to the environment survive in the next generation and leave offspring by crossing and mutation to approach the optimum solution. be. The quadratic programming method is a method in which objective functions and constraints are all defined by quadratic expressions and linear expressions, and the optimum solution is obtained based on the mathematical expressions. Since all mathematical formulas are quadratic or less, the maximum value and the minimum value are taken when they are differentiated to 0, so the optimum solution can be obtained by solving the differential equations.

<Example of driving plan>
An example of the travel plan generated by the travel plan generation unit 13 will be conceptually described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a graph showing the passage of time [s] on the horizontal axis (X-axis) and the distance [m] from the stop line on the vertical axis (Y-axis). The speed curve of the 1st to 4th vehicles, assuming that the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th vehicles are lined up in a row in the negative direction on the Y axis. Are shown as V1, V2, V3 and V4, respectively.

Further, the broken line DL at a position on the Y-axis at a position separated by a predetermined distance in the positive direction from the stop line represents a restricted section from the stop line.

Within the restricted section, the speed is limited until a predetermined distance and time elapse from the stop position of the leading vehicle (own vehicle), the vehicle runs while keeping the inter-vehicle distance of the vehicle group constant, and the vehicle speed is increased after the restricted section. The travel plan is to secure the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle behind. In addition, the travel plan is such that the distance between vehicles is short within the restricted section so that the number of vehicles that can pass within the passable time of the intersection is maximized.

Further, the fourth vehicle is a vehicle that could not receive the travel plan, but as shown by the speed curve V4, the vehicle travels following the preceding vehicle, so that the inter-vehicle distance is not widened.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an operation when the own vehicle is the leading vehicle stopped at the stop line. The own vehicle OV, which is the leading vehicle that stops at the stop line SL, has a created travel plan, obtained stop position information, inter-vehicle distance setting information, vehicle speed limit section information, startable timing information, intersection passable time information, and braking performance information. Is transmitted to the roadside machine 300, which is an infrastructure system, and the other vehicle AV, and is shared with the other vehicle AV. The own vehicle OV communicates with the other vehicle AV and the roadside machine 300, and the other vehicle AV also communicates with the roadside machine 300.

The vehicle speed limiting section is from the position of the own vehicle OV to the broken line DL, and the vehicle speed is limited to, for example, 20 km / h or less. In addition, the distance between vehicles is kept short in the vehicle speed limit section so that the number of vehicles that can pass within the passable time of the intersection is maximized in the vehicle speed limit section. Then, the speed is increased from the vehicle that has passed the vehicle speed limit section, and the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle behind is increased.

<Starting from a stopped state at an intersection (when your vehicle is not at the beginning)>
Next, a case where the own vehicle is not the leading vehicle and the vehicle starts from a state of being stopped at an intersection will be described.

As the input information, the information on the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle in front is added to the input information when the own vehicle is the leading vehicle described above.

Information on the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle in front is input by a passenger such as a driver via the HMI of the navigation system, for example. In this case, the inter-vehicle distance may be set, or a rough setting such as a large distance, a medium distance, or a small distance may be selected, or the vehicle may travel closer to the vehicle in front. You may set YES or NO as to whether it is good or bad.

<Generation of constraints>
An example of the constraint condition generated by the constraint condition determination unit 12 based on the input information described above will be described below.

As one of the constraint conditions, the vehicle speed of the own vehicle is also changed according to the timing of changing the vehicle speed of the vehicle in front, that is, the timing of passing through the speed limit section. This eliminates the need for optimization calculations because it only obtains the travel plan from the vehicle in front and follows it.

Further, if it is not desired to increase the inter-vehicle distance, it may be a constraint condition that only follows the vehicle in front. In this case as well, the optimization operation becomes unnecessary.

On the other hand, if you do not want to approach the vehicle in front but you want to drive closer to the vehicle in front, you can acquire the constraint condition (distance between vehicles) of the vehicle in front by communication and follow the inter-vehicle distance set by the vehicle in front. Alternatively, the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle in front may be set to be small, for example, and the vehicle may travel closer to the vehicle in front by giving priority to this constraint condition. In this case, an optimization calculation is required because a travel plan is made. The travel plan generated by the own vehicle is output to other vehicles, the infrastructure system, etc. via the communication unit 11.

An example of setting the inter-vehicle distance when the inter-vehicle distance described above is used as a constraint condition will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship of the inter-vehicle distance with the vehicle in front when the own vehicle is not the leading vehicle, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship of the inter-vehicle distance with the rear vehicle when the own vehicle is the leading vehicle. It is a figure.

In FIG. 5, when the setting of the inter-vehicle distance of the vehicle in front is "large (large distance)" in the first stage and the setting of the inter-vehicle distance of the own vehicle is also "large", the constraint condition of the inter-vehicle distance is "large". An example is shown.

Also, in the second stage, if the setting of the inter-vehicle distance of the vehicle in front is "Large" and the setting of the inter-vehicle distance of the own vehicle is "Small (small distance)", the constraint condition of the inter-vehicle distance is according to the setting of the vehicle in front. Shows an example of "large".

In the third stage, if the setting of the inter-vehicle distance of the vehicle in front is "small" and the setting of the inter-vehicle distance of the own vehicle is "large", the constraint condition of the inter-vehicle distance is "large" according to the setting of the own vehicle. An example is shown.

In the 4th stage, when the inter-vehicle distance setting of the vehicle in front is "small" and the inter-vehicle distance setting of the own vehicle is also "small", the constraint condition of the inter-vehicle distance is "small". ..

In FIG. 6, in the first stage, when the setting of the inter-vehicle distance of the rear vehicle is "Large" and the setting of the inter-vehicle distance of the own vehicle is also "Large", the constraint condition of the inter-vehicle distance is "Large". Is shown.

Also, in the second stage, if the setting of the inter-vehicle distance of the rear vehicle is "large" and the setting of the inter-vehicle distance of the own vehicle is "small (small distance)", the constraint condition of the inter-vehicle distance is according to the setting of the rear vehicle. Shows an example of "small".

In the third stage, if the setting of the inter-vehicle distance of the rear vehicle is "small" and the setting of the inter-vehicle distance of the own vehicle is "large", the constraint condition of the inter-vehicle distance is "large" according to the setting of the own vehicle. An example is shown.

In the 4th stage, when the setting of the inter-vehicle distance of the rear vehicle is "small" and the setting of the inter-vehicle distance of the own vehicle is also "small", the constraint condition of the inter-vehicle distance is "small". ..

In this way, when the distance between the own vehicle and another vehicle is a constraint, the setting of the preceding vehicle is prioritized, but when the rear vehicle wants to increase the distance between the vehicles, the setting of the rear vehicle is prioritized. By adopting it as a constraint condition, it is possible to prevent the passenger from feeling stress.

In the above, an example of setting the inter-vehicle distance with "large" and "small" is shown, but it may be indicated by a numerical value (m) in more detail, and the number of steps is increased by adding a medium distance ("medium"). You may.

When the vehicle starts from a stopped state at an intersection due to waiting for a traffic light, the passenger feels stressed because the vehicle behind is too close or the speed of the vehicle in front is slow and the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle is too narrow. Although the possibility increases, the passenger can relieve stress by making a driving plan according to the above-mentioned constraints.

<Embodiment 2>
Embodiment 2 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle control device 100A according to the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 7, the vehicle control device 100A further includes a driver information acquisition unit 3 in the configuration of the vehicle control device 100 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

The driver information acquisition unit 3 is an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) having a sensor group for acquiring driver information indicating the state of the driver of the own vehicle. The driver's state detected by the driver information acquisition unit 3 is, for example, drowsiness, not looking aside, or calm (not excited).

The driver information acquisition unit 3 has an in-vehicle camera that captures the driver as a sensor, detects the movement of the driver's eyeball and face by image analysis of the image captured by the camera, and detects the driver's line of sight. The state of the driver is determined from the direction of the camera, the direction of the face, and the like. The sensor of the driver information acquisition unit 3 is not limited to the camera, and if the behavior of the driver can be detected, other sensors such as a sound collecting microphone for acquiring the driver's voice, a biological sensor provided on the steering wheel, an electroencephalogram sensor, etc. May be used.

The constraint condition determination unit 12 in the automatic driving control device 10 states that the driver has not confirmed the state outside the vehicle from the information acquired by the driver information acquisition unit 3 in the automatic driving state, for example, from the direction of the driver's line of sight. If it is determined, the driver does not feel stress even if the inter-vehicle distance becomes narrow, and the process of relaxing or removing the inter-vehicle distance restriction from the constraint condition is performed.

In addition to the constraint conditions, evaluation indexes such as speed and acceleration may be relaxed. That is, even if the upper limit of speed is raised, the driver does not feel stress if he / she is not looking outside the vehicle, and even if the upper limit of acceleration is raised, stress is not felt if the driver is not looking outside the vehicle. Because I don't feel.

On the contrary, if the driver is not looking outside the vehicle, the highest priority is to make a driving plan that narrows the inter-vehicle distance so that the number of vehicles that can pass at the intersection is maximized.

In this way, the constraint condition determination unit 12 makes corrections such as loosening, deleting, or conversely strengthening the constraint condition based on the driver information when the own vehicle is traveling according to the traveling plan. conduct. The case where the constraint condition is strengthened is, for example, a case where the driver is feeling stress, and correction is performed so as to reduce the speed of the constraint condition, reduce the acceleration, and increase the inter-vehicle distance.

In the first and second embodiments, the example in which the vehicle starts from a stopped state is shown, but it is also effective when the vehicle starts moving from a low-speed running state close to a stop due to a traffic jam or the like.

In the present invention, the embodiments can be appropriately modified or omitted within the scope of the invention.

1 Peripheral information acquisition unit, 2 Vehicle information acquisition unit, 3 Driver information acquisition unit, 10 Automatic driving control device, 11 Communication unit, 12 Constraint condition judgment unit, 13 Travel plan generation unit, 14 Vehicle control unit, 100, 100A vehicle Control device.

Claims (2)

A vehicle control device mounted on a vehicle and controlling the vehicle.
Peripheral information acquisition unit that acquires peripheral information of the vehicle,
A vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle information including at least a vehicle state quantity representing the vehicle state, and a vehicle information acquisition unit.
An automatic driving control device for controlling the automatic driving of the vehicle is provided.
The automatic operation control device is
A constraint condition determination unit that generates a constraint condition of a travel plan using the peripheral information and the vehicle information, and a constraint condition determination unit.
A travel plan generation unit that generates a travel plan based on the constraint conditions,
It has a vehicle control unit that automatically drives the vehicle according to the travel plan.
The constraint condition determination unit
A constraint condition is generated in which a plurality of vehicles entering the intersection following the vehicle maximize the number of vehicles that can pass within the passable time of the intersection.
The travel plan generation unit
According to the above constraints
By solving the optimization problem using a quadratic programming method or a genetic algorithm, the driving plan is generated so as to optimize the evaluation index including at least the vehicle speed.
A vehicle control device that imposes the constraint condition on the rear vehicle by transmitting the travel plan to the vehicle behind the vehicle via a communication unit that transmits and receives communication data to and from the outside. It is a vehicle control method that automatically drives a vehicle.
(A) A step of acquiring peripheral information of the vehicle and
(B) A step of acquiring vehicle information including at least a vehicle state quantity representing the state of the vehicle, and
(C) A step of generating a constraint condition of a travel plan using the peripheral information and the vehicle information, and
(D) A step of generating a travel plan based on the above-mentioned constraints, and
(E) A step of automatically driving the vehicle according to the travel plan is provided.
The step (c) is
A constraint condition is generated in which a plurality of vehicles entering the intersection following the vehicle maximize the number of vehicles that can pass within the passable time of the intersection.
The step (d) is
According to the constraints, the driving plan is generated so as to optimize the evaluation index including at least the vehicle speed by solving the optimization problem using a quadratic programming method or a genetic algorithm.
A vehicle control method for imposing the constraint condition on the rear vehicle by transmitting the travel plan to the vehicle behind the vehicle.

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