JP7159232B2 - Vehicle control system, vehicle control method, and vehicle control program - Google Patents

Description

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

BACKGROUND ART In recent years, research has been conducted on a technology for automatically controlling at least one of acceleration/deceleration and steering of a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as automatic driving). On the other hand, an occupant protection device that includes a plurality of airbag modules and deploys the airbag modules in the event of a vehicle collision, the position calculation unit calculating relative position information between the vehicle and a collision object; a speed difference calculator for calculating a difference in moving speed between the vehicle and the collision object based on the transition of the position information; and calculating a contact portion of the vehicle with the collision object based on the transition of the position information. a contact portion prediction unit for prediction; a rotational behavior prediction unit for predicting rotational behavior of the vehicle due to collision based on the movement speed difference and the contact portion; and expansion of the airbag module based on the rotational behavior. An airbag control unit for setting a mode is disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2016-37153 A

In the conventional technology, although the activation of the airbag at the time of collision has been considered, sufficient consideration has not been given to automatically moving the vehicle from the collision point after the collision.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and aims to continue automatic driving as much as possible and leave the collision point using automatic driving even if the vehicle collides with an object. be one.

(1) One aspect of the present invention is a recognition unit that recognizes a relative positional relationship between an object around a vehicle and the vehicle, and based on the object whose relative positional relationship is recognized by the recognition unit: a generation unit for generating an action plan for automatically running the vehicle; and automatically performing at least one of speed control and steering control of the vehicle based on the action plan generated by the generation unit. and an automatic driving control unit that executes an automatic driving mode, and when the automatic driving control unit is executing the automatic driving mode, after a collision between the object and the vehicle occurs, the automatic driving mode is executable, and when it is determined that the automatic driving mode can be executed, the automatic driving mode is continuously executed, and the recognition unit detects objects around the vehicle Based on the detection results of each of a plurality of detection devices that detect, the relative positional relationship between the object around the vehicle and the vehicle is recognized, and the automatic driving control unit detects one of the plurality of detection devices. When at least one is in a predetermined state that affects vehicle control based on the action plan, the type of sensing device in the predetermined state and the type of sensing device whose sensing result is used to generate the action plan. The plurality of sensing devices include a first sensing device and a second sensing device having a detection range different from that of the first sensing device. and the first sensing device and the second sensing device are different devices from each other, and the automatic operation control unit, when the first sensing device is in the predetermined state, the action Determining that the automatic operation mode based on the plan is not executable, the second sensing device is not in the predetermined state, and the sensing range of the second sensing device includes the sensing range of the first sensing device In this case, the vehicle control system determines that the automatic driving mode based on the action plan can be executed even when the first sensing device is in the predetermined state.

Aspect ( 2 ) is characterized in that, in the vehicle control system of aspect (1), the recognition unit detects objects around the vehicle and the vehicle based on detection results of a detection device that detects objects around the vehicle. and the automatic operation control unit determines whether the automatic operation mode can be executed based on the state of the detection device used by the recognition unit. .

The aspect of ( 3 ) is the vehicle control system of the aspect (1) or (2) , wherein the automatic operation control unit is capable of executing the automatic operation mode, and the automatic operation mode that is continuously executed , control is performed to avoid a secondary collision.

(4) According to another aspect of the present invention, an in-vehicle computer recognizes a relative positional relationship between an object around the vehicle and the vehicle, and based on the object that has recognized the relative positional relationship, determines the position of the vehicle. Generate an action plan for automatically traveling, and execute an automatic driving mode that automatically performs at least one of speed control and steering control of the vehicle based on the generated action plan, and the automatic driving If the mode is being executed, it is determined whether or not the automatic driving mode can be executed after the collision between the object and the vehicle occurs, and if it is determined that the automatic driving mode can be executed. Further, the automatic driving mode is continuously executed, and based on the detection results of each of a plurality of detection devices that detect objects around the vehicle, the objects around the vehicle and the vehicle are relatively recognizing the positional relationship, and when at least one of the plurality of sensing devices is in a predetermined state that affects vehicle control based on the action plan, the type of the sensing device in the predetermined state and the generation of the action plan; Based on the type of detection device that uses the detection result, it is determined whether the automatic operation mode can be executed, and the plurality of detection devices include a first detection device and the first and a second sensing device having a different sensing range, the first sensing device and the second sensing device are devices of different types, and the first sensing device is in the predetermined state , it is determined that the automatic operation mode based on the action plan is not executable, the second detection device is not in the predetermined state, and the detection range of the second detection device is the first detection In the vehicle control method, it is determined that the automatic driving mode based on the action plan can be executed even when the detection range of the device is included and the first detection device is in the predetermined state.

(5) According to another aspect of the present invention, an in-vehicle computer performs processing for recognizing a relative positional relationship between an object around the vehicle and the vehicle, and based on the object recognizing the relative positional relationship, A process of generating an action plan for automatically driving the vehicle, and an automatic driving mode in which at least one of speed control and steering control of the vehicle is automatically performed based on the generated action plan. and, if the automatic driving mode is executed, after a collision between the object and the vehicle occurs, it is determined whether the automatic driving mode can be executed, and the automatic driving mode can be executed. When it is determined that the automatic driving mode is continuously executed, and based on the detection results of each of a plurality of detection devices that detect objects around the vehicle, objects around the vehicle and the vehicle, and when at least one of the plurality of sensing devices is in a predetermined state that affects vehicle control based on the action plan, the sensing device in the predetermined state Based on the type of and the type of detection device that uses the detection result to generate the action plan, a process for determining whether the automatic driving mode can be executed, and the plurality of detection devices includes a first sensing device and a second sensing device having a detection range different from that of the first sensing device, wherein the first sensing device and the second sensing device are devices of different types. a process of determining that the automatic operation mode based on the action plan is not executable when the first sensing device is in the predetermined state; and the second sensing device is not in the predetermined state and the When the detection range of the second detection device includes the detection range of the first detection device, even if the first detection device is in the predetermined state, the automatic driving mode based on the action plan is set. and a vehicle control program for executing a process that is determined to be executable.

According to each aspect, even if the vehicle collides with an object, automatic operation is continued as much as possible to leave the collision point using automatic operation.

2 is a diagram showing constituent elements of own vehicle M. FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram centering on the vehicle control system 100. FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of own vehicle M. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an HMI 70; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of an airbag device 95; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how a vehicle position recognition unit 140 recognizes a relative position of a vehicle M with respect to a driving lane L1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the action plan produced|generated about a certain area. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a trajectory generation unit 146; FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a trajectory candidate generated by a trajectory candidate generation unit 146B; FIG. 11 is a diagram in which trajectory candidates generated by a trajectory candidate generation unit 146B are represented by trajectory points K; It is a figure which shows lane change target position TA. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a velocity generation model when the velocities of three surrounding vehicles are assumed to be constant; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of abnormality determination information 194; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of mode-by-mode operation propriety information 195. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an airbag actuation control unit 180; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of airbag activation reference information 196; It is a figure which shows an example of the alerting|reporting timing of collision risk prediction information, and the activation timing of an airbag for every driving mode. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing performed by the vehicle control system 100; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a trajectory for avoiding secondary collision;

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

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing components of a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as host vehicle M) in which a vehicle control system 100 of the embodiment is installed. The vehicle on which the vehicle control system 100 is installed is, for example, a two-wheeled, three-wheeled, or four-wheeled vehicle, such as 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. , hybrid vehicles with both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. Electric vehicles are driven using power discharged from 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 viewfinders 20-1 to 20-7, radars 30-1 to 30-6, and a camera 40, a navigation device 50, and a vehicle control system 100. to be installed.

The finders 20-1 to 20-7 are, for example, LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) that measure scattered light with respect to irradiation light and measure the distance to the object. For example, the viewfinder 20-1 is attached to the front grill or the like, and the viewfinders 20-2 and 20-3 are attached to the side of the vehicle body, the door mirror, the inside of the headlight, the vicinity of the sidelight, or the like. The viewfinder 20-4 is attached to the trunk lid or the like, and the viewfinders 20-5 and 20-6 are attached to the side of the vehicle body, the inside of the taillight, or the like. The viewfinders 20-1 to 20-6 described above have, for example, a detection area of about 150 degrees in the horizontal direction. Also, the finder 20-7 is attached to the roof or the like. The finder 20-7 has, for example, a detection area of 360 degrees in 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. Radars 30-2, 30-3, 30-5, and 30-6 are medium-range millimeter-wave radars having narrower detection areas in the depth direction than radars 30-1 and 30-4.

Hereinafter, the viewfinders 20-1 to 20-7 are simply referred to as "finder 20" when not particularly distinguished, and the radars 30-1 to 30-6 are simply referred to as "radar 30" when not particularly distinguished. 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 using a solid-state imaging device 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 window shield, the rear surface of the rearview mirror, or the like. The camera 40, for example, repeatedly images the front of the own vehicle M periodically. Camera 40 may be a stereo camera that includes multiple cameras.

Note that 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 centering on the vehicle control system 100 according to the embodiment. The host vehicle M includes a detection device DD including a finder 20, a radar 30, a camera 40, etc., a navigation device 50, a communication device 55, a vehicle sensor 60, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 70, and an airbag device. 95, a vehicle control system 100, a driving force output device 200, a steering device 210, and a braking device 220 are mounted. These apparatuses and devices are connected to each other by multiplex communication lines such as CAN (Controller Area Network) communication lines, serial communication lines, wireless communication networks, and the like. In addition, the vehicle control system in the scope of claims does not refer only 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 has a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver, map information (navigation map), a touch panel display device functioning as a user interface, a speaker, a microphone, and the like. The navigation device 50 identifies the position of the own vehicle M using the GNSS receiver, and derives a route from that position to the destination designated by the user. The route derived by the navigation device 50 is provided to the target lane determining section 110 of the vehicle control system 100. FIG. 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, the navigation device 50 guides the route to the destination by voice and navigation display while the vehicle control system 100 is executing the manual operation mode. Note that the configuration for identifying the position of the own vehicle M may be provided independently of the navigation device 50 . Also, the navigation device 50 may be realized by the function of a terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal owned by the user, for example. In this case, information is transmitted and received between the terminal device and the vehicle control system 100 through 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 performs wireless communication with an information providing server of a system for monitoring road traffic conditions such as VICS (Registered Trademark) (Vehicle Information and Communication System), for example, and communicates with a road on which the own vehicle M is traveling. Information indicating the traffic conditions of the road on which the vehicle is scheduled to travel (hereinafter referred to as traffic information) is acquired. Traffic information includes information on traffic congestion ahead, required time at congestion points, information on accidents, broken down vehicles, and construction work, information on speed restrictions and lane restrictions, location of parking lots, information on full/empty parking lots/service areas/parking areas, etc. information is included. Further, the communication device 55 acquires the traffic information by communicating with a wireless beacon provided on a side strip of the road or by performing inter-vehicle communication with other vehicles traveling around the own vehicle M. may

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

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the HMI 70. As shown in FIG. The HMI 70 includes, for example, a driving operation system configuration and a non-driving operation system configuration. These boundaries are not clear-cut and it is possible that the configuration of the driving control system may provide the functionality of the non-driving control system (or vice versa).

The HMI 70 includes, for example, an accelerator pedal 71, an accelerator opening sensor 72, an accelerator pedal reaction force output device 73, a brake pedal 74 and a brake depression amount sensor (or a master pressure sensor, etc.) 75, and a shift A lever 76 and a shift position sensor 77 , a steering wheel 78 , a steering angle sensor 79 a and a steering torque sensor 79 b , a steering position detector 79 c and other driving operation devices 81 are included.

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

The brake pedal 74 is an operator for receiving a deceleration instruction from a vehicle occupant. A brake depression amount 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 from the vehicle occupant. A shift position sensor 77 detects a shift stage instructed by a 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 from a vehicle occupant. For example, the steering wheel 78 has a tilt steering mechanism and a telescopic steering mechanism, and is installed so that its position can be adjusted forward and backward or up and down. Also, the steering wheel 78 may be arranged so as to be removable inside the garnish (dashboard).

The steering angle sensor 79 a detects the steering angle of the steering wheel 78 and outputs a steering angle signal indicating the detection result to the vehicle control system 100 . The steering torque sensor 79 b detects torque applied to the steering wheel 78 and outputs a steering torque signal indicating the detection result to the vehicle control system 100 .

The steering position detection unit 79c detects the position of the steering wheel 78 by detecting the drive amount of each of the tilt steering mechanism and the telescopic steering mechanism, for example. The steering position detector 79 c outputs information about the detected position of the steering wheel 78 to the vehicle control system 100 .

Other driving operation devices 81 are, for example, joysticks, buttons, dial switches, GUI (Graphical User Interface) switches, and the like. The other driving operation device 81 receives acceleration instructions, deceleration instructions, turning instructions, etc., and outputs them to the vehicle control system 100 .

The HMI 70 includes, 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 and a seat drive device 89, and a window glass 90 as a configuration of a non-driving operation system. and a window driving device 91 and an in-vehicle camera 92 .

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

The content reproduction device 85 includes, for example, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) reproduction device, a CD (Compact Disc) reproduction device, a television receiver, and various guide image generation devices. The display device 82 , the speaker 83 , the contact operation detection device 84 and the content reproduction device 85 may have a configuration that is partially or wholly common to that of the navigation device 50 .

Various operation switches 86 are arranged at arbitrary locations in the vehicle interior. The various operation switches 86 include an automatic operation changeover switch 86a and a seat drive switch 86b. The automatic operation changeover switch 86a is a switch for instructing the start (or future start) and stop of automatic operation. The seat drive switch 86b is a switch for instructing the start and stop of the drive of the seat drive device 89. As shown in FIG. These switches may be GUI (Graphical User Interface) switches or mechanical switches. Also, the various operation switches 86 may include a switch for driving the window driving device 91 .

A seat 88 is a seat on which a vehicle occupant sits. The seat driving device 89 freely drives the reclining angle of the seat 88, the longitudinal position, the yaw angle, etc., according to the operation of the seat driving switch 86b. Further, the seat driving device 89 includes a seat position detection section 89a for detecting the reclining angle, the longitudinal position, the yaw angle, and the like of the driven seat 88 . The seat drive device 89 outputs to the vehicle control system 100 information indicating the detection result of the seat position detection section 89a.

The window glass 90 is provided, for example, on each door. The window driving device 91 drives the window glass 90 to open and close.

The vehicle interior camera 92 is a digital camera using a solid-state imaging device such as CCD or CMOS. The vehicle interior camera 92 is attached to a position such as a rearview mirror, a steering boss, an instrument panel, or the like where at least the head of a vehicle occupant performing driving operation can be imaged. The camera 40, for example, periodically and repeatedly images the vehicle occupant.

For example, when the own vehicle M is impacted by a collision with an object (another vehicle, etc.), the airbag device 95 operates the airbag to absorb or mitigate the impact on the occupant, thereby relieving the occupant. It is an example of a safety device that protects. For example, the airbag device 95 refers to the detection signal output from the vehicle sensor 60 and, for example, under the influence of a collision or the like, accelerates the traveling direction of the own vehicle M positively or reverses the traveling direction of the own vehicle M. When acceleration (deceleration) with a negative direction exceeds a threshold, the airbag is activated. Further, the airbag device 95 may activate the airbag when the angular acceleration of the own vehicle M exceeds a threshold due to the impact of a collision from the side of the vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an arrangement example of the airbag device 95. As shown in FIG. As illustrated, the airbag device 95 includes, for example, a steering airbag _ABST , a passenger airbag _ABPS , a side airbag _ABSD , a curtain shield airbag _ABCT , and a seatbelt airbag _ABSB .

The steering airbag AB _ST is installed, for example, inside the steering wheel 78, pushes through the upper part of the steering wheel 78, and deploys by expanding between the steering wheel 78 and the driver's seat. The passenger-side airbag AB _PS is installed, for example, inside a garnish located in front of the passenger seat 88, and deploys by pushing the upper part of the garnish and inflating between the garnish and the passenger seat. The side airbags AB _SD are installed, for example, in pairs on both side surfaces (vehicle width direction side surfaces) of the respective seats 88 of the driver's seat, the front passenger seat, and the rear seats, ) to expand. The curtain shield airbag AB _CT is installed, for example, in the vicinity of the front window, side windows, and rear window, and deploys from the lower part of the window frame or the upper part of the window frame so as to cover each window. The seatbelt airbag AB _SB is installed, for example, inside the seatbelt and is deployed by inflating part or all of the belt. The airbag device 95 further includes a seat cushion airbag that is installed under the seat surface of each seat 88 and deploys by inflating a part of the seat 88, and a seat surface of the seat 88 of the driver's seat and the front passenger seat. The rear seat airbag is installed on the back of the (backrest), breaks the back of the seat 88 and deploys between the seat 88 and the rear seat, deploys in the center of the rear seat, and the vehicle occupants sitting on the rear seat A rear seat center airbag or the like that prevents collisions may also be included. The various airbags described above are provided with, for example, an inflator that fills the interior of the bag with gas by igniting explosives. The inflator operates under the control of an airbag operation control section 180, which will be described later, to deploy the airbag.

Prior to describing vehicle control system 100, driving force output device 200, steering device 210, and braking device 220 will be described.

The running driving force output device 200 outputs running driving force (torque) for running the vehicle to the drive wheels. For example, when the vehicle M is an automobile powered by an internal combustion engine, the driving force output device 200 includes an engine, a transmission, and an engine ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that controls the engine. In the case of an electric vehicle using an electric motor as a power source, it is equipped with a driving motor and a motor ECU for controlling the driving motor. In the case of a hybrid vehicle, the vehicle M is equipped with an engine, a transmission, an engine ECU, a driving motor, and a motor ECU for controlling the driving motor. and a motor ECU. When traveling driving force output device 200 includes only an engine, the engine ECU adjusts the throttle opening, shift stage, etc. of the engine according to information input from traveling control unit 160, which will be described later. When running driving force output device 200 includes only a running motor, motor ECU adjusts the duty ratio of the PWM signal given to the running motor according to the information input from running control unit 160 . When running driving force output device 200 includes an engine and a running motor, engine ECU and motor ECU control running driving force in cooperation with each other according to information input from running control unit 160 .

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

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

[Vehicle control system]
The vehicle control system 100 will be described below. Vehicle control system 100 is implemented by, for example, 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, and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) or an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit) to which a communication interface is connected via an internal bus. can 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, an airbag operation control unit 180, and a storage unit 190. and The automatic driving control unit 120 includes, for example, an automatic driving mode control unit 130, an own vehicle position recognition unit 140, an external world recognition unit 142, an action plan generation unit 144, a trajectory generation unit 146, a switching control unit 150, and an abnormality detection unit 152 . The display device 82 and the speaker 83 of the HMI 70 described above are an example of an "output section", and the HMI control section 170 is an example of an "output control section".

Some or all of the target lane determining unit 110, the automatic driving control unit 120, the travel control unit 160, the HMI control unit, and the airbag operation control unit 180 are realized by the processor executing a program (software). be done. Some or all of these may be implemented by hardware such as LSI (Large Scale Integration) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or may be implemented by a combination of software and hardware.

The storage unit 190 stores information such as high-precision map information 191, target lane information 192, action plan information 193, abnormality determination information 194, mode-by-mode operation propriety information 195, and airbag activation reference information 196, for example. The storage unit 190 is realized by ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), flash memory, or the like. The program executed by the processor may be stored in the storage unit 190 in advance, or may be downloaded from an external device via an in-vehicle internet facility or the like. Alternatively, the program may be installed in the storage unit 190 by loading a portable storage medium storing the program into a drive device (not shown). Moreover, the vehicle control system 100 may be distributed by a plurality of computer devices.

The target lane determining unit 110 is implemented by, for example, an MPU. The target lane determination unit 110 divides the route provided from the navigation device 50 into a plurality of blocks (for example, divides the route by 100 [m] with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle), refers to the high-precision map information 191, and divides each block into blocks. to determine the target lane. The target lane determining unit 110 determines, for example, which lane to drive from the left. The target lane determining unit 110 determines the target lane so that, for example, when there is a branch point or a merging point on the route, the own vehicle M can travel along a reasonable route to proceed to the branch point. . The target lane determined by target lane determination unit 110 is stored in storage unit 190 as target lane information 192 .

The high-precision map information 191 is map information with higher precision than the navigation map that the navigation device 50 has. The high-precision map information 191 includes, for example, lane center information or lane boundary information. The high-precision map information 191 may also 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 expressway, toll road, national road, and prefectural road, as well as the number of road lanes, width of each lane, road gradient, and road position (including longitude, latitude, and height). three-dimensional coordinates), the curvature of lane curves, the positions of lane merging and branching points, road signs, and other information. The traffic control information includes information that lanes are closed due to construction work, traffic accidents, traffic jams, or the like.

The automatic driving mode control unit 130 determines the mode of automatic driving performed by the automatic driving control unit 120 . The modes of automatic operation in this embodiment include the following modes. In addition, the following is just an example, and the number of modes of automatic operation may be determined arbitrarily.

[Mode A]
Mode A is the mode with the highest degree of automatic operation. When mode A is in operation, all vehicle control such as complicated merging control is automatically performed, so the vehicle occupant does not need to monitor the surroundings and conditions of own vehicle M (there is no obligation to monitor the surroundings). ).

Here, one example of the driving mode selected in mode A is low-speed follow-up driving (TJP: Traffic Jam Pilot) in which the preceding vehicle is followed during congestion. In low-speed following driving, safe autonomous driving can be achieved by following the preceding vehicle on a congested highway. The low-speed follow-up running is canceled, for example, when the running speed of the own vehicle M becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined speed (for example, 40 km/h or higher). Also, there is a case where mode A is switched to another running mode at the timing when the low-speed follow-up running ends.

[Mode B]
Mode B is a mode with the next highest degree of automatic driving after mode A. When mode B is performed, in principle, all vehicle control is automatically performed, but depending on the situation, the vehicle occupant is entrusted with the driving operation of the own vehicle M. Therefore, the vehicle occupant must monitor the surroundings and condition of the own vehicle M (the duty to monitor the surroundings increases compared to mode A).

[Mode C]
Mode C is a mode with the next highest degree of automatic driving after mode B. When mode C is being performed, the vehicle occupant needs to perform a confirmation operation on the HMI 70 according to the situation. In mode C, for example, when the timing of lane change is notified to the vehicle occupant and the vehicle occupant operates the HMI 70 to instruct the lane change, the lane is automatically changed. Therefore, the vehicle occupant needs to monitor the surroundings and condition of the own vehicle M.

The automatic driving mode control unit 130 sets the automatic driving mode to one of the above based on the operation of the vehicle occupant on the HMI 70, the event determined by the action plan generating unit 144, the driving mode determined by the trajectory generating unit 146, and the like. mode. The automatic driving mode is notified to the HMI control unit 170 . Further, a limit according to the performance of the detection device DD of the host vehicle M may be set for the automatic driving mode. For example, mode A may not be implemented if the sensing device DD has poor performance.

In any automatic driving mode, it is possible to switch to the manual driving mode (override) by operating the configuration of the driving operation system in the HMI 70 . For example, when the operating force of the vehicle occupant of the own vehicle M on the driving operation system of the HMI 70 exceeds a threshold value and continues for a predetermined time or longer, the override is set to a predetermined operation change amount (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 driving operation system is operated a predetermined number of times or more.

The vehicle position recognition unit 140 of the automatic driving control unit 120 includes high-precision map information 191 stored in the storage unit 190 and information input from the viewfinder 20, the radar 30, the camera 40, the navigation device 50, or the vehicle sensor 60. , the lane in which the vehicle M is traveling (driving lane) and the relative position of the vehicle M with respect to the driving lane are recognized.

The vehicle position recognition unit 140 recognizes, for example, a pattern of road division lines (for example, an arrangement of solid lines and broken lines) recognized from the high-precision map information 191, and the surroundings of the vehicle M recognized from the image captured by the camera 40. Recognize the driving lane by comparing with the pattern of road division lines. 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 taken into consideration.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing how the vehicle position recognition unit 140 recognizes the relative position of the vehicle M with respect to the driving lane L1. The vehicle position recognition unit 140, for example, determines the deviation OS of the reference point (for example, the center of gravity) of the vehicle M from the lane center CL, and the line connecting the lane center CL in the traveling direction of the vehicle M. The angle θ is recognized as the relative position of the host vehicle M with respect to the driving 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 one of the side ends of the own lane L1 as the relative position of the own vehicle M with respect to the driving lane. good too. The relative position of the vehicle M recognized by the vehicle position recognition section 140 is provided to the target lane determination section 110 .

The external world recognition unit 142 recognizes states such as positions, velocities, and accelerations of surrounding vehicles based on information input from the viewfinder 20, the radar 30, the camera 40, and the like. The peripheral vehicle is, for example, a vehicle that runs around the vehicle M and runs in the same direction as the vehicle M. The position of the surrounding vehicle may be represented by a representative point such as the center of gravity of the other vehicle or a corner, or may be represented by an area represented by the outline of the other vehicle. The “state” of the surrounding vehicle may include the acceleration of the surrounding vehicle and whether or not the vehicle is changing lanes (or is about to change lanes), which are grasped based on the information of the various devices described above. In addition to surrounding vehicles, the external world recognition unit 142 may also recognize the positions of guardrails, utility poles, parked vehicles, pedestrians, wild animals (for example, deer and bears), and other objects.

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

The action plan is composed of, for example, multiple events that are executed sequentially. Events include, for example, a deceleration event for decelerating the host vehicle M, an acceleration event for accelerating the host vehicle M, a lane keep event for causing the host vehicle M to travel without deviating from the travel lane, and a lane change event for changing the travel lane. , an overtaking event in which the host vehicle M overtakes the preceding vehicle, a branching event in which the host vehicle M is caused to change to a desired lane at a branch point, or the host vehicle M travels without deviating from the current lane, and to join the main line. A merging event that accelerates and decelerates own vehicle M in the merging lane to change the driving lane, shifts from manual driving mode to automatic driving mode at the start point of automatic driving, or shifts from automatic driving mode to automatic driving mode at the scheduled end point of automatic driving It includes a handover event such as a transition to driving mode. The action plan generation unit 144 sets a lane change event, a branch event, or a merge event at a location where the target lane determined by the target lane determination unit 110 switches. Information indicating the action plan generated by the action plan generation unit 144 is stored in the storage unit 190 as action plan information 193 .

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an action plan generated for a certain section. As illustrated, the action plan generation unit 144 generates the action plan necessary for the vehicle M to travel on the target lane indicated by the target lane information 192 . Note that the action plan generator 144 may dynamically change the action plan according to changes in the situation of the host vehicle M regardless of the target lane information 192 . For example, the action plan generation unit 144 detects that the speed of a surrounding vehicle recognized by the external world recognition unit 142 while the vehicle is traveling exceeds a threshold value, or that the moving direction of a surrounding vehicle traveling in a lane adjacent to the own lane is in the direction of the own lane. The event set in the driving section in which the own vehicle M is scheduled to travel is changed when the vehicle M is turned. For example, when the event is set so that the lane change event is executed after the lane keep event, the recognition result of the external world recognition unit 142 indicates that during the lane keep event, the vehicle from behind the lane of the lane change destination exceeds the threshold. , the action plan generator 144 may change the event following the lane keep event from the lane change event to a deceleration event, lane keep event, or the like. As a result, the vehicle control system 100 can safely and automatically drive the host vehicle M even when the state of the outside world changes.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the trajectory generator 146. As shown in FIG. The trajectory generation unit 146 includes, for example, a travel mode determination unit 146A, a trajectory candidate generation unit 146B, and an evaluation/selection unit 146C.

The driving manner determination unit 146A determines one of the driving manners, such as constant speed driving, following driving, low speed following driving, decelerating driving, curve driving, obstacle avoidance driving, etc., when performing the lane keeping event. For example, the driving mode determination unit 146A determines the driving mode to be constant speed driving when there is no other vehicle in front of the own vehicle M. In addition, when the vehicle follows the vehicle in front, the driving mode determination unit 146A determines the driving mode to follow the vehicle. Further, the driving mode determination unit 146A determines the driving mode to be low-speed follow-up driving in a traffic jam scene or the like. Further, the driving mode determination unit 146A determines the driving mode to decelerate when the external world recognition unit 142 recognizes deceleration of the preceding vehicle or when an event such as stopping or parking is performed. In addition, when the external environment recognition unit 142 recognizes that the host vehicle M is approaching a curved road, the driving mode determination unit 146A determines the driving mode to be curve driving. Further, when the external world recognition unit 142 recognizes an obstacle in front of the vehicle M, the driving mode determining unit 146A determines the driving mode to be obstacle avoidance driving. Further, when a lane change event, an overtaking event, a branching event, a merging event, a handover event, or the like is performed, the driving mode determination unit 146A determines the driving mode according to each event.

Further, for example, if the speed of the surrounding vehicle (for example, the preceding vehicle) recognized by the external world recognition unit 142 is a constant speed or less and the inter-vehicle distance to the surrounding vehicle is a constant value or less, In mode A described above, for example, low-speed follow-up driving is determined as the driving mode. Further, for example, if the speed of the surrounding vehicle (for example, the preceding vehicle) is equal to or higher than a constant speed and the inter-vehicle distance to the surrounding vehicle is equal to or higher than a certain value, the driving mode determining unit 146A, for example, in mode B described above, The running mode is determined to be constant speed running.

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

The trajectory candidate generation unit 146B generates a trajectory such as that shown in FIG. determined as a collection of FIG. 9 is a diagram in which the trajectory candidates generated by the trajectory candidate generation unit 146B are represented by trajectory points K. As shown in FIG. The wider the distance between the track points K, the faster the vehicle M. The narrower the distance between the track points K, the slower the vehicle M. Therefore, the trajectory candidate generation unit 146B gradually widens the interval between the trajectory points K when desiring to accelerate, and gradually narrows the interval between the trajectory points K when desiring to decelerate.

Thus, since the trajectory point K includes a velocity component, the trajectory candidate generator 146B needs to give each trajectory point K a target velocity. The target speed is determined according to the driving mode determined by the driving mode determination unit 146A.

Here, a method of determining the target speed when changing lanes (including branching) will be described. The trajectory candidate generator 146B first sets a lane change target position (or a merging target position). The lane change target position is set as a relative position with respect to surrounding vehicles, and determines "between which surrounding vehicles the lane should be changed". Using the lane change target position as a reference, the trajectory candidate generation unit 146B focuses on three surrounding vehicles and determines a target speed when changing lanes. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the 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 surrounding vehicle running in front of the own vehicle M is the preceding vehicle mA, the surrounding vehicle running in front of the lane change target position TA is the front reference vehicle mB, and the lane change target position TA is A peripheral vehicle running immediately behind is defined as a rear reference vehicle mC. The host 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 must avoid catching up with the preceding vehicle mA. Therefore, the trajectory candidate generation unit 146B predicts the future states of the three surrounding vehicles and determines the target speed so as not to interfere with each surrounding vehicle.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a velocity generation model when the velocities of three surrounding vehicles are assumed to be constant. In the figure, straight lines extending from mA, mB, and mC indicate displacements in the direction of travel when it is assumed that the surrounding vehicles are traveling at a constant speed. At the point CP where the lane change is completed, the own vehicle M must be between the front reference vehicle mB and the rear reference vehicle mC, and must be behind the front vehicle mA before that point. Under such constraints, the trajectory candidate generator 146B derives a plurality of time-series patterns of target speeds until the lane change is completed. By applying the time-series pattern of the target speed to a model such as a spline curve, a plurality of trajectory candidates as shown in FIG. 9 are derived. Note that the motion patterns of the three surrounding vehicles are not limited to the constant velocity shown in FIG. 11, and may be predicted on the assumption of constant acceleration and constant jerk (jerk).

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

The switching control unit 150 switches between the automatic operation mode and the manual operation mode based on a signal input from the automatic operation changeover switch 86a, information output from an abnormality detection unit 152 described later, and others. For example, the switching control unit 150 switches from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode when the abnormal condition detected by the abnormality detection unit 152 is a specific abnormal condition, and otherwise continues the automatic operation mode.

In addition, the switching control unit 150 switches from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode based on an operation for instructing acceleration, deceleration, or steering with respect to the configuration of the driving 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 state in which the operation amount indicated by the signal input from the configuration of the driving operation system in the HMI 70 exceeds the threshold continues for a reference time or longer ( override). Further, the switching control unit 150 may return to the automatic operation mode when no operation on the configuration of the driving operation system in the HMI 70 is detected for a predetermined time after switching to the manual operation mode by the override. . In addition, the switching control unit 150 notifies the vehicle occupant of a handover request in advance, for example, when performing handover control to shift from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode at the planned end point of the automatic operation. Information is output to the HMI control unit 170 .

Abnormality detection unit 152 detects an abnormal state in vehicle control system 100 . The abnormal state includes, for example, a state in which an abnormality has occurred in the devices themselves such as the finder 20, the radar 30, and the camera 40, a state in which an abnormality has occurred in communication between these devices and the vehicle control system 100, and an action plan. It also includes a state in which an abnormality has occurred in communication between functional units (elements) such as the generation unit 144 and the trajectory generation unit 146 . These abnormal states can be caused by an impact from the outside of the own vehicle M.

For example, the anomaly detection unit 152 detects an anomaly in a device by comparing detection results of devices of different types, or detects an anomaly in a device based on a history of detection results by the same device. More specifically, when the position of the object detected by viewfinder 20 and radar 30 differs significantly from the position of the object detected by camera 40, abnormality detection unit 152 determines that an abnormality has occurred in camera 40. to detect. Further, the anomaly detection unit 152 monitors, for example, signals (information) transmitted via an internal bus connecting the functional units, and detects that an anomaly has occurred in communication.

When the abnormality detection unit 152 detects any of the above-described abnormal states, the abnormality detection unit 152 refers to the abnormality determination information 194 and determines whether or not the abnormality is a specific abnormality. A specific abnormal condition is a condition that affects the outcome of vehicle control based on the action plan (or trajectory) under autonomous driving mode.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the abnormality determination information 194. As shown in FIG. As illustrated, the abnormality determination information 194 includes equipment and information required when transitioning to each event and controlling the controlled object. For example, one or both of the radar 30-1 and viewfinder 20-1 and the camera 40 are required to transition to the lane keep event. Therefore, if there is an abnormality in either one of the radar 30-1 and the finder 20-1, or the finder 20-1, the abnormality detection unit 152 detects that the abnormal state is the result of the vehicle control based on the action plan. determined to have an effect on That is, the abnormality detection unit 152 determines that the abnormal state is a specific abnormal state.

In addition, when the detection range of a device having an abnormality due to a failure or the like can be covered by the detection range of another device, the abnormality detection unit 152 does not determine that it is a specific abnormal state that affects the control result. Continuing the planned action plan without change. For example, if only one of the radar 30-1 and the finder 20-1 has an abnormality, the abnormality detection unit 152 detects the abnormal device (radar 30-1 or finder 20-1) according to the detection range of the other device. It is determined that the detection range can be covered, and that the malfunction of the device does not affect the result of vehicle control based on the action plan. That is, the abnormality detection unit 152 determines that the abnormal state is not a specific abnormal state.

The abnormality detection unit 152 is not limited to using the abnormality determination information 194 when determining a specific abnormality state. status may be determined. Moreover, the abnormality detection unit 152 may use map data including information equivalent to the abnormality determination information 194 .

When the abnormality detection unit 152 determines that the detected abnormality state is a specific abnormality state, the abnormality detection unit 152 outputs information indicating the determination result to the switching control unit 150 .

The traveling control unit 160 controls the traveling driving force output device 200, the steering device 210, and the braking device 220 so that the host vehicle M passes the trajectory generated by the trajectory generation unit 146 at the scheduled time.

When the automatic driving control unit 120 notifies the HMI control unit 170 of the automatic driving mode information, the HMI control unit 170 refers to the mode-specific operation availability information 195 and controls the HMI 70 according to the type of automatic driving mode.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the mode-by-mode operation availability information 195. As shown in FIG. The mode-specific operation propriety information 195 shown in FIG. 13 has "manual operation mode" and "automatic operation mode" as items of the operation mode. Further, as the "automatic operation mode", there are the above-described "mode A", "mode B", and "mode C". Further, the mode-by-mode operation availability information 195 includes “navigation operation”, which is an operation for the navigation device 50, “content reproduction operation”, which is an operation for the content reproduction device 85, and “operation for the display device 82,” as non-driving operation items. It has a certain "instrument panel operation" etc. In the example of the mode-by-mode operation propriety information 195 shown in FIG. 13, propriety of the vehicle occupant's operation of the non-driving operation system is set for each driving mode described above, but the target interface device is limited to this. is not.

The HMI control unit 170 refers to the mode-by-mode operation availability information 195 based on the mode information acquired from the automatic driving control unit 120, so that the devices whose use is permitted (part or all of the navigation device 50 and the HMI 70) and a device whose use is not permitted. Further, the HMI control unit 170 controls whether or not to accept an operation from the vehicle occupant to the non-driving operation system HMI 70 or the navigation device 50 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 operates the driving operation system of the HMI 70 (for example, the accelerator pedal 71, the brake pedal 74, the shift lever 76, the steering wheel 78, etc.). do. Further, when the driving mode executed by the vehicle control system 100 is automatic driving mode B, mode C, or the like, the vehicle occupant is obliged to monitor the surroundings of the own vehicle M. In such a case, the HMI control unit 170 is one of the non-driving operation systems of the HMI 70 in order to prevent distraction (driver distraction) due to actions other than driving (for example, operation of the HMI 70) by the vehicle occupants. Control is performed so as not to accept operations for part or all. At this time, the HMI control unit 170 displays the presence of surrounding vehicles of the own vehicle M recognized by the external environment recognition unit 142 and the state of the surrounding vehicles so that the vehicle occupants can monitor the surroundings of the own vehicle M. 82 may display an image or the like, and the HMI 70 may receive a confirmation operation according to the scene when the own vehicle M is traveling.

In addition, when the driving mode is mode A, the HMI control unit 170 relaxes the restrictions on driver distraction and performs control to accept the operations of the vehicle occupants on the non-driving operation systems that have not been accepting operations. For example, the HMI control unit 170 causes the display device 82 to display video, the speaker 83 to output audio, and the content reproduction device 85 to reproduce content from a DVD or the like. Note that the content reproduced by the content reproduction device 85 may include, for example, entertainment such as television programs, and various types of content related to entertainment, in addition to content stored in a DVD or the like. Also, the above-described "content reproduction operation" shown in FIG. 13 may mean such content operation related to entertainment.

Further, when the mode is changed from mode A to mode B or mode C, that is, when the automatic driving mode is changed in which the vehicle occupant's obligation to monitor the surroundings is increased, the HMI control unit 170 controls the navigation device 50 or the non-driving operation. It causes the HMI 70 of the system to output predetermined information. The predetermined information is information indicating that the obligation to monitor the surroundings will increase, or information indicating that the operation tolerance for the navigation device 50 or the non-driving operation system HMI 70 will be lowered (operation will be restricted). Note that the predetermined information is not limited to these, and may be, for example, information prompting preparation for handover control.

As described above, the HMI control unit 170 issues a warning or the like to the vehicle occupant a predetermined time before the driving mode transitions from mode A to mode B or mode C or before the vehicle M reaches a predetermined speed. By reporting, it is possible to notify the vehicle occupant at an appropriate timing that the vehicle occupant is obliged to monitor the surroundings of the own vehicle M. As a result, it is possible to give the vehicle occupant a preparation period for switching to automatic driving.

Further, when the airbag activation control unit 180, which will be described later, predicts the timing at which the host vehicle M collides with an object such as a surrounding vehicle, the HMI control unit 170 controls the display device 82, the speaker 83, and the like before this timing. The HMI 70 may be used to notify vehicle occupants of impending danger (hereinafter referred to as collision risk prediction information). This makes it possible to make the vehicle occupant aware of the risk of collision and prevent an unexpected collision.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the airbag activation control section 180. As shown in FIG. The airbag activation control section 180 includes, for example, a collision prediction section 180A, an airbag selection section 180B, and an airbag activation section 180C.

Collision prediction unit 180A selects time from recognition objects based on the relative positional relationship between objects such as surrounding vehicles recognized by external world recognition unit 142 (hereinafter referred to as recognition objects) and self-vehicle M. An approaching object relatively approaching the host vehicle M is extracted according to the elapsed time or traveled distance. For example, when the recognition object is traveling at a lower speed than the own vehicle M, or when the recognition object is stopped, the recognition object is relatively closer to the own vehicle M, so it is extracted as an approaching object. be done. Moreover, even when this relationship is reversed, the recognized object relatively approaches the own vehicle M, so it is extracted as an approaching object. For example, there are cases in which peripheral vehicles whose traveling direction intersects the traveling direction of the own vehicle M at an intersection or the like approach the own vehicle M at a certain timing and can be extracted as an approaching object.

The collision prediction unit 180A determines the collision timing (hereinafter referred to as collision prediction timing) is predicted. For example, the collision prediction unit 180A assumes that the speed (or acceleration, etc.) and moving direction of the approaching object when approaching the host vehicle M are constant, and predicts one of the future arrival points (orbit points) of the host vehicle M. When the approaching object interferes, the time at which the own vehicle M reaches the arrival point at which the approaching object interferes is derived as the collision prediction timing. Even in a near-miss situation where an approaching object is included within a range of a certain distance centered on the trajectory point indicating the arrival point, the trajectory point and the approaching object may interfere with each other.

Then, the collision prediction unit 180A predicts the collision direction when it is assumed that the approaching object collides with the host vehicle M at the predicted collision prediction timing.

The airbag selection unit 180B refers to the airbag activation reference information 196 and selects an airbag to be activated based on the collision direction predicted by the collision prediction unit 180A.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the airbag activation reference information 196. As shown in FIG. The airbag activation reference information 196 shown in FIG. 15 indicates the types of airbags to be activated for each direction obtained by equally dividing the azimuth direction of the host vehicle M into eight directions AD1 to AD8. It should be noted that the azimuth direction may be equally divided into less than or more than eight divisions, or may be divided into unequal divisions.

For example, the airbag selection unit 180B determines whether the collision direction predicted by the collision prediction unit 180A corresponds to one of the divided directions AD1 to AD8. For example, if the collision direction corresponds to the AD7 direction, an airbag that protects the vehicle occupant from the side receiving the collision is selected as the airbag to be activated. The airbag includes, for example, a side airbag AB _SD installed in the seat 88 on the passenger side (driver's seat side in the case of the left steering wheel), a curtain shield airbag AB _CT installed near the side window on the passenger side, and the like. is included. If the collision direction corresponds to AD1 or AD8, the curtain shield airbag _ABCT installed near the front window is selected as the airbag to be activated. As a result, for example, while protecting vehicle occupants, surrounding vehicles such as motorcycles and wild animals such as deer can be prevented from breaking through various windows such as front windows and side windows and entering the vehicle interior at the time of a collision. can be done.

In addition, the airbag selection unit 180B selects, as an airbag to be activated, an airbag that protects the vehicle occupant who is thrown out in the vehicle interior due to inertial force due to the impact force applied to the host vehicle M due to the collision. good too. For example, if the collision direction corresponds to direction AD7, the airbag selector 180B treats the combined vector of these directions as the direction in which the vehicle occupant is thrown, based on the direction AD7 and the moving direction of the host vehicle M. , the airbag installed in the direction indicated by this combined vector is selected as the airbag to be operated. The airbags include, for example, a steering airbag _ABST , a passenger airbag _ABPS , a curtain shield airbag _ABCT installed near the front window, a seatbelt airbag ABSB for each seat 88, and a seatbelt airbag _ABSB for the driver's seat. This includes curtain shield airbags AB _CT installed near the side windows.

The airbag operating unit 180C refers to the detection signal output from the vehicle sensor 60 in the manual operation mode, and for example, when the acceleration or angular acceleration of the own vehicle M exceeds a threshold value, the airbag device 95 is activated. At least the airbag selected by the airbag selector 180B among the plurality of airbags provided is activated. That is, the airbag operating section 180C activates the airbag when an approaching object collides with an impact force greater than or equal to the specified value.

On the other hand, in the automatic driving mode, the airbag operating section 180C operates at least an airbag selected by the airbag selecting section 180B among the plurality of airbags included in the airbag device 95 at a predetermined timing. The predetermined timing is, for example, timing before the collision prediction timing predicted by the collision prediction section 180A. This increases the possibility that the airbag selected by the airbag selector 180B can be activated before the actual collision timing. Note that, even in the manual operation mode, the airbag activation section 180C may activate the airbag selected by the airbag selection section 180B based on the collision prediction timing.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the notification timing of the collision risk prediction information and the activation timing of the airbag for each driving mode. In the figure, T1 is the time when prediction of the collision prediction timing is completed by the collision prediction unit 180A, T2 is the airbag activation time in the automatic driving mode, and T3 is the airbag activation time in the manual driving mode. is the operation time, and T4 is the time indicating the collision prediction timing. Note that the predicted collision prediction timing and the actual collision prediction timing (the timing at which the acceleration or the like exceeds the threshold value) may be the same time, or may contain an error.

For example, in the automatic driving mode, the HMI control unit 170 notifies collision risk prediction information using the HMI 70 after time T1, and the airbag operating unit 180C is notified of the collision risk prediction information at the same time. Alternatively, the airbag is activated at a certain time T2 within a period from the time when the collision risk prediction information is reported to time T4. For example, if the curtain shield airbag AB _CT that covers the front window is selected as the airbag to be activated, the airbag is deployed before the collision prediction timing, so the front view of the vehicle occupant is blocked. , the self-vehicle M can continue to run by automatic operation.

Further, in the manual operation mode, the HMI control unit 170 uses the HMI 70 to report collision risk prediction information after time T1, as in the automatic operation mode. The airbag is activated at time T3, which is an early timing. As a result, even when the time T4 is derived from the time T4, which is later than the actual collision time due to a calculation error or the like in deriving the collision prediction timing, the airbag can be activated at a timing earlier than the actual collision time.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing an example of the flow of processing performed by the vehicle control system 100. As shown in FIG. First, the collision prediction unit 180A waits until an approaching object can be extracted from the recognition objects recognized by the external world recognition unit 142 (step S100). Based on the movement direction of M, the collision prediction timing is predicted, and the collision direction in which the approaching object will collide with the own vehicle M at the predicted collision prediction timing is predicted (step S102).

Next, the airbag selection unit 180B refers to the airbag activation reference information 196 and selects an airbag to be activated based on the collision direction predicted by the collision prediction unit 180A (step S104). Next, the HMI control unit 170 uses the HMI 70 to report collision risk prediction information before the collision prediction timing (step S106).

Next, the airbag operating unit 180C determines whether or not the driving mode being executed is the automatic driving mode (step S108). If the driving mode being executed is not the automatic driving mode, the airbag operating unit 180C waits until the own vehicle M collides with an object (such as another vehicle) (step S110). At least the airbag selected by the airbag selector 180B is activated (step S112). For example, the airbag operating unit 180C determines that the vehicle has received an impact due to a collision when the acceleration of the own vehicle M exceeds a threshold value. Note that the airbag activation unit 180C may activate the airbag, for example, several milliseconds earlier than the collision prediction timing, even during the manual driving mode, as the process of S112.

On the other hand, if the driving mode being executed is the automatic driving mode, the airbag activation unit 180C activates at least the airbag selected by the airbag selection unit 180B at a timing before the collision prediction timing (step S114). In the processing of S114, it is not always necessary to activate the airbag immediately, and it may be activated at any timing before the time indicating the collision prediction timing. As a result, the airbag is already inflated at the time of the collision, so the occupant can be protected more reliably.

Next, when the host vehicle M collides with an object due to the deployment of the airbag, the switching control unit 150 refers to the information output by the abnormality detection unit 152 to determine whether the automatic driving mode can be continued. is determined (step S116). For example, when the abnormality detection unit 152 outputs information that an abnormal state is not detected or that the abnormal state is not a specific abnormal state, the switching control unit 150 determines that the automatic operation mode can be continued, and automatically operates. The mode is continued (step S118). At this time, the trajectory generator 146 generates a trajectory for avoiding secondary collisions.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a trajectory for avoiding secondary collisions. For example, the trajectory generation unit 146 generates a trajectory such that the host vehicle M is brought to the road shoulder and stopped after traveling a predetermined distance, as shown in the drawing. Thereby, the vehicle control system 100 can prevent damage such as a secondary collision.

On the other hand, when the information that the abnormal state is a specific abnormal state is output by the abnormality detection unit 152, the switching control unit 150 determines that the automatic operation mode cannot be continued, and switches the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode. (Step S120). This completes the processing of this flowchart.

According to the embodiment described above, the relative positional relationship between the object around the own vehicle M and the own vehicle M is recognized, and the speed control and the steering control of the own vehicle M are performed based on the object whose positional relationship is recognized. automatic operation mode in which at least one of the above is automatically performed, and manual operation mode in which both speed control and steering control are based on the operation of the vehicle occupant. Based on the recognition result obtained when recognizing the relative positional relationship with the vehicle M, an approaching object relatively approaching the own vehicle M is extracted from the objects whose positional relationship has been recognized, and the approaching object is extracted. is assumed to collide with the own vehicle M, and based on the predicted collision direction, selects an airbag to be activated from among a plurality of airbags provided in the vehicle interior, Airbags can be effectively activated using the high-performance sensing device DD used in autonomous driving.

As described above, the mode for carrying out the present invention has been described using the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to such embodiments at all, and various modifications and replacements can be made without departing from the scope 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 95... Air bag device 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 recognition unit 144 Action plan generation unit 146 Trajectory generation unit 146A Travel Aspect determination unit 146B trajectory candidate generation unit 146C evaluation/selection unit 150 switching control unit 152 abnormality detection unit 160 running control unit 170 HMI control unit 180 airbag operation control unit 180A Collision prediction unit 180B Airbag selection unit 180C Airbag operation unit 190 Storage unit 200 Driving force output device 210 Steering device 220 Brake device M Host vehicle

Claims (5)

a recognition unit that recognizes the relative positional relationship between objects around the vehicle and the vehicle;
a generation unit that generates an action plan for automatically driving the vehicle based on the objects whose relative positional relationships are recognized by the recognition unit;
An automatic operation control unit that executes an automatic operation mode that automatically performs at least one of speed control and steering control of the vehicle based on the action plan generated by the generation unit,
When the automatic driving control unit is executing the automatic driving mode, after a collision between the object and the vehicle occurs, the automatic driving control unit determines whether the automatic driving mode can be executed, and determines whether the automatic driving mode can be executed. When it is determined that the mode can be executed, the automatic operation mode is continuously executed,
The recognition unit recognizes a relative positional relationship between objects around the vehicle and the vehicle based on detection results of each of a plurality of sensing devices that sense objects around the vehicle,
When at least one of the plurality of sensing devices is in a predetermined state that affects vehicle control based on the action plan, the automatic driving control unit generates the type of sensing device in the predetermined state and the action plan. and determining whether the automatic operation mode can be executed based on the type of detection device that uses the detection result,
The plurality of sensing devices includes a first sensing device and a second sensing device having a sensing range different from that of the first sensing device;
the first sensing device and the second sensing device are dissimilar devices;
The automatic operation control unit is
When the first sensing device is in the predetermined state, determining that the automatic driving mode based on the action plan is not executable,
when the second sensing device is not in the predetermined state and the sensing range of the second sensing device includes the sensing range of the first sensing device; and when the first sensing device is in the predetermined state. Even if it is determined that the automatic driving mode based on the action plan can be executed,
vehicle control system. The recognition unit recognizes a relative positional relationship between an object around the vehicle and the vehicle based on a detection result of a detection device that detects the object around the vehicle,
The automatic operation control unit determines whether the automatic operation mode can be executed based on the state of the detection device used by the recognition unit.
A vehicle control system according to claim 1 . When the automatic operation mode can be executed, the automatic operation control unit performs control to avoid a secondary collision in the continuously executed automatic operation mode.
The vehicle control system according to claim 1 or 2. in-vehicle computer
recognizing the relative positional relationship between objects around the vehicle and the vehicle;
generating an action plan for automatically driving the vehicle based on the objects for which the relative positional relationship is recognized;
executing an automatic driving mode in which at least one of speed control and steering control of the vehicle is automatically performed based on the generated action plan;
When the automatic driving mode is executed, after a collision between the object and the vehicle occurs, it is determined whether the automatic driving mode can be executed, and the automatic driving mode is judged to be executable. If it is determined, the automatic operation mode is continuously executed,
recognizing a relative positional relationship between objects around the vehicle and the vehicle based on detection results of each of a plurality of sensing devices that sense objects around the vehicle;
When at least one of the plurality of sensing devices is in a predetermined state that affects vehicle control based on the action plan, the type of sensing device in the predetermined state and the detection result are used to generate the action plan. Determine whether the automatic operation mode can be executed based on the type of detection device,
The plurality of sensing devices includes a first sensing device and a second sensing device having a sensing range different from that of the first sensing device;
the first sensing device and the second sensing device are dissimilar devices;
When the first sensing device is in the predetermined state, determining that the automatic driving mode based on the action plan is not executable,
when the second sensing device is not in the predetermined state and the sensing range of the second sensing device includes the sensing range of the first sensing device; and when the first sensing device is in the predetermined state. Even if it is determined that the automatic driving mode based on the action plan can be executed,
Vehicle control method. in-vehicle computer
a process of recognizing the relative positional relationship between objects around the vehicle and the vehicle;
a process of generating an action plan for automatically driving the vehicle based on the objects for which the relative positional relationship is recognized;
A process of executing an automatic driving mode that automatically performs at least one of speed control and steering control of the vehicle based on the generated action plan;
When the automatic driving mode is executed, after a collision between the object and the vehicle occurs, it is determined whether the automatic driving mode can be executed, and the automatic driving mode is judged to be executable. When it is determined, a process of continuously executing the automatic operation mode;
a process of recognizing the relative positional relationship between objects around the vehicle and the vehicle based on the detection results of each of a plurality of sensing devices that sense the objects around the vehicle;
When at least one of the plurality of sensing devices is in a predetermined state that affects vehicle control based on the action plan, the type of sensing device in the predetermined state and the detection result are used to generate the action plan. A process for determining whether the automatic operation mode can be executed based on the type of detection device,
The plurality of sensing devices includes a first sensing device and a second sensing device having a sensing range different from that of the first sensing device;
the first sensing device and the second sensing device are dissimilar devices;
A process of determining that the automatic driving mode based on the action plan cannot be executed when the first sensing device is in the predetermined state;
when the second sensing device is not in the predetermined state and the sensing range of the second sensing device includes the sensing range of the first sensing device; and when the first sensing device is in the predetermined state. Even if, a process for determining that the automatic driving mode based on the action plan can be executed;
A vehicle control program for executing

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