WO2016139747A1

WO2016139747A1 - Vehicle control device, control method, program, and storage medium

Info

Publication number: WO2016139747A1
Application number: PCT/JP2015/056197
Authority: WO
Inventors: 岩井　智昭; 俵木　祐二; 智之藤枝; 哲也河原; 陽子藤田
Original assignee: パイオニア株式会社; インクリメント・ピー株式会社
Priority date: 2015-03-03
Filing date: 2015-03-03
Publication date: 2016-09-09

Abstract

According to the present invention, a driving assistance device 1 stores map information and acquires surroundings information for a vehicle by means of an external sensor 20. The driving assistance device 1, when it is determined that the sensor accuracy of the external sensor 20 satisfies a reference accuracy, performs automatic driving on the basis of the surroundings information acquired by the external sensor 20, and, when it is determined that the sensor accuracy of the external sensor 20 does not satisfy the reference accuracy, performs automatic driving so as to guide the vehicle to a safe point on the basis of the map information.

Description

VEHICLE CONTROL DEVICE, CONTROL METHOD, PROGRAM, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

The present invention relates to an automatic driving technique.

Conventionally, automatic driving for automating driving of a vehicle using sensors such as a camera and a radar is known. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that prompts the automatic operation to be canceled when a sensor that acquires the surrounding situation of the vehicle deteriorates the detection accuracy due to the external environment. Patent Document 1 also discloses that a stop point where the vehicle can be safely stopped is periodically searched, and the vehicle is guided to the stop point when the automatic driving is not canceled even if the automatic driving is canceled. Has been.

JP 2014-106854 A

If the automatic operation to the stop point is continued using the sensor whose detection accuracy has deteriorated when it is difficult to continue the automatic operation and the vehicle is guided to the stop point, the accuracy of the automatic operation may deteriorate. Patent Document 1 does not disclose any of the above problems.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and is suitable for automatic operation in a safe place even when the accuracy of a sensor used for automatic operation does not satisfy a predetermined standard. A main object is to provide a vehicle control device capable of guiding a vehicle.

The invention described in claim is a vehicle control device, wherein a storage unit that stores map information, an acquisition unit that acquires peripheral information of the vehicle, and whether the acquisition accuracy of the acquisition unit satisfies a predetermined criterion A determination unit for determining, and an automatic operation control unit that performs automatic driving of the vehicle, and the automatic operation control unit, when determining that the determination unit satisfies the predetermined criterion, the acquisition unit If the automatic driving is performed based on the acquired peripheral information and the determination unit determines that the predetermined standard is not satisfied, the vehicle is located at a stop where the vehicle can be safely stopped based on the map information. The automatic operation is performed so as to guide the vehicle.

The invention described in the claims is a vehicle control device, wherein a plurality of acquisition units that acquire vehicle peripheral information, and whether each of the plurality of acquisition units satisfies an acquisition accuracy. A determination unit configured to determine, and an automatic operation control unit configured to automatically drive the vehicle, wherein the automatic operation control unit does not satisfy the predetermined criterion among the plurality of acquisition units by the determination unit. When there is a determined one, the automatic driving is performed so as to guide the vehicle to a stop point where the vehicle can be safely stopped based on the surrounding information acquired by the other acquisition unit. .

The invention described in the claims is a control method executed by a vehicle control device having a storage unit that stores map information, wherein an acquisition step of acquiring vehicle peripheral information and an acquisition accuracy of the acquisition step are predetermined. A determination step for determining whether or not the above criteria are satisfied, and an automatic driving step for automatically driving the vehicle, wherein the automatic driving step determines that the determination step satisfies the predetermined criterion In the case where the automatic operation is performed based on the peripheral information acquired by the acquisition step, and the determination step determines that the predetermined standard is not satisfied, the vehicle can be stopped safely based on the map information. The automatic driving is performed so that the vehicle is guided to a stationary stop point.

The invention described in the claims is a program executed by a computer that refers to a storage unit that stores map information, and an acquisition unit that acquires vehicle periphery information, and an acquisition accuracy of the acquisition unit is a predetermined standard And a computer that functions as an automatic driving control unit that performs automatic driving of the vehicle, and the automatic driving control unit determines that the determination unit satisfies the predetermined criterion. In this case, the automatic operation is performed based on the peripheral information acquired by the acquisition unit, and when the determination unit determines that the predetermined standard is not satisfied, the vehicle is safely stopped based on the map information. The automatic driving is performed so that the vehicle is guided to a possible stop point.

It is a schematic structure of an automatic driving system. The block structure of a driving assistance device is shown. It is a table which shows the evaluation value of the precision of the camera and lidar for every parameter which determines an environment. It is a figure which shows the candidate of the safe spot which performs guidance. It is a flowchart performed at the time of automatic driving | operation.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle control device includes a storage unit that stores map information, an acquisition unit that acquires vehicle peripheral information, and whether the acquisition accuracy of the acquisition unit satisfies a predetermined criterion. And an automatic driving control unit that performs automatic driving of the vehicle, and the automatic driving control unit acquires the acquisition when the determining unit determines that the predetermined criterion is satisfied. If the automatic driving is performed based on the peripheral information acquired by the unit and the determination unit determines that the predetermined standard is not satisfied, the stop point can be safely stopped based on the map information. The automatic driving is performed so as to guide the vehicle.

The vehicle control device includes a storage unit, an acquisition unit, a determination unit, and an automatic driving control unit. The storage unit stores map information. The acquisition unit acquires vehicle peripheral information. The determination unit determines whether the acquisition accuracy of the acquisition unit satisfies a predetermined criterion. When the determination unit determines that the acquisition accuracy of the acquisition unit satisfies a predetermined standard, the automatic operation control unit performs automatic driving based on the peripheral information acquired by the acquisition unit, and the acquisition unit has an acquisition accuracy of When the determination unit determines that the predetermined standard is not satisfied, automatic driving is performed based on the map information so as to guide the vehicle to a stop where the vehicle can be safely stopped. In this aspect, the vehicle control device preferably places the vehicle at a stop where the vehicle can be safely stopped based on the map information even if the acquisition accuracy of the acquisition unit that acquires the peripheral information does not satisfy the predetermined standard. Induce. Thereby, the vehicle control device can automatically drive to the stop point while suitably preventing malfunction due to the use of an acquisition unit with low acquisition accuracy.

In one aspect of the vehicle control device, the vehicle control device further includes an environment information acquisition unit that acquires environment information of the vehicle, and the determination unit has a predetermined acquisition accuracy of the acquisition unit based on the environment information. Judgment of whether the criteria are satisfied. According to this aspect, the vehicle control device can preferably determine whether the acquisition accuracy of the acquisition unit satisfies a predetermined criterion.

In another aspect of the vehicle control device, the acquisition unit includes at least one of a camera and a lidar, and the environmental information is information related to weather at a point where the vehicle exists. In general, the accuracy of cameras and riders depends on the weather. Therefore, in this aspect, the vehicle control device can preferably determine whether the acquisition accuracy of the acquisition unit satisfies a predetermined criterion based on the weather.

In another aspect of the vehicle control device, the determination unit includes a detection unit that detects the acquisition accuracy of the acquisition unit, and the vehicle control device determines that the determination unit does not satisfy the predetermined criterion. A specifying unit that specifies a range on the map that includes the position of the vehicle according to the acquisition accuracy detected by the detection unit, and an extraction unit that extracts the stop point from the range specified by the specifying unit And further. According to this aspect, the vehicle control device can suitably select the stop point according to the acquisition accuracy of the acquisition unit.

In another aspect of the vehicle control device, the specifying unit specifies the range such that the range becomes wider as the acquisition accuracy detected by the detection unit is higher. By doing in this way, the vehicle control apparatus can select a stop point suitably according to the acquisition accuracy of an acquisition part.

In another aspect of the vehicle control device, the acquisition unit is an external sensor that acquires peripheral information of the vehicle, and the automatic operation control unit determines that the determination unit does not satisfy the predetermined criterion. In this case, the automatic driving is performed based on the map information and the output of an internal sensor that detects the state of the vehicle. In general, the acquisition accuracy of the external sensor is likely to change depending on the environment or the like, and the acquisition accuracy of the internal sensor is unlikely to change. Therefore, when the acquisition accuracy of the external sensor is low, the vehicle control device performs the automatic driving based on the internal sensor and the map information, so that the vehicle can preferably travel to the stop point without causing malfunction. Can do. Examples of the internal sensor include high-accuracy GPS (cm-class position accuracy such as quasi-zenith satellite positioning), a gyro sensor, and an acceleration sensor.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle control device includes a plurality of acquisition units that acquire vehicle peripheral information, and whether each of the plurality of acquisition units satisfies an acquisition accuracy. And an automatic driving control unit that automatically drives the vehicle. The automatic driving control unit does not satisfy the predetermined criterion among the plurality of acquiring units by the determining unit. In the case where there is a vehicle that has been determined to be, the automatic operation is performed so that the vehicle is guided to a stop where the vehicle can be safely stopped based on the peripheral information acquired by the other acquisition unit.

The vehicle control device can safely stop based on the peripheral information acquired by another acquisition unit when there is a determination that the predetermined standard is not satisfied among the plurality of acquisition units. Autonomous driving is performed to guide the vehicle to the stop point. Also according to this aspect, the vehicle control device can automatically drive to the stop point while suitably preventing malfunction due to the use of an acquisition unit with low acquisition accuracy.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a control method executed by a vehicle control device having a storage unit for storing map information, an acquisition step of acquiring vehicle peripheral information, and acquisition of the acquisition step A determination step for determining whether the accuracy satisfies a predetermined criterion, and an automatic driving step for automatically driving the vehicle, wherein the determination step satisfies the predetermined criterion If it is determined, the automatic operation is performed based on the peripheral information acquired by the acquisition step, and if it is determined that the determination step does not satisfy the predetermined standard, the safety information is determined based on the map information. The automatic driving is performed so that the vehicle is guided to a stop point where the vehicle can be stopped. By executing this control method, the vehicle control device can automatically drive to the stop point while suitably preventing malfunctions caused by using an acquisition unit with low acquisition accuracy.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a program executed by a computer that refers to a storage unit that stores map information, the acquisition unit acquiring vehicle peripheral information, and the acquisition accuracy of the acquisition unit. A determination unit configured to determine whether a predetermined criterion is satisfied; and an automatic driving control unit configured to perform automatic driving of the vehicle. The automatic driving control unit is configured so that the determination unit satisfies the predetermined criterion. If it is determined, the automatic operation is performed based on the peripheral information acquired by the acquisition unit, and if the determination unit determines that the predetermined standard is not satisfied, based on the map information, The automatic driving is performed so that the vehicle is guided to a stop point where the vehicle can be safely stopped. By executing this program, the computer can automatically drive to the stop point while suitably preventing malfunctions caused by using an acquisition unit with low acquisition accuracy. Preferably, the program is stored in a storage medium.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Outline of automated driving system]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration of an automatic driving system according to the present embodiment. The automatic driving system includes a driving support device 1 that moves together with each vehicle, and a server device 2 that communicates with each driving support device 1 via a network 9.

The driving support device 1 is, for example, a stationary navigation device or a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, and detailed map information including information necessary for automatic driving (also referred to as “advanced map information D1”) is the server device 2. Get from. Then, the driving support device 1 performs driving support such as route guidance and automatic driving based on the received advanced map information D1 and the like. In addition, the driving support device 1 transmits output information of the sensor unit 12 such as a camera or information recognized based on the output information (also referred to as “sensor information D2”) to the server device 2. The sensor information D2 includes time information and position information indicating the time and place where the driving support device 1 generates the sensor information D2. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the driving support device 1 can stop the vehicle safely when it is determined that the accuracy of the sensor unit 12 is lower than the accuracy required for automatic driving and automatic driving is not possible. The vehicle is guided to a point (also simply referred to as “safety point”) by automatic driving. The driving support device 1 is an example of the “vehicle control device” in the present invention.

The server device 2 stores an advanced map DB (Database) 21 and receives the sensor information D2 from each driving support device 1 to update the advanced map DB 21. Here, in the advanced map DB 21, road data that is map information on the position and shape of roads, lanes, intersections, signs, buildings, etc., traffic information indicating traffic conditions such as road congestion, accident occurrence, construction, etc. The surrounding situation information indicating the surrounding situation of each road, such as the lane blockage accompanying the road, the weather information indicating the current weather or the predicted weather on each road, and the like are included. Then, in response to a request from the driving support device 1, the server device 2 extracts data corresponding to the area where the driving support device 1 exists or the route periphery set by the driving support device 1 from the advanced map DB 21, The map information D1 is transmitted to the driving support device 1.

[Block configuration]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the driving support device 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the driving support device 1 mainly includes a communication unit 11, a sensor unit 12, a determination unit 13, an advanced map information processing unit 14, a route setting unit 15, a user interface (“ 16) (noted as “user I / F”), an automatic operation control unit 17, and a notification unit 18.

The communication unit 11 communicates with the server device 2 and executes a reception process of the advanced map information D1, a transmission process of the sensor information D2, and the like. Note that the communication unit 11 may perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication with the driving support device 1 of another vehicle and exchange position information and the like.

The sensor unit 12 includes an external sensor 20 and an internal sensor 30 and generates information related to a vehicle (own vehicle) that moves together with the driving support device 1. The external sensor 20 is a sensor for acquiring vehicle periphery information, and includes a camera 22, a lidar (Lidar: LightdarDetection and Ranging) 23, a radar 24, and a sonar 25. Including. The external sensor 20 is an example of the “acquisition unit” in the present invention. The inner world sensor 30 is a sensor that detects the state of the host vehicle, and includes a satellite positioning sensor 31 such as a GPS receiver, a gyro sensor 32, a vehicle speed sensor 33, and a state indicator. And a vehicle control signal sensor 34 for acquiring information. Output signals from the external sensor 20 and the internal sensor 30 are supplied to the determination unit 13 and the route setting unit 15.

The determination unit 13 determines the vehicle position, the state of the vehicle, and the surrounding situation of the vehicle based on the output signal of the sensor unit 12. For example, in order to estimate the position of the vehicle with high accuracy required for automatic driving, the determination unit 13 determines the position of the white line of the running lane based on the output of the external sensor 20 such as the camera 22 in addition to the output of the satellite positioning sensor 31. The vehicle position is estimated by recognizing the position of the sign in front of the vehicle and the vehicle. Further, the determination unit 13 recognizes the traveling state and operation state of the vehicle such as the traveling speed and traveling direction information of the host vehicle based on the outputs of the internal sensors 30 such as the vehicle speed sensor 33 and the vehicle control signal sensor 34. Furthermore, the determination unit 13 recognizes the surrounding situation of the road on which the lane such as the accident occurrence place, the blocked lane, etc. is running based on the output of the external sensor 20 or the like. Then, the determination unit 13 supplies information recognized based on the output of the sensor unit 12 to the advanced map information processing unit 14. Moreover, the determination part 13 supplies the output information of the sensor part 12, the information recognized based on the said information, etc. to the communication part 11 as sensor information D2.

The advanced map information processing unit 14 executes predetermined processing based on the advanced map information D1 received from the server device 2, the information received from the determination unit 13, and the like. It has a situation storage unit 42, a traffic information storage unit 43, a weather information storage unit 44, an automatic driving availability determination unit 45, and a safety point search unit 46. The advanced map information processing unit 14 is an example of the “environment information acquisition unit” in the present invention.

The road data storage unit 41 stores road data and facility information stored in advance as map information. The road data storage unit 41 may appropriately update the stored road data and the like based on the advanced map information D1. The surrounding situation storage unit 42 stores information indicating the surrounding situation of the road based on the advanced map information D1 or the information received from the determination unit 13.

The traffic information storage unit 43 stores traffic information such as traffic jams and traffic restrictions included in the advanced map information D1. The traffic information storage unit 43 may receive and store traffic information such as traffic jams and traffic regulations distributed from a VICS (registered trademark, Vehicle Information Communication System) center. The meteorological information storage unit 44 stores the meteorological information included in the advanced map information D1 or the meteorological information around the vehicle position received by the communication unit 11 from a server (not shown) that manages the meteorological information of each place.

The automatic driving availability determination unit 45 is automatically based on information stored in the road data storage unit 41, the surrounding situation storage unit 42, the traffic information storage unit 43, and the weather information storage unit 44 (collectively referred to as “environment information”). Judge whether driving is possible. Specifically, the automatic driving permission / inhibition determination unit 45 detects a traveling mark such as a white line based on the output of the external sensor 20 and an accuracy of detecting an obstacle such as a preceding vehicle or a pedestrian (simply referred to as “sensor accuracy”). Calculated). Then, the automatic driving availability determination unit 45 determines that the automatic driving cannot be performed when the calculated sensor accuracy does not reach a predetermined accuracy (also referred to as “reference accuracy”) necessary for the automatic driving. The above-described reference accuracy is an example of the “predetermined reference” in the present invention. The method for calculating the sensor accuracy will be described in detail in the section “Example of sensor accuracy calculation”. The automatic driving availability determination unit 45 is an example of the “determination unit” in the present invention.

The safe spot search unit 46 searches for a safe spot. Here, the safety point is a point where parking is possible safely, and corresponds to, for example, a parking lot, a vacant lot, a parkingable facility, and the like. The safe spot searching unit 46 searches for a safe spot around the vehicle position based on, for example, facility information stored in the road data storage unit 41.

The route setting unit 15 searches for a route to the destination input by the user I / F 16. In this embodiment, as will be described later, when the destination is set, the route setting unit 15 searches for a recommended route taking into account various conditions such as time, distance, and fee. The route setting unit 15 is an example of the “route search unit” in the present invention.

The user I / F 16 is a user interface such as buttons, switches, a touch panel, and a remote controller for the user to input a destination and to specify setting or cancellation of automatic driving.

The automatic driving control unit 17 performs automatic driving of the vehicle based on the route set by the route setting unit 15 when automatic driving is set. During automatic driving, the automatic driving control unit 17 controls the vehicle by controlling the accelerator amount, the brake amount, the steering angle, and the like based on, for example, the surrounding situation of the host vehicle recognized by the determining unit 13. In addition, the automatic driving control unit 17 determines one safety point from the safety points searched by the safety point searching unit 46 when the automatic driving propriety determining unit 45 determines that the sensor accuracy of the external sensor 20 does not satisfy the reference accuracy. Select a point and perform automatic driving to the safety point. The safe point selection method will be explained in detail in the section [Select Safe Point]. Then, after the sensor accuracy does not satisfy the reference accuracy and until the safety point is reached, the automatic operation control unit 17 performs the automatic operation of the vehicle without using the output information of the external sensor 20. In other words, in this case, the automatic operation control unit 17 automatically performs the automatic operation based on the information stored in the road data storage unit 41 and the vehicle state (for example, the own vehicle position and the traveling direction) recognized from the output of the internal sensor 30. Continue driving. The automatic operation control unit 17 is an example of the “automatic operation control unit”, “specification unit”, and “extraction unit” in the present invention.

The notification unit 18 is a display or an audio output device, and displays information about the set route and other information about driving support and outputs audio.

In addition, CPU which comprises the determination part 13, the advanced map information processing part 14, the route setting part 15, and the automatic driving | operation control part 17 is an example of the computer which performs the program in this invention.

[Sensor accuracy calculation example]
Next, a method for calculating the sensor accuracy of the external sensor 20 executed by the automatic driving availability determination unit 45 will be described.

The automatic driving availability determination unit 45 calculates the sensor accuracy of each external sensor 20 based on the environmental information, the current time, and the like. When the sensor accuracy of any of the external sensors 20 is less than a predetermined reference accuracy, It is determined that the operation cannot be executed.

FIG. 3 is a table showing the sensor accuracy of the camera 22 and the lidar 23 for each weather and time zone, which is an example of a parameter for determining the environment. Each sensor accuracy shown in FIG. 3 is set to be “1.0” in the case of standard sensor accuracy.

Supplementary explanation of sensor accuracy for each parameter shown in FIG. In general, the recognition accuracy for an object such as a forward vehicle or a white line based on an image generated by the camera 22 decreases in the order of clear, cloudy, rainy, and snow. Therefore, in FIG. 3, the sensor accuracy of the camera 22 is set to be lower in the order of clear, cloudy, rainy, and snowy. In addition, the recognition accuracy for an object based on data generated by the lidar 23 generally decreases in the order of cloudy, clear, rain, and snow. Therefore, in FIG. 3, the sensor accuracy of the lidar 23 is set to be lower in the order of cloudy, clear, rain, and snow. In general, in the case of the camera 22, the recognition accuracy for the object is lower at night than in the daytime, and in the case of the lidar 23, external light such as sunlight is compared with that in the daytime. The recognition accuracy to the target object at night without the influence of is increased. Therefore, in FIG. 3, the sensor accuracy of the camera 22 is set lower at night than at daytime, and the sensor accuracy of the lidar 23 is set lower at daytime than at night.

The automatic driving propriety determination unit 45 stores in advance a table indicating the sensor accuracy of each external sensor 20 for each parameter as shown in FIG. 3, and sets the parameter for each external sensor 20 based on environmental information and time information. Recognize the accuracy of each sensor. And the automatic driving | running | working availability determination part 45 considers the value which multiplied or added the sensor precision for every parameter for every sensor as the sensor precision of the said sensor, for example, and compares it with the reference | standard precision memorize | stored beforehand.

In addition, when the weather is rainy or snowy, the automatic driving propriety determination unit 45 may further subdivide the sensor accuracy in accordance with the amount of rain or the amount of snow and store it in the table of FIG. In this case, the automatic driving availability determination unit 45 sets the target sensor accuracy related to the weather to be lower as the amount of rain or the amount of snow is larger. In addition, when there is a special weather condition that deteriorates the sensor accuracy such as road surface freezing or dense fog, the automatic driving availability determination unit 45 sets the sensor accuracy related to the weather lower than the case where these weather conditions do not exist. May be.

Further, when the automatic driving propriety determination unit 45 recognizes that the currently traveling section is a section where there is no mark necessary for automatic driving such as a white line or a sign based on the environment information, the automatic driving propriety determination section 45 displays the mark. The sensor accuracy for the sensor for detection is set to a value lower than the reference accuracy.

[Selection of safety points]
Next, a method for selecting a safety point that is a guidance destination when the sensor accuracy is less than the reference accuracy will be described. The safe point search unit 46 sets a distance (also referred to as “allowable distance Dr”) according to the calculated sensor accuracy of the external sensor 20, and sets a safe point that is closer than the allowable distance Dr to the safety of the guidance destination. Select as a point. In this case, the allowable distance Dr is set to be shorter as the calculated sensor accuracy of the external sensor 20 is lower. In this case, the safe point search unit 46 sets the allowable distance Dr based on, for example, the average value or the minimum value of the sensor accuracy of each external sensor 20.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a range of safety points that can be selected as a guide destination. A mark 50 in FIG. 4 indicates the position of the vehicle on the route 53 when the automatic driving availability determination unit 45 determines that the sensor accuracy is less than the reference accuracy.

In the example of FIG. 4, when the sensor accuracy is a predetermined value “V1” that is relatively close to the reference accuracy, the automatic driving propriety determination unit 45 sets the allowable distance Dr to the distance “Dr1” according to the sensor accuracy. A circular area “A1” having a radius Dr1 centered on the vehicle position is recognized as a range of safe spots that can be selected as a guide destination. In this case, the automatic driving propriety determination unit 45 selects one safety point as the guidance destination safety point from the safety points A to C in the area A1. For example, in this case, the automatic driving propriety determination unit 45 may select a safety point closest to the vehicle position from among the safety points in the area A1, and select a safety point with the lowest parking fee. Alternatively, a safe spot with the largest number of facilities may be selected.

On the other hand, when the sensor accuracy is the predetermined value “V2” lower than the predetermined value V1, the automatic driving availability determination unit 45 sets the allowable distance Dr to a distance “Dr2” shorter than the distance Dr1, and sets the vehicle position as the center. The circle area “A2” having the radius Dr2 is recognized as a safe point range that can be selected as a guide destination. In this case, the automatic driving availability determination unit 45 selects one safety point from the safety points B to C in the area A2 as the safety point of the guidance destination.

[Processing flow]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by the driving support device 1 during execution of automatic driving. The driving support device 1 executes the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 after the destination is designated by the user I / F 16 and the route setting unit 15 sets the traveling route for automatic driving.

First, the automatic operation control unit 17 executes automatic operation based on the set travel route (step S101). Then, the determination unit 13 estimates the own vehicle position, the state of the own vehicle, and the surrounding situation based on the output of the sensor unit 12 (step S102). Moreover, the determination part 13 transmits the information which shows the above-mentioned estimation result, or the output information of the sensor part 12 to the server apparatus 2 by the communication part 11 as sensor information D2.

Next, the advanced map information processing unit 14 receives the advanced map information D1 from the server device 2 via the communication unit 11 (step S103). And the advanced map information processing part 14 memorize | stores the received advanced map information D1 in the road data storage part 41, the periphery condition memory | storage part 42, the traffic information storage part 43, and the weather information storage part 44 as environmental information. Let

Then, the safe spot search unit 46 searches for a safe spot (step S104). Specifically, the safe spot search unit 46 searches for a safe spot that is a candidate for a safe spot to guide the vehicle in step S108 described later. In this case, for example, the safe spot search unit 46 searches for an area that can be parked within an area within a predetermined distance from the vehicle position as a safe spot.

Next, the automatic driving availability determination unit 45 calculates the sensor accuracy of each external sensor 20 used for automatic driving based on the environmental information and time information (step S105). Then, the automatic driving availability determination unit 45 determines whether there is an external sensor 20 whose sensor accuracy is less than the reference accuracy (step S106). When the automatic driving availability determination unit 45 determines that there is an external sensor 20 whose sensor accuracy is less than the reference accuracy (step S106; Yes), the automatic driving control unit 17 does not use all the external sensors 20. The automatic operation is continued (step S107). Specifically, the automatic driving control unit 17 continues the automatic driving based only on the output information of the inner world sensor 30 and the map information stored in the road data storage unit 41 and the like. Thereby, the automatic driving | operation control part 17 can prevent performing an automatic driving | operation based on the output of the external field sensor 20 whose accuracy deteriorated, and can suppress malfunction etc. suitably. On the other hand, when there is no external sensor 20 whose sensor accuracy is less than the reference accuracy (step S106; No), that is, when the sensor accuracy of all the external sensors 20 is equal to or higher than the reference accuracy, the process returns to step S101. In this case, the automatic operation control unit 17 continues the automatic operation in consideration of the output information of the external sensor 20 as usual.

And when it switches to the automatic driving | operation which does not use the external sensor 20 by step S107, the alerting | reporting part 18 outputs the warning which prompts the input which cancels | releases automatic driving | operation (step S108). Then, the driving support device 1 determines whether or not the user I / F 16 has detected an operation for switching to manual driving (step S109). Then, when the driving support device 1 detects an operation to switch to manual driving within a predetermined time after the warning in step S108 (step S109; Yes), the driving support device 1 ends the automatic driving and ends the processing of the flowchart.

On the other hand, if the driving support device 1 does not detect an operation to switch to manual driving within a predetermined time after the warning in step S108 (step S109; No), the automatic driving control unit 17 sets the sensor accuracy calculated in step S105. The vehicle is guided by automatic driving to a safety point that exists within the corresponding allowable distance Dr (step S110). In this case, the automatic driving control unit 17 determines the allowable distance Dr based on the sensor accuracy calculated in step S105, and among the safety points searched in step S104, a circle having the allowable distance Dr as a radius centered on the own vehicle position. Set the safety point in the area as the safety point of the destination.

As described above, the driving support device 1 according to the present embodiment stores map information and acquires the surrounding information of the vehicle by the external sensor 20. When the driving support device 1 determines that the sensor accuracy of the external sensor 20 satisfies the reference accuracy, the driving support device 1 performs automatic driving based on the peripheral information acquired by the external sensor 20, and the sensor accuracy of the external sensor 20. When it is determined that the vehicle does not satisfy the reference accuracy, automatic driving is performed so as to guide the vehicle to a safe spot based on the map information. As a result, the driving support device 1 can appropriately automatically drive to the stop point while suitably preventing malfunction due to the use of the external sensor 20 having low sensor accuracy.

[Modification]
Next, a modified example suitable for the embodiment will be described. The following modifications may be applied in any combination to the above-described embodiments.

(Modification 1)
In step S107 in FIG. 5, the automatic operation control unit 17 continues the automatic operation without using all the external sensors 20 when there is a sensor whose sensor accuracy calculated in step S105 is less than the reference accuracy. Instead of this, the automatic operation control unit 17 may continue the automatic operation without using only the sensor whose sensor accuracy calculated in step S105 does not satisfy the reference accuracy among the external sensors 20 used for the automatic operation. .

As shown in the table of FIG. 3, for example, the camera 22 and the lidar 23 have different suitable weather, so that either one of the sensor accuracy may be lower than the reference accuracy. Even in this case, according to the present modified example, the automatic operation control unit 17 continues the automatic operation up to the safety point by excluding only the sensors whose sensor accuracy is lower than the reference accuracy. That is, the automatic operation control unit 17 continues the automatic operation up to the safety point by continuously using the external sensor 20 whose sensor accuracy satisfies the reference accuracy. Thereby, the driving assistance apparatus 1 can continue an automatic driving | operation to a safe point suitably, without producing a malfunction etc.

(Modification 2)
The driving support device 1 searches for a route to the destination designated by the user I / F 16 and performs automatic driving. Instead, the driving support device 1 estimates the route traveled by the vehicle by referring to the past vehicle travel history even when the destination is not specified, and automatically operates based on the estimated route. You may drive. In this case, the driving support device 1 stores road information transmitted by the vehicle as a travel history, and predicts a travel route based on a known statistical method with reference to the travel history. For example, when the accuracy of the predicted route is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the driving support device 1 performs automatic driving based on the predicted route.

(Modification 3)
Instead of the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1, the automatic driving system may not include the server device 2. In this case, the driving support device 1 performs automatic driving based on map information stored in advance, output information of the sensor unit 12, and the like. In this case, the driving support device 1 may receive, for example, weather information necessary for calculating sensor accuracy from a server that manages weather information (not shown), and based on output information of a sensor such as a raindrop sensor, You may estimate the weather in the own vehicle position.

(Modification 4)
The flowchart of FIG. 5 is an example, and the processing procedure to which the present invention is applicable is not limited to this.

For example, instead of repeatedly searching for a safety point in step S104, the safety point search unit 46 may search for a safety point after it is determined in step S106 that there is a sensor whose sensor accuracy is less than the reference accuracy. In another example, after determining that there is a sensor whose sensor accuracy is less than the reference accuracy in step S106, the automatic operation control unit 17 immediately sets a safe point without performing a warning for canceling the automatic operation in step S108. Guidance may begin.

(Modification 5)
The processing of the server device 2 described in the embodiment may be executed by a server system including a plurality of server devices. In this case, each server apparatus appropriately receives information necessary for executing a process assigned in advance from another server and executes a predetermined process.

(Modification 6)
In the section “Selecting a safe spot”, the automatic driving control unit 17 guides the vehicle to a safe spot that exists in a circular area with the allowable distance Dr as a radius around the own vehicle position. However, the method for selecting a safe spot to which the present invention is applicable is not limited to this. Instead of this, for example, the automatic driving control unit 17 recognizes a range in which the travel distance from the vehicle position is within the allowable distance Dr, and selects a safety point existing within the range as the safety point of the guidance destination. May be.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Driving assistance apparatus 2 Server apparatus 9 Network 11 Communication part 12 Sensor part 13 Determination part 14 Sophisticated map information processing part 15 Route setting part 16 User I / F
17 Automatic Operation Control Unit 18 Notification Unit 21 Sophisticated Map DB

Claims

A storage unit for storing map information;
An acquisition unit for acquiring vehicle periphery information;
A determination unit that determines whether the acquisition accuracy of the acquisition unit satisfies a predetermined criterion;
An automatic driving control unit for automatically driving the vehicle;
With
The automatic operation control unit is
When it is determined that the determination unit satisfies the predetermined criterion, the automatic operation is performed based on the peripheral information acquired by the acquisition unit,
When the determination unit determines that the predetermined standard is not satisfied, the automatic driving is performed based on the map information so as to guide the vehicle to a stop point where the vehicle can be stopped safely. Vehicle control device.
An environmental information acquisition unit for acquiring environmental information of the vehicle;
The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether the acquisition accuracy of the acquisition unit satisfies a predetermined criterion based on the environment information.
The acquisition unit includes at least one of a camera or a lidar,
The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the environmental information is information regarding weather at a point where the vehicle exists.
The determination unit includes a detection unit that detects the acquisition accuracy of the acquisition unit,
A specifying unit that specifies a range on the map including the position of the vehicle according to the acquisition accuracy detected by the detection unit when the determination unit determines that the predetermined criterion is not satisfied;
An extraction unit for extracting the stop point from the range specified by the specification unit;
The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:
The vehicle control device according to claim 4, wherein the specifying unit specifies the range such that the range becomes wider as the acquisition accuracy detected by the detection unit is higher.
The acquisition unit is an external sensor that acquires peripheral information of the vehicle,
When the determination unit determines that the predetermined criterion is not satisfied, the automatic operation control unit is configured to perform the automatic operation based on the map information and an output of an internal sensor that detects the state of the vehicle. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein:
A plurality of acquisition units for acquiring vehicle periphery information;
For each of the plurality of acquisition units, a determination unit that determines whether the acquisition accuracy satisfies a predetermined criterion;
An automatic driving control unit for automatically driving the vehicle;
With
The automatic operation control unit, when the determination unit determines that the predetermined criterion is not satisfied among the plurality of acquisition units, the peripheral information acquired by the other acquisition unit On the basis of the above, the vehicle control device performs the automatic driving so as to guide the vehicle to a stop point where the vehicle can be safely stopped.
A control method executed by a vehicle control device having a storage unit for storing map information,
An acquisition process for acquiring vehicle periphery information;
A determination step of determining whether the acquisition accuracy of the acquisition step satisfies a predetermined criterion;
An automatic driving process for automatically driving the vehicle;
Have
The automatic operation process includes:
When it is determined that the determination step satisfies the predetermined standard, the automatic operation is performed based on the peripheral information acquired by the acquisition step,
When the determination step determines that the predetermined standard is not satisfied, the automatic driving is performed so as to guide the vehicle to a stop where the vehicle can be safely stopped based on the map information. Control method to do.
A program executed by a computer that refers to a storage unit that stores map information,
An acquisition unit for acquiring vehicle periphery information;
A determination unit that determines whether the acquisition accuracy of the acquisition unit satisfies a predetermined criterion;
Causing the computer to function as an automatic driving control unit that performs automatic driving of the vehicle;
The automatic operation control unit is
When it is determined that the determination unit satisfies the predetermined criterion, the automatic operation is performed based on the peripheral information acquired by the acquisition unit,
When the determination unit determines that the predetermined standard is not satisfied, the automatic driving is performed based on the map information so as to guide the vehicle to a stop point where the vehicle can be stopped safely. Program to do.
A storage medium storing the program according to claim 9.