WO2020059076A1

WO2020059076A1 - Driving assistance device and driving support method

Info

Publication number: WO2020059076A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/034803
Authority: WO
Inventors: 晴彦若柳; 下谷　光生
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2018-09-20
Filing date: 2018-09-20
Publication date: 2020-03-26
Also published as: JPWO2020059076A1; JP7175321B2

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a driving assistance device and a driving support method that can smoothly switch from automatic driving to manual driving. A driving assistance device according to the present invention comprises: an illuminance change estimating unit which estimates an illuminance change which is an illuminance change around a vehicle and which is abrupt so that the driver's vision cannot instantly adapt; an influence mitigation estimating unit which estimates a degree of mitigation for the influence of the illuminance change estimated by the illuminance change estimating unit on the vision of a driver driving the vehicle; and a driving switching unit which, when the influence mitigation estimating unit estimates the degree of mitigation for the influence, switches the driving of the vehicle from automatic driving to manual driving.

Description

Driving support device and driving support method

The present invention relates to a driving support apparatus and a driving support method for automatically and automatically switching between manual driving and automatic driving to assist driving of a driver.

For example, when a vehicle is approaching the exit of a tunnel while traveling in the tunnel, a sudden change in illuminance may occur. At this time, the driver of the vehicle may be deprived of visibility due to a sudden change in illuminance, and the vehicle may come into contact with a preceding vehicle due to poor visibility. Alternatively, if the driver decelerates the vehicle due to poor visibility, there is a possibility of inducing traffic congestion of the following vehicle.

Conventionally, a technology has been disclosed in which a driver is automatically switched from a manual operation to an automatic operation when it is difficult for a driver to see the surroundings, and is switched from an automatic operation to a manual operation when the surrounding environment improves (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2017-188127 A

The driver may temporarily lose visibility when a sudden change in illuminance occurs, but after a while, the driver becomes accustomed to the changed illuminance and alleviates the poor visibility.

では In Patent Literature 1, for example, while the vehicle is traveling toward West Day, switching from automatic driving to manual driving is not performed. Therefore, in Patent Literature 1, the automatic driving is continued even after the poor visibility of the driver is alleviated. In this case, the driver may be confused by the driver's operation because automatic driving is continued even though manual driving is possible, and the driver does not know when to return to the manual driving. As described above, conventionally, switching from automatic operation to manual operation has not been performed smoothly.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a driving support apparatus and a driving support method that can smoothly switch from automatic driving to manual driving. .

In order to solve the above problem, a driving assistance device according to the present invention includes an illuminance change estimating unit for estimating an illuminance change around a vehicle and abruptly changing the illuminance so that a driver's vision cannot instantaneously follow. The effect mitigation estimator estimates the mitigation of the effect of the illuminance change estimated by the change estimator on the driver's vision, and automatically drives the vehicle when the effect mitigation estimator estimates the mitigation of the effect. And an operation switching unit for switching from the operation to the manual operation.

Further, the driving assistance method according to the present invention estimates an illuminance change around the vehicle, which is so rapid that the driver's vision cannot follow immediately, and the estimated illuminance change is the visual illuminance of the driver driving the vehicle. When the mitigation of the influence on the vehicle is estimated, and the mitigation of the influence is estimated, the driving of the vehicle is switched from the automatic driving to the manual driving.

According to the present invention, the driving assistance device includes: an illuminance change estimating unit that estimates an illuminance change around the vehicle, and abruptly changes the illuminance so that the driver's vision cannot instantaneously follow; and the illuminance estimated by the illuminance change estimating unit. An impact mitigation estimator that estimates the mitigation of the effect of the change on the driver's vision of the driver, and a driving switch that switches the vehicle operation from automatic driving to manual driving when the mitigation estimator estimates the mitigation of the effect. And the switching from the automatic operation to the manual operation can be performed smoothly.

In addition, the driving support method estimates an illuminance change around the vehicle, which is so rapid that the driver's vision cannot immediately follow, and how the estimated illuminance change affects the vision of the driver driving the vehicle. When the mitigation of the influence is estimated and the mitigation of the influence is estimated, the driving of the vehicle is switched from the automatic driving to the manual driving, so that the switching from the automatic driving to the manual driving can be smoothly performed.

The objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a driving support device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a driving support device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the driving support device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the driving support device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a driving support device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the driving support device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the driving support device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a driving support device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the driving support device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a driving support device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the driving support device according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram showing an example of composition of a driving support system by an embodiment of the invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
<Structure>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a driving support device 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows the minimum required configuration of the driving support device according to the first embodiment.

運転 As shown in FIG. 1, the driving support device 1 includes an illuminance change estimating unit 2, an influence mitigation estimating unit 3, and a driving switching unit 4. The illuminance change estimating unit 2 estimates an illuminance change around the vehicle, which is so rapid that the driver's vision cannot follow immediately. The influence mitigation estimating unit 3 estimates the mitigation of the influence of the illuminance change estimated by the illuminance change estimating unit 2 on the vision of the driver driving the vehicle. The driving switching unit 4 switches the driving of the vehicle from the automatic driving to the manual driving when the influence mitigation estimating unit 3 estimates the mitigation of the influence.

Next, another configuration of the driving support device including the driving support device 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of the driving support device 5 according to another configuration.

As shown in FIG. 2, the driving support device 5 includes the illuminance change estimating unit 2, the effect mitigation estimating unit 3, the driving switching unit 4, and the state change acquiring unit 6. The status change acquisition unit 6 is connected to a DMS (Driver Monitoring System) 9. The operation switching unit 4 is connected to the automatic operation control device 10. It is assumed that the driving support device 5, the DMS 9, and the automatic driving control device 10 are mounted on a vehicle.

The DMS 9 detects a change in the state of at least one of the driver's face and eyes. For example, the DMS 9 detects the state change of at least one of the face and the eyes by photographing the entire face of the driver every predetermined time and performing image processing on the photographed entire face. The change in the state of the driver's face includes a change in the facial expression of the driver and a change in the orientation of the driver's face. The change in the state of the driver's eyes includes a change in the size of the driver's pupil and a change in the opening and closing of the driver's eyelids.

The state change acquisition unit 6 acquires, from the DMS 9, a state change of at least one of the driver's face and eyes. Specifically, the state change acquisition unit 6 receives the change in the facial expression of the driver, the change in the orientation of the driver's face, the change in the size of the driver's pupil, and the opening and closing of the driver's eyelids from the DMS 9. At least one of the changes is obtained.

The illuminance change estimating unit 2 is an illuminance change around the vehicle based on the state change of at least one of the driver's face and eyes acquired by the state change acquiring unit 6 and the driver's vision cannot instantly follow. Illuminance change is estimated to be as rapid as possible. Here, the sudden change in illuminance includes a sudden change in illuminance around the vehicle from dark to bright, and a sudden change in illuminance around the vehicle from light to dark.

Specifically, the illuminance change estimating unit 2 estimates that there has been a rapid illuminance change around the vehicle when at least one of the face and the eye of the driver changes instantaneously. That is, when the illuminance change estimating unit 2 estimates that the illuminance around the vehicle has rapidly changed from bright to dark or from dark to bright, it estimates that poor visibility of the driver has occurred.

(4) When the size of the driver's pupil becomes smaller than a predetermined size, the illuminance change estimating unit 2 estimates that there has been a sudden change in illuminance around the vehicle. That is, when the illuminance change estimating unit 2 estimates that the illuminance around the vehicle has rapidly changed from dark to bright, the illuminance change estimating unit 2 estimates that poor visibility of the driver has occurred. When the size of the driver's pupil becomes larger than a predetermined size, the illuminance change estimation unit 2 estimates that there has been a sudden change in illuminance around the vehicle. That is, when the illuminance change estimating unit 2 estimates that the illuminance around the vehicle has suddenly changed from bright to dark, it estimates that poor visibility of the driver has occurred.

The illuminance change estimating unit 2 is configured to detect a sudden illuminance around the vehicle based on at least one of a change in the opening and closing of the driver's eyelids, a change in the facial expression of the driver, and a change in the orientation of the driver's face. The change may be estimated. For example, the illuminance change estimating unit 2 may be configured to reduce the illuminance around the vehicle when the driver's eyelids open suddenly narrow, when the driver looks dazzling, or when the driver turns his face away. It is estimated that there has been a sudden change from dark to bright, and it is estimated that poor visibility has occurred for the driver. Alternatively, the illuminance change estimating unit 2 causes the illuminance around the vehicle to suddenly change from dark to bright when the driver's eyelids open wide suddenly, or when the driver looks squint. It is presumed that poor visibility of the driver has occurred.

The influence mitigation estimating unit 3 performs the driving based on the sudden illuminance change around the vehicle estimated by the illuminance change estimating unit 2 based on the state change of at least one of the driver's face and eyes acquired by the state change acquiring unit 6. To alleviate the effect on the visual sense of the elderly. Specifically, after the illuminance change estimating unit 2 estimates a sudden illuminance change around the vehicle, the influence mitigation estimating unit 3 determines at least one of the driver's face and eyes acquired by the state change acquiring unit 6. Based on the state change, it is estimated that the sudden change in the illuminance around the vehicle estimated by the illuminance change estimating unit 2 reduces the influence on the driver's vision. Here, the alleviation of the influence of a sudden change in the illuminance around the vehicle on the driver's vision means that the poor visibility of the driver caused by the sudden change in the illuminance around the vehicle is alleviated. It means returning to normal.

For example, after the size of the driver's pupil becomes smaller than a predetermined size due to a sudden change in illuminance around the vehicle, the influence mitigation estimating unit 3 sets the driver's pupil size to the normal size. When it returns to, it is estimated that the influence on the driver's vision caused by the sudden change in the illuminance around the vehicle is reduced. In addition, the influence mitigation estimating unit 3 determines a sudden change in the vicinity of the vehicle based on at least one of a change in the opening and closing of the driver's eyelids, a change in the facial expression of the driver, and a change in the orientation of the driver's face. The mitigation of the influence of a change in illuminance on the driver's vision may be estimated.

The operation switching unit 4 has a manual operation switching unit 7 and an automatic operation switching unit 8. When the illuminance change estimating unit 2 estimates a sudden change in illuminance around the vehicle, the automatic driving switching unit 8 instructs the automatic driving control device 10 to switch the driving of the vehicle from manual driving to automatic driving. The automatic driving control device 10 controls automatic driving of the vehicle according to the instruction of the automatic driving switching unit 8.

For example, the automatic operation switching unit 8 may instruct the automatic operation control device 10 to operate at a predetermined automatic operation level. For example, if the automatic operation level is the automatic operation level defined by SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), the automatic operation switching unit 8 instructs the automatic operation control device 10 to change the automatic operation level from 0 to 3. I do. The automatic operation level described below is an automatic operation level defined by SAE.

When the vehicle has the function of the automatic driving level 1, the automatic driving switching unit 8 may change the control parameters related to the automatic driving without increasing the automatic driving level. For example, when the vehicle has a lane departure prevention function, the automatic driving switching unit 8 strongly controls the steering operation to return the vehicle to the center of the lane when the vehicle is about to cross the white line. It instructs the automatic operation control device 10. Further, for example, when the vehicle has an automatic braking function, the automatic driving switching unit 8 instructs the automatic driving control device 10 to apply the brake earlier than usual. As described above, in the first embodiment, the concept of switching to automatic driving is also used when the degree of control related to automatic driving is increased without changing the automatic driving level, that is, when control closer to automatic driving is performed. include.

The automatic driving switching unit 8 may change the automatic driving level or the control parameters related to the automatic driving according to the speed of the vehicle, the surrounding environment of the vehicle, or the degree of the luminance change estimated by the illuminance change estimating unit 2.

When the influence mitigation estimating unit 3 estimates that the influence of a sudden change in illuminance around the vehicle on the driver's vision is mitigated, the manual operation switching unit 7 switches the operation of the vehicle from automatic driving to manual driving. An instruction is given to the control device 10. The automatic driving control device 10 controls to release the control of the automatic driving of the vehicle and shift to the manual driving according to the instruction of the manual driving switching unit 7. Specifically, the manual operation switching unit 7 sets the automatic operation level changed by the automatic operation switching unit 8 at the time of automatic operation to automatic operation level 0 corresponding to manual operation, or sets a control parameter related to automatic operation. The automatic operation control device 10 is instructed to return to the original state.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the driving support device 5.

The functions of the illuminance change estimating unit 2, the influence mitigation estimating unit 3, the state change acquiring unit 6, the manual operation switching unit 7, and the automatic operation switching unit 8 in the driving support device 5 are realized by a processing circuit. In other words, the driving support device 5 estimates an illuminance change around the vehicle, which is so rapid that the driver's vision cannot follow immediately, and the abrupt illuminance change around the vehicle estimated by the illuminance change estimation unit 2. Is estimated to mitigate the effect of the vehicle on the driver's vision, and when the effect mitigation estimating unit 3 estimates that the sudden change in the illuminance around the vehicle is mitigating the effect on the driver's vision, the operation of the vehicle is changed from automatic driving to manual operation. When the illuminance change estimating unit 2 switches to driving and estimates a sudden change in illuminance around the vehicle, the illuminance change estimation unit 2 includes a processing circuit for switching the operation of the vehicle from manual driving to automatic driving. The processing circuit is a processor 11 (also referred to as a central processing unit, a processing unit, an arithmetic unit, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor)) that executes a program stored in the memory 12.

The functions of the illuminance change estimating unit 2, the influence mitigation estimating unit 3, the state change acquiring unit 6, the manual operation switching unit 7, and the automatic operation switching unit 8 in the driving support device 5 are software, firmware, or software and firmware. It is realized by a combination. Software or firmware is described as a program and stored in the memory 12. The processing circuit realizes the function of each unit by reading and executing the program stored in the memory 12. In other words, the driving support device 5 estimates the illuminance change around the vehicle, which is so rapid that the driver's vision cannot follow immediately, the sudden illuminance around the vehicle estimated by the illuminance change estimation unit 2. Estimating the mitigation of the influence of the change on the driver's vision, and automatically driving the vehicle when the influence mitigation estimating unit 3 estimates that the sudden illuminance change around the vehicle will reduce the influence on the driver's vision. From a manual operation to a manual operation. When the illuminance change estimating unit 2 estimates a sudden change in the illuminance around the vehicle, a program for executing the step of switching the operation of the vehicle from the manual operation to the automatic operation is stored. And a memory 12 for performing the operation. Further, these programs may cause a computer to execute the procedures or methods of the illuminance change estimating unit 2, the influence mitigation estimating unit 3, the state change acquiring unit 6, the manual operation switching unit 7, and the automatic operation switching unit 8. I can say. Here, the memory is, for example, a non-volatile or volatile memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). Semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a DVD, or the like, or any storage medium used in the future.

<Operation>
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the driving support device 5. In addition, as a premise of the operation in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the vehicle is traveling by manual driving.

In step S101, the illuminance change estimating unit 2 determines whether or not the driver's view is poor. As described above, when the illuminance change estimating unit 2 estimates that there has been a sudden change in the illuminance around the vehicle, it determines that the driver's view is poor. The process of step S101 is repeated until it is determined that the driver's field of view is poor. When it is determined that the driver's field of view is poor, the process proceeds to step S102.

In step S102, the automatic driving switching unit 8 instructs the automatic driving control device 10 to switch the driving of the vehicle from the manual driving to the automatic driving.

影響 In step S103, the impact mitigation estimating unit 3 determines whether or not the driver's view is normal. As described above, the influence mitigation estimating unit 3 determines that the driver's visibility is normal when the illuminance change estimating unit 2 estimates that the abrupt change in the illuminance around the vehicle has an effect on the driver's vision. to decide. The process of step S103 is repeated until it is determined that the driver's field of view is normal. If it is determined that the driver's field of view is normal, the process proceeds to step S104.

In step S104, the manual operation switching unit 7 instructs the automatic operation control device 10 to switch the operation of the vehicle from the automatic operation to the manual operation.

From the above, according to the first embodiment, when a sudden change in brightness around the vehicle is estimated, the driving mode is switched from manual driving to automatic driving, and thereafter, the mitigation of the influence of the sudden change in illuminance on the driver's vision is estimated. Then, the operation is switched from the automatic operation to the manual operation. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the driver from continuing the automatic driving even though the driver can perform the manual driving, and to smoothly switch from the automatic driving to the manual driving.

The illuminance change estimating unit 2 may be configured to estimate a sudden illuminance change around the vehicle in consideration of a surrounding environment such as a tunnel or an oncoming vehicle detected by an outside sensor (not shown). In this case, the illuminance change estimating unit 2 can estimate the illuminance change more accurately. The exterior sensor is, for example, a camera that can capture the surroundings of a vehicle, and can capture a surrounding environment such as a tunnel or an oncoming vehicle.

<Embodiment 2>
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the driving support device 13 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the driving support device 13 includes a driving switching unit 4, a vehicle position obtaining unit 14, a map information obtaining unit 15, an illuminance change obtaining unit 16, a time information obtaining unit 17, an illuminance change estimation. And an influence mitigation estimating unit 19. The operation switching unit 4 is connected to the automatic operation control device 10. The vehicle position acquisition unit 14 is connected to the high-precision locator 20. The map information acquisition unit 15 is connected to the map information storage device 22. It is assumed that the driving support device 13, the high-accuracy locator 20, and the automatic driving control device 10 are mounted on a vehicle. The operation switching unit 4 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and thus a detailed description is omitted here.

The high-accuracy locator 20 includes a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) 21 and a map information storage device 22. The GNSS 21 acquires position information from a GNSS satellite. It is desirable that the GNSS 21 obtains highly accurate position information from the GNSS satellite. The map information storage device 22 is configured from a storage device such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory, and stores map information including at least one of a road structure and a road shape. The road structure includes at least one of an entrance of a tunnel, an entrance of an underground parking garage, an entrance of a multi-story parking garage, and near the top of an uphill. Thus, the map information storage device 22 stores three-dimensional map information. The high-precision locator 20 detects the current position of the vehicle on the map based on the position information acquired by the GNSS 21 and the map information stored in the map information storage device 22.

The vehicle position acquisition unit 14 acquires the current position of the vehicle from the high precision locator 20. The map information acquisition unit 15 acquires, from the map information storage device 22, map information including at least one of a road structure and a road shape.

The illuminance change acquisition unit 16 acquires a peripheral illuminance change indicating an illuminance change around the vehicle. Specifically, the illuminance change obtaining unit 16 obtains a change in the surrounding illuminance from a sensor (not shown) outside the vehicle. The outside sensor is, for example, a sensor or a camera that detects illuminance outside the vehicle. When the outside sensor is a camera, a peripheral illuminance change can be detected by performing image processing on an image captured by the camera.

(4) The time information acquisition unit 17 acquires time information including the current date and time. The time information obtaining unit 17 may obtain the time information held by the driving support device 13 or may obtain the time information from outside.

The illuminance change estimating unit 18 includes a current position of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle position acquiring unit 14, map information acquired by the map information acquiring unit 15, a peripheral illuminance change acquired by the illuminance change acquiring unit 16, and a time information acquiring unit. Based on the time information acquired by 17, an illuminance change around the vehicle, which is so rapid that the driver's vision cannot follow immediately, is estimated.

For example, the illuminance change estimation unit 18 estimates that when the illuminance changes while approaching the exit while the vehicle is traveling in the tunnel, a sudden illuminance change around the vehicle occurs at the tunnel exit. In this case, the illuminance changes from dark to bright. The fact that the illuminance has changed when approaching the exit of the tunnel can be understood from the change in the peripheral illuminance acquired by the illuminance change acquisition unit 16. The illuminance at the exit of the tunnel can be grasped by estimating the direction of the sun at the exit of the tunnel from the time information acquired by the time information acquisition unit 17. The same applies to the case where the vehicle travels toward the tunnel. In this case, the illuminance changes from light to dark.

The illuminance change estimating unit 18 estimates that when the vehicle travels toward the sun after turning the curve, a sharp illuminance change around the vehicle occurs after the vehicle turns the curve. Alternatively, the illuminance change estimating unit 2 estimates that when the vehicle travels toward the sun after leaving the shadow of the building, a sudden change in illuminance around the vehicle occurs after leaving the shadow of the building. In these cases, the illuminance changes from dark to bright. Here, the case of traveling toward the sun includes the case of traveling toward the west day at sunset, or the case of traveling toward the morning sun.

The illuminance change estimating unit 18 may estimate a rapid illuminance change around the vehicle based only on the peripheral illuminance change acquired by the illuminance change acquiring unit 16. For example, the illuminance change estimating unit 18 may estimate that a sudden illuminance change around the vehicle has occurred when the illuminance change obtaining unit 16 obtains a surrounding illuminance change due to headlights of an oncoming vehicle. In this case, the illuminance changes from dark to bright.

The illuminance change estimating unit 18 may estimate that a sudden illuminance change around the vehicle has occurred when the illuminance change obtaining unit 16 obtains a change in the peripheral illuminance due to the reflected light from the vehicle in front. In this case, the illuminance changes from dark to bright. The reflected light from the preceding vehicle includes, for example, a reflected light from a glossy tank of a tank truck, a glossy vehicle, a magic mirror attached to a rear glass of the vehicle, and the like.

Effect mitigation estimating section 19 estimates, based on the estimation result of illuminance change estimating section 18, how the sudden illuminance change around the vehicle estimated by illuminance change estimating section 18 reduces the influence on the driver's vision. People generally have a light adaptation time, which is the time it takes for the sight to adjust when the illuminance changes from dark to light, and a dark adaptation time, which is the time it takes for the sight to adjust when the illuminance changes from light to dark. It is determined that the light adaptation time is shorter than the dark adaptation time.

When the estimation result of the illuminance change estimating unit 18 is a change in illuminance from dark to bright, the influence mitigation estimating unit 19 determines that a sudden change in the illuminance around the vehicle is not visually recognized by the driver after the light adaptation time elapses after the illuminance change. It is estimated that the effect on the environment will be reduced. Further, when the estimation result of the illuminance change estimating unit 18 is an illuminance change from light to dark, the influence mitigation estimating unit 19 determines that a sudden illuminance change around the vehicle occurs after the dark adaptation time elapses after the illuminance change. It is estimated that the effect on the vision of the person is reduced. The information of the light adaptation time and the dark adaptation time may be held by the influence mitigation estimating unit 19 or may be held by the illuminance change estimating unit 18. Further, the light adaptation time and the dark adaptation time may be different depending on the age of the driver.

When the illuminance change estimating unit 18 estimates a sudden change in illuminance around the vehicle, the automatic driving switching unit 8 instructs the automatic driving control device 10 to switch the driving of the vehicle from manual driving to automatic driving. At this time, the automatic operation switching unit 8 instructs the automatic operation control device 10 to switch from the manual operation to the automatic operation a predetermined time before the illuminance change estimated by the illuminance change estimating unit 18 occurs. Is also good. As described above, for example, when a vehicle approaches the exit of a tunnel, when turning toward the sun after turning a curve, or when driving toward the sun after exiting a building, the illuminance change estimation is performed. The unit 18 can estimate a sudden change in illuminance around the vehicle in advance. In such a case, the automatic operation switching unit 8 can switch from manual operation to automatic operation before an abrupt change in illuminance actually occurs.

When the influence mitigation estimating unit 19 estimates that the influence of a sudden change in the illuminance around the vehicle on the driver's vision is mitigated, the manual operation switching unit 7 switches the operation of the vehicle from automatic operation to manual operation. An instruction is given to the control device 10. Specifically, the manual driving switching unit 7 determines that the influence of a sudden change in illuminance around the vehicle on the driver's vision when the adaptation time of the automatic driving estimated based on the light adaptation time or the dark adaptation time has elapsed. It is estimated that has eased. The adaptive time for automatic driving will be described later.

The functions of the vehicle position acquisition unit 14, the map information acquisition unit 15, the illuminance change acquisition unit 16, the time information acquisition unit 17, the illuminance change estimation unit 18, and the influence mitigation estimation unit 19 in the driving support device 13 are realized by a processing circuit. Is done. That is, the driving support device 13 acquires the current position of the vehicle, acquires map information including at least one of the road structure and the road shape, acquires a change in surrounding illuminance, and acquires time information including the current date and time. Is obtained, and the illuminance change around the vehicle is estimated so rapidly that the driver's vision cannot immediately follow the illuminance change. Based on the estimation result of the illuminance change estimation unit 18, the abrupt illuminance change around the vehicle is estimated. A processing circuit is provided for estimating the mitigation of the influence on the driver's vision. The processing circuit is a processor 11 that executes a program stored in a memory 12 as shown in FIG. The manual operation switching unit 7 and the automatic operation switching unit 8 are the same as the manual operation switching unit 7 and the automatic operation switching unit 8 shown in FIG.

The functions of the vehicle position acquisition unit 14, the map information acquisition unit 15, the illuminance change acquisition unit 16, the time information acquisition unit 17, the illuminance change estimation unit 18, and the influence mitigation estimation unit 19 in the driving support device 13 are software, firmware, Alternatively, it is realized by a combination of software and firmware. As shown in FIG. 3, software or firmware is described as a program and stored in the memory 12. The processing circuit realizes the function of each unit by reading and executing the program stored in the memory 12. That is, the driving support device 13 obtains a current position of the vehicle, a step of obtaining map information including at least one of a road structure and a road shape, a step of obtaining a change in ambient illuminance, and sets the current date and time. Acquiring the time information including the time information, the step of estimating the illuminance change around the vehicle, which is so rapid that the driver's vision cannot immediately follow, and the step of estimating the illuminance change around the vehicle based on the estimation result of the illuminance change estimating unit 18. A memory 12 is provided for storing a program that results in a step of estimating the mitigation of the effect of a sudden change in illuminance on the driver's vision. In addition, these programs provide the computer with the procedures or methods of the vehicle position acquisition unit 14, the map information acquisition unit 15, the illuminance change acquisition unit 16, the time information acquisition unit 17, the illuminance change estimation unit 18, and the influence mitigation estimation unit 19. It can also be said to be executed. The manual operation switching unit 7 and the automatic operation switching unit 8 are the same as the manual operation switching unit 7 and the automatic operation switching unit 8 shown in FIG.

<Operation>
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the driving support device 13. It is assumed that the vehicle is traveling by manual driving as a premise of the operation in FIG.

において In step S201, the illuminance change estimating unit 18 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling at a location where a sudden illuminance change occurs. Examples of the point where a sudden change in illuminance occurs include a point near the exit of the tunnel, a point approaching a curve, a point exiting from behind a building, and the like as described above. The process of step S201 is repeated until it is determined that the vehicle is traveling at a location where a rapid change in illuminance occurs. If it is determined that the vehicle is traveling at a location where a rapid change in illuminance occurs, the process proceeds to step S202.

において In step S202, the impact mitigation estimating unit 19 estimates the adaptive time of the automatic driving, which is the time for performing the automatic driving. Specifically, the influence mitigation estimating unit 19 estimates the adaptation time of the automatic driving based on the light adaptation time or the dark adaptation time described above. In addition, the adaptation time of the automatic driving may be appropriately changed. For example, when the degree of change in illuminance is large, the start of automatic operation may be advanced, and when the degree of change in illuminance is small, the start of automatic operation may be delayed. The adaptation time of the automatic driving may be estimated by the illuminance change estimating unit 18 instead of the influence mitigation estimating unit 19.

In step S203, the automatic driving switching unit 8 instructs the automatic driving control device 10 to switch the driving of the vehicle from the manual driving to the automatic driving.

において In step S204, the impact mitigation estimating unit 19 determines whether or not the adaptation time for the automatic driving has elapsed. The process of step S204 is repeated until the adaptive time of the automatic operation has elapsed, and the process proceeds to step S205 when the adaptive time of the automatic operation has elapsed.

In step S205, the manual operation switching unit 7 instructs the automatic operation control device 10 to switch the operation of the vehicle from the automatic operation to the manual operation.

From the above, according to the second embodiment, when it is determined that the vehicle is traveling at a point where a rapid change in illuminance occurs, the driving is switched from the manual driving to the automatic driving. Switch from automatic operation to manual operation. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the driver from continuing the automatic driving even though the driver can perform the manual driving, and to smoothly switch from the automatic driving to the manual driving. In addition, since a point where a sudden change in illuminance occurs can be estimated in advance, it is possible to switch from manual operation to automatic operation before an actual sudden change in illuminance occurs.

<Embodiment 3>
<Structure>
The configuration of the driving assistance device according to the third embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of driving assistance device 13 shown in FIG. 5 described in the second embodiment. Hereinafter, the driving assistance device according to the third embodiment will be described as being the driving assistance device 13 shown in FIG.

<Operation>
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the driving support device 13 according to the third embodiment. As a premise of the operation in FIG. 7, it is assumed that the vehicle is traveling manually. Steps S301, S304, and S305 in FIG. 7 correspond to steps S201, S204, and S205 in FIG. 6, and a description thereof will not be repeated. Hereinafter, steps S302 and S303 will be described.

In step S302, the automatic driving switching unit 8 instructs the automatic driving control device 10 to switch the driving of the vehicle from the manual driving to the automatic driving.

において In step S303, the influence mitigation estimating unit 19 estimates the adaptive time of the automatic driving, which is the time for performing the automatic driving. The estimation is the same as in step S202 in FIG.

From the above, according to the third embodiment, similarly to the second embodiment, it is possible to smoothly switch from the automatic operation to the manual operation.

<Embodiment 4>
<Structure>
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the driving support device 23 according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 8, the driving support device 23 includes the influence mitigation estimating unit 3 and the state change acquiring unit 6 shown in FIG. 2 described in the first embodiment, and the vehicle position shown in FIG. 5 described in the second embodiment. It is characterized by being configured by combining an acquisition unit 14, a map information acquisition unit 15, an illuminance change acquisition unit 16, a time information acquisition unit 17, and an illuminance change estimation unit 18. The operation switching unit 4 has the same function as the first and second embodiments. It is assumed that the driving support device 23, the DMS 9, the high-accuracy locator 20, and the automatic driving control device 10 are mounted on a vehicle.

<Operation>
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the driving support device 23. Note that it is assumed that the vehicle is traveling by manual driving as a premise of the operation in FIG.

In step S401, the illuminance change estimating unit 18 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling at a location where a sudden illuminance change occurs. This determination is the same as that in step S201 in FIG. The process of step S401 is repeated until it is determined that the vehicle is traveling at a location where a rapid change in illuminance occurs. If it is determined that the vehicle is traveling at a location where a rapid change in illuminance occurs, the process proceeds to step S402.

In step S402, the automatic driving switching unit 8 instructs the automatic driving control device 10 to switch the driving of the vehicle from the manual driving to the automatic driving.

In step S403, the impact mitigation estimating unit 3 determines whether or not the driver's view is normal. This determination is the same as that in step S103 of FIG. The process in step S403 is repeated until it is determined that the driver's field of view is normal, and the process proceeds to step S404 when it is determined that the driver's field of view is normal.

In step S404, the manual operation switching unit 7 instructs the automatic operation control device 10 to switch the operation of the vehicle from automatic operation to manual operation.

From the above, according to the fourth embodiment, when the driver's view returns to normal after the vehicle is switched to the automatic driving, the driving is switched from the automatic driving to the manual driving. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the driver from continuing the automatic driving even though the driver can perform the manual driving, and to smoothly switch from the automatic driving to the manual driving.

In the second embodiment, the automatic driving is switched from the automatic driving to the manual driving after the adaptation time of the automatic driving has elapsed. However, the driver may be able to perform the manual driving before the adaptation time of the automatic driving elapses. it is conceivable that. In such a case, according to the fourth embodiment, when the driver's view returns to normal, the driving is switched from the automatic driving to the manual driving. Therefore, the time required for the automatic driving can be shortened compared to the second embodiment. it can.

<Embodiment 5>
<Structure>
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a driving support device 24 according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 10, the driving support device 24 includes a state change acquisition unit 6 shown in FIG. 2 described in the first embodiment, a vehicle position acquisition unit 14 shown in FIG. 5 described in the second embodiment, and map information. It is characterized in that it is configured by combining an acquisition unit 15, an illuminance change acquisition unit 16, and a time information acquisition unit 17. The effect mitigation estimating unit 25 has a function in which the effect mitigation estimating unit 3 illustrated in FIG. 2 described in Embodiment 1 and the effect mitigation estimating unit 19 illustrated in FIG. 5 described in Embodiment 2 are combined. doing. The operation switching unit 4 has the same function as the first and second embodiments. It is assumed that the driving support device 24, the DMS 9, the high-accuracy locator 20, and the automatic driving control device 10 are mounted on a vehicle.

<Operation>
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the driving support device 24. It is assumed that the vehicle is traveling by manual driving as a premise of the operation in FIG.

In step S501, the illuminance change estimating unit 18 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling at a location where a rapid illuminance change occurs. This determination is the same as that in step S201 in FIG. The process of step S501 is repeated until it is determined that the vehicle is traveling at a location where a rapid change in illuminance occurs. If it is determined that the vehicle is traveling at a location where a rapid change in illuminance occurs, the process proceeds to step S502.

において In step S502, the impact mitigation estimating unit 25 estimates the adaptive time of the automatic driving, which is the time for performing the automatic driving. The estimation is the same as in step S202 in FIG.

In step S503, the automatic driving switching unit 8 instructs the automatic driving control device 10 to switch the driving of the vehicle from the manual driving to the automatic driving.

In step S504, the impact mitigation estimating unit 25 determines whether or not the adaptation time for the automatic driving has elapsed. The process of step S504 is repeated until the adaptation time of the automatic operation has elapsed, and the process proceeds to step S505 when the adaptation time of the automatic operation has elapsed.

In step S505, the impact mitigation estimating unit 25 determines whether or not the driver's view is normal. This determination is the same as that in step S103 of FIG. The process in step S505 is repeated until it is determined that the driver's field of view is normal. When it is determined that the driver's field of view is normal, the process proceeds to step S506.

In step S506, the manual operation switching unit 7 instructs the automatic operation control device 10 to switch the operation of the vehicle from the automatic operation to the manual operation.

From the above, according to the fifth embodiment, when the adaptation time of the automatic driving has elapsed after the vehicle has been switched to the automatic driving and the driver's view returns to normal, the automatic driving is switched to the manual driving. Switch to Thereby, if the driver's field of view does not return to normal even after the adaptive driving time of the automatic driving has elapsed, the driving is not switched from the automatic driving to the manual driving, so that the driving can be switched more safely. That is, it is possible to smoothly switch from the automatic operation to the manual operation.

The driving support device described above is not only a vehicle-mounted navigation device, that is, a car navigation device, but also a PND (Portable Navigation Device) that can be mounted on a vehicle, a server provided outside the vehicle, and the like, and appropriately combined as a system. The present invention can be applied to a navigation device to be constructed or a device other than the navigation device. In this case, each function or each component of the driving support device is distributed and arranged for each function constituting the system.

Specifically, as an example, the function of the driving support device can be arranged in the server. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the user is provided with a DMS 9 and an automatic operation control device 10. In addition, the server 26 includes a state change acquisition unit 6, an illuminance change estimation unit 2, an influence mitigation estimation unit 3, and an operation switching unit 4. With such a configuration, a driving support system can be constructed. The same applies to the driving support device 13 shown in FIG. 5, the driving support device 23 shown in FIG. 8, and the driving support device 24 shown in FIG.

As described above, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained even with a configuration in which each function of the driving support device is dispersedly arranged in each function that configures the system.

The software for executing the operations in the above embodiments may be incorporated in, for example, a server. The driving assistance method realized by the server executing this software estimates a change in illuminance around the vehicle, which is so rapid that the driver's vision cannot follow the driver instantaneously. Is to estimate the reduction of the effect on the driver's vision and, when the reduction of the influence is estimated, switch the driving of the vehicle from the automatic driving to the manual driving.

In this way, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained by incorporating the software for executing the operation in the above embodiment into the server and operating it.

In the present invention, each embodiment can be freely combined, or each embodiment can be appropriately modified or omitted within the scope of the invention.

Although the present invention has been described in detail, the above description is illustrative in all aspects, and the present invention is not limited thereto. It is understood that innumerable modifications that are not illustrated can be assumed without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 driving assistance device, 2 illumination change estimation unit, 3 influence reduction estimation unit, 4 operation switching unit, 5 driving assistance device, 6 state change acquisition unit, 7 manual operation switching unit, 8 automatic operation switching unit, 9 DMS, 10 automatic Driving control device, 11 processor, 12 memory, 13 driving support device, 14 vehicle position obtaining unit, 15 map information obtaining unit, 16 illumination change obtaining unit, 17 time information obtaining unit, 18 illumination change estimating unit, 19 mitigation estimating unit , 20 high precision locator, 21 GNSS, 22 map information storage device, 23, 24２３ driving support device, 25 装置 impact mitigation estimator, 26 部 server.

Claims

An illuminance change estimating unit for estimating an illuminance change around the vehicle so that the driver's vision cannot follow the instantaneous suddenly;
An impact mitigation estimating unit that estimates a reduction in the effect of the illuminance change estimated by the illuminance change estimating unit on the vision of the driver driving the vehicle;
When the influence mitigation estimating unit estimates the mitigation of the effect, a driving switching unit that switches the driving of the vehicle from automatic driving to manual driving,
A driving assistance device comprising:
The driving assistance device according to claim 1, further comprising a state change acquisition unit that acquires a state change of at least one of the driver's face and eyes.
3. The illuminance change estimating unit estimates the illuminance change based on a state change of at least one of the driver's face and eyes acquired by the state change acquiring unit. Driving assistance device.
The driving support device according to claim 2, wherein the driving switching unit switches the driving of the vehicle from the manual driving to the automatic driving when the illuminance change estimating unit estimates the illuminance change.
The state change acquisition unit acquires a change in the size of a pupil of the driver,
The driving support device according to claim 2, wherein the illuminance change estimating unit estimates that the illuminance has changed when the size of the pupil becomes smaller than a predetermined size.
The state change acquisition unit acquires at least one of a change in the opening and closing of the driver's eyelids, a change in the facial expression of the driver, and a change in the orientation of the driver's face,
The illuminance change estimating unit is configured to calculate the illuminance change based on at least one of a change in the opening and closing of the driver's eyelids, a change in the facial expression of the driver, and a change in the orientation of the driver's face. The driving support device according to claim 2, wherein the estimation is performed.
The method according to claim 2, wherein the influence mitigation estimating unit estimates the mitigation based on a state change of at least one of the driver's face and eyes acquired by the state change acquiring unit. Driving support device.
The driving support device according to claim 4, wherein the operation switching unit changes a control parameter or an automatic operation level related to the automatic operation.
A vehicle position acquisition unit that acquires a current position of the vehicle,
A map information acquisition unit that acquires map information including at least one of a road structure and a road shape,
An illuminance change acquisition unit that acquires a peripheral illuminance change indicating an illuminance change around the vehicle;
The driving assistance device according to claim 1, further comprising:
The illuminance change estimating unit is based on the current position acquired by the vehicle position acquiring unit, the map information acquired by the map information acquiring unit, and the peripheral illuminance change acquired by the illuminance change acquiring unit. The driving assistance device according to claim 9, wherein a change in illuminance is estimated.
The driving support device according to claim 10, wherein the driving switching unit switches the driving of the vehicle from the manual driving to the automatic driving when the illuminance change estimating unit estimates the illuminance change.
The method according to claim 11, wherein the operation switching unit switches from the manual operation to the automatic operation a predetermined time before the time when the illuminance change estimated by the illuminance change estimating unit occurs. Driving support device.
The driving support device according to claim 9, wherein the road structure includes at least one of an entrance of a tunnel, an entrance of an underground parking lot, an entrance of a multi-story parking lot, and a vicinity of a top of an uphill. .
The illuminance change estimating unit estimates that the illuminance has changed when the vehicle travels toward the sun after turning a curve, or when the vehicle travels toward the sun after exiting a building. The driving support device according to claim 10, wherein
The driving support apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the influence mitigation estimating unit estimates the mitigation based on an estimation result of the illuminance change estimating unit.
The influence mitigation estimating unit is a light adaptation time, which is a time until the driver's vision becomes accustomed when the illuminance changes from dark to bright, or the driver's vision is changed when the illuminance changes from light to dark. The driving support device according to claim 15, wherein the relaxation is estimated when a dark adaptation time that is a time until the user gets used to the vehicle has elapsed.
17. The driving support apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the light adaptation time and the dark adaptation time are different according to the age of the driver.
The driving support device according to claim 11, wherein the driving switching unit changes a control parameter or an automatic driving level related to the automatic driving.
The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a state change acquisition unit that acquires a state change of at least one of the driver's face and eyes.
20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the influence mitigation estimating unit estimates the mitigation based on a state change of at least one of the driver's face and eyes obtained by the state change obtaining unit. Driving support device.
The influence mitigation estimation unit is based on the current position acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit, the map information acquired by the map information acquisition unit, and the peripheral illuminance change acquired by the illuminance change acquisition unit. The driving support device according to claim 20, wherein the relaxation is estimated.
Estimate the illuminance change around the vehicle so that the driver's vision cannot follow immediately,
Estimating the mitigation of the influence of the estimated illuminance change on the driver's vision that drives the vehicle,
A driving support method, wherein when the mitigation of the influence is estimated, the driving of the vehicle is switched from automatic driving to manual driving.