JP7221260B2 - vehicle controller - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle control device that controls a vehicle to avoid emergency vehicles such as ambulances and police cars.

As this type of device, there has been known a device that avoids the emergency vehicle by controlling the traveling motion of the own vehicle so as to follow the avoidance motion of the preceding and following vehicles when the emergency vehicle approaches ( For example, see Patent Document 1).

Patent No. 6636484

By the way, there is a case where an emergency vehicle requests a surrounding vehicle to perform an avoidance operation via a speaker or the like. In such a case, following the avoidance operation of the surrounding vehicles as in the device described in Patent Document 1 may not be able to avoid the emergency vehicle appropriately.

A vehicle control device, which is one aspect of the present invention, controls a vehicle so that the vehicle travels according to a predetermined action plan. The vehicle control device includes a peripheral situation detection unit that detects the situation around the vehicle, an input unit that receives voices uttered by an emergency vehicle or an occupant in the emergency vehicle to surrounding vehicles, and an input unit. a voice recognizing unit for recognizing notification information for surrounding vehicles contained in the voice received; a surrounding situation detected by a surrounding situation detecting unit when the voice recognizing unit recognizes that the alert information includes an avoidance command; and an action plan generation unit that generates an action plan according to the avoidance command included in the notification information . The surrounding situation detection unit detects motion of surrounding vehicles of the vehicle. When the movement of the surrounding vehicle detected by the surrounding situation detection section differs from the movement corresponding to the avoidance command included in the notification information, the action plan generation section detects the surrounding situation detected by the surrounding situation detection section. Generate an action plan based on vehicle movement.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, an emergency vehicle can be avoided appropriately.

1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a travel system of an automatically driven vehicle to which a vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the invention is applied; FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. The figure which shows an example of the system containing the vehicle control system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of a vehicle notification device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. The block diagram which shows roughly the whole structure of the vehicle-mounted apparatus of the emergency vehicle of FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by a CPU of the controller in FIG. 4; FIG. The figure which shows typically a mode that an emergency vehicle is chasing a getaway vehicle. The figure which shows typically a mode that an emergency vehicle is chasing a getaway vehicle. The figure which shows typically a mode that an emergency vehicle is chasing a getaway vehicle. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a main part of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by a CPU of the controller in FIG. 8; FIG. The figure which shows typically a mode that the emergency vehicle is running urgently. The figure which shows typically a mode that the emergency vehicle is running urgently. The figure which shows typically a mode that the emergency vehicle is running urgently. The figure which shows typically a mode that the emergency vehicle is running urgently.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10D. A vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a vehicle having an automatic driving function (automatic driving vehicle). FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a travel system of an automatically driven vehicle 100 (sometimes simply referred to as a vehicle or own vehicle) to which a vehicle control system according to this embodiment is applied. The vehicle 100 can run not only in an automatic driving mode that does not require driving operations by the driver, but also in a manual driving mode that requires driving operations by the driver. In addition, in this embodiment, the driving mode in which all the operations of accelerator operation, brake operation, and steering are unnecessary is called automatic driving mode.

As shown in FIG. 1 , vehicle 100 has engine 1 and transmission 2 . The engine 1 mixes the intake air supplied through the throttle valve 11 and the fuel injected from the injector 12 in an appropriate ratio, ignites it with a spark plug or the like, and burns it, thereby generating rotational power. engine (eg gasoline engine). Various engines such as a diesel engine can be used instead of the gasoline engine. The amount of intake air is adjusted by a throttle valve 11, and the opening of the throttle valve 11 is changed by driving a throttle actuator operated by an electric signal. The opening of the throttle valve 11 and the amount of fuel injected from the injector 12 (injection timing, injection duration) are controlled by a controller 40 (FIG. 2).

The transmission 2 is provided in a power transmission path between the engine 1 and the drive wheels 3, changes the speed of the rotation from the engine 1, and converts the torque from the engine 1 to output it. The rotation speed-changed by the transmission 2 is transmitted to the driving wheels 3, whereby the vehicle 100 runs. It is also possible to configure vehicle 100 as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle by providing a driving motor as a drive source instead of or in addition to engine 1 .

The transmission 2 is, for example, a stepped transmission that can change the gear ratio stepwise according to a plurality of gear stages. It should be noted that a continuously variable transmission capable of steplessly changing the gear ratio can also be used as the transmission 2 . Although not shown, power from the engine 1 may be input to the transmission 2 via a torque converter. The transmission 2 includes an engagement element 21 such as a dog clutch or a friction clutch, and a hydraulic control device 22 controls the flow of oil from a hydraulic pressure source to the engagement element 21, thereby changing the speed of the transmission 2. can do. The hydraulic control device 22 has a control valve that is driven by an electric signal, and can set an appropriate gear stage by changing the flow of pressure oil to the engagement element 21 according to the drive of the control valve.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of the vehicle control system 10 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle control system 10 includes a controller 40, an external sensor group 31 electrically connected to the controller 40, an internal sensor group 32, an input/output device 33, a positioning sensor 34, It mainly has a map database 35, a navigation device 36, a communication unit 37, and an actuator 38 for traveling.

The external sensor group 31 is a general term for a plurality of sensors that detect external conditions, which are peripheral information of the vehicle 100 . For example, the external sensor group 31 includes a lidar that measures the scattered light of the omnidirectional irradiation light of the vehicle 100 and measures the distance from the vehicle 100 to the surrounding obstacles, and the vehicle that emits electromagnetic waves and detects the reflected waves. Radar for detecting other vehicles, obstacles, etc. in the vicinity of 100 is included. Further, for example, the external sensor group 31 includes a camera mounted on the vehicle 100 and having an imaging device such as a CCD or a CMOS to image the surroundings (front, rear, and side) of the vehicle 100, and sensors from the surroundings of the vehicle 100. A microphone for inputting a sound signal (hereinafter simply referred to as a microphone) and the like are included. Signals detected by the external sensor group 31 and signals input to the external sensor group 31 are transmitted to the controller 40 .

The internal sensor group 32 is a general term for a plurality of sensors that detect the running state of the vehicle 100 and the state inside the vehicle. For example, the internal sensor group 32 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100, an acceleration sensor that detects longitudinal acceleration and lateral acceleration (lateral acceleration) of the vehicle 100, and an engine that detects the rotation speed of the engine 1. A rotational speed sensor, a yaw rate sensor that detects the rotational angular velocity about the vertical axis of the center of gravity of the vehicle 100, a throttle opening sensor that detects the opening of the throttle valve 11 (throttle opening), and the like are included. The internal sensor group 32 also includes sensors that detect driver's driving operations in the manual driving mode, such as accelerator pedal operation, brake pedal operation, steering operation, and the like. A detection signal from the internal sensor group 32 is transmitted to the controller 40 .

The input/output device 33 is a general term for devices to which commands are input from drivers and information is output to drivers. For example, the input/output device 33 includes various switches for the driver to input various commands by manipulating operation members, a microphone for the driver to input commands by voice, a display unit for providing information to the driver via display images, and a voice input device for the driver. It includes a speaker that provides information in Various switches include a manual/automatic changeover switch (SW) for commanding either the automatic operation mode or the manual operation mode.

The manual/automatic changeover switch is configured as a switch that can be manually operated by the driver, for example, and in response to the switch operation, it issues a switching command to the automatic driving mode with the automatic driving function enabled or the manual driving mode with the automatic driving function disabled. Output. It is also possible to issue a command to switch from the manual operation mode to the automatic operation mode or from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode when a predetermined running condition is met, regardless of the operation of the manual/automatic changeover switch. That is, by automatically switching the manual/automatic changeover switch, the mode switching can be performed automatically instead of manually.

The positioning sensor 34 is, for example, a GPS sensor, receives positioning signals transmitted from GPS satellites, and measures the absolute position (latitude, longitude, etc.) of the vehicle 100 based on the received signals. The positioning sensor 34 includes not only a GPS sensor but also a sensor that performs positioning using radio waves transmitted from quasi-zenith orbit satellites. A signal (a signal indicating a measurement result) from the positioning sensor 34 is transmitted to the controller 40 .

The map database 35 is a device that stores general map information used in the navigation device 36, and is composed of a hard disk, for example. Map information includes road position information, road shape information (such as curvature), and position information of intersections and branch points. Note that the map information stored in the map database 35 is different from the highly accurate map information stored in the storage unit 42 of the controller 40 .

The navigation device 36 is a device that searches for a target route on the road to the destination input by the driver and provides guidance along the target route. Input of the destination and guidance along the target route are performed via the input/output device 33 . The target route is calculated based on the current position of vehicle 100 measured by positioning sensor 34 and map information stored in map database 35 .

The communication unit 37 communicates with various servers (not shown) via a network (communication network 30 to be described later) including a wireless communication network such as the Internet line, and sends map information, traffic information, etc. to the server periodically or at an arbitrary timing. Get from The acquired map information is output to the map database 35 and the storage unit 42, and the map information is updated. The acquired traffic information includes traffic information and signal information such as the remaining time until the signal changes from red to green.

Actuator 38 is a device for actuating various devices related to running operation of vehicle 100 . The actuator 38 includes a throttle actuator for adjusting the opening degree (throttle opening) of the throttle valve 11 of the engine 1 shown in FIG. It includes a variable gear shift actuator, a brake actuator that operates a braking device, a steering actuator that drives a steering device, and the like.

The controller 40 is configured by an electronic control unit (ECU). Although a plurality of ECUs having different functions, such as an engine control ECU and a transmission control ECU, can be provided separately, FIG. 2 shows the controller 40 as a set of these ECUs for the sake of convenience. The controller 40 includes a computer having an arithmetic unit 41 such as a CPU, a storage unit 42 such as ROM, RAM, hard disk, etc., and other peripheral circuits (not shown).

The storage unit 42 stores high-precision detailed map information including information on the center position of the lane, information on the boundary of the lane position, and the like. More specifically, road information, traffic control information, address information, facility information, telephone number information, etc. are stored as map information. Road information includes information indicating the type of road such as expressway, toll road, national highway, number of lanes of road, width of each lane, slope of road, 3D coordinate position of road, curvature of lane curve, lane length Information such as the location of confluence points and branch points, road signs, and the presence or absence of median strips is included. The traffic regulation information includes information that lane travel is restricted or closed due to construction or the like. The storage unit 42 also stores information such as a shift map (shift diagram) that serves as a reference for shifting operations, various control programs, threshold values used in the programs, and the like.

The calculation unit 41 has a vehicle position recognition unit 43, an external world recognition unit 44, an action plan generation unit 45, and a travel control unit 46 as functional components related to automatic driving.

The vehicle position recognition unit 43 recognizes the position of the vehicle 100 (vehicle position) on the map based on the position information of the vehicle 100 received by the positioning sensor 34 and the map information of the map database 35 . The vehicle position may be recognized using the map information (information such as the shape of buildings) stored in the storage unit 42 and the surrounding information of the vehicle 100 detected by the external sensor group 31, thereby recognizing the vehicle position. can be recognized with high accuracy. When the position of the vehicle can be measured by a sensor installed outside on the road or on the side of the road, the position of the vehicle can be recognized with high accuracy by communicating with the sensor via the communication unit 37. can.

The external world recognition unit 44 recognizes external conditions around the vehicle 100 based on signals from the external sensor group 31 such as a lidar, radar, and camera. For example, the position, speed, and acceleration of surrounding vehicles (vehicles ahead and behind) traveling around the vehicle 100, the positions of surrounding vehicles stopped or parked around the vehicle 100, and the positions and states of other objects. recognize. Other objects include signs, traffic lights, road boundaries and stop lines, buildings, guardrails, utility poles, billboards, pedestrians, bicycles, and the like. Other object states include the color of traffic lights (red, green, yellow), the speed and orientation of pedestrians and cyclists, and more.

The action plan generating unit 45 generates the current time based on the target route calculated by the navigation device 36, the vehicle position recognized by the vehicle position recognition unit 43, and the external situation recognized by the external world recognition unit 44, for example. to a predetermined time ahead (target trajectory) of the vehicle 100 is generated. When there are a plurality of trajectories that are candidates for the target trajectory on the target route, the action plan generation unit 45 selects the optimum trajectory from among them that satisfies the criteria such as compliance with laws and regulations and efficient and safe travel. and set the selected trajectory as the target trajectory. Then, the action plan generation unit 45 generates an action plan according to the generated target trajectory.

The action plan is associated with travel plan data set for each unit time Δt (for example, 0.1 second) from the current time to a predetermined time T (for example, 5 seconds) ahead, that is, time for each unit time Δt. Contains the trip plan data to be set. The travel plan data includes position data and vehicle state data of vehicle 100 for each unit time. The position data is, for example, target point data that indicates a two-dimensional coordinate position on the road, and the vehicle state data is vehicle speed data that indicates the vehicle speed and direction data that indicates the direction of the vehicle 100 . The travel plan is updated every unit time.

The action plan generation unit 45 generates a target trajectory by connecting position data for each unit time Δt from the current time to a predetermined time T ahead in chronological order. At this time, the acceleration (target acceleration) for each unit time Δt is calculated based on the vehicle speed (target vehicle speed) at each target point on the target track for each unit time Δt. That is, the action plan generator 45 calculates the target vehicle speed and the target acceleration. Note that the target acceleration may be calculated by the travel control unit 46 .

When generating the target trajectory, the action plan generator 45 first determines the driving mode. Specifically, following driving to follow the vehicle in front, overtaking driving to overtake the vehicle ahead, lane change driving to change the driving lane, merging driving to join the main line of expressways and toll roads, and not to deviate from the driving lane. It determines the driving mode such as lane keeping driving, constant speed driving, decelerating driving, or accelerating driving. Then, the target trajectory is generated based on the driving mode.

The travel control unit 46 controls each actuator 38 so that the vehicle 100 travels along the target trajectory generated by the action plan generation unit 45 in the automatic driving mode. That is, the throttle actuator, the shift actuator, the brake actuator, the steering actuator, etc. are controlled so that the vehicle 100 passes through the target point P every unit time.

More specifically, the traveling control unit 46 considers the traveling resistance determined by the road gradient and the like in the automatic driving mode, and calculates the required driving force for obtaining the target acceleration per unit time calculated by the action plan generating unit 45. Calculate Then, for example, the actuator 38 is feedback-controlled so that the actual acceleration detected by the internal sensor group 32 becomes the target acceleration. That is, actuator 38 is controlled so that vehicle 100 runs at the target vehicle speed and target acceleration. Note that in the manual operation mode, the travel control unit 46 controls each actuator 38 according to a travel command (accelerator opening, etc.) from the driver acquired by the internal sensor group 32 .

By the way, when an emergency vehicle 200 such as a patrol car (hereinafter referred to as a police car) makes an emergency run, information indicating the current position of the emergency vehicle 200 and the planned travel route is transmitted from the emergency vehicle 200 to surrounding vehicles. . Based on the information transmitted from the emergency vehicle 200, the vehicle 100 notifies the occupants of the vehicle 100 of the approach of the emergency vehicle 200 via a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an audio output device such as a speaker. Accordingly, the occupants of vehicle 100 recognize the approach of emergency vehicle 200 . An occupant of the vehicle 100 avoids the emergency vehicle 200 by moving the vehicle 100 to the edge of the road 301 or temporarily stopping. In addition, when the vehicle 100 is traveling in the automatic driving mode, the vehicle 100 avoids the emergency vehicle 200 based on the information transmitted from the emergency vehicle 200 .

However, depending on the type of emergency vehicle 200 and the situation during emergency travel, there are cases where it is not desirable to notify the occupants of surrounding vehicles of the approach of the emergency vehicle 200 . For example, when a police car chases a criminal who is escaping in a vehicle, if the criminal is notified of the current position of the police car and the planned travel route, the criminal may escape. In order to solve such problems, in this embodiment, the vehicle control system 10 is configured as follows.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle avoidance system 300 including the vehicle control system 10 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3 , the vehicle avoidance system 300 includes a vehicle control system 10 mounted on a vehicle 100 and an in-vehicle device 20 mounted on an emergency vehicle 200 . The vehicle control system 10 and the in-vehicle device 20 are connected to a communication network 30 and configured to communicate with each other via the communication network 30 . The communication network 30 includes a vehicle-to-vehicle communication network, a road-to-vehicle communication network, and the like. The communication network 30 may include a public wireless communication network represented by the Internet network, a mobile phone network, etc., and a closed communication network provided for each predetermined management area, such as a wireless LAN. 3 illustrates a single vehicle 100 and a single emergency vehicle 200, the vehicle avoidance system 300 includes a plurality of vehicle control systems 10 mounted on a plurality of vehicles 100 and a plurality of emergency vehicles 100; A plurality of in-vehicle devices 20 mounted on the emergency vehicle 200 may be provided.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of the vehicle notification device according to this embodiment. This vehicle notification device notifies the occupants of the vehicle 100 of the approach of the emergency vehicle 200, and constitutes a part of the vehicle control system 10 shown in FIG. Note that the vehicle avoidance system 300 including the vehicle control system 10 and the in-vehicle device 20 partly constituted by this vehicle notification device may be referred to as a vehicle notification system.

As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle notification device 50 includes a controller 40, a camera 31a connected to the controller 40, a microphone 31b, a manual/automatic changeover switch 32a, a display section 32b, a speaker 32c, and a positioning sensor. 34 and a navigation device 36 .

The controller 40 has an information receiving section 401, a determining section 402, a reporting section 403, an avoidance action planning section 404, and an information transmitting section 405 as functional configurations.

The information receiving unit 401 receives vehicle information including position information indicating the current position of the emergency vehicle 200 and speed information indicating the speed of the emergency vehicle 200 , which are transmitted from the emergency vehicle 200 via the communication unit 37 . The vehicle information may include vehicle type information indicating the type of the emergency vehicle 200 (for example, police car, fire truck, ambulance), emergency information indicating the purpose of emergency travel, etc., in addition to position information and speed information. The information transmission unit 405 transmits information indicating the current position of the vehicle 100 detected by the positioning sensor 34 and the speed of the vehicle 100 detected by the vehicle speed sensor to the in-vehicle device 20 via the communication unit 37 . Communication with the in-vehicle device 20 may be vehicle-to-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, or other communication.

Based on the position of the vehicle 100 recognized by the vehicle position recognition unit 43 and the position of the emergency vehicle 200 indicated by the position information acquired by the information reception unit 401, the determination unit 402 determines whether the emergency vehicle 200 is the vehicle 100. It is determined whether or not it is approaching to. Specifically, when the distance between the vehicle 100 and the emergency vehicle 200 is equal to or less than a preset first predetermined value, it is determined that the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching the vehicle 100 . Note that the determination unit 402 determines whether the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching the vehicle 100 based on the siren sound of the emergency vehicle 200 input to the microphone 31b (for example, a change in the frequency of the siren sound). You may

Upon receiving the notification disapproval command transmitted from the emergency vehicle 200 via the communication unit 37, the determination unit 402 determines whether or not to permit the notification by the notification unit 403 based on the notification disapproval command. The notification non-permission command is a command indicating that notification of the approach of emergency vehicle 200 and the position of emergency vehicle 200 to the crew is not permitted.

Note that the determination unit 402 determines the type of the emergency vehicle 200 and the purpose of the emergency run based on the vehicle information of the emergency vehicle 200 received by the information reception unit 401, and determines whether or not to permit the notification by the notification unit 403. may be determined. For example, the notification unit 403 may determine that notification by the notification unit 403 is not permitted when the emergency vehicle 200 is a police car and is chasing a criminal. Further, the determination unit 402 may recognize the type of the siren sound of the emergency vehicle 200 input to the microphone 31b and determine the type of the emergency vehicle 200 based on the type of the siren sound.

The notification unit 403 notifies the occupants of the vehicle 100 of the approaching information of the emergency vehicle 200 via the display unit 32b and the speaker 32c. The approach information includes approach notification information for notifying the approach of emergency vehicle 200 and position information of emergency vehicle 200 . Specifically, when the determination unit 402 determines that the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching the vehicle 100 and the determination unit 402 determines that notification of approach information is permitted, the notification unit 403 approach information to the display unit 32b and the speaker 32c. Note that the notification unit 403 may output approach information to either the display unit 32b or the speaker 32c.

On the other hand, when the distance between the vehicle 100 and the emergency vehicle 200 is equal to or less than a preset second predetermined value, the notification unit 403 notifies the approach information even if the determination unit 402 determines that notification of the approach information is not permitted. do. The second predetermined value is a value smaller than the first predetermined value. When the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching the vehicle 100, it is necessary for the vehicle 100 to avoid the emergency vehicle 200. Therefore, when the distance to the emergency vehicle 200 is equal to or less than the second predetermined value as described above, the determination Approach information is notified regardless of the determination result of the unit 402 . The first predetermined value is a sufficient distance (for example, 50 meters) to avoid the emergency vehicle 200, and the second predetermined value is such that the emergency vehicle 200 is prevented from traveling unless the vehicle 100 immediately takes an evasive action. distance (eg 5 meters).

Further, the determination unit 402 determines whether or not to permit the notification of the position information of the emergency vehicle 200 based on the notification non-permission command transmitted from the emergency vehicle. For example, when the notification disapproval command includes a command not to permit notification of the position information of the emergency vehicle 200 , the notification unit 403 notifies the approach notification information without notifying the position information of the emergency vehicle 200 .

Furthermore, when the vehicle 100 is traveling in the automatic driving mode, the notification unit 403 notifies the approach information of the emergency vehicle 200 even if the determination unit 402 determines that the notification of the approach information is not permitted.

When the determination unit 402 determines that the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching the vehicle 100 while the vehicle 100 is traveling in automatic operation, the avoidance action planning unit 404 causes the vehicle 100 to avoid the emergency vehicle 200. Generate 100 action plans. The avoidance action plan unit 404 constitutes, for example, a part of the action plan generation unit 45 in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of the in-vehicle device 20 of the emergency vehicle 200 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, an in-vehicle device (hereinafter also referred to as a notification command device) 20 includes a controller 80, an input/output device 71 electrically connected to the controller 80, a positioning sensor 72, and a map database 73. , a communication unit 74, and an actuator 75 for traveling.

The controller 80 is configured by an ECU. Although a plurality of ECUs having different functions, such as an engine control ECU and a transmission control ECU, can be provided separately, FIG. 5 shows a controller 80 as a set of these ECUs for the sake of convenience, as in FIG. The controller 80 includes a computer having an arithmetic unit 81 such as a CPU, a storage unit 82 such as a ROM, RAM, hard disk, etc., and other peripheral circuits (not shown). The storage unit 82 also stores information such as various control programs and threshold values used in the programs.

The computing unit 81 has an information receiving unit 83 and an information transmitting unit 84 as functional configurations. Information receiving portion 83 receives position information indicating the current position of vehicle 100 transmitted from vehicle 100 via communication unit 74 . The information transmission unit 84 transmits information indicating the position of the emergency vehicle 200 measured by the positioning sensor 72 and the speed of the emergency vehicle 200 detected by a vehicle speed sensor (not shown) to the vehicle 100 via the communication unit 74 . do. In addition, the information transmission section 84 transmits the notification disapproval command to the vehicle notification device 50 via the communication unit 74 . The communication with the vehicle 100 via the communication unit 74 may be vehicle-to-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, or other communication.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of processing executed by the CPU of the controller 40 of FIG. 4 according to a pre-stored program. The processing shown in this flowchart is started, for example, when the controller 40 is powered on, and is repeated at a predetermined cycle.

First, in step S11, based on the position of the vehicle 100 recognized by the own vehicle position recognition unit 43 and the position of the emergency vehicle 200 indicated by the position information acquired by the information reception unit 401, the vehicle 100 It is determined whether or not the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching. Specifically, when the distance between the vehicle 100 and the emergency vehicle 200 is equal to or less than the first predetermined value, it is determined that the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching the vehicle 100 . If the result of step S11 is NO, the process ends.

If the result in step S11 is affirmative, it is determined in step S12 whether or not the automatic operation mode has been selected by a manual/automatic changeover switch (not shown), that is, whether or not the automatic operation function is enabled. If the result in step S12 is affirmative, control for avoiding the emergency vehicle 200 (hereinafter referred to as avoidance control) is started in step S13. More specifically, an action plan is generated so that the vehicle 100 travels along a route that does not impede the passage of the emergency vehicle 200, and the actuator 38 is controlled based on the generated action plan. If the result in step S12 is NO, the process proceeds to step S14.

In step S<b>14 , it is determined whether or not a notification disapproval command has been received from the emergency vehicle 200 . If the result in step S14 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S17. If the result in step S14 is NO, it is determined in step S15 whether or not the automatic driving function is enabled. If the result in step S15 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S17. If the result in step S15 is NO, in step S16 it is determined whether or not the degree of approach of the emergency vehicle 200 to the vehicle 100 is greater than or equal to a predetermined level, that is, whether or not the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching the vehicle 100 as close as possible. do. More specifically, it is determined whether or not the distance between the vehicle 100 and the emergency vehicle 200 is equal to or less than the second predetermined value. If the result in step S16 is NO, the process is terminated.

If the result in step S15 is affirmative, the approach information of the emergency vehicle 200 is notified to the occupants of the vehicle 100 via the input/output device 33 in step S17. For example, character information indicating the approach of the emergency vehicle 200 is output to a display device such as a liquid crystal display. Also, for example, audio information indicating the approach of the emergency vehicle 200 is output to an audio output device such as a speaker. In step S18, the position information of the emergency vehicle 200 is displayed. More specifically, the position information of the emergency vehicle 200 is output to a display device such as a liquid crystal display together with the map information.

The operation of the vehicle notification device 50 according to this embodiment is summarized as follows. 7A to 7C are diagrams schematically showing how a police car 200, which is an emergency vehicle, is chasing a getaway vehicle 100x in which a criminal rides. Note that FIG. 7A shows a left-hand traffic, one-lane road, and the getaway vehicle 100x is traveling in the lane LN1. A vehicle 100a and a vehicle 100b are running behind the getaway vehicle 100x (left side in the figure), and a police car 200 is running behind them. A vehicle 100c is traveling in lane LN2, which is an oncoming lane. A line CL in the drawing represents a center line. It is assumed that escape vehicle 100x and vehicle 100a are running in manual operation mode, and vehicle 100b and vehicle 100c are running in automatic operation mode.

The patrol car 200 tracks the escape vehicle 100x while transmitting a notification disapproval command at a predetermined cycle so that the criminal riding in the escape vehicle 100x does not know the existence of the own vehicle. Therefore, in the getaway vehicle 100x and the vehicle 100a that are traveling in the manual operation mode, even if the approach of the police car 200 is detected (S11), the approach information of the police car 200 is not notified to the passengers until the police car 200 approaches ( S14→S15→S16). On the other hand, when the vehicle 100b and the vehicle 100c traveling in the automatic driving mode detect the approach of the police car 200 (S11), avoidance control of the police car 200 is started (S12→S13). As a result, the vehicles 100b and 100c start moving to the road shoulder (avoidance operation) to avoid the police car 200, as shown in FIG. 7A. A solid line arrow in the figure indicates that the vehicle is running, and a broken line arrow indicates that the vehicle has started an avoidance operation. Further, in the vehicles 100b and 100c, even if the notification non-permission command is received, the approach information of the police car 200 is notified to the passengers (S15→S17→S18).

FIG. 7B shows a state in which the distance between the police car 200 and the vehicle 100a traveling in the manual operation mode is equal to or less than the second predetermined value. In the vehicle 100a that is running in the manual operation mode, when the police car 200 approaches, the occupants are notified of the emergency vehicle approach information (S16→S17→S18). In this way, in the vehicle 100a that is traveling in the manual operation mode, the approach information is notified to the occupants when the patrol car 200 approaches even when the notification non-permission command is received. When the occupant of the vehicle 100a is notified of the approaching information, the occupant of the vehicle 100a avoids the police car 200 by performing driving operations such as accelerator operation, brake operation and steering. As a result, the course of the police car 200 is secured as shown in FIG. 7C.

In the getaway vehicle 100x, similarly, when the distance from the patrol car 200 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, approach information is notified to the crew (criminal). At that point, however, police car 200 is already close to getaway vehicle 100x as shown in FIG. 7C, so it can catch up with getaway vehicle 100x.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The vehicle notification device 50 notifies the occupants of the vehicle 100 that an emergency vehicle is approaching. The vehicle notification device 50 includes a positioning sensor 34 that detects the position of the vehicle 100, an information receiving unit 401 that acquires position information of the emergency vehicle 200, and the position detected by the positioning sensor 34 and the information acquired by the information receiving unit 401. a determination unit 402 that determines whether or not the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching the vehicle 100 based on position information; Further, the determination unit 402 determines whether or not to permit the notification by the notification unit 403 based on the command transmitted from the emergency vehicle 200 . When the determination unit 402 determines that the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching the vehicle 100 and the determination unit 402 determines that the notification of the approach information is permitted, the notification unit 403 notifies the emergency vehicle 200 approach information to the passenger. to be notified. On the other hand, if the determination unit 402 determines not to permit notification of approach information, the notification unit 403 does not report approach information even if the determination unit 402 determines that the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching.

As a result, the emergency vehicle 200 can prevent the occupants of surrounding vehicles from recognizing the approach and position of the emergency vehicle 200 . Therefore, when the emergency vehicle 200 chases the escaping criminal in the vehicle, it is possible to prevent the criminal from recognizing the approach and position of the emergency vehicle 200, and to suppress the criminal from escaping from the pursuit of the emergency vehicle 200.例文帳に追加can be done.

(2) The determination unit 402 further determines the type of emergency vehicle 200 . The notification unit 403 notifies the occupants of the approach information of the emergency vehicle 200 in different manners according to the type of the emergency vehicle 200 determined by the determination unit 402 . Specifically, when the determination unit 402 determines that the emergency vehicle 200 is a predetermined emergency vehicle, the notification unit 403 does not notify the passengers of the approaching information of the emergency vehicle 200 . As a result, when the emergency vehicle 200 is a predetermined emergency vehicle (for example, a police car), the occupants of vehicles around the emergency vehicle 200 are not notified of the approach and position of the emergency vehicle 200 . Therefore, for example, even if a police car approaches the vehicle of a criminal being pursued, the criminal being pursued will not know the approach or position of the police car.

(3) The notification unit 403 notifies approach information including approach notification information for notifying the approach of the emergency vehicle 200 and the position information of the emergency vehicle 200 acquired by the information reception unit 401 . Based on the command transmitted from the emergency vehicle 200, the determination unit 402 determines whether or not to permit the notification of the approach notification information by the notification unit 403, and whether to permit the notification of the position information of the emergency vehicle 200 by the notification unit 403. Determine whether or not. Further, when the determination unit 402 determines that the notification of the position information of the emergency vehicle 200 is not permitted, the notification unit 403 does not notify the position information of the emergency vehicle 200 . As a result, when the emergency vehicle 200 tracks a criminal who escapes in a vehicle, the vehicle of the criminal can be tracked while alerting the passengers of the surrounding vehicles of the approach.

(4) The determination unit 402 determines the distance between the vehicle 100 and the emergency vehicle 200 based on the position detected by the positioning sensor 34 and the position information acquired by the information reception unit 401 . Determination unit 402 determines that emergency vehicle 200 is approaching vehicle 100 when the distance between vehicle 100 and emergency vehicle 200 is equal to or less than a first predetermined value, and determines that vehicle 100 and emergency vehicle 200 are approaching. is less than or equal to a second predetermined value that is smaller than the first predetermined value, the approach information is notified even if the determination unit 402 determines that notification of the approach information is not permitted. In this way, even when notification of approach information is not permitted, the occupants of the vehicle 100 can be notified of the approach of the emergency vehicle 200 when the emergency vehicle 200 approaches the vehicle 100 very close. , the driving operation for avoiding the emergency vehicle 200 can be performed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the vehicle 100 from obstructing the passage of the emergency vehicle 200 . As a result, the emergency vehicle 200 can more smoothly approach the escaping vehicle while chasing the escaping criminal.

(5) It further includes an avoidance action plan section 404 (action plan generation section 45) that generates an action plan for the vehicle 100. FIG. The vehicle 100 is a vehicle having an automatic driving function that runs automatically according to the action plan generated by the action plan generation unit 45 . When the determination unit 402 determines that the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching while the vehicle 100 is traveling in automatic operation, the action plan generation unit 45 adjusts the behavior of the vehicle 100 so that the vehicle 100 avoids the emergency vehicle 200. Generate plans. As a result, when the emergency vehicle 200 approaches the vehicle 100 traveling in the automatic driving mode, the vehicle 100 avoids the emergency vehicle 200 even if the occupants of the vehicle 100 are not notified of the approach of the emergency vehicle 200. It becomes possible to

(6) The notification unit 403 notifies the approach information of the emergency vehicle 200 even if the determination unit 402 determines that the notification of the approach information is not permitted when the vehicle 100 is automatically driven. Even if the criminal's vehicle has an automatic driving function, it is assumed that he will set it to manual driving mode and drive himself while escaping, so it is judged that he is not escaping while driving in automatic driving mode. to permit notification of the approaching information of the emergency vehicle 200.

(7) The vehicle notification system 300 includes a vehicle notification device 50 and an in-vehicle device 20 that transmits a command to the vehicle notification device 50 to cause the vehicle notification device 50 to notify the approach of the emergency vehicle 200 (FIG. 3). , Fig. 4). As a result, the emergency vehicle 200 can prevent the passengers of surrounding vehicles from recognizing the approach and position of the emergency vehicle 200 during emergency travel. Therefore, when the emergency vehicle 200 pursues a criminal fleeing in the vehicle, it is possible to prevent the criminal from recognizing the approach of the emergency vehicle 200, and to prevent the criminal from escaping from the pursuit of the emergency vehicle 200. .

In the above embodiment, the information receiving unit 401 acquires the position information of the emergency vehicle 200 from the emergency vehicle 200 via the communication unit 37, but the configuration of the position information acquisition unit of the vehicle notification device is described above. Not limited to things. For example, the position information acquisition unit of the vehicle notification device may acquire the position information of the emergency vehicle 200 from the roadside unit of the road-to-vehicle communication system via the communication unit 37 .

Further, in the above embodiment, the determining unit 402 determines whether the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching the vehicle 100 based on the position of the vehicle 100 detected by the positioning sensor 34 and the position information acquired by the information receiving unit 401. However, the configuration of the approach determination section of the vehicle notification device is not limited to that described above. For example, the approach determination unit of the vehicle notification device determines whether or not the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching the vehicle 100 based on information received from the roadside unit of the road-to-vehicle communication system via the communication unit 37. may Further, in the above embodiment, the determination unit 402 determines whether or not to permit the notification by the notification unit 403 based on the notification disapproval command transmitted from the emergency vehicle 200, but the configuration of the notification determination unit is not limited to those mentioned above. For example, the notification determination unit allows notification by the notification unit 403 based on a notification permission command, which is transmitted from the emergency vehicle 200 and indicates permission to notify the crew of the approach of the emergency vehicle 200 and the position of the emergency vehicle 200. It may be determined whether or not to permit. More specifically, the notification determination unit determines whether or not a notification permission command has been received, and when the notification permission command has been received, permits notification by the notification unit 403, and when the notification permission command has been received. When not, notification by the notification unit 403 may not be permitted.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the determination unit 402 determines the type of the emergency vehicle 200, but the configuration of the type determination unit is not limited to that described above. For example, the type determination unit may determine the type of the emergency vehicle 200 based on the image captured by the camera 31a.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the vehicle notification device 50 is applied to the vehicle control system of the automatically driven vehicle, but the vehicle notification device 50 can also be applied to vehicles other than the automatically driven vehicle. For example, the vehicle notification device 50 can also be applied to a manually operated vehicle equipped with ADAS (Advanced driver-assistance systems).

By the way, the emergency vehicle 200 or the passengers of the emergency vehicle 200 may request the vehicles around the emergency vehicle 200 to take an evasive action by voice through a speaker or the like. On the other hand, when the emergency vehicle 200 is detected while traveling in the automatic driving mode, the vehicle 100 may be configured to control the traveling behavior of the own vehicle so as to follow the avoidance behavior of the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle. .

At this time, if the avoidance action requested by the emergency vehicle 200 or the occupant of the emergency vehicle 200 by voice differs from the avoidance action of the preceding vehicle or the following vehicle, the vehicle 100 may not be able to avoid the emergency vehicle 200 appropriately. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the vehicle control system 10 is configured so that the controller 40 (calculation unit 41) performs the following processing when the emergency vehicle 200 or the occupant of the emergency vehicle 200 requests an evasive action by voice. do.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of the vehicle control device according to this embodiment. This vehicle control device controls the traveling operation of the vehicle 100 to avoid the emergency vehicle 200, and constitutes a part of the vehicle control system 10 of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 8, the vehicle control device 60 includes a controller 40, a camera 31a connected to the controller 40, a microphone 31b, a manual/automatic changeover switch 32a, a display section 32b, a speaker 32c, and a positioning sensor. 34 and a navigation device 36 .

The controller 40 has an information reception unit 411, a voice recognition unit 412, a surrounding situation detection unit 413, a determination unit 414, an avoidance action planning unit 415, and an information transmission unit 416 as functional configurations.

The information receiving unit 411 receives position information indicating the current position of the emergency vehicle 200 and speed information indicating the speed of the emergency vehicle 200 , which are transmitted from the emergency vehicle 200 via the communication unit 37 . Information receiving unit 411 also receives commands transmitted from emergency vehicle 200 . The information transmission unit 416 transmits position information indicating the current position of the vehicle 100 and information indicating the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 detected by the vehicle speed sensor of the internal sensor group 32 to the in-vehicle device of the emergency vehicle 200 via the communication unit 37. 20. Communication with the emergency vehicle 200 may be vehicle-to-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, or other communication.

The voice recognition unit 412 recognizes information included in voice input to the microphone 31b. Specifically, information contained in an external speaker (not shown) of the emergency vehicle 200 and voices uttered to the surrounding vehicles by a passenger on board the emergency vehicle 200 (hereinafter referred to as notification information) is recognized. The speech recognition unit 412 constitutes, for example, a part of the external world recognition unit 44 in FIG.

Surrounding condition detection unit 413 detects the surrounding condition of vehicle 100 . More specifically, the surrounding situation detection unit 413 detects the movement of vehicles surrounding the vehicle 100 . The speech recognition unit 412 constitutes, for example, a part of the external world recognition unit 44 in FIG.

The determination unit 414 determines whether the vehicle 100 is within a predetermined range from the intersection based on the map information stored in the map database 35 and the position of the vehicle 100 recognized by the vehicle position recognition unit 43. . Further, the determination unit 414 determines whether or not the emergency vehicle 200 will enter the intersection based on the voice input from the microphone 31b. More specifically, when the voice recognition unit 412 recognizes that the notification information from the emergency vehicle 200 includes information notifying that the emergency vehicle 200 is entering the intersection, the determination unit 414 determines that the emergency vehicle 200 is entering the intersection. Decide to enter. The information for notifying entry into an intersection is information for notifying the behavior of the emergency vehicle 200 near or within the intersection, such as "entering the intersection" or "turning right at the intersection".

The avoidance action planning unit 415 generates an action plan according to the avoidance command. More specifically, when the voice recognition unit 412 recognizes that the notification information includes an avoidance command, the avoidance action planning unit 415 generates an action plan according to the avoidance command. The avoidance action plan section 415 constitutes, for example, a part of the action plan generation section 45 in FIG.

When the determination unit 414 determines that the vehicle 100 is within a predetermined range from the intersection and the determination unit 414 determines that the emergency vehicle 200 enters the intersection, the avoidance action planning unit 415 stops the vehicle 100. Generate an action plan to

Note that, when an avoidance command is included in the command from the emergency vehicle 200 received by the information receiving unit 411, the avoidance action planning unit 415 may generate an action plan according to the avoidance command.

FIG. 9 shows the processing executed by the CPU of the controller 40 in FIG. 8 according to a pre-stored program, especially when an avoidance command from the emergency vehicle 200 or an occupant of the emergency vehicle 200 is received in the notification information recognized by the voice recognition unit 412. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of processing executed when included. The process shown in this flowchart is started, for example, when the vehicle control device 60 is powered on, and is repeated at a predetermined cycle.

First, in step S21, based on the position of the vehicle 100 recognized by the vehicle position recognition unit 43 and the position of the emergency vehicle 200 indicated by the position information acquired by the information reception unit 401, the vehicle 100 It is determined whether or not the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching. Specifically, when the distance between the vehicle 100 and the emergency vehicle 200 is equal to or less than the first predetermined value, it is determined that the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching the vehicle 100 . If the result in step S21 is NO, the process ends.

If step S21 is affirmative, the movement of vehicles around the vehicle 100 is detected in step S22. In step S23, it is determined whether or not notification information from the emergency vehicle 200 has been recognized. If the result in step S23 is NO, the process proceeds to step S29. In step S29, an action plan is generated so that the vehicle 100 travels following the avoidance action of the surrounding vehicle, and the actuator 38 is controlled based on the generated action plan.

On the other hand, if the result in step S23 is affirmative, it is determined in step S24 whether or not the notification information includes an avoidance command. If the result in step S24 is NO, the process proceeds to step S29. If the result in step S24 is affirmative, it is determined in step S25 whether or not the motion of the vehicle surrounding the vehicle 100 detected in step S22 differs from the motion corresponding to the avoidance command. If the result in step S25 is NO, the process proceeds to step S29. In addition, when the movement of the surrounding vehicle of the vehicle 100 is not detected in step S22 because there is no other vehicle around the vehicle 100, the process may proceed to step S26.

If the result in step S25 is YES, it is determined in step S26 whether or not the degree of approach of the emergency vehicle 200 to the vehicle 100 is greater than or equal to a predetermined level, that is, whether or not the emergency vehicle 200 has come close to the vehicle 100. do. More specifically, it is determined whether or not the distance to the emergency vehicle 200 is equal to or less than the second predetermined value. If the result in step S26 is NO, the process proceeds to step S29. When the emergency vehicle 200 is not in the vicinity of the vehicle 100, there is no need to follow the avoidance command from the emergency vehicle 200, so the vehicle 100 follows the avoidance operation of the surrounding vehicles until the distance from the emergency vehicle 200 becomes equal to or less than the second predetermined value. The running is controlled like this.

If the result in step S26 is NO, the process proceeds to step S29. If the result in step S26 is affirmative, it is determined in step S27 whether or not the state in which the movement of the surrounding vehicle of the vehicle 100 differs from the movement corresponding to the avoidance command continues for a certain period of time. For example, using the time counter stored in the storage unit 42, it is determined whether or not a state in which the movement of the surrounding vehicle differs from the movement corresponding to the avoidance command has continued for a certain period of time. The clock counter is set to 0, for example, when the power of the vehicle control device 60 is turned on, and is incremented when the result of step S25 is affirmative. In step S27, when the time counter has reached a predetermined count value, it is determined that the state in which the movement of the surrounding vehicle differs from the movement corresponding to the avoidance command has continued for a certain period of time. At that time, the clock counter is reset to zero. If the result in step S27 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S29. If the result in step S27 is NO, in step S28 an action plan is generated so that the vehicle 100 performs a running action (avoidance action) corresponding to the avoidance command, and the actuator 38 is controlled based on the action plan thus generated.

The operation of the vehicle control device 60 according to this embodiment is summarized as follows. FIGS. 10A to 10D show an emergency vehicle 200 traveling on a one-lane road with left-hand traffic. 10A to 10C, it is assumed that the occupant of the emergency vehicle 200 issues an audible avoidance command to surrounding vehicles via a loudspeaker or an external speaker (not shown) of the emergency vehicle 200. FIG. The avoidance command is a command that prompts surrounding vehicles to take an avoidance action, such as "Please pull the vehicle to the left and stop."

As shown in FIG. 10A, vehicles 100a, 100b, and 100c are traveling in front of emergency vehicle 200 (to the right in the figure) on lane LN1. It is also assumed that the vehicles 100b and 100c are running in manual operation mode, and the vehicle 100a is running in automatic operation mode. In FIG. 10B, when the drivers of the vehicle 100b and the vehicle 100c running in the manual operation mode recognize the avoidance command by voice from the emergency vehicle 200, for example, the command "Please move the vehicle to the left and stop", Start the driving operation according to the command. On the other hand, the vehicle 100a traveling in the automatic driving mode determines that the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching because the distance between the vehicle 100 and the emergency vehicle 200 is equal to or less than the first predetermined value (Pd1) (S21). In addition, since the movement of the vehicle 100a corresponding to the avoidance command by the voice from the emergency vehicle 200 corresponds to the avoidance operation of the vehicles 100b and 100c, the vehicle 100a performs the avoidance operation so as to follow the vehicles 100b and 100c. (S25→S29).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10C, when the construction area CA exists in the oncoming lane LN2, even if the vehicle 100a follows the surrounding vehicles and stops on the left side of the road, there is an urgent need to move between the vehicle 100a and the construction area CA. Vehicle 200 may not be able to pass. In such a case, in order for the emergency vehicle 200 to travel along the roadside strip of lane LN1 (route RT in the figure), the emergency vehicle 200 tells the vehicle 100a, "Please move the vehicle to the center of the road and stop." Evacuation orders may be issued. In this way, when a nearby emergency vehicle 200 instructs an action different from the avoidance action of a surrounding vehicle, the vehicle 100a avoids the emergency vehicle 200 according to the avoidance command from the emergency vehicle 200 (S26→S28). However, when a state in which the movement of the surrounding vehicle differs from the movement corresponding to the avoidance command continues for a certain period of time, it is assumed that the movement of the surrounding vehicle is a more appropriate avoidance action. (S26->S27->S29).

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Vehicle control device 60 controls vehicle 100 so that the vehicle travels according to a predetermined action plan. The vehicle control device 60 receives a microphone 31b that receives a voice uttered by the emergency vehicle 200 or an occupant on board the emergency vehicle 200 toward a surrounding vehicle, and the notification information for the surrounding vehicle that is included in the voice input by the microphone 31b. and an avoidance action planning unit 415 (action plan generation 45). Thus, when the emergency vehicle 200 or an occupant of the emergency vehicle 200 issues a voice avoidance command, the vehicle 100 can appropriately avoid the emergency vehicle 200 according to the avoidance command.

(2) The vehicle control device 60 includes a positioning sensor 34 that detects the position of the vehicle 100, an information receiving unit 411 that acquires position information of the emergency vehicle 200, and the position and information of the vehicle 100 detected by the positioning sensor 34. A determination unit 414 that determines whether or not the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching the vehicle 100 based on the location information of the emergency vehicle 200 acquired by the unit 411 . When the voice recognition unit 412 recognizes that an avoidance command is included in the notification information and the determination unit 414 determines that the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching the vehicle 100, the action plan generation unit 45 performs an avoidance command. An action plan for the vehicle 100 is generated according to the command. There is a high possibility that an avoidance command from an emergency vehicle 200 that is at least a predetermined distance away from the vehicle 100 is not an avoidance command for the vehicle 100 . Therefore, by following the avoidance command from the emergency vehicle 200 approaching the vehicle 100 as described above, it is possible to suppress the avoidance operation in response to an unnecessary avoidance command.

(3) The vehicle control device 60 further includes a peripheral situation detection section 413 that detects the peripheral situation of the vehicle 100 . When the voice recognition unit 412 recognizes that the notification information includes an avoidance command, the action plan generation unit 45 determines the behavior of the vehicle 100 according to the surrounding situation detected by the surrounding situation detection unit 413 and the avoidance command. Generate plans. As a result, the emergency vehicle 200 can be avoided more appropriately because the avoidance operation is performed in consideration of not only the avoidance command by the voice from the emergency vehicle 200 but also the surrounding situation such as the movement of the surrounding vehicles.

(4) The surrounding situation detection unit 413 detects the movement of vehicles surrounding the vehicle 100 . The action plan generation unit 45 detects by the surrounding situation detection unit 413 when a state in which the movement of the surrounding vehicle detected by the surrounding situation detection unit 413 differs from the movement corresponding to the avoidance command included in the notification information continues for a predetermined time or longer. An action plan is generated based on the movement of surrounding vehicles.

For example, when traffic congestion or a traffic accident occurs in front of the vehicle ahead of the vehicle 100, when the emergency vehicle 200 approaches from behind the vehicle 100, the vehicle ahead receives an avoidance command from the emergency vehicle 200. However, there is a possibility that the avoidance order cannot be immediately responded to. This is because, in such a case, the preceding vehicle prioritizes operation according to road conditions such as traffic congestion and traffic accidents over operation according to the avoidance command from the emergency vehicle 200 . Therefore, in such a case, as described above, vehicle control device 60 controls the traveling operation of vehicle 100 so as to follow the movement of the preceding vehicle. As a result, the vehicle 100 can perform more appropriate avoidance actions while considering road conditions such as traffic congestion and traffic accidents.

(5) The vehicle 100 is a vehicle having an automatic driving function that runs automatically according to the action plan generated by the action plan generation unit 45 . The vehicle control device 60 determines whether or not the vehicle 100 is within a predetermined range from the intersection based on the storage unit 42 that stores road map information and the position of the vehicle 100 detected by the map information and the positioning sensor 34. In addition, it further includes a determination unit 414 that determines whether or not the emergency vehicle 200 will enter the intersection based on the voice input by the microphone 31b. When the determination unit 414 determines that the vehicle 100 is within a predetermined range from the intersection and the determination unit 414 determines that the emergency vehicle 200 will enter the intersection, the action plan generation unit 45 stops the vehicle 100. to generate an action plan. At this time, the determination unit 414 determines that the emergency vehicle 200 will enter the intersection when the voice recognition unit 412 recognizes that the notification information includes information notifying that the emergency vehicle 200 will enter the intersection. As a result, it is possible to prevent the vehicle 100 from entering an intersection where the emergency vehicle 200 is entering, and the emergency vehicle 200 can smoothly pass through the intersection.

(6) The vehicle control device 60 further includes an information receiving section 411 that receives a command transmitted from the emergency vehicle 200, and the action plan generating section 45 responds to the command from the emergency vehicle 200 received by the information receiving section 411. Generate an action plan according to the included avoidance directives. As a result, it is possible to appropriately avoid the emergency vehicle 200 according to the avoidance command through communication such as inter-vehicle communication.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the microphone 31b is adapted to input the voice emitted from the emergency vehicle 200 or the occupant on board the emergency vehicle 200 to the surrounding vehicles, but the configuration of the input unit is not limited to the above. . Further, in the above-described embodiment, the positioning sensor 34 detects the position of the vehicle 100, but the configuration of the position detection section is not limited to that described above. Further, in the above embodiment, the storage unit 42 stores highly accurate map information, but the map database 35 may store highly accurate map information as the map information storage unit.

Further, in the above embodiment, the information receiving unit 411 acquires the position information of the emergency vehicle 200 from the emergency vehicle 200 via the communication unit 37, but the configuration of the position information acquisition unit of the vehicle control device is described above. Not limited to things. For example, the position information acquisition unit of the vehicle control device may acquire the position information of the emergency vehicle 200 from the roadside unit of the road-to-vehicle communication system via the communication unit 37 . In the above-described embodiment, the information receiving unit 411 receives commands such as avoidance commands transmitted from the emergency vehicle 200, but the configuration of the command receiving unit is not limited to that described above. For example, the command receiving unit may receive a command such as an avoidance command from the roadside unit of the road-to-vehicle communication system via the communication unit 37 .

Further, in the above embodiment, the determination unit 414 determines whether or not the vehicle 100 is within a predetermined range from the intersection based on the map information and the position of the vehicle 100 detected by the positioning sensor 34. The configuration of the position determination unit is not limited to that described above. For example, the position determination unit may determine whether the vehicle 100 is within a predetermined range from the intersection based on information received from the roadside unit of the road-to-vehicle communication system. In the above embodiment, the determination unit 414 determines whether or not the emergency vehicle 200 will enter the intersection based on the voice input from the microphone 31b. is not limited to For example, the entry determination unit may determine whether the emergency vehicle 200 is entering the intersection based on the siren sound of the emergency vehicle 200 input to the microphone 31b (for example, a change in frequency of the siren sound). . Further, for example, the entry determination unit may determine whether or not the emergency vehicle 200 will enter the intersection based on information received from the roadside unit of the road-to-vehicle communication system.

Further, in the above embodiment, the determination unit 414 determines whether or not the emergency vehicle 200 is approaching the vehicle 100 based on the position of the vehicle 100 and the position information of the emergency vehicle 200. The configuration of the proximity determination unit of the device is not limited to that described above. For example, as shown in FIG. 10D, the approach determination unit of the vehicle control device determines that the vehicle 100 traveling on the lane LN2 is approaching the emergency vehicle 200 traveling on the lane LN1. When the median strip MS is provided in between, the vehicle 100 does not need to avoid the emergency vehicle 200. - 特許庁Therefore, based on the position of vehicle 100, the position information of emergency vehicle 200, and the map information stored in storage unit 42, the approach determination unit determines the distance between the lane in which vehicle 100 travels and the lane in which emergency vehicle 200 travels. You may determine whether a median strip exists in. Then, when the median strip exists, the approach determination unit may determine that the emergency vehicle 200 is not approaching the vehicle 100 regardless of the distance between the vehicle 100 and the emergency vehicle 200. . The approach determination unit determines whether or not there is a structure blocking the movement of the vehicle between the lane in which the vehicle 100 travels and the lane in which the emergency vehicle 200 travels, regardless of the presence or absence of the median strip. may Then, when such a structure exists, the approach determination unit determines that the emergency vehicle 200 is not approaching the vehicle 100 regardless of the distance between the vehicle 100 and the emergency vehicle 200. good too.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the vehicle control device 60 is applied to the vehicle control system of the automatically driven vehicle, but the vehicle control device 60 can also be applied to vehicles other than the automatically driven vehicle. For example, the vehicle control device 60 can also be applied to a manually operated vehicle equipped with ADAS.

The above description is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited by the above-described embodiments and modifications as long as the features of the present invention are not impaired. It is also possible to arbitrarily combine one or more of the above-described embodiment and modifications, and it is also possible to combine modifications with each other.

10 vehicle control system 40 controller 41 calculation unit 42 storage unit 60 vehicle control device 100 vehicle 200 emergency vehicle 411 information reception unit 412 voice recognition unit 413 surrounding situation detection unit 414 determination unit 415 avoidance Action Planning Department, 416 Information Transmission Department

Claims (5)

A vehicle control device that controls the vehicle so that the vehicle travels according to a predetermined action plan,
a peripheral situation detection unit that detects a peripheral situation of the vehicle;
an input unit for inputting a voice uttered by an emergency vehicle or an occupant boarding the emergency vehicle to a surrounding vehicle;
a voice recognition unit that recognizes notification information for surrounding vehicles included in the voice input by the input unit;
An action of generating the action plan according to the surrounding situation detected by the surrounding situation detection unit and the avoidance command included in the report information when the voice recognition unit recognizes that the report information includes the avoidance command. a plan generator ;
The surrounding situation detection unit detects movement of vehicles surrounding the vehicle,
The action plan generation unit detects by the surrounding situation detection unit when the movement of the surrounding vehicle detected by the surrounding situation detection unit differs from the movement corresponding to the avoidance command included in the notification information for a predetermined time or longer. and generating the action plan based on the motion of the surrounding vehicle . In the vehicle control device according to claim 1,
a position detection unit that detects the position of the vehicle;
A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the emergency vehicle;
an approach determination unit that determines whether or not the emergency vehicle is approaching the vehicle based on the position detected by the position detection unit and the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit; further prepared,
When the action plan generation unit recognizes that the notification information includes an avoidance command by the voice recognition unit and the approach determination unit determines that the emergency vehicle is approaching the vehicle, A vehicle control device, wherein the action plan is generated according to the surrounding situation detected by the surrounding situation detection unit and the avoidance command included in the notification information. In the vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The vehicle is a vehicle having an automatic driving function that runs automatically according to the action plan generated by the action plan generation unit,
a map information storage unit that stores road map information;
a position determination unit that determines whether the vehicle is within a predetermined range from an intersection based on the map information;
an entry determination unit that determines whether the emergency vehicle will enter an intersection based on the voice input by the input unit;
When the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is within a predetermined range from the intersection and the entry determination unit determines that the emergency vehicle will enter the intersection, the action plan generation unit moves the vehicle. A vehicle control device that generates the action plan to stop the vehicle. In the vehicle control device according to claim 3 ,
The entry determination unit determines that the emergency vehicle will enter the intersection when the voice recognition unit recognizes that the notification information includes information for notifying that the emergency vehicle will enter the intersection. Vehicle controller. In the vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
Further comprising a command receiving unit that receives a command transmitted from the emergency vehicle,
The vehicle control device, wherein the action plan generating section generates the action plan according to an avoidance command included in the command received by the command receiving section.

Images