TWI624743B - Automatic driving vehicle and automatic driving system including same - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a self-propelled self-driving vehicle capable of identifying a current position with high accuracy.

The automatic traveling vehicle is configured to be capable of automatically traveling on a predetermined traveling path in a state based on a fixed point control speed set on the predetermined traveling path. The self-driving vehicle includes: a fixed-point detection unit that detects that the fixed-point has passed; a memory unit that establishes a correspondence relationship between the fixed-point position information related to the position configured at each fixed-point and the fixed-point identification information used to identify each fixed-point; The fixed-point specifying section specifies the passed fixed-point detected by the fixed-point detecting section based on the fixed-point identification information; the driving distance measuring section measures the driving distance from the fixed point specified by the fixed-point specific section to the current location; The current location specifying unit specifies the current location based on the location of the fixed location detected based on the fixed location information and the driving distance from the fixed location to the current location measured by the driving distance measuring unit.

Description

Automatic driving vehicle and automatic driving system including same

The present invention relates to a self-driving vehicle, and more particularly, to a self-driving vehicle capable of automatically driving along a predetermined travel path. The present invention also relates to an automatic traveling system including such an automatic traveling vehicle.

Previously, an automatic traveling vehicle was developed that detects a magnetic induction line embedded in a travel path by a sensor and automatically travels along a predetermined travel path along the induction line. Such a self-driving vehicle is used as, for example, a golf cart that is mounted on a golf course with an item such as a golf bag or a player (for example, refer to Patent Document 1 below). Furthermore, golf carts are also called "golf carts."

[Prior technical literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-181540

Although the golf cart described in Patent Document 1 has a function of automatically driving along a predetermined driving route, it does not have a function of identifying a current driving position. In recent years, in order to manage the operation of the golf cart, the market requires identification of the current position of the golf cart. In addition, when detecting obstacles and controlling the driving of the vehicle, it is also required to identify the current position of the golf cart. Furthermore, in order to improve the running control of the vehicle such as the speed control of the vehicle, it is also required to identify the current position of the golf cart.

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic traveling vehicle that can recognize a current position with higher accuracy and can automatically travel along a predetermined driving path. Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic traveling system including such an automatic traveling vehicle.

Before discussing the method for identifying the current position of a self-driving vehicle, the inventor of the present case conducted an intensive study on a golf cart as one of the self-driving vehicles. The golf cart automatically drives along a driving path set in accordance with the terrain of the golf course. Therefore, there are cases where the golf cart is driven in a lush environment. In addition, there are cases where the golf cart travels along a travel path with a large difference in height. After repeated experiments, it is known that there may be cases where sufficient accuracy cannot be obtained when the current location is specified using GPS (Global Positioning System).

Therefore, the inventor of the present invention focuses on the automatic travel of the automatic travel vehicle along a predetermined travel path, and controls the speed of the automatic travel vehicle based on a fixed point embedded in the predetermined travel path. Furthermore, it is thought to effectively use the fixed point and specify the current point according to the position of the fixed point and the driving distance from the fixed point to the current point. By effectively using the fixed point and the driving distance in this way, the current position of the self-driving vehicle can be identified even if the self-driving vehicle is traveling in a lush tree environment, and even if the self-driving vehicle is traveling along a driving path with a large level difference.

The invention is an automatic driving vehicle, which is characterized in that it can automatically drive on a predetermined driving path, and controls the driving state of the vehicle based on a fixed point buried under the predetermined driving path, and is provided with: a fixed point detecting section which detects The above-mentioned fixed point has been passed; the memory section, for each of the plurality of fixed points, establishes a correspondence relationship between the fixed-point position information related to the position where each fixed point is arranged and the fixed-point identification information used to identify each fixed point; Based on the fixed-point identification information to specifically pass the fixed points detected by the fixed-point detection section; The driving distance measuring section measures the driving distance from the fixed point specified by the fixed point specifying section to the current location; and the current position specifying section detects the specific point specified by the fixed point specifying section based on the fixed point position information. The position of the fixed point, and the current point is specified based on the detected position of the fixed point and the driving distance from the fixed point to the current point measured by the driving distance measuring unit.

According to the above-mentioned configuration, the fixed-point specifying unit specifies the fixed point just passed by the autonomous vehicle, and detects the position of the specified fixed point based on the fixed-point position information. In addition, the driving distance measurement unit measures a driving distance from a specified fixed point to a current point. Since the autonomous vehicle travels on a predetermined driving path, the current location of the autonomous vehicle can be specified with high accuracy based on two pieces of information about the location of the fixed point and the distance traveled from the fixed point.

Various configurations can be adopted in order to specify the fixed point that has passed when the autonomous vehicle has passed the fixed point. For example, it may be set as follows: the automatic driving vehicle includes a coordinate measuring unit that measures the world coordinates of the current location, the fixed-point identification information includes information about the world coordinates arranged at the fixed points, and the fixed-point specific unit is When the fixed-point detection unit detects that the fixed point has passed, the world coordinates measured by the coordinate measuring unit are compared with the information related to the world coordinates recorded in the fixed-point identification information, thereby identifying the passed The above fixed point.

Here, as the coordinate measurement unit, for example, GPS can be used. In this configuration, GPS is always used to specify the fixed points that have passed. That is, a plurality of fixed points are embedded in the travel path, and GPS is used as a means for specifying which of the fixed points. Since the fixed-point world coordinates are stored in the memory in advance, the coordinates such as GPS can be retrieved and used. The measurement unit measures the fixed point of the world coordinate nearest to the world coordinate and specifies the fixed point that has passed.

In addition, as another structure of the automatic traveling vehicle, it may be set as follows. The fixed-point detection unit is a structure that can read a speed control command corresponding to the fixed-point. The fixed-point identification information includes each of the above. Information related to the above-mentioned speed control command of the fixed-point correspondence, and the fixed-point specific unit will read the fixed-point detection unit and the speed control command corresponding to the fixed-point and the recorded fixed-point identification information. The information related to the above-mentioned speed control command is compared to thereby identify the fixed points that have passed.

As a speed control command, a content corresponding to the position of the fixed point is attached. Therefore, by comparing the speed control command attached to the passed fixed point with the speed control command recorded in the above-mentioned fixed point identification information at the point in time when the fixed point has passed, the passed fixed point can be specified.

In addition, as another structure of the automatic traveling vehicle, the fixed-point identification information may include information related to a travel distance between two fixed points adjacent to each other in series on the predetermined driving path, and The fixed-point specifying unit compares the driving distance measured by the driving distance measuring unit with the information related to the driving distance recorded in the fixed-point identification information at the time point when the fixed point is detected to pass through, thereby identifying the The above-mentioned fixed points have been passed.

The fixed points are buried under a predetermined driving path in order to control the driving state of the vehicle, and the distances between adjacent fixed points are different. Therefore, by The driving distance measured by the driving distance measuring unit is compared with the information related to the driving distance recorded in the fixed-point identification information to specify the fixed points that have passed.

Moreover, as a structure of the said automatic traveling vehicle, it can also be set as the structure which includes the imaging part which image | photographs the specific direction from the said automatic traveling vehicle when driving on the said predetermined driving path The above-mentioned fixed-point identification information includes information related to the camera data when shooting from the above-mentioned autonomous vehicle as the specific direction through the position of the fixed-point, and the specified-point specific unit is at the time when it is detected that the fixed-point has been passed. The points are compared with the information captured by the imaging unit and the information related to the imaging data recorded in the fixed-point identification information, thereby identifying the fixed points that have passed.

Here, as the imaging data, for example, coordinate information related to feature points on an image may be included. In this case, the coordinate information of the feature points included in the data captured in the camera section and the coordinate information of the feature points included in the fixed point identification information stored in the memory section can be obtained at the point in time when the fixed point has been passed. The comparison is performed to specify a fixed point.

When the imaging unit includes a plurality of cameras, the imaging data may include information related to parallax images. In this case, by comparing the parallax image created based on the data captured by the camera at the time point when the fixed point has been passed, and the coordinate information of the feature point included in the fixed point identification information stored in the memory section, Specific fixed points.

The running distance measuring unit may be configured to measure a running distance based on a rotation angle of a wheel mounted on the automatic traveling vehicle.

Moreover, when the fixed point can be made to memorize the composition of a plurality of pieces of information, the fixed point itself can be used to memorize information related to the position where the fixed point is arranged (the "fixed point position information" described above). As such an example, a case where a fixed point is constituted by using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is assumed. In the situation described above, the fixed-point detection unit can also read the fixed-point position information.

That is, the present invention is an automatic traveling vehicle, and another feature of the present invention is that The vehicle is automatically driven on a predetermined driving path, and the driving state of the vehicle is controlled based on a fixed point buried under the predetermined driving path. At the fixed point, fixed point position information related to the position configured at each fixed point is attached. The automatic driving vehicle has: The fixed-point detection unit detects the fixed-point position information that has passed the fixed-point and the fixed-point that has been passed; the driving distance measurement unit measures from the position of the fixed-point detected by the fixed-point detection unit to The travel distance to the current location; and the current location specific unit based on the position of the fixed point detected by the fixed-point detection unit and the driving distance from the fixed point to the current location measured by the driving distance measuring unit, Specify the current location.

In the case of such a configuration, the current location of the autonomous vehicle can also be specified with high accuracy based on two pieces of information about the position of the fixed point and the driving distance from the fixed point.

The automatic traveling vehicle may further include an instruction unit that switches between a mode in which the vehicle travels automatically on the predetermined traveling path and a mode in which the vehicle is manually operated in a field other than the predetermined traveling path.

According to this configuration, when the automatic traveling vehicle returns to a predetermined traveling path after manually traveling, the current position of the automatic traveling vehicle can be specified.

The automatic driving system of the present invention is characterized by comprising: the above-mentioned automatic traveling vehicle; an induction line, which is laid for the automatic traveling of the automatic traveling vehicle; and a fixed point, which is laid for controlling the speed of the automatic traveling vehicle. A plurality of locations that the above-mentioned autonomous vehicle passes during the autonomous driving.

According to the above configuration, an automatic driving system capable of accurately specifying the current position of an automatic driving vehicle during automatic driving is realized.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an autonomous vehicle capable of identifying a current position with higher accuracy and capable of automatically traveling along a predetermined traveling path. Further, an automatic traveling system including such an automatic traveling vehicle can be provided.

1‧‧‧autonomous vehicle

3‧‧‧ Camera Department

3a‧‧‧Left image sensor

3b‧‧‧Right image sensor

4‧‧‧ steering wheel

5‧‧‧ front right wheel

6‧‧‧ left front wheel

7‧‧‧Reading Department

7a‧‧‧Spot detection department

7b‧‧‧Induction line detection section

9‧‧‧rotation angle detection section

11‧‧‧Spot designated department

13‧‧‧Driving distance measurement department

15‧‧‧Memory Department

17‧‧‧ Current location specific department

19‧‧‧Automatic operation control department

21‧‧‧travel route

23‧‧‧ fixed point

23a‧‧‧ fixed point

23b‧‧‧ fixed point

23c‧‧‧ fixed point

24‧‧‧Electromagnetic Induction Wire

31‧‧‧coordinate measurement department

33‧‧‧Instruction

C0‧‧‧ starting point

da‧‧‧Distance between adjacent fixed points

db‧‧‧Distance between adjacent fixed points

dc‧‧‧Distance between adjacent fixed points

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram when an autonomous vehicle is viewed from the front.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram functionally showing the configuration of the first embodiment of the autonomous vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a travel route traveled by an autonomous vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the information stored in the memory section.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram functionally showing the structure of a second embodiment of an autonomous vehicle.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the information stored in the memory section.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram functionally showing the structure of a third embodiment of an autonomous vehicle.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram when the automatic traveling vehicle of the fourth embodiment is viewed from the front.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram functionally showing the structure of a fourth embodiment of an autonomous vehicle.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram functionally showing the structure of another embodiment of an autonomous vehicle.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram functionally showing the structure of another embodiment of an autonomous vehicle.

[First Embodiment]

The structure of the first embodiment of the automatic traveling vehicle of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Moreover, in the following drawings, the actual size ratio may not be the same as the size ratio on the drawing. Consistent.

In this embodiment, a golf cart will be described as an example of an autonomous vehicle. However, as an autonomous vehicle, it is not limited to a golf cart, but also includes an unmanned transport vehicle traveling in a factory or an orchard. In addition, the self-driving vehicle in the present invention is not limited to a four-wheeled vehicle, and may be a three-wheeled vehicle or a monorail type. The same applies to the content after the second embodiment described below.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram when the automatic traveling vehicle in this embodiment is viewed from the front. The self-driving vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a golf cart that travels automatically on a golf course. In addition, FIG. 2 is a block diagram functionally showing the configuration of the autonomous vehicle 1.

The automatic traveling vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a steering wheel 4 and a right front wheel 5 and a left front wheel 6 which are steered by the rotation of the steering wheel 4. The autonomous vehicle 1 is provided with a reading unit 7 on the lower part of the vehicle body. The reading section 7 includes a fixed-point detection section 7a and a sensing line detection section 7b (see FIG. 2). The description of the fixed-point detection section 7a and the induction line detection section 7b will be described later.

The right front wheel 5 of the autonomous vehicle 1 is provided with a rotation angle detection unit 9 that detects a rotation angle of the right front wheel 5. The rotation angle sensor 9 detects a rotation angle of a wheel, and includes, for example, a rotary encoder. In addition, the rotation angle sensor 9 may be provided on the left front wheel 6 or the rear wheel instead of the right front wheel 5 or in addition to the right front wheel 5.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the autonomous vehicle 1. The autonomous vehicle 1 includes the fixed-point detection section 7a, the induction line detection section 7b, and the rotation angle detection section 9, as well as a fixed-point identification section 11, a driving distance measurement section 13, a memory section 15, and a current location identification section. 17, and automatic operation control section 19. The fixed-point specifying unit 11, the driving distance measuring unit 13, the current-point specifying unit 17, and the automatic operation control unit 19 include a computing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The memory unit 15 includes, for example, a memory or a hard disk.

The automatic operation control unit 19 executes the automatic driving vehicle 1 to be installed along a predetermined position. Control of the automatic operation of the electromagnetic induction line on the travel path. FIG. 3 is an example of a travel route intended for the autonomous vehicle 1 to travel. As shown in FIG. 3, an electromagnetic induction wire 24 is embedded under the travel path 21. The induction line detection section 7b is configured to receive an electromagnetic wave emitted from the electromagnetic induction line 24, and includes, for example, a magnetic sensor. When the induction line detection section 7 b receives an electromagnetic wave from the electromagnetic induction line 24, it outputs a detection signal to the automatic operation control section 19. The automatic operation control unit 19 controls a steering mechanism (not shown) based on the detection signal. Thereby, the automatic driving vehicle 1 automatically runs on the travel path 21.

As shown in FIG. 3, a fixed point 23 is embedded in the travel path 21 at a plurality of predetermined positions including the starting point C0 in advance. The fixed point 23 is configured by, for example, a combination of a plurality of magnets. The fixed-point detection unit 7a is configured to read magnetic field information from the fixed-point 23, and includes, for example, a magnetic sensor. These fixed points 23 transmit instruction signals, for example, instructions for traveling, stopping, and deceleration. When the automatic running vehicle 1 passes the fixed point 23, the fixed point detecting section 7 a receives an instruction signal from the passing fixed point 23 and outputs the instruction signal to the automatic operation control section 19. The automatic operation control unit 19 controls the automatic traveling vehicle 1 based on the instruction signal. Thereby, the automatic traveling vehicle 1 automatically performs control such as traveling, stopping, decelerating, and the like based on the information designated by the fixed point 23.

The fixed-point detection unit 7 a outputs the information of the content to the driving distance measurement unit 13 at a point in time when the autonomous vehicle 1 has passed the fixed-point 23. The running distance measurement unit 13 recognizes the point in time when the autonomous vehicle 1 passes through the fixed point 23 based on a signal transmitted from the fixed point detection unit 7 a. Then, the running distance measurement unit 13 measures the distance traveled by the autonomous vehicle 1 after passing the fixed point 23 to the current location based on the information about the rotation angle of the wheels output from the rotation angle detection unit 9. The driving distance measurement unit 13 may be a person who previously memorizes information related to the diameter of the right front wheel 5. Thereby, the rotation angle (number of revolutions) of the right front wheel 5 and the diameter of the right front wheel 5 from the time point when the fixed point 23 is passed, and the automatic calculation from the time point when the fixed point 23 is passed can be calculated by calculation. Traveling distance of the traveling vehicle 1.

The fixed-point identification information for identifying the fixed-points 23 embedded in the driving path 21 and The fixed point position information related to the position of each fixed point 23 is arranged to establish a corresponding relationship and stored in the memory unit 15. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the information stored in the storage unit 15.

For example, a symbol (23a, 23b, 23c, ...) for identifying each of the fixed points 23 is attached. This symbol corresponds to the fixed-point identification information. Furthermore, the fixed-point identification information may include not only a symbol for identifying only a fixed-point as such, but also information related to instruction signals such as running, stopping, and deceleration registered in the fixed-point 23. In addition, as the fixed-point identification information, when traveling along the driving path 21, information indicating the number of fixed-point 23 from the fixed-point 23 arranged at the starting point C0 may be included.

In addition, in the memory unit 15, information related to the position arranged at each fixed point 23 is represented by, for example, latitude and longitude. As an example, the content of the fixed point 23a disposed at the latitude xa and the longitude ya is stored in the storage unit 15. Information related to the position of each fixed point 23 corresponds to the fixed point position information.

The fixed-point detection section 7 a outputs information of the content to the fixed-point specific section 11 when detecting that the autonomous vehicle 1 has passed the fixed point 23. The fixed-point specifying unit 11 reads the fixed-point identification information from the memory unit 15 and compares it, and specifies which fixed-point 23 the fixed-point 23 has just passed.

For example, when the instruction signals of the fixed points 23 are recorded as the fixed-point identification information, the fixed-point specifying unit 11 performs the information related to the instruction signals read by the fixed-point detection unit 7 a and the information stored in the storage unit 15. Contrast and specific fixed point 23.

In addition, when it is recorded that each of the fixed points 23 is arranged as the fixed-point identification information from the number of pieces of relevant information (hereinafter referred to as "sequence information") from the starting point C0, the fixed-point specifying unit 11 sends a message to the fixed-point detecting unit 7a The number of times a signal that has passed the content of the pin 23 is counted. Next, the fixed-point specifying unit 11 specifies the fixed-point 23 by comparing the counted number with sequence information recorded in the fixed-point identification information stored in the storage unit 15.

Furthermore, when the fixed-point detection unit 7a has a function of reading out information related to symbols added to identify the fixed-point 23, when the autonomous vehicle 1 passes the fixed-point 23, The symbol-related information is output from the fixed-point detecting section 7 a to the fixed-point specifying section 11. The fixed-point specifying unit 11 can specify the fixed-point 23 by comparing the information related to the symbol added to the fixed-point 23 with the information related to the symbol recorded in the fixed-point identification information stored in the memory unit 15.

The method of specifying the fixed point 23 that the autonomous vehicle 1 has passed by the fixed point specifying unit 11 as described above is only an example, and various methods can be adopted. The fixed-point specifying unit 11 outputs the information of the content to the current-point specifying unit 17 when the fixed-point 23 that the autonomous vehicle 1 has passed in this way is specified.

The current location specifying unit 17 recognizes the position at which the fixed point 23 specified by the fixed point specifying unit 11 is located, and reads the fixed point position information corresponding to the fixed point 23 from the memory unit 15 to identify. Thereby, the current-position specifying unit 17 recognizes the position of the fixed point 23 which the autonomous vehicle 1 has just passed. Next, the current location specifying unit 17 obtains information related to the distance traveled by the vehicle 1 that has traveled automatically from the travel distance measuring unit 13 immediately after passing the fixed point 23 until the current position. The current location identification unit 17 specifies the current location of the autonomous vehicle 1 based on such information.

According to the automatic traveling vehicle 1 according to this embodiment, the current location can be automatically detected during the period when the vehicle travels on the predetermined traveling path 21. In addition, usually, a plurality of fixed points 23 are embedded in the travel path 21. The automatic traveling vehicle 1 of this embodiment is configured to detect the current position based on the information of the fixed point 23 that has just passed through among the plurality of fixed points 23, so that detection errors can be reduced.

[Second Embodiment]

Regarding the structure of the second embodiment of the autonomous vehicle, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the autonomous vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment.

In the automatic traveling vehicle 1 of this embodiment, the traveling distance measuring unit 13 also outputs information related to the measured traveling distance to the fixed-point specifying unit 11. The fixed-point specifying unit 11 specifies a position that has just passed based on information related to the driving distance input from the driving distance measuring unit 13. Point 23.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the information stored in the storage unit 15 provided in the autonomous vehicle 1 in the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6, the storage unit 15 stores information related to the position where the fixed points 23 are arranged and the distance between the positions before the fixed points 23 are arranged. As an example, the memory portion 15 stores the content of the fixed point 23b disposed at the position of the advance distance db from the fixed point 23a. Such information related to the distance between two adjacent fixed points 23 corresponds to the fixed point identification information together with the symbol identifying the fixed point 23.

Similar to the configuration of the first embodiment, the fixed-point specifying unit 11 recognizes the point in time when the autonomous vehicle 1 has passed the fixed point 23 based on the information provided by the fixed-point detection unit 7a. The running distance measurement unit 13 measures the distance traveled by the automatic traveling vehicle 1 from the time point when the automatic traveling vehicle 1 has passed the fixed point 23 to the current position.

The fixed-point specifying unit 11 recognizes the point in time at which the autonomous vehicle 1 passed the fixed point 23 based on the information provided by the fixed-point detection section 7a, and obtains the distance from the driving distance measurement section 13 after passing the fixed point 23 until the passing of the fixed point 23 immediately before. The distance traveled by the autonomous vehicle 1. With this, the fixed-point specifying unit 11 recognizes the distance between the fixed point 23 that has just passed and the fixed point 23 that has passed the previous time. The fixed-point specifying unit 11 is information related to the distance between two adjacent fixed-points 23 calculated based on the information from the driving distance measurement unit 13 and the distance between adjacent fixed-points recorded in the fixed-point identification information memorized in the memory unit 15. For comparison. Next, the fixed point specifying unit 23 specifies a fixed point 23 in which a value closest to the calculated distance is recorded.

As described above, the fixed-point specifying unit 11 of the autonomous vehicle 1 of the present embodiment specifies the fixed-point 23 based on information related to the distance between two adjacent fixed-points 23. However, the fixed-point specifying unit 11 may include other fixed-point identification information exemplified in the first embodiment in addition to information related to the distance between two adjacent fixed-points 23 to specify the fixed-point 23.

The processing content after the fixed point 23 which has just passed by the autonomous vehicle 1 before being specified by the fixed point specifying unit 11 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof is omitted.

[Third embodiment]

Regarding the structure of the third embodiment of the autonomous vehicle, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the autonomous vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment.

The autonomous vehicle 1 according to this embodiment includes a coordinate measuring unit 31 that measures the world coordinates of the current location of the autonomous vehicle 1. As the coordinate measuring unit 31, for example, a GPS system can be used. For example, as described in FIG. 4, the storage unit 15 stores position information on each fixed point 23. In particular, in this embodiment, the position information of each fixed point 23 is recorded in the form of world coordinates.

The fixed-point specifying unit 11 detects that the autonomous vehicle 1 has passed the fixed point 23 based on the information provided by the fixed-point detecting unit 7a, and obtains, from the coordinate measurement unit 31, a world coordinate indicating the current position of the autonomous vehicle 1. Next, the fixed-point specifying unit 11 specifies the fixed-point 23 by comparing the world coordinates obtained from the coordinate measurement unit 31 with the information related to the world coordinates recorded in the fixed-point identification information stored in the memory unit 15.

As described above, the fixed-point specifying unit 11 of the autonomous vehicle 1 in this embodiment compares the world coordinates obtained from the coordinate measurement unit 31 with the information related to the world coordinates recorded in the fixed-point identification information stored in the memory unit 15. And the specific fixed point 23. However, the fixed-point identification unit 11 may specify the fixed-point 23 in addition to the world coordinates obtained from the coordinate measurement unit 31, and may include other fixed-point identification information exemplified in the first embodiment.

The automatic traveling vehicle 1 according to this embodiment has a function of measuring the world coordinates of the current location by the coordinate measuring unit 31. However, the automatic traveling vehicle 1 of the present embodiment is not configured to specify the current position of the automatic traveling vehicle 1 using only the information of the world coordinates measured by the coordinate measuring unit 31. The reason for this is that when the autonomous vehicle 1 is used as a golf cart, a large number of trees are planted in an area very close to the travel path 21. In other words, there is a case where the current position cannot be specified by the coordinate measurement unit 31 including GPS depending on the position of the autonomous vehicle 1. However, in this embodiment In the state, the information related to the world coordinates measured by the coordinate measuring unit 31 is used to specify the fixed point 23 just passed. Therefore, the world coordinates measured by the coordinate measurement unit 31 only need to have a degree of accuracy that can be specifically memorized in the world coordinates stored in the fixed points 23 of the memory unit 15 and the measured world coordinates.

The processing content after the fixed point 23 which has just passed by the autonomous vehicle 1 before being specified by the fixed point specifying unit 11 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof is omitted.

[Fourth embodiment]

Regarding the structure of the fourth embodiment of the autonomous vehicle, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram when the automatic traveling vehicle in this embodiment is viewed from the front. FIG. 9 is a block diagram functionally showing the configuration of the automatic traveling vehicle 1 according to this embodiment.

The self-driving vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment includes an imaging unit 3 at the front center portion. The imaging unit 3 includes, for example, a stereo camera, and includes a left image sensor 3a and a right image sensor 3b. The image sensors (3a, 3b) include general visible light sensors such as a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device, charge-coupled device) or a CMOS (Complementary MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor), complementary metal-oxide semiconductor).

In this embodiment, the fixed-point identification information stored in the storage unit 15 includes data obtained by shooting the front of the camera unit 3 at each fixed-point position 23. The direction of the image captured by the imaging unit 3 is not necessarily in front of the autonomous vehicle 1.

The fixed-point specifying unit 11 detects that the automatic driving vehicle 1 has passed the fixed point 23 based on the information provided by the fixed-point detecting unit 7a, and at this point in time is input to the data obtained by the imaging unit 3 shooting the front of the automatic driving vehicle 1. Next, the fixed-point specifying unit 11 specifies the fixed-point 23 by comparing the imaging data input from the imaging unit 3 with information related to the imaging data recorded in the fixed-point identification information read from the memory unit 15.

Various methods can be used as a method for comparing the imaging data input from the imaging section 3 with the information related to the imaging data read from the memory section 15. As an example, The parallax images produced by the materials are compared and contrasted. Parallax images are produced by a well-known method.

As described above, the fixed-point specifying unit 11 of the automatic traveling vehicle 1 of this embodiment specifies the fixed-point 23 based on the imaging data generated by the imaging unit 3 at the time point when the fixed-point 23 has passed. However, the fixed-point specifying unit 11 may specify the fixed-point 23 by including other fixed-point identification information exemplified in each of the embodiments described above in addition to the imaging data. For example, the autonomous vehicle 1 according to this embodiment may further include a coordinate measurement unit 31.

The processing content after the fixed point 23 which has just passed by the autonomous vehicle 1 before being specified by the fixed point specifying unit 11 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof is omitted.

[Other embodiments]

Hereinafter, other embodiments will be described.

<1> The self-driving vehicle 1 may further include an instruction section that switches a mode of autonomous driving on the driving path 21 and a mode of manually driving on a field other than the driving path 21. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a constituent in a case where the autonomous vehicle 1 described in the first embodiment includes the instruction unit 33.

According to this configuration, the automatic traveling vehicle 1 can detect the timing of the transition to the mode of traveling on the traveling path 21 after traveling in a field other than the traveling path 21. If the automatic traveling vehicle 1 changes to the mode of automatic traveling on the traveling path 21, all the fixed points 23 are passed. Therefore, the current position of the automatic traveling vehicle 1 can be specified by using the above method. The autonomous vehicle 1 described in each of the embodiments subsequent to the second embodiment may further include an instruction portion 33.

<2> For the fixed point 23, information pertaining to the position at which the fixed point 23 is arranged (fixed point position information) can also be memorized. As an example, when the fixed point 23 is embedded in the form of RFID-like memory with more information, both the fixed point identification information and the fixed point position information can be stored for the fixed point 23. In this case, it may be configured such that, at a point in time when the autonomous vehicle 1 has passed the fixed point 23, the fixed point detection unit 7a can not only recognize that the fixed point has passed. Point 23 can also identify the position of the fixed point 23 that has passed.

In the case of such a configuration, the autonomous vehicle 1 may be configured as shown in FIG. 11, for example. That is, the fixed-point detection unit 7a is at the time point when the fixed point 23 has passed, and can detect not only the fixed point 23 that has passed, but also information related to the position of the fixed point 23 that has passed. Therefore, in the configuration of this other embodiment, it is not necessary to include the memory portion 15 that associates the fixed-point identification information with the fixed-point position information and memorizes it, as in the configuration of each of the above-mentioned embodiments.

<3> The automatically driven vehicle of the present invention and this specification is a vehicle that can drive automatically. Autonomous vehicles are vehicles that can travel without the steering of an operator. Autonomous vehicles are vehicles that can travel without acceleration and deceleration by the operator. In addition, the autonomous vehicle includes an autonomously driven vehicle equipped with at least one sensor and capable of autonomous driving according to a signal from the sensor.

Claims (5)

An automatic driving vehicle is characterized in that it is configured to be able to drive on a predetermined driving path automatically, and to control the driving state of the vehicle based on a fixed point buried under the predetermined driving path. The automatic driving vehicle is provided with: a fixed point detecting unit, which has passed the detection The above-mentioned fixed point; a memory section for each of the plurality of fixed points, and establishes a correspondence relationship between the fixed-point position information related to the position where each fixed point is arranged and the fixed-point identification information for identifying each fixed point; the fixed-point specific section, which The passed fixed point detected by the fixed point detection unit is specified based on the fixed point identification information; the driving distance measurement unit measures a driving distance from the fixed point specified by the fixed point specific unit to the current location; The current location specifying unit detects the position of the fixed point specified by the fixed-point specifying unit based on the fixed-point position information, and based on the detected position of the fixed-point, and measured from the driving distance measuring unit. Specify the current location by the driving distance from the fixed point to the current location; and coordinate measurement department It measures the world coordinates of the current location; and the above-mentioned fixed-point identification information includes information related to the world coordinates configured for each of the fixed-points, and the fixed-point specific unit is a time point when the fixed-point detection unit detects that the fixed point has passed, The world coordinates measured by the coordinate measuring unit are compared with the information related to the world coordinates recorded in the fixed-point identification information, thereby identifying the fixed points that have passed. For example, the automatic traveling vehicle of item 1, wherein the above-mentioned fixed-point identification information includes information related to the driving distance between the two fixed-points which are adjacent to each other in series on the predetermined driving path, and the fixed-point specific unit is configured to detect that At the time point of the fixed point, the travel distance measured by the travel distance measuring section is compared with the information related to the travel distance recorded in the fixed point identification information, thereby identifying the passed fixed point. For example, the auto-driving vehicle of claim 1 or 2 includes a camera unit that shoots a specific direction from the observation of the auto-driving vehicle during the driving along the predetermined driving path. The fixed-point identification information includes Information related to the imaging data when shooting from the automatic driving vehicle to the specific direction through the position of the fixed point, and the fixed point specific section is determined by the camera section at the time point when the fixed point is detected to have passed the fixed point The captured data is compared with the information related to the above-mentioned imaging data recorded in the above-mentioned fixed-point identification information, thereby identifying the passed fixed-point. For example, the self-driving vehicle of claim 1 or 2 includes an instruction unit that switches between a mode of autonomous driving on the predetermined driving route and a mode of manually driving on a field other than the predetermined driving route. An autonomous vehicle self-driving system, comprising: an autonomous vehicle such as any one of claims 1 to 4; an induction line which is laid for the automatic driving of the above-mentioned autonomous vehicle; and a fixed point which is for control The running state of the automatic traveling vehicle is laid at a plurality of locations that the automatic traveling vehicle passes during the automatic traveling.