JPWO2019026469A1 - Vehicle control apparatus, vehicle control method, and vehicle control program - Google Patents

Abstract

Even if a failure occurs in the sensor, the vehicle can be safely driven. The vehicle control device includes a front recognition unit that recognizes the front of the vehicle based on an output of the sensor, a failure detection unit that detects that the front recognition unit is in a failure state in which the front of the vehicle cannot be recognized, and information on a road on which the vehicle travels. A storage unit for storing map information, a position acquisition unit for acquiring information on the position of the vehicle, and a vehicle control for controlling the speed of the vehicle based on the position of the vehicle and the map information when the failure detection unit detects a failure state. Unit.

Description

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

Currently, automatic driving is actively developed. According to the US Department of Transportation Road Traffic Safety Administration, the level of autonomous driving is determined in stages as follows. In Level 1, which is a stand-alone type, the driver is the driving subject, and the system controls any of acceleration, steering, and braking. In level 2, the system operation is more complex, and a plurality of the above three controls are simultaneously controlled. This is used under conditions that do not require much steering, such as on highways, or in situations such as following a vehicle ahead. At level 3, the system performs all three controls described above. At level 3, the driver is responsible for supplementing driving in response to a request from the system in an emergency. At level 4, the driver does not participate in driving because the system performs fully automatic driving. In recent years, a driving support system equivalent to level 2 has been developed, and the realization of an automatic driving system after level 3 in which the system is mainly used is also in view.
In Patent Literature 1, when automatic driving support is being implemented in a vehicle, section determining means for determining whether or not an implementation limiting section where implementation of automatic driving support is limited is ahead in the traveling direction of the vehicle; When the section determination unit determines that the execution restriction section is ahead of the vehicle in the traveling direction, automatic driving support can be performed when the execution restriction section satisfies a predetermined condition of the vehicle. An execution determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle is a conditional execution section, a vehicle state acquisition means for acquiring the state of the vehicle, and the execution restriction section determined to be ahead in the traveling direction of the vehicle is the conditional execution. Condition determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle condition satisfies the predetermined condition when it is determined that the vehicle is in a section; and control of the vehicle according to a determination result of the condition determination means; And a control means for executing an inner, automatic driving support system with a disclosed.

JP, 2006-207064, A

  The invention described in Patent Document 1 does not take into account sensor defects.

The vehicle control apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a front recognition unit for recognizing the front of the vehicle based on the output of the sensor, and a failure detection for detecting that the front recognition unit is in a defective state where the front of the vehicle cannot be recognized. A vehicle, a storage unit that stores map information that is information on a road on which the vehicle travels, a position acquisition unit that acquires information related to the position of the vehicle, and the failure detection unit that detects the failure state, the vehicle And a vehicle control unit that controls the speed of the vehicle based on the map information.
A vehicle control method according to a second aspect of the present invention is a vehicle control method executed in a vehicle control device that is mounted on a vehicle and includes a storage unit that stores map information that is information on a road on which the vehicle travels. Recognizing the front of the vehicle based on the output of the sensor, detecting a malfunction state incapable of recognizing the front of the vehicle, obtaining information on the position of the vehicle, and detecting the malfunction state, the vehicle And controlling the speed of the vehicle based on the map information.
A vehicle control program according to a third aspect of the present invention is a vehicle control program that is mounted on a vehicle and executed in a vehicle control device that includes a storage unit that stores map information that is information on a road on which the vehicle travels. The vehicle control device is configured to recognize the front of the vehicle based on the output of the sensor, to detect a malfunction state incapable of recognizing the front of the vehicle, to acquire information on the position of the vehicle, and to the malfunction state Is detected, the speed of the vehicle is controlled based on the position of the vehicle and the map information.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to drive a vehicle safely even when a malfunction occurs in a sensor.

Hardware configuration diagram of vehicle 9 Functional block diagram of the vehicle control device 1 The flowchart showing operation | movement of the automatic driving | operation part 17 in embodiment. Flow chart showing speed control process FIG. 5A shows the position of the vehicle 9 in the operation example, and FIG. 5B shows the speed of the vehicle 9 in the operation example. The flowchart showing the operation of the automatic driving unit 17 in the second modification.

-First embodiment-
Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 1-5, 1st Embodiment of the vehicle control apparatus concerning this invention is described.

  FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a vehicle 9 on which the vehicle control device 1 is mounted. The vehicle 9 includes a vehicle control device 1, a sensor control device 2, a front camera 2A, a rear camera 2B, a display unit 3, a GPS receiver 4, a speed control device 5, a steering control device 6, and communication. Device 7. The vehicle control device 1, the sensor control device 2, the display unit 3, the GPS receiver 4, the speed control device 5, the steering control device 6, and the communication device 7 are connected to each other by an in-vehicle network 8. The vehicle 9 has two operation modes: an automatic operation mode in which the vehicle control device 1 controls the vehicle 9 and a manual operation mode in which the user controls the vehicle 9. In addition, the drive system of the vehicle 9 does not limit this invention at all, and various drive systems, such as an internal combustion engine, a motor, and those combinations, can be used. Further, the size of the vehicle 9 does not limit the present invention at all, and the vehicle 9 can take any size.

  The vehicle control device 1 is an electronic control including a CPU 1A that is a central processing unit, a ROM 1B that is a read-only storage device, a RAM 1C that is a volatile memory such as a DRAM, and a flash memory 1D that is a nonvolatile storage unit. It is an apparatus, that is, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). The CPU 1A realizes functions to be described later by expanding and executing the program stored in the ROM 1B in the RAM 1C.

  The sensor control device 2 provides captured images obtained from the front camera 2A and the rear camera 2B to other devices via the in-vehicle network 8. The sensor control device 2 may be connected to other sensors (not shown) such as a millimeter wave radar, and the outputs of these sensors may be provided to other devices together. The front camera 2A is attached to the vehicle 9 so as to photograph the front of the vehicle 9. The front camera 2 </ b> A outputs a captured image obtained by capturing to the sensor control device 2. In the present embodiment, the operation of the vehicle control device 1 in a situation where the vehicle control device 1 cannot acquire the image captured by the front camera 2A will be mainly described. The situation in which the vehicle control device 1 cannot acquire the photographed image of the front camera 2A is, for example, a situation in which a mechanical malfunction occurs in the front camera 2A and a normal photographed image cannot be output, contamination on the lens of the front camera 2A, There are situations where the recognition of the outside world such as dew condensation occurs, and the situation where the mounting position and mounting posture of the front camera 2A shifts and an image of a predetermined area cannot be taken. The rear camera 2B is attached to the vehicle 9 so as to photograph the rear of the vehicle 9. The rear camera 2 </ b> B outputs a captured image obtained by capturing to the sensor control device 2.

  The display unit 3 provides video information to the passenger of the vehicle 9 based on the operation command of the vehicle control device 1. The display unit 3 displays, for example, a display that prompts switching from automatic operation to manual operation or a display that prompts attention to deceleration. The GPS receiver 4 receives radio waves from a plurality of satellites constituting the satellite navigation system, and analyzes the signals included in the radio waves to calculate the position of the vehicle 9, that is, the latitude and longitude. The GPS receiver 4 outputs the calculated latitude and longitude to the in-vehicle network 8.

  The speed control device 5 is an ECU and controls the speed of the vehicle 9 based on the operation command of the vehicle control device 1. Specifically, the speed control device 5 controls the engine speed of the vehicle 9 and the braking device of the vehicle 9. Further, the operation of the speed control device 5 may include an anti-lock brake system (ABS), a skid prevention device (ESC), and control of the engine throttle opening. The steering control device 6 is an ECU, and controls the steering wheel of the vehicle 9 based on the operation command of the vehicle control device 1. The communication device 7 acquires traffic jam information by wireless communication and outputs it to the vehicle control device 1. That is, the traffic jam information stored in the vehicle control device 1 is updated as needed by the communication device 7.

(Vehicle control device)
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating functions provided in the vehicle control device 1 as functional blocks. The vehicle control device 1 has, as its function, a front recognition unit 11A, a rear recognition unit 11B, a defect detection unit 12, a speed control unit 13, a steering control unit 14, a notification unit 15, a route grasping unit 16, An automatic driving unit 17, a storage unit 18, and a position acquisition unit 19 are provided.

  The automatic driving unit 17 includes a front recognition unit 11A, a rear recognition unit 11B, a failure detection unit 12, a speed control unit 13, a steering control unit 14, a notification unit 15, a route grasping unit 16, a storage unit 18, and a position acquisition unit 19. By using this, automatic driving of the vehicle 9 is realized. As will be described later, the automatic driving unit 17 can continue the automatic driving even when a captured image cannot be obtained from the front recognition unit 11A. Detailed operation of the automatic driving unit 17 will be described later.

  11 A of front recognition parts acquire the picked-up image of front camera 2A from the sensor control apparatus 2 via the vehicle-mounted network 8, and recognize the condition ahead of the vehicle 9. FIG. For example, the front recognition unit 11 </ b> A determines whether there is an obstacle in front of the vehicle 9. The rear recognition unit 11 </ b> B acquires a photographed image of the rear camera 2 </ b> B from the sensor control device 2 via the in-vehicle network 8 and recognizes the situation behind the vehicle 9. For example, the rear recognition unit 11 </ b> B determines whether there is a subsequent vehicle that travels following the vehicle 9. However, the rear recognition unit 11B determines that there is no subsequent vehicle when the distance between the vehicle 9 and the subsequent vehicle is a predetermined distance, for example, 50 meters or more.

  The defect detection unit 12 detects a defect related to the captured image of the front camera 2A. That is, the malfunction detection unit 12 determines that a malfunction has occurred when a captured image cannot be obtained from the front camera 2A, or when a captured image obtained from the front camera 2A is not updated for a predetermined time by a predetermined area ratio or more. The case where the captured image cannot be obtained from the front camera 2A is, for example, the case where the front camera 2A stops operating or the signal line is disconnected. The case where the above-mentioned update is not performed is, for example, a case where mud or the like adheres to the lens of the front camera 2A, or a case where a part of the image sensor included in the front camera 2A does not function.

  The speed control unit 13 outputs an operation command to the speed control device 5 via the in-vehicle network 8. Further, the speed control unit 13 acquires the speed of the vehicle 9 from a speed sensor (not shown) mounted on the vehicle 9. However, the speed control unit 13 may calculate the speed of the vehicle 9 by differentiating the position of the vehicle 9 acquired by the position acquisition unit 19. The steering control unit 14 outputs an operation command to the steering control device 6 via the in-vehicle network 8. The notification unit 15 notifies the user via the display unit 3.

  When the user inputs a destination using an input unit (not shown), the route grasping unit 16 refers to map information 18A described later, calculates a travel route from the current location to the destination, and stores the calculated travel route. To do. In the present embodiment, the route grasping unit 16 has already calculated a traveling route, and the traveling route is stored in the route grasping unit 16. The storage unit 18 includes a ROM 1C and a flash memory 1D. The storage unit 18 stores map information 18A. The map information 18A includes a so-called cant which is the position of an obstacle on a road such as a guardrail or a median strip, the road shape, the number of lanes, the designated speed indicated by a road sign, the curvature radius of the curve, and the slope of the road in the curve. Such information is stored. The map information 18A further includes traffic jam information updated by the communication device 7. Since this traffic jam information is updated as needed, it is stored in the flash memory 1D. The position acquisition unit 19 acquires position information of the vehicle 9 from the GPS receiver 4 via the in-vehicle network 8.

(Outline of operation of vehicle control device)
The vehicle control device 1 controls the speed and the steering angle of the vehicle 9 so that the vehicle 9 travels along a preset route. In the automatic operation mode, the vehicle control device 1 normally stores the captured images obtained from the front camera 2A and the rear camera 2B, the position of the vehicle 9 acquired from the position acquisition unit 19, and the storage unit 18 in order to control the vehicle 9. Use map information. When the captured image cannot be obtained from the front camera 2A, the vehicle control apparatus 1 decreases the recognition ability of the surrounding environment, and therefore immediately stops automatic driving and attempts to switch to the manual driving mode. At this time, when the vehicle 9 is traveling at a low speed on a straight road having a space where the vehicle 9 can be stopped, such as a road shoulder, it is possible to stop and switch to the manual operation mode. However, when driving on a road without a shoulder or driving on a curve, the vehicle cannot be stopped immediately. Therefore, in such a case, the vehicle control device 1 travels at a low speed to a position where the vehicle can be safely stopped, stops the vehicle, and switches to manual operation.

  When the captured image cannot be obtained from the front camera 2A, the vehicle control device 1 changes the speed of the vehicle 9 depending on the road conditions ahead of the vehicle 9 and the presence or absence of the following vehicle. For example, if the road on which the vehicle 9 is traveling is a straight line with a good view, the vehicle control device 1 sets the speed obtained by subtracting 20 kilometers per hour from the legal speed or the designated speed when there is no following vehicle, and when the following vehicle exists. Is the legal speed or the designated speed minus 10 kilometers per hour. In addition, since a rapid change in speed is not preferable, the vehicle control device 1 starts deceleration from an appropriate position before entering the curve when detecting a place where deceleration is required, for example, a curve, and until the entry to the curve if possible. To complete deceleration. The vehicle control device 1 calculates the position where deceleration starts by referring to the map information using a known method.

(Operation of automatic operation section)
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the automatic driving unit 17. In FIG. 3, the automatic driving unit 17 first determines in S311 whether or not the failure detection unit 12 has detected a failure of the front camera 2A, that is, whether or not the front recognition unit 11A is in a failure state where the front of the vehicle 9 cannot be recognized. Judge whether or not. The automatic operation unit 17 proceeds to S313 when determining that a malfunction has been detected, and proceeds to S312 when determining that a malfunction has not been detected. In S <b> 312, the automatic driving unit 17 performs a normal automatic driving process that also uses a captured image of the front camera 2 </ b> A, and ends the process illustrated in FIG. 3.

  In S313, the automatic driving unit 17 analyzes the vicinity of the current position of the vehicle 9 acquired from the position acquisition unit 19 in the map information 18A. Specifically, the automatic driving unit 17 detects a stopable space around the current position where the vehicle 9 such as a parking lot can be temporarily stopped. In subsequent S314, the automatic driving unit 17 determines whether or not the vehicle 9 can be stopped immediately, for example, whether or not there is a stopable space within 10 meters from the current travel position. The automatic driving unit 17 proceeds to S316 when determining that the vehicle can be stopped immediately, and proceeds to S315 when determining that the vehicle cannot be stopped immediately. Details of S315 will be described later with reference to FIG. The automatic operation part 17 returns to S313 when the process of S315 is completed. In S316, the automatic driving unit 17 stops the vehicle 9 in a stoppable space. In subsequent S317, the automatic driving unit 17 notifies the display unit 3 through the notification unit 15 to switch to the manual operation mode in order to switch the operation mode of the vehicle 9 to the manual operation mode. However, the automatic driving unit 17 may notify that the automatic driving mode is ended in S317 and switch the operation mode to the manual driving mode.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of S315 in FIG. 3, that is, speed control processing. In FIG. 4, first, the automatic driving unit 17 calculates a first reference speed and a second reference speed based on the current position and the map information 18A in S321. Each of the first reference speed and the second reference speed is a speed at which the vehicle can safely travel in front of the current position and the traveling direction, is equal to or less than the designated speed, and the first reference speed is faster than the second reference speed. The speed at which the vehicle can travel safely is calculated based on the curvature radius of the curve, the bank angle, the traffic volume, and information on the traffic jam stored in the map information 18A. For example, if there is a traffic jam ahead even if the road is a straight line, the speed at which the vehicle can travel safely is calculated to be low. In subsequent S322, the automatic driving unit 17 determines whether there is a following vehicle using the output of the rear recognition unit 11B. If the automatic driving unit 17 determines that there is a subsequent vehicle, the process proceeds to S323, and if it determines that there is no subsequent vehicle, the process proceeds to S327.

  In S323, the automatic driving unit 17 sets the target speed to the first reference speed. In subsequent S324, the automatic driving unit 17 determines whether or not the current speed is equal to or lower than the target speed set in S323. If it is determined that the current speed is equal to or lower than the target speed, the process proceeds to S325, and if it is determined that the current speed is faster than the target speed, the process proceeds to S326. In S325, the automatic driving unit 17 maintains the current speed and ends the process shown in FIG. In S326, the automatic driving unit 17 instructs the speed control device 5 to change to the target speed through the speed control unit 13, and notifies the display unit 3 through the notification unit 15 that the vehicle is decelerated. The process ends.

  In S327, which is executed when a negative determination is made in S322, the automatic driving unit 17 sets the target speed to the second reference speed. In subsequent S328, the automatic driving unit 17 determines whether or not the current speed is equal to or lower than the target speed set in S327. If it is determined that the current speed is equal to or lower than the target speed, the process proceeds to S325, and if it is determined that the current speed is faster than the target speed, the process proceeds to S326.

(Operation example)
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an operation example of the vehicle control device 1. Reference numerals 91 to 96 shown in FIG. 5 indicate positions of the vehicle 9 at different times. FIG. 5A shows the position of the vehicle 9 in the operation example, and FIG. 5B shows the speed of the vehicle 9 in the operation example.

  First, the movement of the vehicle 9 will be described with reference to FIG. The vehicle 9 was traveling at the speed V0 at the position of reference numeral 91. Immediately thereafter, at the position where the vehicle 9 is indicated by reference numeral 92, the automatic driving unit 17 has detected a problem with the front camera 2A (FIG. 3, S311: YES). The automatic driving unit 17 analyzes the map information, determines that the vehicle cannot be stopped, and executes speed control (S313, S314: NO, S315). In the speed control process, the automatic driving unit 17 determines that there is no subsequent vehicle (S322: NO), and sets the target speed to the second reference speed V2 (S327).

  Since the current speed V0 is faster than the second reference speed V2, deceleration is started (S328: NO, S326). The deceleration of the vehicle 9 continued to the position indicated by reference numeral 93. At the position indicated by reference numeral 93, the vehicle speed of the vehicle 9 became the second reference speed V2. At the positions indicated by reference numerals 93 and 94, the automatic driving unit 17 detects a malfunction of the front camera 2A, determines that the vehicle cannot be stopped, and performs speed control. However, since the current speed is equal to the target speed, the current speed is Is maintained (S328: YES, S325). At the position indicated by reference numeral 95, the automatic driving unit 17 determines that the vehicle can be stopped on the shoulder (S314: YES), stops the vehicle 9 at the position indicated by reference numeral 96 (S316), and switches to the manual operation mode. (S317).

  Next, the transition of the speed of the vehicle 9 will be described with reference to FIG. At the position indicated by reference numeral 91, the vehicle 9 is traveling at the speed V0, and at the position indicated by reference numeral 92, the vehicle 9 starts decelerating to the second reference speed V2. The vehicle speed of the vehicle 9 is the second reference speed V2 at the position indicated by reference numeral 93, and the second reference speed V2 is maintained up to the position indicated by reference numeral 95 at which the vehicle starts to stop. And since the vehicle 9 starts a stop from the position shown with the code | symbol 95, a vehicle speed reduces toward speed zero.

In the operation example described above, the automatic driving unit 17 determines that the following vehicle does not exist (S322: NO), so the target speed is set to the second reference speed V2. However, when the automatic driving unit 17 has the following vehicle, When judged, it changes as follows. That is, if the automatic driving unit 17 determines that there is a following vehicle, the automatic driving unit 17 sets the target speed to the first reference speed V1 (S322: YES, S323). Since the first reference speed V1 is faster than the second reference speed V2, in this case, FIG.
(B) shows a speed change as indicated by a broken line. As described above, when there is a subsequent vehicle, the automatic driving unit 17 moderates the speed change, suppresses a rapid change in speed, and improves the safety by reducing the burden on the subsequent vehicle.

According to the first embodiment described above, the following operational effects are obtained.
(1) The vehicle control device 1 detects that the front recognition unit 11A recognizes the situation in front of the vehicle 9 based on the output of the front camera 2A, and that the front recognition unit 11A is in a malfunction state in which the front of the vehicle 9 cannot be recognized. The defect detection unit 12, the storage unit 18 that stores map information 18A that is information on the road on which the vehicle 9 travels, the position acquisition unit 19 that acquires information about the position of the vehicle 9, and the defect detection unit 12 indicate a defect state. When detected, an automatic driving unit 17 that controls the speed of the vehicle 9 based on the position of the vehicle 9 and the map information 18A is provided. Therefore, the vehicle control device 1 enables safe traveling by appropriately controlling the speed of the vehicle 9 even when the front recognition unit 11A cannot recognize the situation in front of the vehicle 9 due to a failure of the front camera 2A. In other words, the vehicle control device 1 can drive the vehicle 9 safely even when a malfunction occurs in the front camera 2A. Moreover, since the vehicle control apparatus 1 can control the vehicle 9 using the map information 18A and the position information even when the front recognition unit 11A cannot recognize the situation in front of the vehicle 9, there is a problem with the occupant of the vehicle 9 in the front camera 2A. There is no feeling.

(2) An automatic driving unit 17 is provided for determining whether there is a following vehicle following the vehicle 9. In the speed control, the automatic driving unit 17 makes the speed deceleration smaller when the following vehicle is present than when there is no following vehicle (S322: YES, S323 in FIG. 4). Since the vehicle 9 cannot obtain information from the front camera 2A, it is better to slow down the speed. However, when there is a subsequent vehicle, a sudden speed change may cause a rear-end collision with the vehicle 9 or a sudden collision with the subsequent vehicle. This is not preferable because there is a possibility of forcing a proper handle operation. Therefore, the automatic driving unit 17 can reduce the adverse effect on the subsequent vehicle while ensuring the safety of the vehicle 9 by reducing the deceleration when the subsequent vehicle exists.

(3) The vehicle control device 1 includes a notification unit 15 that uses the display unit 3 as an output destination and performs notification related to vehicle control by the automatic driving unit 17. When the failure detection unit 12 detects a failure state, the automatic driving unit 17 has a curve in the traveling direction of the vehicle 9 and the current speed of the vehicle is faster than the maximum speed at which the vehicle can travel the curve (S324 in FIG. 4). NO and S328: NO), the notification of decelerating using the notification unit 15 and the deceleration of the vehicle are performed (S326). Therefore, the occupant of the vehicle 9 can take measures for deceleration, so that the anxiety and confusion caused by the sudden movement of the vehicle 9 can be avoided.

(4) The vehicle control device 1 includes the automatic driving unit 17 that calculates the closest stoppable position based on the map information and the position of the vehicle (S313 in FIG. 3). When the malfunction detection unit 12 detects the malfunction state, the automatic driving unit 17 stops the vehicle at the closest parking position (S316). Therefore, when a failure is detected by the failure detection unit 12, the vehicle control device 1 can immediately stop the vehicle 9 and switch to the manual operation mode if possible.

(Modification 1)
The vehicle 9 may further include a triaxial accelerometer, and the measured triaxial acceleration may be output to the vehicle control device 1. In this case, the vehicle control device 1 controls the vehicle 9 so that the output of the three-axis accelerometer does not exceed a predetermined value, in other words, the acceleration that the passenger of the vehicle 9 feels uncomfortable is not generated. In this case, the automatic driving unit 17 acquires the output of the triaxial accelerometer at fine time intervals, and sends the output of the triaxial accelerometer to the speed control unit 13 and the steering control unit 14 so that the output of the triaxial accelerometer does not exceed a predetermined value each time. An operation command may be output. The automatic driving unit 17 stores in advance the relationship between the operation command to the speed control unit 13 and the steering control unit 14 and the output of the three-axis accelerometer, and the speed control unit 13 and the steering control unit 14 based on the relationship. An operation command may be output.

(Modification 2)
In the first embodiment described above, it is assumed that the vehicle 9 is stopped for switching from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode. However, switching from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode may be performed without stopping the vehicle 9. In this case, the vehicle control device 1 prompts the user to switch to the manual operation mode on the condition that the road is a straight line and there is no signal and there is no branching or merging. And when a user's preparation is completed, it will switch to manual operation mode.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the automatic driving unit 17 in this modification. In FIG. 6, the same steps as those in FIG. 3 in the first embodiment are denoted by the same step numbers, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In FIG. 6, the automatic driving unit 17 first determines whether or not the defect detection unit 12 has detected a defect in the front camera 2A in S311. If YES, the process proceeds to S312. In S313A, the automatic driving unit 17 analyzes the vicinity of the current position of the vehicle 9 acquired from the position acquisition unit 19 in the map information 18A. Specifically, the automatic driving unit 17 analyzes linearity, presence / absence of a signal, presence / absence of branching and merging in a predetermined section from the current position, for example, a section of 100 meters, for a road that is currently traveling. In subsequent S331, the automatic driving unit 17 determines whether or not switching to the manual driving mode is possible on the currently traveling road. Specifically, the automatic driving unit 17 proceeds to S332 when determining that the predetermined section of the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling is a straight line, no signal, and no branching or merging, the predetermined section from the current position. If it is determined that the signal is not a straight line, has a signal, has a branch or merges, the process proceeds to S315.

  In S <b> 332, the automatic driving unit 17 displays on the display unit 3 via the notification unit 15 a message prompting preparation for manual driving, for example, a message “Please hold the handle and put your foot on the pedal”. In subsequent S333, the automatic driving unit 17 determines whether or not the preparation for the user's manual driving is completed. When the automatic operation unit 17 determines that the preparation is completed, the process proceeds to S317 and switches to the manual operation mode. If the automatic operation unit 17 determines that the user's preparation is not completed, the process proceeds to S315. In S333, the automatic driving unit 17 makes an affirmative determination when, for example, the user is holding the steering wheel and puts his or her foot on the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal. A plurality of known methods can be used to determine whether or not the user is grasping the steering wheel by the automatic driving unit 17. A method using an image taken by a camera (not shown) can be employed. A plurality of known methods can be used to determine whether or not the user puts his / her foot on the pedal by the automatic driving unit 17. For example, an output of a weight scale (not shown) that detects a load applied to the pedal is used. It is possible to employ a method of using or a method of using an image taken by a camera (not shown) that photographs the pedal.

  Since the operations in S312, S315, and S317 are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

(Modification 3)
Although the notification is always performed in S326 in FIG. 4, the notification may be performed only when the deceleration is larger than a predetermined threshold. In this case, since the notification is not performed in the case of slow deceleration, the notification can be performed only in an important case, in other words, when special attention is required.

(Modification 4)
The automatic driving unit 17 may turn on or blink the hazard lamp when the vehicle 9 is decelerated and stopped.

  Although the program of the vehicle control device 1 is stored in the ROM 1B, the program may be stored in the flash memory 1D. Further, the vehicle control device 1 may include an input / output interface (not shown), and the program may be read from another device via the input / output interface and a medium that can be used by the vehicle control device 1 when necessary. Here, the medium refers to, for example, a storage medium that can be attached to and detached from the input / output interface, or a communication medium, that is, a wired, wireless, or optical network, or a carrier wave or digital signal that propagates through the network. Also, part or all of the functions realized by the program may be realized by a hardware circuit or FPGA.

  The above-described embodiments and modifications may be combined. Although various embodiments and modifications have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these contents. Other embodiments conceivable within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention are also included in the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle control apparatus 2 ... Sensor control apparatus 2A ... Front camera 2B ... Rear camera 9 ... Vehicle 11A ... Front recognition part 11B ... Back recognition part 12 ... Defect detection part 13 ... Speed control part 14 ... Steering control part 15 ... Notification part 16 ... Route grasping part 17 ... Automatic driving part 18 ... Storage part 18A ... Map information 19 ... Position acquisition part

Claims (6)

A front recognition unit for recognizing the front of the vehicle from the output of the sensor;
A malfunction detection unit that detects that the forward recognition unit is in a malfunction state in which it cannot recognize the front of the vehicle;
A storage unit that stores map information that is information on a road on which the vehicle travels;
A position acquisition unit for acquiring information related to the position of the vehicle;
A vehicle control device comprising: a vehicle control unit that controls the speed of the vehicle based on the position of the vehicle and the map information when the failure detection unit detects the failure state. The vehicle control device according to claim 1,
A further determination unit for determining the presence or absence of a subsequent vehicle following the vehicle;
In the speed control, the vehicle control unit makes the deceleration of the speed smaller when the following vehicle is present than when the following vehicle is not present. The vehicle control device according to claim 1,
A notification unit for performing notification regarding the control of the vehicle by the vehicle control unit;
When the failure detection unit detects the failure state, the vehicle control unit reports the notification when a curve exists in the traveling direction of the vehicle and the current speed of the vehicle is higher than the maximum speed at which the vehicle can travel the curve. The vehicle control apparatus which performs the alert | report to the effect of decelerating using a part, and the deceleration of the said vehicle. The vehicle control device according to claim 1,
The vehicle further comprises a stop position calculating unit that calculates a closest stop possible position based on the map information and the position of the vehicle,
The vehicle control unit is a vehicle control device that stops the vehicle at the closest parking position when the failure detection unit detects the failure state. A vehicle control method that is implemented in a vehicle control apparatus that includes a storage unit that is mounted on a vehicle and stores map information that is information on a road on which the vehicle travels,
Recognizing the front of the vehicle by the output of the sensor;
Detecting a failure state in which the front of the vehicle cannot be recognized;
Obtaining information about the position of the vehicle;
A vehicle control method comprising: controlling the speed of the vehicle based on the position of the vehicle and the map information when detecting the malfunction state. A vehicle control program that is mounted on a vehicle and executed in a vehicle control device that includes a storage unit that stores map information that is information on a road on which the vehicle travels, the vehicle control device including:
Recognizing the front of the vehicle by the output of the sensor;
Detecting a failure state in which the front of the vehicle cannot be recognized;
Obtaining information about the position of the vehicle;
A vehicle control program for executing the control of the speed of the vehicle based on the position of the vehicle and the map information when the malfunction state is detected.

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