JP7432423B2 - Management devices, management methods, and programs - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a management device, a management method, and a program.

Conventionally, the current position of a vehicle when it is parked is detected, and based on the detected position and map data, it is determined whether the current position is on the road or not, and if the current position is on the road, the optimal route to the parking lot is determined. A navigation device that searches and guides a vehicle occupant has been disclosed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-232646 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-8612

However, with the above conventional technology, if the map data does not store information regarding the location or area of the parking lot, it may not be possible to accurately determine whether the vehicle is parked on the road or in the parking lot. there were.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and one of its objects is to provide a management device, a management method, and a program that can more accurately estimate the parking position of a vehicle.

A management device, a management method, and a program according to the present invention employ the following configuration.
(1): A management device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a specifying unit that specifies a road link based on the parking position of the vehicle when the vehicle is in a parked state, and a management device that corresponds to the road link specified by the specifying unit. an acquisition unit that acquires a first angular difference that is the difference between the running direction of the road and the forward direction of the vehicle; The management device includes an attribute estimation unit that estimates attributes of a parking position.

(2): In the aspect of (1) above, the attribute estimation unit determines the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle based on whether the first angle difference acquired by the acquisition unit is larger than a first threshold. It is something to judge.

(3): In the aspect of (2) above, the attribute estimating unit estimates that the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle is a parking lot when the first angular difference is larger than the first threshold; When the first angle difference is less than or equal to the first threshold value, it is estimated that the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle is on the road.

(4): In the aspect of (2) or (3) above, the acquisition unit may detect the forward direction of the vehicle when the vehicle travels on the road associated with the road link, and the travel direction of the vehicle on the road link. A second angular difference, which is an angular difference with respect to the direction, is acquired, and the attribute estimation unit estimates an attribute of the parking position of the vehicle based on whether the second angular difference is larger than a second threshold. It is something.

(5): In the aspect of (4) above, when the first angular difference is less than or equal to the first threshold, the attribute estimation unit determines whether the second angular difference is greater than the second threshold. Based on this, the attributes of the parking position of the vehicle are estimated.

(6): In the aspect of (5) above, the second threshold is a larger angle than the first threshold.

(7): In the management method according to one aspect of the present invention, the computer identifies a road link based on the parking position of the vehicle when the vehicle is parked, and the road link associated with the identified road link. A management method comprising: acquiring a first angular difference that is a difference in angle between a traveling direction of the vehicle and a forward direction of the vehicle; and estimating an attribute of a parking position of the vehicle based on the acquired first angular difference. be.

(8): The program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a computer to specify a road link based on the parking position of the vehicle when the vehicle is in a parked state, and causes the computer to specify a road link that is associated with the specified road link. A program that causes the program to acquire a first angular difference that is a difference in angle between a traveling direction of the vehicle and a forward direction of the vehicle, and to estimate an attribute of a parking position of the vehicle based on the acquired first angular difference. be.

According to the aspects (1) to (8) above, the parking position of the vehicle can be estimated with higher accuracy.

1 is a configuration diagram of a management system 1 including a management device 300 according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle system VS mounted on a vehicle M according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a management device 300 according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining estimation of attributes of a parking position of a vehicle M in a first estimation pattern. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining estimation of the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle M in a second estimation pattern. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a case where the attribute of the parking position of vehicle M is on the road. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of processing executed by the management device 300. FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a management device, a management method, and a program of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a management system 1 including a management device 300 according to an embodiment. The management system 1 includes, for example, one or more vehicles M and a management device 300. One or more vehicles M and the management device 300 can communicate with each other via the network NW, for example. The network NW is, for example, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth (registered trademark), the Internet, a WAN (Wide Area Network), a LAN (Local Area Network), a public line, a provider device, a dedicated line, a wireless base station, etc. including. Since the same configuration can be applied to each of the one or more vehicles M, if the one or more vehicles M are not distinguished from each other, they will be simply referred to as "vehicles M" in the description. Further, in the following description, one direction in the horizontal direction is referred to as X, the other direction is referred to as Y, and the vertical direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction of XY is referred to as Z.

The vehicle M of the embodiment is, for example, an automatic driving vehicle. Automated driving means, for example, controlling one or both of the steering and acceleration/deceleration of a vehicle to perform driving control. The above-described driving control includes, for example, driving support control such as LKAS (Lane Keeping Assistance System), ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control System), and CMBS (Collision Mitigation Brake System). The vehicle M is, for example, a two-wheeled, three-wheeled, or four-wheeled vehicle, and its driving source is an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or a gasoline engine, an electric motor, or a combination thereof. The electric motor operates using electric power generated by a generator connected to an internal combustion engine, or electric power discharged from a secondary battery or a fuel cell. Vehicle M also acquires probe data and transmits the acquired probe data to management device 300 via network NW. The probe data includes, for example, position information of the vehicle M, vehicle speed information, information regarding the direction of the vehicle M, and date and time information.

The management device 300 receives probe data transmitted from each of one or more vehicles M, and manages the parking position etc. of each vehicle M based on the received probe data. Management of the parking position and the like includes, for example, estimating whether the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle M is in a parking lot or on the street.

[vehicle]
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the vehicle system VS mounted on the vehicle M according to the embodiment. The vehicle system VS includes, for example, a camera (an example of an imaging unit) 10, a radar device 12, a finder 14, an object recognition device 16, a communication device 20, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 30, and a vehicle sensor 40. , a navigation device 50, an MPU (Map Positioning Unit) 60, a driving operator 80, an automatic driving control device 100, a driving force output device 200, a brake device 210, and a steering device 220. These devices and devices are connected to each other via multiplex communication lines such as CAN (Controller Area Network) communication lines, serial communication lines, wireless communication networks, and the like. Note that the configuration shown in FIG. 2 is just an example, and a part of the configuration may be omitted, or another configuration may be added.

The camera 10 is, for example, a digital camera that uses a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). Camera 10 is attached to any location on vehicle M. For example, when capturing an image of the front of the vehicle M, the camera 10 is attached to the top of the front windshield, the back surface of the room mirror, or the like. Furthermore, when capturing an image of the rear of the vehicle M, the camera 10 is attached to the upper part of the rear windshield or the like. Further, when capturing an image of the right side or the left side of the vehicle M, the camera 10 is attached to the vehicle body, the right side or left side of a door mirror, or the like. For example, the camera 10 periodically and repeatedly images the surroundings of the vehicle M. Camera 10 may be a stereo camera.

The radar device 12 emits radio waves such as millimeter waves around the vehicle M, and detects radio waves (reflected waves) reflected by an object to detect at least the position (distance and direction) of the object. The radar device 12 is attached to an arbitrary location on the vehicle M. The radar device 12 may detect the position and velocity of an object using an FM-CW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) method.

The finder 14 is LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). The finder 14 irradiates light around the vehicle M and measures scattered light. The finder 14 detects the distance to the target based on the time from light emission to light reception. The irradiated light is, for example, pulsed laser light. The finder 14 is attached to any location on the vehicle M.

The object recognition device 16 performs sensor fusion processing on detection results from some or all of the camera 10, radar device 12, and finder 14 to recognize the position, type, speed, etc. of the object. The object recognition device 16 outputs the recognition result to the automatic driving control device 100. The object recognition device 16 may output the detection results of the camera 10, radar device 12, and finder 14 as they are to the automatic driving control device 100. The object recognition device 16 may be omitted from the vehicle system VS.

The communication device 20 communicates with the management device 300 and other various server devices via a network NW such as, for example, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth, DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), or a wireless base station.

The HMI 30 presents various information to the occupants of the vehicle M (including the driver) and accepts input operations from the occupants. The HMI 30 includes, for example, various display devices, speakers, buzzers, touch panels, switches, keys, and the like.

Vehicle sensor 40 detects information regarding the behavior of vehicle M and the state of onboard equipment. Vehicle sensor 40 includes, for example, a position sensor 42, a vehicle speed sensor 44, and a direction sensor 46. The position sensor 42 detects position information (longitude/latitude information) of the vehicle M from, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) device. Further, the position sensor 42 may detect position information using a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 51 of a navigation device 50, which will be described later. Further, the vehicle speed sensor 44 detects the speed of the vehicle M. Further, the vehicle speed sensor 44 may detect the acceleration of the vehicle M. The direction sensor 46 detects the forward direction of the vehicle M, for example. For example, the direction sensor 46 may detect the forward direction of the vehicle M using a direction sensor. Further, the direction sensor 46 may detect the forward direction of the vehicle M with respect to the direction in which the road extends, using a steering sensor, based on the direction and magnitude of a steering angle in a steering device (an example of a steering device). Further, the direction sensor 46 may detect the yaw rate (rotational angular velocity) of the vehicle M around the vertical axis using a yaw rate sensor, and may detect the forward direction of the vehicle M using the detected yaw rate. Further, the direction sensor 46 may detect the forward direction of the vehicle M by combining a plurality of the above-mentioned methods. Various information detected by the vehicle sensor 40 is output to the automatic driving control device 100.

The navigation device 50 includes, for example, a GNSS receiver 51, a navigation HMI 52, and a route determining unit 53. The navigation device 50 holds first map information 54 in a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory. GNSS receiver 51 identifies the position of vehicle M based on signals received from GNSS satellites. The position of the vehicle M may be specified or complemented by an INS (Inertial Navigation System) using the output of the vehicle sensor 40. The navigation HMI 52 includes a display device, a speaker, a touch panel, keys, and the like. The navigation HMI 52 may be partially or completely shared with the aforementioned HMI 30. For example, the route determining unit 53 determines a route (hereinafter referred to as a map) from the position of the vehicle M specified by the GNSS receiver 51 (or any input position) to the destination input by the occupant using the navigation HMI 52. upper route) is determined with reference to the first map information 54. The first map information 54 is, for example, information in which a road shape is expressed by links indicating roads (hereinafter referred to as road links) and nodes connected by the road links. The first map information 54 may include road curvature, POI (Point Of Interest) information, and the like. The route on the map is output to the MPU 60. The navigation device 50 may provide route guidance using the navigation HMI 52 based on the route on the map. Further, the navigation device 50 may perform route guidance acquired from the management device 300. The navigation device 50 may be realized, for example, by the functions of a terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal owned by a passenger. The navigation device 50 may transmit the current position and destination to the management device 300 or the navigation server via the communication device 20, and obtain a route equivalent to the route on the map from the management device 300 or the navigation server.

The MPU 60 includes, for example, a recommended lane determining section 61, and holds second map information 62 in a storage device such as an HDD or a flash memory. The recommended lane determining unit 61 divides the route on the map provided by the navigation device 50 into a plurality of blocks (for example, divided into blocks of 100 [m] in the direction of vehicle travel), and refers to the second map information 62. Determine recommended lanes for each block. The recommended lane determining unit 61 determines which lane from the left the vehicle should drive. When there is a branch point on the route on the map, the recommended lane determining unit 61 determines a recommended lane so that the vehicle M can travel on a reasonable route to the branch destination.

The second map information 62 is map information with higher accuracy than the first map information 54. The second map information 62 includes, for example, information on the center of the lane or information on the boundary between the lanes. Further, the second map information 62 may include road information, traffic regulation information, address information (address/zip code), facility information, telephone number information, and the like. The second map information 62 may be updated at any time by the communication device 20 communicating with other devices.

The driving controls 80 include, for example, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a shift lever, a steering wheel, a modified steering wheel, a joystick, and other controls. A sensor is attached to the driving operator 80 to detect the amount of operation or the presence or absence of the operation, and the detection result is sent to the automatic driving control device 100, the driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device. 220 is output to some or all of them.

The automatic driving control device 100 includes, for example, a first control section 120, a second control section 160, an information providing section 180, and a storage section 190. The first control unit 120, the second control unit 160, and the information providing unit 180 are each realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program (software). In addition, some or all of these components are hardware (circuits) such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), and GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). (including circuitry), or may be realized by collaboration between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as the HDD or flash memory (storage device equipped with a non-transitory storage medium) of the automatic driving control device 100, or may be stored in a removable device such as a DVD or CD-ROM. The information may be stored in a storage medium, and may be installed in the HDD or flash memory of the automatic driving control device 100 by attaching the storage medium (non-transitory storage medium) to a drive device.

The storage unit 190 may be realized by, for example, the various storage devices described above, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), or the like. The storage unit 190 stores, for example, temporarily stored probe data, programs, and other various information. Further, the first map information 54 and the second map information 62 may be stored in the storage unit 190.

The first control unit 120 includes, for example, a recognition unit 130 and an action plan generation unit 140. The first control unit 120 realizes, for example, a function based on AI (Artificial Intelligence) and a function based on a model given in advance in parallel. For example, in the "recognize intersections" function, intersection recognition using deep learning, etc., and recognition based on pre-given conditions (pattern-matchable signals, road markings, etc.) are executed in parallel. This may be achieved by scoring and comprehensively evaluating. This ensures the reliability of automated driving.

The recognition unit 130 recognizes the environment around the vehicle M. For example, the recognition unit 130 recognizes objects around the vehicle M (for example, surrounding vehicles and targets) based on information input from the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the finder 14 via the object recognition device 16. Recognize position, speed, acceleration, direction of travel, etc. The position of the object is recognized, for example, as a position on absolute coordinates with a representative point (center of gravity, drive shaft center, etc.) of the vehicle M as the origin, and is used for control. The position of an object may be expressed by a representative point such as the center of gravity, center, or corner of the object, or may be expressed by a expressed area. If the object is a vehicle, the "state" of the object may include the object's acceleration or jerk, or its "behavioral state" (eg, whether it is changing lanes or is about to change lanes).

Further, the recognition unit 130 recognizes, for example, the lane in which the vehicle M is traveling (driving lane). For example, the recognition unit 130 uses the pattern of road marking lines obtained from the second map information 62 (for example, an array of solid lines and broken lines) and the road marking lines around the vehicle M recognized from the image captured by the camera 10. It recognizes the driving lane by comparing it with the pattern. Note that the recognition unit 130 may recognize driving lanes by recognizing not only road division lines but also road boundaries (road boundaries) including road division lines, road shoulders, curbs, median strips, guardrails, etc. . In this recognition, the position of the vehicle M acquired from the navigation device 50 and the processing results by the INS may be taken into consideration. The recognition unit 130 also recognizes stop lines, obstacles, red lights, toll booths, and other road events.

When recognizing the driving lane, the recognition unit 130 recognizes the position and attitude of the vehicle M with respect to the driving lane. For example, the recognition unit 130 determines the deviation of the reference point of the vehicle M from the center of the lane and the angle made with respect to a line connecting the center of the lane in the traveling direction of the vehicle M as the relative position and attitude of the vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane. May be recognized. Instead, the recognition unit 130 recognizes the position of the reference point of the vehicle M with respect to any side edge (road marking line or road boundary) of the driving lane as the relative position of the vehicle M with respect to the driving lane. Good too.

The recognition unit 130 recognizes vehicles around the vehicle M recognized from the image taken by the camera 10, the image taken by the camera 10, traffic congestion information around the vehicle M acquired by the navigation device 50, or a second map. Based on the position information obtained from the information 62, information regarding the positions of surrounding vehicles is recognized.

In principle, the action plan generation unit 140 drives the vehicle M in the recommended lane determined by the recommended lane determination unit 61, and furthermore, the action plan generation unit 140 automatically (driver's operation) Generates a target trajectory to be traveled in the future (independent of the current situation). The target trajectory includes, for example, a velocity element. For example, the target trajectory is expressed as a sequence of points (trajectory points) that the vehicle M should reach. The trajectory point is a point that the vehicle M should reach every predetermined traveling distance along the road (for example, about a few [m]), and apart from that, the trajectory point is a point that the vehicle M should reach every predetermined distance traveled along the road (for example, about a few [m]). A target velocity and acceleration for each are generated as part of the target trajectory. Alternatively, the trajectory point may be a position to be reached by the vehicle M at each predetermined sampling time. In this case, information on target speed and target acceleration is expressed by intervals between trajectory points.

The action plan generation unit 140 may set automatic driving events when generating the target trajectory. Automated driving events include constant speed driving events, low speed following driving events, lane change events, branching events, merging events, takeover events, etc. The action plan generation unit 140 generates a target trajectory according to the activated event.

The second control unit 160 controls the driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device 220 so that the vehicle M passes the target trajectory generated by the action plan generation unit 140 at the scheduled time. do.

The second control unit 160 includes, for example, an acquisition unit 162, a speed control unit 164, and a steering control unit 166. The acquisition unit 162 acquires information on the target trajectory (trajectory point) generated by the action plan generation unit 140, and stores it in a memory (not shown). The speed control unit 164 controls the travel driving force output device 200 or the brake device 210 based on the speed element associated with the target trajectory stored in the memory. The steering control unit 166 controls the steering device 220 according to the degree of curvature of the target trajectory stored in the memory. The processing of the speed control section 164 and the steering control section 166 is realized, for example, by a combination of feedforward control and feedback control. As an example, the steering control unit 166 performs a combination of feedforward control according to the curvature of the road in front of the vehicle M and feedback control based on the deviation from the target trajectory.

The information providing unit 180 generates probe data based on various information detected by the vehicle sensor 40 at a predetermined period or timing, and transmits the generated probe data to the management device 300 via the communication device 20. For example, the information providing unit 180 uses the position information of the vehicle M detected by the position sensor 42, the vehicle speed information detected by the vehicle speed sensor 44, and the forward direction of the vehicle M (direction of the vehicle M) detected by the direction sensor 46. ) is associated with date and time information (which may include the day of the week) to generate probe data. The information providing unit 180 may transmit the probe data to the management device 300 at a predetermined cycle, or may temporarily store the probe data in the storage unit 190 or the like, and transmit the probe data to the management device 300 at a predetermined timing.

Further, the information providing unit 180 may output information provided from the management device 300 from the HMI 30. The information provided by the management device 300 includes, for example, information regarding parking positions, information regarding traffic jams, information regarding route guidance, and the like.

The driving force output device 200 outputs driving force (torque) for driving the vehicle to the driving wheels. The driving force output device 200 includes, for example, a combination of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, a transmission, and the like, and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that controls these. The ECU controls the above configuration according to information input from the second control unit 160 or information input from the driving operator 80.

The brake device 210 includes, for example, 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 brake ECU. The brake ECU controls the electric motor according to information input from the second control unit 160 or information input from the driving operator 80 so that brake torque corresponding to the braking operation is output to each wheel. The brake device 210 may include, as a backup mechanism, a mechanism that transmits hydraulic pressure generated by operating a brake pedal included in the driving operator 80 to a cylinder via a master cylinder. Note that the brake device 210 is not limited to the configuration described above, and may be an electronically controlled hydraulic brake device that controls an actuator according to information input from the second control unit 160 and transmits the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder to the cylinder. Good too.

Steering device 220 includes, for example, a steering ECU and an electric motor. Further, the steering device 220 includes, for example, functions such as electric power steering (EPS). For example, the electric motor applies force to a rack and pinion mechanism to change the direction of the steered wheels. The steering ECU drives the electric motor in accordance with information input from the second control unit 160 or information input from the driving operator 80 to change the direction of the steered wheels.

[Management device]
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the management device 300 according to the embodiment. The management device 300 includes, for example, a communication section 310, an input section 320, an output section 330, a control section 340, and a storage section 360. For example, the management device 300 may function as a cloud server that communicates with the vehicle M via the network NW and transmits and receives various data.

The communication unit 310 includes a communication interface such as a NIC (Network Interface Card). The communication unit 310 communicates with the vehicle M and other external devices via the network NW using, for example, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth, or the like.

The input unit 320 is, for example, a user interface such as a button, a keyboard, or a mouse. The input unit 320 receives, for example, an operation by an administrator who manages the management device 300. The input unit 320 may be a touch panel configured integrally with the display unit of the output unit 330, or may be a microphone capable of voice input.

The output unit 330 outputs information to an administrator or the like. The output unit 330 includes, for example, a display unit that displays images and an audio output unit that outputs audio. The display unit includes, for example, a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The display unit displays an image of information output by the control unit 340. The audio output section is, for example, a speaker. The audio output unit outputs, for example, audio associated with information displayed on the display unit.

The control unit 340 includes, for example, a management unit 342, a specification unit 344, an acquisition unit 346, and an attribute estimation unit 348. Each component of the control unit 340 is realized, for example, by a processor such as a CPU executing a program stored in the storage unit 360. Further, some or all of the components of the control unit 340 may be realized by hardware (circuitry) such as LSI, ASIC, FPGA, or GPU, or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. may be done. The above-mentioned program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as the HDD or flash memory (a storage device equipped with a non-transitory storage medium) of the management device 300, or may be stored in a storage device such as a DVD, CD-ROM, or memory card. The information is stored in a removable storage medium, and may be installed in the storage device of the management device 300 by attaching the storage medium (non-transitory storage medium) to a drive device, card slot, or the like.

The storage unit 360 may be realized by, for example, the various storage devices described above, or EEPROM, ROM, RAM, or the like. The storage unit 360 stores, for example, probe data 362, threshold information 364, map information 366, programs, and other various information. The threshold information is used by the attribute estimation unit 348 when estimating the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle M. The map information 366 is, for example, information in which a road shape is expressed by road links and nodes connected by the road links. Further, the map information 366 includes, for example, position information of road links and information indicating the traveling direction of the road for each road link. The traveling direction of the road may be expressed by an azimuth, or may be an angle made with respect to a reference direction. Further, the map information 366 may include road curvature, POI information, and the like.

The management unit 342 manages various information regarding the vehicle M connected to the network NW. For example, the management unit 342 manages road links and the like that include information indicating the driving direction of the road. For example, the management unit 342 updates the map information 366 every time a road link, node, etc. are updated. The update data may be input by an administrator or the like, or may be obtained from an external device via the communication unit 310. Furthermore, the management unit 342 stores the probe data for each vehicle M received from the network NW in the storage unit 360 together with vehicle identification information that identifies each vehicle. Therefore, the probe data 362 stored in the storage unit 360 stores probe data for each vehicle identification information.

Based on the probe data 362, the identification unit 344 identifies a road link based on the parking position when the vehicle M is parked. For example, the identifying unit 344 refers to the map information 366 based on the parking position of the vehicle M included in the probe data 362, acquires the road link closest to the parking position from the referenced map information 366, and Information indicating the traveling direction of the vehicle on the road corresponding to the link (hereinafter simply referred to as "road link traveling direction") is specified.

The acquisition unit 346 acquires the angular difference between the traveling direction of the road link identified by the identifying unit 344 and the forward direction of the vehicle M (the angle between the traveling direction of the road link and the forward direction of the vehicle M). For example, the acquisition unit 346 may acquire the absolute value of the angle of the forward direction of the vehicle M with respect to the traveling direction of the road link, or may acquire the absolute value of the angle of the traveling direction of the road link with respect to the forward direction of the vehicle M. Good too.

The attribute estimation unit 348 estimates the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle M based on the angular difference acquired by the acquisition unit 346. The parking position may include the entire area of the parked vehicle M. The attribute is, for example, an attribute related to the type of ground such as a parking lot or a road. For example, the attribute estimation unit 348 estimates the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle M based on whether the angular difference acquired by the acquisition unit 346 is larger than a threshold value.

[Estimation of parking position attributes]
Next, estimation of the attributes of the parking position of the vehicle M in the embodiment will be specifically explained by dividing into several estimation patterns.

<First estimated pattern>
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining estimation of the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle M in the first estimation pattern. In the example of FIG. 4, a road link RL1 connecting two intersections CR1 and CR2 is shown. Intersections CR1 and CR2 are examples of nodes, and each intersection CR1 and CR2 connects road link RL1 and another road link. The road link RL1 shown in FIG. 4 includes a lane L1 that is travelable in the direction from the intersection CR1 to the intersection CR2, and a lane L2 that is travelable in the direction from the intersection CR2 to the intersection CR1. Lane L2 is the opposite lane of lane L2. Lane L1 is a lane divided by lane lines LL and CL, and lane L2 is a lane divided by lane lines CL and RL. Further, it is assumed that the lanes L1 and L2 extend along the Y axis shown in FIG. 4.

In the first estimation pattern, the identifying unit 344 identifies the position of the vehicle M in the parking state and the forward direction of the vehicle M from the probe data 362 of the vehicle M. For example, the identifying unit 344 determines that the vehicle M is in the parked state when the speed of the vehicle M continues to be 0 [km/h] for a predetermined time or more based on the probe data 362. The predetermined period of time is, for example, a period of time longer than the period of time during which the vehicle M temporarily stops when a traffic light in front of the vehicle M is instructing to stop (for example, a red light) or when there is traffic jam. The predetermined time is, for example, 5 to 10 minutes, but may be changed as appropriate depending on the driving environment, road conditions, etc. The position of the vehicle M is, for example, the position of the center of the vehicle M. Moreover, the position of the vehicle M may be the position of the center of gravity of the vehicle M, or may be a predetermined specific position of the vehicle body. In the example of FIG. 4, the center position P1 and forward direction A1 of the vehicle M are specified.

Further, the specifying unit 344 refers to the map information 366 based on the position of the vehicle M in the parked state, and specifies the road link closest to the position of the vehicle M. In the example of FIG. 4, it is assumed that road link RL1 is identified as the road link closest to position P1 of vehicle M. The identification unit 344 also acquires information indicating the traveling direction of the road link RL1. Note that, when the road link RL1 includes a plurality of lanes, the identifying unit 344 acquires the traveling direction of the closest lane among the plurality of lanes. In the example of FIG. 4, the traveling direction A2 of the lane L1 closest to the position P1 of the vehicle M is specified.

The acquisition unit 346 acquires an angular difference θ1 (an example of a first angular difference) that is the difference in angle between the forward direction A1 of the vehicle M and the traveling direction A2 of the lane L1. The attribute estimation unit 348 compares the angular difference θ1 and the first threshold θth1, and if the angular difference θ1 is larger than the first threshold θth1, the vehicle M is not parked on the road of the road link RL1 (i.e., It is determined that the vehicle M is parked in a parking lot), and the attribute of the parking position of vehicle M is estimated to be a parking lot. The first threshold value θth1 is, for example, 20 to 45 [degrees]. The first threshold value θth1 is stored in the threshold information 364, for example, and may be changed depending on the road shape of the road link RL1.

Furthermore, in the first estimation pattern, the attribute estimation unit 348 estimates that the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle M is on the road (road link RL1) when the angular difference θ1 is less than or equal to the first threshold θth1. Good too. The example in FIG. 4 shows a case where the absolute value of the angular difference θ1 is greater than the first threshold value θth1. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 4, the attribute estimation unit 348 estimates that the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle M is a parking lot.

According to the first estimation pattern, even if information regarding the location of the parking lot is not stored in the map information, it is possible to park the vehicle M by comparing the traveling direction of the road link and the forward direction of the vehicle. It is possible to more accurately estimate whether the location is in a parking lot or on a road.

<Second estimated pattern>
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining estimation of the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle M in the second estimation pattern. The example in FIG. 5 shows a road shape similar to that in FIG. 4. Further, in the example of FIG. 5, it is assumed that vehicle M travels in lane L1 at speed VM and parks at position P2. In the example of FIG. 5, it is assumed that time advances in the order of time t1, t2, t3, and t4. In the example of FIG. 5, M(t*), A1(t*), A2(t*), and θ(t*) are the state of the vehicle M at time t*, the forward direction of the vehicle M, and the vehicle It shows the running direction A2 of the road link RL1 corresponding to the current position of vehicle M, and the angular difference between the forward direction A1 of the vehicle M and the running direction A2 of the road link RL1.

The second estimation pattern is based on the angular difference between the forward direction of the vehicle M traveling on the road link RL1 closest to the parking position P2 of the vehicle M and the traveling direction of the road link RL1 over time. This method estimates the attributes of the parking location of the vehicle. In the second estimation pattern, the specifying unit 344 refers to the map information 366 based on the parking position P2 of the vehicle M, and specifies the road link RL1 closest to the parking position P2. Next, the specifying unit 344 acquires the forward direction A1 of the vehicle M as time passes from when the vehicle M travels on the road link RL1 to when the vehicle M parks at the parking position P2. In the example of FIG. 5, the forward direction A1 (t1 to t4) of the vehicle M corresponding to times t1 to t4 is acquired.

Note that when the vehicle M turns right or left at the intersection CR1 and enters the road link RL1, the angle between the forward direction A1 of the vehicle M and the traveling direction A2 of the road link RL1 changes depending on the behavior of the vehicle M due to the right or left turn. The difference may be large. Therefore, the identification unit 344 obtains the forward direction A1 of the vehicle M from when the vehicle M passes a point a predetermined distance D1 from the entrance of the road link RL1 until the vehicle M enters the parking state. In addition, instead of the predetermined distance D1, the identification unit 344 determines the forward direction A1 of the vehicle M from the time when the speed VM after the vehicle M enters the road link RL1 becomes equal to or higher than the predetermined speed until the vehicle M enters the parking state. You may obtain it. Further, the identification unit 344 may acquire information on the forward direction A1 of the vehicle M from the time when the forward direction A1 of the vehicle M that has entered the road link RL1 falls within a predetermined range until the vehicle M enters the parking state. The predetermined range is, for example, a range of ±5 to 15 [degrees] with respect to the traveling direction A2 of the road link RL1. This makes it possible to exclude changes in the forward direction of the vehicle M due to a right turn or left turn to enter the road link RL1, so it is possible to estimate the attributes of the parking position of the vehicle M with higher accuracy.

The acquisition unit 346 obtains an angular difference θ2( t1) to θ2(t4) (an example of the second angle difference). The attribute estimation unit 348 compares the maximum value θ2max of the angular differences θ2(t1) to θ2(t4) with a second threshold value θth2, and if the angular difference θ2max is larger than the second threshold value θth2, the vehicle M is connected to the road link. It is determined that the vehicle M is not parked on the road of RL1 (that is, it is parked in a parking lot), and the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle M is estimated to be a parking lot. The second threshold value θth2 is a value larger than the first threshold value θTh1, and is, for example, 60 to 80 [degrees]. The second threshold value θth2 is stored in the threshold information 364, for example, and may be changed depending on the road shape of the road link RL1.

Furthermore, in the second estimation pattern, the attribute estimation unit 348 estimates that the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle M is on the road (road link RL1) when the angular difference θ2max is less than or equal to the second threshold θth2. Good too. The example in FIG. 5 shows a case where the angular difference θ2max (=θ2(t3)) is larger than the second threshold θth2. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 5, the attribute estimation unit 348 estimates that the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle M is a parking lot.

According to the second estimation pattern, it is possible to more accurately determine whether the parking position of the vehicle M is in a parking lot or on the road based on the behavior of the vehicle M that has traveled on the road link RL1 closest to the parking position. can be estimated well.

Furthermore, according to the second estimation pattern, even if the angular difference between the forward direction A1 of the vehicle M in the parked state and the traveling direction A2 of the road link RL1 is less than or equal to the first threshold value θth1, immediately before that The attributes of the parking position can be estimated more appropriately based on the behavior of the vehicle when the vehicle is running. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a case where the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle M is on the road. In the example of FIG. 6, compared to the example of FIG. 5, the forward direction A1#(t3) of the vehicle M and the parking position P2# of the vehicle M at time t3 are different. In the example of FIG. 6, it is assumed that the angular difference θ2#(t3) at time t3, which is the maximum angular difference θ2max, is less than or equal to the second threshold θth2. In this case, the attribute estimation unit 348 estimates that the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle M is on the road of the road link RL1. In this way, even if the angle difference θ2 (t4) of the vehicle M in the parked state is the same, the angle difference between the forward direction A1 of the vehicle M traveling on the road link RL1 and the traveling direction A2 of the road link RL1 Based on this, the attributes of the parking position of the vehicle M can be estimated with higher accuracy.

Note that the first estimation pattern or the second estimation pattern described above may be a combination of part or all of other estimation patterns. For example, the attribute estimation unit 348 executes the process in the second estimation pattern when the angular difference between the forward direction A1 in the parked state of the vehicle M and the traveling direction A2 of the road link RL1 is less than or equal to the first threshold value θth1. Then, the attributes of the parking position of the vehicle M may be estimated.

The control unit 340 manages the parking position of each vehicle M for each time period, day of the week, and date based on the results estimated by the attribute estimation unit 348, thereby reducing congestion caused by on-street parking for each road link. The vehicle M may be provided with more appropriate route guidance and congestion prediction by understanding the time zone and the like. For example, the control unit 340 may control the vehicle M to transmit information regarding route guidance and congestion prediction and output it from the HMI 30. Furthermore, when the current parking position of the vehicle M is on the road, the control unit 340 generates control information for executing automatic driving to move the vehicle M to a predetermined parking lot, and transmits the generated control information to the vehicle M. You may. Thereby, the vehicle M can be managed more appropriately.

[Processing flow]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of processing executed by the management device 300. In the process of this flowchart, the process of estimating the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle M will be mainly explained. In the example of FIG. 7, the management unit 342 acquires probe data transmitted from each vehicle, stores it in the storage unit 360, and manages it (step S100). Next, the identifying unit 344 refers to the probe data 362 and determines whether there is a parked vehicle M (step S102). If it is determined that there is a parked vehicle, the identifying unit 344 acquires the parking position and forward direction of the vehicle M from the probe data 362 (step S104). Next, the specifying unit 344 specifies the traveling direction of the road link closest to the vehicle M (step S106).

Next, the acquisition unit 346 acquires the angular difference θ1 between the forward direction of the vehicle M and the traveling direction of the road link (step S108). Next, the attribute estimation unit 348 determines whether the angular difference θ1 is larger than the first threshold θth1 (step S110). When it is determined that the angle difference θ1 is not larger than the first threshold value θth1, the identification unit 344 refers to the probe data 362 and determines the processing time of the vehicle M that was traveling on the road link before entering the parking state. The forward direction is acquired (step S112). Next, the acquisition unit 346 acquires the maximum value (θ2max) of the angular difference θ2 between the forward direction of the vehicle M and the traveling direction of the road link (step S114).

Next, the attribute estimation unit 348 determines whether the maximum value θ2max of the angular differences is larger than the second threshold θth2 (step S116). If it is determined that the maximum value θ2max is larger than the second threshold value, or if it is determined in the process of step S110 that the angular difference θ1 is larger than the first threshold value θth1, the attribute estimation unit 348 determines the parking position of the vehicle M. It is estimated that the attribute of is a parking lot (or the attribute of the parking position of vehicle M is not on a road) (step S118). Further, in the process of step S116, if it is determined that the maximum value θ2max is less than or equal to the second threshold value, it is estimated that the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle is on the road of the road link (step S120).

Next, after the processing in step S118 or step S120, it is determined whether or not the processing in steps S102 to S120 has been completed for all data in the probe data 362 (step S122). If it is determined that all the processing has not been completed, the process returns to S102 and similar processing is performed on the remaining probe data. Furthermore, if it is determined in the process of step S122 that the process has ended, or if it is determined that all the processes have been completed in the process of step S102, the process of this flowchart ends.

According to the embodiment described above, even in a state where there is no highly accurate map information including position information of a parking lot, the parking position of a vehicle can be estimated with higher accuracy using probe data. In addition, the management device 300 can estimate the parking position of the vehicle M for each time period, each day of the week, and each day of the year, and thus can grasp the time periods when on-street parking is congested for each road link. It is possible to provide more appropriate route guidance and congestion information.

The embodiment described above can be expressed as follows.
a storage device that stores the program;
comprising a hardware processor;
By the hardware processor executing a program stored in the storage device,
identifying a road link based on the parking position of the vehicle when the vehicle is in a parked state;
obtaining a first angular difference that is the difference in angle between the traveling direction of the road associated with the identified road link and the forward direction of the vehicle;
estimating attributes of the parking position of the vehicle based on the acquired first angular difference;
A management device configured to:

Although the mode for implementing the present invention has been described above using embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments in any way, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. can be added.

For example, some or all of the components in the management device 300 may be provided in the automatic operation control device 100. In this case, the automatic driving control device 100 determines the parking position of the vehicle M in the parking state and the forward direction of the vehicle traveling on the road link closest to the vehicle M, based on the probe data generated by the information providing unit 180. The attribute of the parking position of the vehicle M is estimated by acquiring the angular difference with the traveling direction of the road link and comparing the acquired angular difference with a threshold value. In this case, the information providing unit 180 transmits the estimated result to the management device 300 via the communication device 20. Thereby, the management device 300 can manage the attributes of the parking position of the vehicle M, and the like. Moreover, this embodiment may be applied to vehicles other than self-driving vehicles.

1... Management system, 10... Camera, 12... Radar device, 14... Finder, 16... Object recognition device, 20... Communication device, 30... HMI, 40... Vehicle sensor, 50... Navigation device, 60... MPU, 80... Driving Operator, 100... automatic driving control device, 120... first control section, 130... recognition section, 140... action plan generation section, 160... second control section, 162... acquisition section, 164... speed control section, 166... steering Control section, 180... Information provision section, 190, 360... Storage section, 200... Traveling driving force output device, 210... Brake device, 220... Steering device, 300... Management device, 310... Communication section, 320... Input section, 330 ...Output section, 340...Control section, 342...Management section, 344...Identification section, 346...Acquisition section, 348...Attribute estimation section, M...Vehicle

Claims (5)

an identification unit that identifies a road link based on the parking position of the vehicle when the vehicle is in a parked state;
an acquisition unit that acquires a first angular difference that is an angular difference between a traveling direction of a road associated with the road link identified by the identification unit and a forward direction of the vehicle;
an attribute estimation unit that estimates an attribute of the parking position of the vehicle based on the first angular difference acquired by the acquisition unit ,
The attribute estimation unit determines the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle based on whether the first angular difference acquired by the acquisition unit is larger than a first threshold;
The acquisition unit acquires a second angular difference that is the difference in angle between the forward direction of the vehicle and the traveling direction of the road link when the vehicle travels on a road associated with the road link,
The attribute estimating unit estimates an attribute of the parking position of the vehicle based on whether the second angular difference is greater than a second threshold when the first angular difference is less than or equal to the first threshold. ,
Management device. The attribute estimation unit estimates that the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle is a parking lot when the first angular difference is larger than the first threshold, and the first angular difference is less than or equal to the first threshold. If the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle is on the road,
The management device according to claim 1 . the second threshold is an angle greater than the first threshold;
A management device according to claim 1 or 2 . The computer is
identifying a road link based on the parking position of the vehicle when the vehicle is in a parked state;
obtaining a first angular difference that is the difference in angle between the traveling direction of the road associated with the identified road link and the forward direction of the vehicle;
Estimating attributes of the parking position of the vehicle based on the acquired first angle difference ;
determining the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle based on whether the acquired first angle difference is larger than a first threshold;
Obtaining a second angular difference that is the difference in angle between the forward direction of the vehicle and the traveling direction of the road link when the vehicle travels on a road associated with the road link;
estimating an attribute of the parking position of the vehicle based on whether the second angular difference is greater than a second threshold when the first angular difference is less than or equal to the first threshold;
Management method. to the computer,
specifying a road link based on the parking position of the vehicle when the vehicle is in a parked state;
obtaining a first angular difference that is an angular difference between a traveling direction of a road associated with the identified road link and a forward direction of the vehicle;
estimating attributes of the parking position of the vehicle based on the acquired first angular difference;
determining the attribute of the parking position of the vehicle based on whether the acquired first angular difference is larger than a first threshold;
obtaining a second angular difference that is the difference in angle between the forward direction of the vehicle and the traveling direction of the road link when the vehicle travels on a road associated with the road link;
When the first angular difference is less than or equal to the first threshold, an attribute of the parking position of the vehicle is estimated based on whether the second angular difference is greater than a second threshold.
program.

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