JP7443697B2 - Driving support systems, driving support methods and programs - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a driving support system, a driving support method, and a program.

Driving support systems have been developed that present routes to avoid danger in a moving vehicle. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a device that, when detecting a following vehicle's tailgating, uses the current position, current direction, and map data to search for and provide guidance to a possible evacuation location in front of the road on which the vehicle is traveling. There is.

Furthermore, a recording device called a drive recorder that records the status of a vehicle while it is being driven has become widespread. Generally, when a drive recorder detects an impact of a certain level or more, it records photographic data taken before and after the time of detection. For example, the information recording device described in Patent Document 2 determines detection sensitivity according to the time required to reach a destination, detects the behavior of a moving object based on the determined detection sensitivity, and detects the behavior of a moving object based on the determined detection sensitivity. Information regarding driving conditions is stored in a recording medium.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-271906 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-122515

When the vehicle encounters a nearby vehicle that performs the above-mentioned aggressive driving, there is a possibility that the vehicle may cause an event such as an accident due to the behavior of the nearby vehicle. Therefore, it is desired to record the situation while avoiding dangers such as aggressive driving. On the other hand, a drive recorder stores photographic data when an impact such as an accident is detected, but does not have a function to record photographic data according to the behavior of surrounding vehicles. Furthermore, when recording photographic data according to the behavior of surrounding vehicles, it is desirable to record photographic data for a predetermined period of time. Therefore, if the information recording device described above is set to record photographic data according to the sensitivity of the sensor, desired photographic data cannot be recorded.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and provides a driving support system, etc. that presents an avoidance route for avoiding danger and suitably records photographic data on the avoidance route. It is.

The driving support system according to the present invention causes a recording device to record photographic data taken by a camera installed in a vehicle. The driving support system includes a photographic data acquisition section, a vehicle of interest detection section, a route setting section, and a recording control section. The photographic data acquisition unit acquires photographic data. The vehicle of interest detection unit detects the vehicle of interest based on the photographic data. The route setting unit sets an avoidance route for avoiding the vehicle of interest when the vehicle of interest is detected. The recording control unit records photographic data while traveling along the avoidance route.

A driving support method according to the present invention causes a recording device to record photographic data photographed by a camera installed in a vehicle. The driving support method includes a photographic data acquisition step, a vehicle of interest detection step, a route setting step, and a recording control step. The photographic data acquisition step acquires photographic data. The target vehicle detection step detects a target vehicle based on the photographic data. The route setting step sets an avoidance route to avoid the vehicle of interest when the vehicle of interest is detected. The recording control step records photographic data while traveling along the avoidance route.

A program according to the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute a driving support method for causing a recording device to record photographic data photographed by a camera installed in a vehicle. The driving support method includes a photographic data acquisition step, a vehicle of interest detection step, a route setting step, and a recording control step. The photographic data acquisition step acquires photographic data. The target vehicle detection step detects a target vehicle based on the photographic data. The route setting step sets an avoidance route to avoid the vehicle of interest when the vehicle of interest is detected. The recording control step records photographic data while traveling along the avoidance route.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a driving support system and the like that presents an avoidance route for avoiding danger and suitably records photographic data on the avoidance route.

1 is a top view of a vehicle equipped with a driving support system. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a driving support system according to an embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process which a driving support system performs. FIG. 3 is a first diagram showing the relationship between photographic data and time. FIG. 2 is a second diagram showing the relationship between photographic data and time. FIG. 7 is a third diagram showing the relationship between photographic data and time. FIG. 4 is a fourth diagram showing the relationship between photographic data and time. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a relationship between photographic data and time according to a modification of the embodiment.

The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the claimed invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Furthermore, not all of the configurations described in the embodiments are essential as means for solving the problem. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings are omitted and simplified as appropriate. Note that in each drawing, the same elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted as necessary.

<Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the configuration of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a top view of a vehicle equipped with a driving support system. The driving support system 10 shown in the figure is installed and used in a vehicle 900, which is a moving object.

The driving support system 10 has a function as a so-called drive recorder that records and reproduces photographic data taken by a camera installed in a vehicle. The driving support system 10 has a function of recording photographic data for a preset period as "event recording data" in a replayable manner using the applied shock as a trigger when a sudden shock is applied. ing. A driver of a vehicle or the like can understand the situation of the event by reproducing the event record data and viewing the video of the reproduced event record data.

The driving support system 10 also has a function as a navigation system. The driving support system 10 can detect the position of the vehicle 900, which is the own vehicle, and present a guide route from the position of the vehicle 900 to the destination to the driver, who is the user.

Vehicle 900 is equipped with driving support system 10 according to the embodiment. The driving support system 10 includes a positioning information receiving section 143, a front camera 150a, a rear camera 150b, a control section 100, a display section 141, and the like.

The positioning information receiving unit 143 is installed in the center of the dashboard of the vehicle 900. The positioning information receiving unit 143 includes an antenna for receiving positioning information for positioning the own vehicle from a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), which is a satellite positioning system such as a GPS (Global Positioning System). Note that positioning information receiving section 143 may be installed at any position of vehicle 900 as long as it is installed so that desired information can be acquired.

The front camera 150a photographs the front of the vehicle 900 at a viewing angle of 180 degrees. The front camera 150a is installed at the upper center of the windshield in the cabin of the vehicle 900, and can photograph other vehicles passing in front of the vehicle 900. Rear camera 150b photographs the rear of vehicle 900 at a viewing angle of 180 degrees. The rear camera 150b is installed at the upper center of the rear window in the cabin of the vehicle 900, and can photograph other vehicles passing behind the vehicle 900. The front camera 150a and the rear camera 150b each include an objective lens, an image sensor, an image processing circuit, etc. for photographing the photographing range. Note that the front camera 150a and the rear camera 150b are not limited to the above-described configuration. The driving support system may include an omnidirectional camera that photographs the surroundings of vehicle 900 instead of front camera 150a and rear camera 150b. Note that in the following description, the front camera 150a and the rear camera 150b are also collectively referred to as the camera 150.

Control unit 100 is a control circuit stored in an arbitrary position of vehicle 900, and controls each component of driving support system 10 as appropriate. Details of the control unit 100 will be described later. The display unit 141 is a display device installed on a dashboard so as to present information to the driver, and includes, for example, a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) panel.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the driving support system according to the embodiment. As shown in the figure, the driving support system 10 includes a control section 100 that controls each component and a plurality of components connected to the control section 100. The control unit 100 is a control device having a circuit board on which a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a memory, a plurality of interfaces, etc. are mounted, and executes a stored program to perform various operations. Execute the process.

Details of the control unit 100 will be explained below. The main components of the control section 100 include a photographic data acquisition section 120, a buffer memory 121, a photographic data processing section 122, a recording control section 123, a playback control section 124, an operation control section 125, a display control section 126, an event detection section 127, It has a position information acquisition section 128, a vehicle of interest detection section 129, and a route setting section 130, and the configuration for executing these processes and controls is realized by a program executed by the control section 100. For convenience, each of these configurations is expressed as being connected to the bus line 110.

The photographic data acquisition unit 120 acquires photographic data supplied from the camera 150. The camera 150 generates shooting data at, for example, 60 frames per second (60 fps), and supplies the generated shooting data to the shooting data acquisition unit 120 every 1/60th of a second. The photographic data acquisition unit 120 supplies photographic data to the buffer memory 121 via the bus line 110.

Buffer memory 121 is a volatile or nonvolatile memory device. The buffer memory 121 sequentially receives photographic data periodically generated by the camera 150 via the photographic data acquisition unit 120, and temporarily stores the received photographic data. The photographic data temporarily stored in the buffer memory 121 is for a preset period. The buffer memory 121 sequentially erases photographic data that has passed a preset period, or sequentially overwrites newly received photographic data. That is, the buffer memory 121 functions as a ring buffer.

The photographic data processing unit 122 generates a photographic file based on a preset method from the photographic data stored in the buffer memory 121. The preset method is, for example, H. 264 and MPEG-4 (Moving Picture Experts Group). The photographic file generated by the photographic data processing unit 122 includes a header and a payload. The header of the photographic file includes the date and time when the file was generated, and the payload contains the photographic data.

The photographic data processing unit 122 can generate photographic data processed to a preset compression ratio by performing data compression processing. The "compression ratio" mentioned here refers to the relative ratio between the amount of original data and the amount of data that has been subjected to data compression processing. For example, when comparing the first compression ratio and the second compression ratio, if the second compression ratio is higher than the first compression ratio, the data processed using the second compression ratio is better than the data processed using the first compression ratio. The amount of data is relatively smaller than the processed data. That is, the higher the compression ratio of processed data, the smaller the amount of data after processing.

An example of data compression processing is changing the frame rate. In this case, the photographic data processing unit 122 changes the frame rate of the photographic data from the above-mentioned 60 fps to 30 fps or 15 fps. Through such processing, the photographic data processing unit 122 can compress the photographic data and generate a photographic file containing photographic data with a relatively small amount of data. The photographic data processing section 122 receives an instruction from the recording control section 123 and compresses the photographic data according to the compression ratio set by the recording control section 123. Note that in this case, when receiving an instruction not to compress from the recording control unit 123, the photographed data processing unit 122 generates a photographed file without performing compression processing.

Note that the data compression process is not limited to the above example, and may be, for example, a process of reducing the angle of view. Alternatively, the data compression process may be a process of reducing the dynamic range of the luminance value of each pixel. Further, the data compression process may be a process of compressing the brightness value of a predetermined color according to the sensitivity characteristics of the human eye. The photographic data processing unit 122 may also perform a combination of these processes.

The photographic data processing section 122 may further cooperate with the vehicle of interest detection section 129 to perform processing for detecting the vehicle of interest. For example, the photographic data processing section 122 may perform predetermined convolution processing on the photographic data as preprocessing for the vehicle of interest detection section 129 to calculate the feature amount of the object included in the photographic data.

The recording control unit 123 manages the state of the recording device 160. For example, the recording control unit 123 manages the recordable capacity of the recording device 160. The recording control unit 123 also sets the recording format of the photographed data based on the recordable capacity of the recording device 160. The recording format is related to the compression ratio of the photographed data. In this case, the recording control section 123 issues an instruction to the photographic data processing section 122 so that the photographic data is processed according to the set compression ratio. More specifically, for example, the recording control unit 123 sets a predetermined frame rate as the recording format.

Furthermore, the recording control section 123 performs control to cause the recording device 160 to record the photographic file generated by the photographic data processing section 122. For example, when the event detection unit 127 detects an event, the recording control unit 123 causes the recording device 160 to record a photographic file for a preset period according to the detection of the event as event record data that is prohibited from being overwritten. The recording control unit 123 stores the event recording data in a predetermined recording area in the recording device 160. The predetermined recording area is, for example, a recording area that is prohibited from being overwritten or erased. Alternatively, the event record data supplied to the recording device 160 by the recording control unit 123 may be saved with a flag indicating that overwriting or erasure is prohibited included in the file. Note that the process in which the recording control unit 123 causes the recording device 160 to record event recording data is referred to as "event recording."

For example, when the vehicle of interest detection section 129 detects a vehicle of interest, the recording control section 123 instructs the photographic data processing section 122 to generate a photographic file in response to the detection of the vehicle of interest, and the photographic data processing section 122 The generated photographic file is recorded on the recording device 160. At this time, the recording control unit 123 refers to the recordable capacity of the recording device 160 and controls the photographic data processing unit 122 to set the compression ratio of the photographic data according to the referenced recordable capacity.

Here, the process in which the recording control unit 123 causes the recording device 160 to record a photographic file in response to the detection of the vehicle of interest is referred to as "auxiliary recording." The auxiliary recording is for recording photographic data while the vehicle of interest is traveling along the avoidance route when the vehicle of interest is detected. By performing auxiliary recording, the driving support system 10 can record the surrounding situation of the vehicle 900 caused by the vehicle of interest even before an event occurs. Therefore, the user of the driving support system 10 can confirm after the occurrence of the event whether the preliminary situation before the occurrence of the event was related to the occurrence of the subsequent event.

Note that even if the auxiliary recording is recorded using photographic data with a higher compression ratio than the event recording, the above-mentioned purpose can be achieved. For example, a compression ratio employed in event recording will be referred to as a "first compression ratio", and a compression ratio higher than that of photographed data for event recording will be referred to as a "second compression ratio". The driving support system 10 performs auxiliary recording using a second compression ratio higher than the first compression ratio when the recordable capacity becomes insufficient if auxiliary recording is performed using a relatively low first compression ratio.

The reproduction control unit 124 manages the photographic files recorded by the recording device 160 and performs processing for reproducing the stored photographic data. The playback control section 124 reads the selected photographic file, for example, in response to an instruction from the user, and supplies the read photographic file to the display control section for reproduction.

The operation control unit 125 acquires the operation information received by the operation unit 140 and outputs operation instructions based on the operation information to each component. For example, when the operation control unit 125 receives an instruction to select a photographed file to be played back from the operation unit 140, the operation control unit 125 causes the playback control unit 124 to select a photographed file recorded in the recording device 160. When the operation control unit 125 obtains instructions regarding reproduction of various data from the operation unit 140, the operation control unit 125 causes the reproduction control unit 124 to perform processing related to reproduction. The instructions regarding reproduction of various data include, for example, start reproduction, pause, stop reproduction, and enlarge display. When the operation control unit 125 receives an operation for setting a destination as a navigation system, the operation control unit 125 issues an instruction to the route setting unit 130 according to the received operation.

The display control unit 126 controls the display unit 141 to display various information. For example, the display control unit 126 causes the display unit 141 to display photographic data being photographed by the camera 150. Further, the display control unit 126 receives the event record data supplied from the playback control unit 124 and causes the display unit 141 to display the received event record data. Furthermore, upon receiving map information and route information from the route setting unit 130 as a function of the navigation system, the display control unit 126 causes the display unit 141 to display the received map information and route information. When a touch sensor is superimposed on the display section 141 as a function of the operation section 140, the display control section 126 causes the display section 141 to appropriately display an icon corresponding to the touch sensor.

The event detection unit 127 receives information regarding the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 142, and based on the received information regarding the acceleration, detects that a predetermined event has occurred from the magnitude and signal pattern of the signal indicating the acceleration. The acceleration received from the outside is the acceleration that the driving support system 10 receives from the vehicle 900, and is the acceleration caused by, for example, an impact generated when the vehicle 900 collides with another object.

When the event detection unit 127 detects that the signal received from the acceleration sensor 142 corresponds to the occurrence of a predetermined event, it supplies the photographic data processing unit 122 with a signal indicating that the occurrence of the event has been detected. The occurrence of an event is, for example, an impact caused by sudden braking or an impact caused by an object colliding with a vehicle.

The position information acquisition unit 128 receives the signal from the positioning satellite received by the positioning information reception unit 143, acquires position information that is information regarding the current position from the received signal, and supplies the acquired position information to the recording control unit 123. do. The position information includes, for example, the latitude and longitude of the vehicle at the time the signal was received from the positioning satellite.

The vehicle of interest detection unit 129 analyzes the photographic data and detects the vehicle of interest from the analysis result. More specifically, the vehicle of interest detection unit 129 cooperates with the photographic data processing unit 122, extracts the feature amount of the object from the photographic data, recognizes the object from the extracted feature amount, and detects changes in the object from frame to frame. The movement of surrounding vehicles is detected by detecting. Further, the vehicle of interest detection unit 129 detects the vehicle of interest from the detected surrounding vehicles.

For example, the vehicle of interest may be one that has a substantially high possibility of interfering with the driving of the vehicle 900, such as a vehicle passing in front of or behind the vehicle 900 that is likely to come into contact with the vehicle 900. can. In this case, the vehicle of interest may be referred to as a dangerous vehicle. Dangerous vehicles include vehicles that pass in front of the vehicle 900 while swaying from side to side, vehicles that drive behind the vehicle 900 and drive abnormally close to the vehicle 900, and the like. Upon detecting the vehicle of interest, the vehicle of interest detection section 129 notifies the route setting section 130 that the vehicle of interest has been detected.

The route setting unit 130 sets a travel route from the vehicle 900 to the destination according to the set conditions. For example, the route setting unit 130 acquires map information from the map information storage unit 144, acquires position information of the vehicle 900 from the position information acquisition unit 128, and receives information regarding a destination set by the driver from the operation control unit 125. , generates a guide route from the position of vehicle 900 to the destination. Further, the route setting unit 130 updates the guide route as appropriate when the vehicle 900 that was traveling along the guide route deviates from the guide route. The route setting unit 130 supplies the generated guide route or avoidance route to the display control unit 126.

When the route setting unit 130 receives information regarding the vehicle of interest from the vehicle of interest detection unit 129, it also plays the role of an avoidance route setting unit that adds a condition to avoid the vehicle of interest and generates an avoidance route to the destination. take charge The route setting unit 130 resets the avoidance route when the vehicle 900 traveling along the avoidance route deviates from the guided avoidance route.

When generating an avoidance route, the route setting unit 130 can, for example, extract shelter facilities from the facility information around the vehicle 900 acquired from the map information storage unit 144 and include the extracted shelter facilities in the avoidance route. . The shelter facility is a facility where the vehicle 900 temporarily shelters in order to avoid the vehicle of interest. The route setting unit 130 can set evacuation facilities in advance from the facility information stored in the map information storage unit 144. Specific examples of evacuation facilities include police stations, shopping malls, convenience stores, and gas stations. The vehicle 900 can widen the distance between it and the vehicle of interest by temporarily stopping at a shelter facility or the like.

The route setting unit 130 estimates the time required to pass the avoidance route and supplies the estimated time to the recording control unit 123. For example, when a predetermined facility is set as a shelter facility in order to avoid the vehicle of interest, the route setting unit 130 determines how to arrive at the shelter facility based on the route from the vehicle 900 to the shelter facility and the predicted moving speed of the vehicle 900. Estimate the time until.

Next, each component connected to the control section 100 will be explained. The driving support system 10 includes an operation section 140, a display section 141, an acceleration sensor 142, a positioning information receiving section 143, a map information storage section 144, a camera 150, and a recording device 160.

The operation unit 140 is a user interface that accepts operations performed by the driver on the driving support system 10. The user interface may be, for example, an operation button or a touch sensor installed to overlap the display section 141. Further, the user interface may be an infrared or wireless communication receiving unit that receives signals transmitted from a remote control or the like. The operation unit 140 supplies operation information, which is information regarding the received operation, to the control unit 100 via a predetermined interface. The operation information is, for example, an instruction to start event recording, an instruction to reproduce event record data, and the like.

The display unit 141 is a display device that displays various information under the control of the display control unit 126. The display unit 141 includes at least a display panel such as a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) panel. The display section 141 is connected to the display control section 126 and displays signals supplied from the display control section 126. The display unit 141 is configured to display, for example, images included in photographic data or images for route guidance generated by the route setting unit 130.

The acceleration sensor 142 is, for example, a three-axis acceleration sensor. The acceleration sensor 142 detects the acceleration applied to the acceleration sensor 142, and outputs information regarding the detected acceleration according to the detected acceleration. The acceleration sensor 142 is connected to the event detection section 127 and outputs information regarding the detected acceleration to the event detection section 127. Note that the acceleration sensor 142 may be a 1-axis or 2-axis acceleration sensor instead of the 3-axis acceleration sensor.

The positioning information receiving unit 143 receives information regarding the current position of the vehicle using a satellite positioning system called GPS or GNSS. The positioning information receiving unit 143 may be an antenna for receiving positioning signals, or may be a communication interface for receiving position information acquired by the vehicle. The positioning information receiving unit 143 supplies the received signal regarding the current position to the position information acquiring unit 128.

The map information storage unit 144 is a storage device including a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory or an SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores map information. The map information includes road information that is information about the road that the vehicle 900 travels on, and facility information that is information about facilities that exist around the road that the vehicle 900 travels on. The road information includes information such as the type of road, the name of an intersection, the position of a traffic light, and the entrance/exit of an expressway. The facility information includes, for example, facilities such as a police station, gas station, parking lot, shopping mall, and convenience store.

The camera 150 is an imaging device that includes an objective lens, an image sensor, an AD (Analog to Digital) conversion element, and the like. The camera 150 captures an image including the surrounding scenery of a vehicle, which is a moving object, and generates photographic data that is data of the captured image. The camera 150 supplies the generated photographic data to the photographic data acquisition unit 120.

The recording device 160 is a recording device that stores photographic data supplied from the camera 150. The recording device 160 is a nonvolatile recording device such as a memory card including a flash memory, an SSD, or a hard disk drive (HDD), for example. The recording device 160 is connected to the recording control section 123, receives predetermined data from the recording control section 123, and records the received data. Further, the recording device 160 supplies an event file containing the recorded event record data to the reproduction control unit 124 in response to an instruction from the reproduction control unit 124. The recording device 160 may be configured to be detachable from the driving support system 10, or may be configured to be non-removable.

Next, the processing of the driving support system 10 will be explained with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing performed by the driving support system 10, in which the control unit 100 included in the driving support system 10 runs an auxiliary record that records photographic data taken on the avoidance route. This shows the processing to be performed when Note that the flowchart shown in the figure is executed even when the driving support system 10, as a navigation system, is guiding to a predetermined destination or not.

First, the vehicle of interest detection section 129 of the control section 100 determines whether or not a vehicle of interest has been detected (step S10). If the vehicle of interest is not detected (step S10: No), the control unit 100 repeats step S10. If it is determined that the vehicle of interest has been detected (step S10: Yes), the control unit 100 executes auxiliary recording. In order to perform auxiliary recording, the vehicle of interest detection section 129 notifies the route setting section 130 that the vehicle of interest has been detected.

Next, the route setting unit 130 of the control unit 100 sets an avoidance route (step S11). After setting the avoidance route, the route setting unit 130 estimates the time required to pass through the avoidance route, and supplies information regarding the estimated time to the recording control unit 123. Next, the recording control unit 123 of the control unit 100 determines whether auxiliary recording using the first compression ratio is possible (step S12).

If it is determined in step S12 that auxiliary recording using the first compression ratio is possible (step S12: Yes), the recording control unit 123 starts auxiliary recording using the first compression ratio (step S18).

Next, the event detection unit 127 of the control unit 100 determines whether an event has occurred (step S19). If it is not determined that an event has occurred (step S19: No), the control unit 100 proceeds to step S22.

If it is determined that an event has occurred (step S19: Yes), the control unit 100 starts recording the event (step S20). When the event recording ends, the control unit 100 restarts the auxiliary recording (step S21).

Next, the control unit 100 determines whether the own vehicle has passed through the avoidance route (step S22). The state in which the vehicle has passed through the avoidance route is, for example, when the vehicle has arrived at the shelter location set by the route setting unit 130. If it is not determined that the avoidance route has been passed (step S22: No), the control unit 100 returns to step S19. If it is determined that the avoidance route has been passed (step S22: Yes), the control unit 100 ends the series of processing.

In step S12, if it is not determined that auxiliary recording using the first compression ratio is possible (step S12: No), the recording control unit 123 starts auxiliary recording using the second compression ratio (step S13). The second compression ratio is higher than the first compression ratio. That is, by performing auxiliary recording using the second compression ratio, the driving support system 10 performs auxiliary recording using a relatively small amount of data.

Next, the event detection unit 127 of the control unit 100 determines whether an event has occurred (step S14). If it is not determined that an event has occurred (step S14: No), the control unit 100 proceeds to step S17.

If it is determined that an event has occurred (step S14: Yes), the control unit 100 starts recording the event using the first compression ratio (step S15). When the event recording ends, the control unit 100 restarts the auxiliary recording using the second compression ratio (step S16).

Next, the control unit 100 determines whether the host vehicle has passed through the avoidance route (step S17). If it is not determined that the avoidance route has been passed (step S17: No), the control unit 100 returns to step S14. If it is determined that the avoidance route has been passed (step S17: Yes), the control unit 100 ends the series of processing.

Through the above-described processing, the driving support system 10 can be set to record photographed data while traveling on the avoidance route as auxiliary recording by adjusting the data compression ratio. Further, even when the driving support system 10 is performing auxiliary recording, if it detects that an event has occurred, it can record detailed information using a relatively low compression ratio.

In addition, in the above-mentioned process, the position information acquisition unit 128 detects that the position of the vehicle 900 does not change after the event recording (step S15 or step S20), that is, the vehicle 900 has stopped for a predetermined period or more after the event recording. In this case, the series of processing may be terminated without restarting auxiliary recording.

Next, the imaging data will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8. FIG. 4 is a first diagram showing the relationship between photographic data and time. The horizontal axis of the figure represents time, and shows that time passes in the direction of the arrow (rightward) from time t00 toward time t10.

The elongated shape shown along the time axis is the photographic data C10 at time t10. The photographic data C10 is photographic data generated by the camera 150 and is stored in the buffer memory 121. The driving support system 10 is set to always store photographic data for a preset period Pn. The period Pn is, for example, 60 seconds, 120 seconds, or 150 seconds. The photographic data C10 at time t10 is photographic data from time t00 to time t10, which is a period Pn from time t10. Furthermore, as time passes, the photographing data stored in the buffer memory 121 is sequentially erased from the period Pn.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the driving support system 10 detects the vehicle of interest at time t10. Therefore, the driving support system 10 performs auxiliary recording based on time t10.

FIG. 5 is a second diagram showing the relationship between photographic data and time. FIG. 5 shows photographic data at time t20 after time t10. The photographic data C20 stored in the buffer memory 121 at time t20 is generated by the camera 150 during a period from time t01 to time t20, which is a period Pn from time t20.

The rectangle shown below the photographic data C20 is the photographic data A1 of the auxiliary record. The photographic data A1 is generated from photographic data after time t02, which is a period P1 back from time t10, triggered by the detection of the vehicle of interest at time t10. In generating the photographic data A1, as explained with reference to FIG. 3, when the vehicle 900 follows the avoidance route set by the route setting unit 130, it is determined whether auxiliary recording is possible with the photographic data based on the first compression ratio. The recording control unit 123 determines whether the At this time, the recording control unit 123 refers to the recordable capacity of the recording device 160 and the passage time of the avoidance route received from the route setting unit 130, and sets the compression ratio of the photographic data to be generated. Then, the photographic data processing unit 122 generates photographic data A1 using the set compression ratio. In the present embodiment, as described with reference to FIG. 3, the recording control unit 123 sets the compression ratio of the photographic data A1 related to auxiliary recording to the first compression ratio or the second compression ratio. Note that the period P1 may be zero, the time t02 and the time t10 may be the same, or the time 02 may be a time after the time t10.

FIG. 6 is a third diagram showing the relationship between photographic data and time. FIG. 6 shows photographic data at time t30 after time t20. The photographic data C30 stored in the buffer memory 121 at time t30 is data from time t30 to time t30 going back a period Pn.

The photographic data A1 shown below the photographic data C30 continues to be generated from time t02 to time t30. The photographic data A1 is generated using a compression ratio (first compression ratio or second compression ratio) set by the recording control unit 123. It is also assumed that at time t30, the driving support system 10 detects the occurrence of an event. Therefore, the driving support system 10 performs a process of generating event record data based on time t30.

FIG. 7 is a fourth diagram showing the relationship between photographic data and time. FIG. 7 shows photographic data at time t40 after time t30. The photographic data C40 stored in the buffer memory 121 at time t40 is data from time t40 to time t40, which is a period Pn going back from time t40.

The rectangles shown below the photographic data C40 are photographic data A1 relating to auxiliary recording, photographing data A2 relating to event recording, and photographing data A3 relating to auxiliary recording. The photographic data A1 is photographic data for a period from time t02 to time t22. The photographic data A1 is generated using a compression ratio (first compression ratio or second compression ratio) set by the recording control unit 123.

The photographic data A2 is photographic data related to an event record generated in response to the occurrence of an event detected at time t30. The start time of the photographic data A2 is a time t22, which is a period P2 that goes back from the time t30. Further, the end time of the photographic data A2 is a time t31 after a period P3 has elapsed from the time t30. Period P2 and period P3 are, for example, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, or 30 seconds. The driving support system 10 thus generates photographic data before and after the time when the event is detected as an event record, and causes the recording device 160 to record this as an event record file.

The first compression ratio is set for the photographic data A2 regardless of the compression ratio set for the photographic data A1. Therefore, for example, if the photographic data A1 is generated using a second compression ratio higher than the first compression ratio, the photographic data processing unit 122 switches the compression ratio setting and then generates the photographic data A1. As a result, the driving support system 10 generates photographic data at a high compression ratio so that it can record photographic data until the own vehicle finishes traveling along the avoidance route, but when it detects that an event has occurred, it generates photographic data at a relatively low compression ratio. Generate photographic data based on the compression ratio. Therefore, the user can recognize the situation while traveling on the avoidance route, and can also know the details of the event that has occurred.

The photographic data A3 is photographic data that is generated by restarting auxiliary recording after event recording. The photographic data A3 continues from time t31 when event recording ends to the latest time t40 shown in FIG. The photographic data A2 is continuously generated thereafter until the vehicle 900 finishes traveling on the avoidance route.

<Modified example>
Next, a modification of the embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between photographic data and time according to a modification of the embodiment. FIG. 8 shows photographic data at time t40, which is the same as the example shown in FIG. The example shown in FIG. 8 differs from the example shown in FIG. 7 in that the photographic data A1 is continuously generated, and the photographic data A2 related to event recording is generated. The photographic data C40 stored in the buffer memory 121 at time t40 is data from time t40 to time t40, which is a period Pn going back from time t40.

The rectangle shown below the photographic data C40 is the photographic data A4 related to auxiliary recording. The photographic data A4 is generated starting at time t02, and continues to be generated up to the latest time t40, spanning the time when the event was detected. Since the photographic data A4 is related to auxiliary recording, it is generated using a compression ratio (first compression ratio or second compression ratio) set by the recording control unit 123. Photographic data A4 is continuously generated after time t40 until vehicle 900 passes through the avoidance route.

The rectangle shown below the photographic data A4 is photographic data A5 related to event recording. The photographic data A5 is photographic data related to an event record generated in response to the occurrence of an event detected at time t30. The photographic data A5 is generated from time t22 to time t31 similarly to the photographic data A2 shown in FIG. The photographic data A5 is generated separately from the photographic data A4 using the first compression ratio. The driving support system 10 thus generates photographic data before and after the time when the event is detected as an event record, and causes the recording device 160 to record this as an event record file.

As described above, the driving support system 10 according to the modified example of the embodiment separately generates the photographic data for auxiliary recording and the photographic data for event recording, and records them in the recording device 160.

Although the embodiment has been described above, the driving support system 10 according to the embodiment is not limited to the above-described configuration. For example, in addition to the photographic data acquired from the camera 150, the driving support system 10 may use a distance measuring sensor that uses infrared rays, a semiconductor laser, or the like. In that case, the vehicle of interest detection section 129 can detect the vehicle of interest by using the signal acquired from the ranging sensor in addition to the photographic data acquired via the photographic data acquisition section 120. Furthermore, distance information may be included in the photographic data acquired from the camera 150.

In the above-described embodiment, the example of the recording format is shown as the first compression ratio and the second compression ratio, but for example, the first compression ratio is uncompressed and the shooting data (raw data) is used as is. It may be.

As described above, according to the embodiments, it is possible to provide a driving support system and the like that presents an avoidance route for avoiding danger and suitably records photographic data on the avoidance route.

Note that the programs described above can be stored and provided to a computer using various types of non-transitory computer-readable media. Non-transitory computer-readable media includes various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic recording media (e.g., flexible disks, magnetic tape, hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (e.g., magneto-optical disks), CD-ROMs (Read Only Memory), CD-Rs, and CDs. - R/W, semiconductor memory (for example, mask ROM, PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, RAM (Random Access Memory)). The program may also be provided to the computer on various types of temporary computer-readable media. Examples of transitory computer-readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The temporary computer-readable medium can provide the program to the computer via wired communication channels, such as electrical wires and fiber optics, or wireless communication channels.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit.

10 Driving support system 100 Control section 110 Bus line 120 Photography data acquisition section 121 Buffer memory 122 Photography data processing section 123 Recording control section 124 Playback control section 125 Operation control section 126 Display control section 127 Event detection section 128 Position information acquisition section 129 Attention Vehicle detection section 130 Route setting section 140 Operation section 141 Display section 142 Acceleration sensor 143 Positioning information reception section 144 Map information storage section 150 Camera 160 Recording device 900 Vehicle

Claims (5)

A driving support system that causes a recording device to record photographic data taken by a camera installed in a vehicle,
a photographic data acquisition unit that acquires the photographic data;
a vehicle of interest detection unit that detects a vehicle of interest based on the photographic data;
a route setting unit that sets an avoidance route for avoiding the vehicle of interest when the vehicle of interest is detected;
a recording control unit that records the photographic data while passing the avoidance route ,
The route setting unit estimates a transit time of the avoidance route,
The recording control unit sets a compression ratio of the photographed data based on the recordable capacity of the recording device and the transit time.
Driving assistance system. The recording control unit can set a first compression ratio and a second compression ratio that is higher than the first compression ratio as the compression ratio, and the recording control unit can set the passing time according to the first compression ratio. If recording exceeds the recordable capacity, the photographed data is set to be recorded using the second compression ratio.
The driving support system according to claim 1 . further comprising an event detection unit that detects the occurrence of an event based on acceleration received by the vehicle,
The recording control unit records the photographic data related to the event using the first compression ratio when the occurrence of the event is detected when the photographic data is recorded using the second compression ratio. set as
The driving support system according to claim 2 . A driving support method that causes a recording device to record photographic data taken by a camera installed in a vehicle,
a photographic data acquisition step of acquiring the photographic data;
a vehicle of interest detection step of detecting a vehicle of interest based on the photographic data;
a route setting step of setting an avoidance route for avoiding the vehicle of interest when the vehicle of interest is detected;
a recording control step of recording the photographic data while passing the avoidance route ,
The route setting step estimates the passage time of the avoidance route;
The recording control step sets a compression ratio of the photographed data based on the recordable capacity of the recording device and the transit time.
Driving support method. A program that causes a computer to execute a driving support method that causes a recording device to record photographic data taken by a camera installed in a vehicle, the program comprising:
The driving support method includes:
a photographic data acquisition step of acquiring the photographic data;
a vehicle of interest detection step of detecting a vehicle of interest based on the photographic data;
a route setting step of setting an avoidance route for avoiding the vehicle of interest when the vehicle of interest is detected;
a recording control step of recording the photographic data while passing the avoidance route ,
The route setting step estimates the passage time of the avoidance route;
The recording control step sets a compression ratio of the photographed data based on the recordable capacity of the recording device and the transit time.
program.

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