JPH06201392A - Method for forming road map data - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily form a precise road map data for an established road without waiting photographing by aerial photograph only by moving a vehicle once according to a route to form the road map data. CONSTITUTION:A vehicle is traveled on an unknown route from a first point A whose position in road map data is knot to a second point B whose position on the road map data is similarly known, whereby a traveling orbit M is provided. To conform the terminal point of the traveling orbit M to the second point B, rotating operation with the first point A as a center and extending and contracting operation are performed to correct the traveling orbit M of the vehicle, and a road map data is formed on the basis of the corrected traveling orbit.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a road map data creation method applied to create road map data used in a vehicle route guidance device (navigation system).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a navigation system installed in a vehicle for route guidance, road map data is recorded in a CD-ROM or the like, and necessary road map data is read out at any time and displayed on a display device such as a CRT. In addition, the vehicle position detected by the azimuth sensor and the mileage sensor is matched with the road map data to accurately calculate the vehicle position. Therefore, the road map data is required to be accurate and up-to-date for accurate route guidance.

However, conventionally used road map data is generally created on the basis of a paper map created based on aerial photographs, and therefore, for example, information on newly established roads after taking aerial photographs. Is not included. In addition, it is difficult to include the accurate shape of a road that cannot be photographed by aerial photography, such as a road in a tunnel.

[0004] Therefore, it is possible to easily create accurate and up-to-date road map data by adding new road information based on the road map data created based on the paper map. A method for creating map data has been proposed (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-88390).
In this method, a vehicle equipped with a position detection device for detecting the current position is moved along a route for which road map data is to be created between a first point and a second point whose road map data is known. A method of creating road map data of the route based on the position information obtained from the position detection device during this movement.

According to this method, by moving the vehicle along the route between the first point and the second point,
Since the road map data of the route is created on the basis of the position information detected at any time during this movement, it is possible to create the road map data of a newly established road or the like without waiting for aerial photography. .

[0006]

However, since there is always an error in the output of the mileage sensor and the azimuth sensor for position detection, the position information obtained from the position detection device contains an error. Further, in the route for which the road map data is desired to be created, the route is unknown at first, so that the matching method with the road map data cannot be adopted. Therefore, it is not always possible to create accurate road map data by the above method.

According to the above-mentioned JP-A-4-88390, in such a case, the road map data detected by the position detecting device is moved a plurality of times between two points, and the plurality of times of movement are detected. A method has been proposed in which the position information of the route to be created is approximated and the result obtained by this approximate calculation is employed (see claim 2 of the above publication).

However, since the same route has to be reciprocated many times, there is a problem that labor and time are required, and consumption of fuel such as gasoline increases. In addition, it is not possible to make a round trip on a one-way road. Therefore, the present invention provides a method for creating road map data, which solves the above-mentioned technical problems and enables easy creation of accurate and latest road map data while saving labor, time, and waste of resources. The purpose is to do.

[0009]

According to the method for creating road map data described in the claims for achieving the above-mentioned object, a road map data is created from a first point whose position on the road map data is known. In order to match the end point of the traveling locus obtained by traveling to the second point whose position is already known with the second point on the road map data, the rotation angle around the first point and the scaling rate Is calculated, and a rotational operation corresponding to the rotation angle and an enlargement / reduction operation corresponding to the enlargement / reduction ratio are performed on each point constituting the traveling locus of the vehicle to correct the traveling locus of the vehicle. It is a method of creating road map data of the route based on the traveled locus.

[0010]

According to the above method, the vehicle is moved once according to the route between the first point and the second point, and the traveling locus of the vehicle is created based on the position information detected at any time during this movement. To do. Then, by performing the rotating operation and the enlarging / reducing operation on the traveling locus, it is possible to obtain an accurate locus in which the start point and the end point match the actual road map. Therefore, even if there is a detection error in the position detecting means, accurate road map data can be created based on the corrected traveling locus.

[0011]

Embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an apparatus for carrying out the method for creating road map data according to the present invention. This device uses, for example, a so-called navigation system 1 mounted on a vehicle, and obtains road map data corresponding to a road map by detecting position information of the vehicle when the vehicle is moving.

The navigation system 1 includes a vehicle speed sensor 2 installed on a wheel, a direction sensor 3 composed of an optical fiber gyro, a road map database 4 composed of a CD-ROM or the like for storing road map data, and A position calculation unit 5 that calculates the current position of the vehicle based on the outputs of the sensors 2 and 3 and the road map data stored in the road map database 4, and a CRT that displays the current position of the vehicle together with the road map. Display device 6 and a display control unit 7 for giving a display control signal corresponding to the road map data read from the road map database 4 and the vehicle position data obtained from the position calculation unit 5 to the display device 6.
And an input unit 8 connected to the display control unit 7 for inputting various data. The vehicle state detection unit 9 is also connected to the position calculation unit 5, detects the position of the shift lever, for example, and gives the position calculation unit 5 a signal indicating whether the vehicle is moving forward or backward. A “position detecting unit” is configured to include the vehicle speed sensor 2, the direction sensor 3, the position calculating unit 5, and the like.

A personal computer 10 is connected to such a navigation system 1. The personal computer 10 can obtain the position information calculated by the position calculation unit 5 from the line 11, and various commands can be sent via the line 11 to the position calculation unit 5.
Can be given to. This personal computer 1
An external storage device 12 such as a floppy disk unit is connected to 0.

In a normal use state of the navigation system 1, the position calculation unit 5 calculates the current position of the vehicle calculated from the outputs of the vehicle speed sensor 2 and the direction sensor 3 and the road map data stored in the road map database 4. The position information of the vehicle is obtained by performing a matching process with (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-115004).
That is, the position information output from the position calculation unit 5 corresponds to the position on any road stored in the road map database 4. By matching such road map data with the detected current position, the detection error of the vehicle speed sensor 2 and the direction sensor 3 can be eliminated, and the vehicle position information can be correctly obtained.

Next, the operation of creating road map data will be described. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that there are two roads 21 and 22 whose road map data are stored in the road map database 4 and a road L connecting these roads 21 and 22 is newly established. To do. Of course, the road map data of the road L is not recorded in the road map database 4.

First, from an intersection 23 located on the road 21 at a position sufficiently close to the road L, from the point A, which is the first point where the road 21 and the road L are connected, to the road L and the road L via the road L. The vehicle is driven to a point B, which is a second point where 22 is connected. With the movement of such vehicles,
The road map data of the newly established road L can be created by detecting the locus M during the movement.

By the way, the detected locus M has a detection error of the vehicle speed sensor 2 and the direction sensor 3 and cannot be matched with the road map data. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, it is separated from the actual locus of the road L. It may happen. Therefore, the detected locus M is corrected to match the road map data. This procedure will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

First, at the intersection 23, the operator who gets into the vehicle operates the input unit 8 at the point A to input the accurate current position of the vehicle. The input of the current position of the vehicle is performed by scrolling the displayed road map to the intersection position of the cross cursor displayed on the display device 6. In this way, the accurate current position of the vehicle can be given without depending on the vehicle speed sensor 2 and the direction sensor 3. The input of the current position may be performed by moving the cross cursor instead of scrolling the road map.

At the point A, the operator uses the personal computer 10 to issue a command for calculating the position information only by so-called dead-reckoning only by the outputs of the vehicle speed sensor 2 and the direction sensor 3 without performing the above map matching. It is given to the calculation unit 5. Hereinafter, a state in which the position information is calculated only by dead reckoning without performing map matching will be referred to as "free mode".

In this free mode, the vehicle is moved to the point B through the road L. The position information obtained at any time by the dead reckoning in the course of this vehicle movement is given to the personal computer 10 from the line 11, and the external storage device 1
At 2, the data is recorded on a recording medium such as a floppy disk. Further, the position information is given to the display control unit 7,
As a result, the display device 6 displays the current position of the vehicle (the current position obtained by dead reckoning) together with the road map. When the vehicle moves to the point B in this way, the collection of the position information is ended, and the free mode is restored to the state where the map matching is performed.

As described above, the position information representing the locus of the road L is collected by traveling on the road L, but the current position of the vehicle on the road L is detected without map matching. Since it is based only on dead reckoning, an error will occur. That is, as shown in FIG.
The traveling locus M of the vehicle obtained from the position information detected when traveling on the road L from the point A to the point B exists on the road L at the point A, but the actual road L increases as the traveling distance increases. Going off.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the true traveling locus is calculated by aligning the end point of the traveling locus M with the point B, which is the end point of the actual traveling, and accurate road map data is created. A simple road map database 43 is created. First, an angle α between a straight line X1 passing through the point A and the end point B1 of the traveling locus M as shown in FIG. 3 and a straight line X passing through the points A and B is obtained, and the straight line X1 is obtained as shown in FIG. Rotate by angle -α. As a result, the end point B1 of the traveling locus M rides on the straight line X, and this point is set to B
Expressed as 2.

Next, in order to align the point B2 with the point B, A
The scale is reduced or expanded centered on the point. Figure 5
Shows an example in which the point B2 is reduced to match the point B. Such rotation operation and reduction or enlargement operation,
If it is applied to all the points forming the traveling locus M, the traveling locus M2 that matches the pattern of the actual road L can be obtained.

As described above, according to this embodiment, by driving the vehicle on the newly established road L, the navigation system 1 is used to easily create road map data representing the locus of the road L. be able to. As a result,
It becomes possible to easily create the latest and accurate road map database including the road map data of the newly established road L without relying on aerial photographs and the like.
It is also easy to obtain accurate road map data for roads in tunnels that cannot be captured by aerial photography.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the CD-ROM is used as the road map database is taken as an example, but the road map database is constructed using a recording medium such as an IC card capable of writing data. May be. Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the position detecting means is constituted by the vehicle speed sensor 2, the direction sensor 3, the position calculating section 5, etc., but the position detecting means may be constituted by using another sensor such as a distance sensor. Good. Other various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0026]

As described above, according to the method for creating road map data of the present invention, the vehicle is moved only once according to the route for which the road map data should be created, without waiting for aerial photography. , It is possible to easily create accurate road map data for newly constructed roads. As a result, the latest and accurate road map data can be provided at any time, so that the usefulness of, for example, a vehicle navigation system can be improved.

Further, there is an effect that road map data such as roads in a tunnel, which cannot be created by aerial photographs, can be created accurately.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a map showing an example of a route for which road map data is to be created.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an apparatus for creating road map data.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a traveling locus of a vehicle based on detected position information.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a traveling locus is rotated.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in which a traveling locus after rotation is subjected to a reduction operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Navigation System 2 Vehicle Speed Sensor 3 Direction Sensor 4 Road Map Database 5 Position Calculator 10 Personal Computer

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus comprising a mileage sensor, an azimuth sensor, and position detecting means for detecting the position of the vehicle based on mileage data and azimuth data of the vehicle obtained from outputs of the mileage sensor and the azimuth sensor. A route for which you want to create road map data from a first point whose position on the road map data is known to a second point whose position is also known on the road map data. In order to match the end point of the traveling locus with the second point on the road map data, the traveling locus of the vehicle is obtained based on the position information obtained from the position detecting means at the time of movement. , Calculating a rotation angle around the first point and an enlargement / reduction ratio, and corresponding to the rotation operation and the enlargement / reduction ratio corresponding to the rotation angle with respect to each point constituting the traveling locus of the vehicle. A method for creating road map data, characterized in that a travel locus of a vehicle is corrected by performing an enlarging / reducing operation, and road map data of the route is created based on the corrected travel locus.