JP6658088B2 - Information processing apparatus, program, and map data updating system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing device, a program, and a map data updating system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technology for detecting a change in map data and performing update has been known (Patent Documents 1 and 2). In the road network analysis system described in Patent Literature 1, probe information from a plurality of probe cars is totaled for each day, and a change in traffic volume on a daily basis is calculated for each road. If a road with a noticeably changed traffic volume is detected around a specific reference day, it is determined that there has been a significant change in the road network affecting traffic around the road, and that road has been identified. Change-related roads. Next, a route search is performed between the end points of a plurality of change-related roads, and a route having a large overlap between the searched route and the change-related road is selected. Identify change-related roads and their endpoints. In this way, by identifying relevant places by using changes in traffic volume and using route search, survey route candidates that can efficiently conduct on-site surveys for changes in important road networks are identified. Can be set.

  Further, in the road network analysis device described in Patent Literature 2, for a predetermined portion constituting the road network, a traffic amount of a vehicle passing through the portion is obtained from a plurality of pieces of probe information accumulated over a predetermined period. . Similarly, a discontinuity occurrence rate, which is an occurrence rate of an event in which the vehicle position is discontinuous, is obtained. Then, a change in the road network is detected based on the degree of change in the traffic amount and the degree of change in the discontinuity occurrence rate in two different periods in a predetermined portion of the road network. If a change in the road network is detected, it can be used for a survey of the road network.

  Further, the new road determination device described in Patent Document 3 specifies a traveling locus of a vehicle based on the acquired probe information, and when a link exists within a range of a position error of the position of the vehicle on the traveling locus, Map matching is performed by correcting the position of the vehicle to a position on the map. Then, a traveling locus that cannot be matched with the link in the map matching is extracted as a departure locus. In addition, the extracted trajectory is determined as a new road.

  Further, the map information generation system described in Patent Document 4 transmits, as probe data, traveling locus information when a vehicle as a probe car travels on a road not included in the navigation map data to the map distribution center. On the other hand, the map distribution center that has received the traveling locus information from each vehicle collects the received data, further groups the traveling locus information that travels on the same road, and then creates a new one for each group. Generate road information.

Japanese Patent No. 5315363 JP 2014-153236 A Japanese Patent No. 2014-130529 Japanese Patent No. 5029009

  According to the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the traffic amount within a certain period on each existing road is measured by associating the probe information with the road network data, and a change in the road network is detected from the change in the traffic amount. How to

  However, since a change in traffic volume due to a change in the road is likely to extend to a wide range of roads in the surrounding area, it may be necessary to perform a re-investigation to determine a point where the change has occurred.

  In addition, since the traffic volume is also caused by factors other than a change in the road (such as opening a new commercial facility), it is not always possible to detect a road change from the traffic volume.

  Further, the technique described in Patent Literature 2 detects a new road with higher accuracy than the case of using only the traffic volume by using information of a probe vehicle passing through discontinuous links on map data. Although there is a possibility that the presence of a new road can be detected by this method, it is difficult to detect a change when a new pedestrian crossing or a new sign is installed.

  The techniques described in Patent Documents 3 and 4 are for detecting a new road using a traveling locus other than an existing link on a map of a probe vehicle, a vehicle speed, and the like, and creating map data. Although this method may be able to detect the presence of a new road, it is difficult to detect a change when a new pedestrian crossing or a new sign is installed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an information processing apparatus, a program, and a map data updating system capable of determining the necessity of updating map data.

  In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention provides an information processing apparatus, comprising: a position of a moving object measured based on a satellite signal transmitted from a positioning satellite, a position of the moving object, and an environment around the moving object. And difference information indicating a difference between the traveling position of the moving object on the map data and at least one of the position of the moving object and the traveling position, the information being specified based on at least one of the external environment information and the map data. A difference registration unit that associates the position information with the position information and stores the position information in the difference database based on the difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database. Update information setting means for setting information indicating whether or not the map data is updated.

  According to the information processing apparatus of the first invention, the position of the moving object measured by the difference registration means based on the satellite signal transmitted from the positioning satellite, and the external environment representing the position of the moving object and the environment around the moving object The difference information indicating the difference between the traveling position of the moving object on the map data and the position information indicating at least one of the position and the traveling position of the moving object specified on the map data is associated with at least one of the information and the map data. And store it in the difference database.

  The update information setting means sets, for each position information, information indicating whether or not to update the map data corresponding to the position information based on the difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database.

As described above, the difference information representing the difference between the position of the moving object and the traveling position of the moving object on the map data is stored in the difference database in association with the position information, and the position information is stored in the difference database for each position information. By setting information indicating whether or not to update the map data corresponding to the position information based on the difference information corresponding to the position information, the necessity of updating the map data can be determined.

  The information processing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the information processing apparatus, wherein the movement generated based on a time series of travel positions on the map data of the moving object, which is specified based on external environment information indicating an environment around the moving object and map data. A difference representing a difference between a running locus of the body and a cumulative locus of the moving body generated from a time series of the momentum of the moving body, which is generated based on at least one of the external environment information and the running state of the moving body. Information, and a difference registration unit that stores the position information representing the traveling position in a difference database in association with each other, and for each of the position information, based on the difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database, Update information setting means for setting information indicating whether or not to update the map data corresponding to the position information.

  According to the information processing apparatus according to the second aspect, the time series of the traveling position on the map data of the moving object, which is specified by the difference registration unit based on the external environment information indicating the environment around the moving object and the map data. Represents the difference between the traveling trajectory of the moving object generated from the above and the cumulative trajectory of the moving object generated from the time series of the momentum of the moving object, which is generated based on at least one of the external environment information and the traveling state of the moving object. The difference information and the position information indicating the traveling position are stored in the difference database in association with each other.

  The update information setting means sets, for each position information, information indicating whether or not to update the map data corresponding to the position information based on the difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database.

  As described above, the difference information indicating the difference between the traveling locus of the moving object and the accumulated locus of the moving object is stored in the difference database in association with the position information, and the position information stored in the difference database is stored for each position information. The necessity of updating the map data can be determined by setting information indicating whether or not to update the map data corresponding to the position information, based on the difference information corresponding to.

  Further, the update information setting means measures, for each of the position information, an amount of change in the position information based on difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database, Based on the amount of change in information, information indicating whether to update the map data corresponding to the position information can be set.

  Further, the update information setting means measures, for each of the position information, an average of the difference information in the position information as the change amount based on difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database. And information indicating whether to update the map data corresponding to the position information, based on a time series of an average of the difference information in the measured position information.

  Further, the update information setting means measures, for each of the position information, a variance of the difference information in the position information as the change amount based on difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database. And information indicating whether to update the map data corresponding to the position information, based on a time series of variance of the difference information in the measured position information.

  In addition, the update information setting unit is configured to determine, for each of the position information, the number of pieces of the difference information in the position information that is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold based on difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database. Is measured as the amount of change, and based on a time series of the number of the difference information in the measured position information, information indicating whether to update the map data corresponding to the position information is set. Can be

  An information processing device according to a third aspect of the present invention represents a comparison result between a position of a moving object measured based on a satellite signal transmitted from a positioning satellite and road information included in map data, and an environment around the moving object. Peripheral environment information generated from the external environment information and the mobile object generated in accordance with at least one of the results of specifying the travel position of the mobile object on the map data specified from the external environment information and the map data The difference information representing the difference between at least one of the positioning trajectory of the moving object generated from the position and the map data is associated with the position information representing at least one of the position of the moving object and the traveling position. Difference registration means for storing the difference information in the difference database, and for each of the position information, the position information based on the difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database. It is configured to include the update information setting means for setting the information indicating whether to update the map data corresponding, to have.

  According to the information processing apparatus of the third invention, the difference registration unit compares the position of the moving object measured based on the satellite signal transmitted from the positioning satellite with the road information included in the map data, and the movement of the moving object. Peripheral environment information generated from the external environment information, generated in accordance with at least one of the specified results of the traveling position of the moving object on the map data specified from the external environment information indicating the environment around the body and the map data; and Difference information indicating a difference between at least one of the positioning trajectories of the moving object generated from the position of the moving object and the map data, and position information indicating at least one of the position and the traveling position of the moving object are associated with each other. Store in database.

  The update information setting means sets, for each position information, information indicating whether or not to update the map data corresponding to the position information based on the difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database.

  As described above, the comparison result between the position of the moving object and the road information included in the map data, and the difference information and the position information generated according to at least one of the results of specifying the traveling position of the moving object on the map data are used. Correspondingly stored in the difference database, and for each position information, information indicating whether or not to update the map data corresponding to the position information is set based on the difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database Thus, the necessity of updating the map data can be determined.

  In addition, the difference information is a comparison result of a positioning trajectory of the moving object generated from a position of the moving object and road information included in map data, for a range for generating predetermined difference information, and The difference information is generated in accordance with at least one of the results of specifying the traveling position of the moving object in a range for generating the predetermined difference information on the map data specified from the external environment information and the map data, Alternatively, the predetermined difference information may be generated for each of a plurality of partial regions obtained by dividing the region in which the difference information is generated.

  A map data updating system according to a fourth invention is a map data updating system including a mounting device provided on a moving object and an information processing device according to the first invention, wherein the mounting device includes the moving object. External environment detection means for detecting external environment information representing the surrounding environment, position measurement means for measuring the position of a mobile object based on a satellite signal transmitted from a positioning satellite, and detection by the external environment detection means The external environment information, and transmission means for transmitting position information representing the position of the moving body measured by the position measurement means to the information processing device, the information processing device, the difference registration means, The difference information indicating the difference from the position of the moving object measured by the position measuring means is associated with the position information, and the difference information is stored in a difference database.

  A map data updating system according to a fifth invention is a map data updating system including a mounting device provided on a moving object and an information processing device according to the second invention, wherein the mounting device includes the moving object. An external environment detection unit that detects external environment information representing a surrounding environment, and a transmission unit that transmits the external environment information detected by the external environment detection unit to the information processing device, the information processing device includes: The difference information representing a difference between the traveling locus generated from a time series of the traveling position specified based on the external environment information detected by the external environment detecting unit, and the traveling position; And the difference information is stored in the difference database in association with the position information indicating the difference.

  A map data updating system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is a map data updating system including a mounting device provided on a moving object and an information processing device according to the third aspect, wherein the mounting device includes the moving object. External environment detection means for detecting external environment information representing the surrounding environment, position measurement means for measuring the position of a mobile object based on a satellite signal transmitted from a positioning satellite, and detection by the external environment detection means The external environment information, and transmission means for transmitting position information representing the position of the mobile object measured by the position measurement means to the information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus, the difference registration means, A comparison result between the positioning trajectory of the moving object generated from the position of the moving object measured by the position measuring means and the road information included in the map data, and at least the identification result And difference information indicating a difference between at least one of the surrounding environment information generated from the external environment information and the positioning trajectory of the moving object generated from the position of the moving object and the map data. And storing the difference information in a difference database in association with position information indicating at least one of the position of the moving body and the traveling position.

  Further, in the map data updating system according to a fourth aspect, the mounting device detects an external environment information indicating a position of the moving object measured by the position measuring means and an external environment information indicating an environment around the moving object. Based on at least one of the external environment information detected by the detection means and the map data, the travel position identification means for identifying the travel position of the moving object on the map data, and the travel position identification means is measured by the position measurement means. A difference information generation unit that calculates difference information representing a difference between the position of the moving body and the travel position specified by the travel position identification unit; the difference information calculated by the difference information generation unit; At least one of the position of the moving object measured by position measurement means and the travel position specified by the travel position specification means Transmitting means for transmitting the represented position information to the information processing apparatus, and the information processing apparatus further comprises receiving means for receiving the difference information and the position information transmitted by the transmitting means, The difference registration unit may store the difference information in a difference database in association with the position information received by the reception unit.

  Further, in the map data updating system according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the on-board device travels on the map data of the moving object based on the external environment information detected by the external environment detecting means and the map data. Traveling position specifying means for specifying a position, traveling path generating means for generating a traveling path of the moving object based on a time series of the traveling positions specified by the traveling position specifying means, the external environment information and the external environment information A momentum estimating means for estimating the momentum of the moving body based on at least one of the traveling states of the moving body; and a cumulative trajectory of the moving body based on a time series of the momentum estimated by the momentum estimating means. A cumulative trajectory generating means for generating, the traveling trajectory generated by the traveling trajectory generating means, and the accumulation generated by the cumulative trajectory generating means Difference information generating means for calculating difference information representing a difference from a trace, the difference information calculated by the difference information generating means, and position information indicating the running position specified by the running position specifying means, Transmitting means for transmitting to the information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus further comprises receiving means for receiving the difference information and the position information transmitted by the transmitting means, the difference registration means, The difference information may be stored in a difference database in association with the position information received by the receiving unit.

  Further, in the map data updating system according to a sixth aspect, the mounting device includes: a comparing unit that compares a position of the moving object measured by the position measuring unit with road information included in the map data; Based on at least one of the external environment information detected by the external environment detecting means for detecting the position of the moving object measured by the measuring means and the external environment information representing the environment around the moving object, and the map data. Based on at least one of a traveling position specifying unit that specifies a traveling position of the moving object on the map data, and a comparison result obtained by the comparing unit and a specifying result obtained by the traveling position specifying unit. Difference information generating means for generating difference information representing a difference between external environment information and the map data, and calculation by the difference information generating means Transmitting the obtained difference information and position information representing at least one of the position of the moving object measured by the position measuring unit and the traveling position specified by the traveling position specifying unit to the information processing device. Transmitting means, the information processing apparatus further comprises receiving means for receiving the difference information and the position information transmitted by the transmitting means, wherein the difference registering means is received by the receiving means The difference information may be stored in a difference database in association with the position information.

  In addition, the mounting device may include the difference information calculated by the difference information generating unit, a travel date and time when the mobile body travels, and a number of times the mobile body travels at a location on the map data corresponding to the position information. According to at least one of the above, further comprising a determination means for determining whether to transmit the difference information and the position information, the transmission means, according to the determination result determined by the determination means, The difference information and the position information may be transmitted.

  Further, the mounting device is configured to determine whether or not to transmit data from the mounting device according to at least one of a travel date and time when the mobile body has traveled, and a number of times the mobile body has traveled a position on the map data. The transmitting means may transmit the data according to a result of the determination made by the determining means.

  The information processing apparatus further includes map data updating means for updating the map data based on information indicating whether or not to update the map data set by the update information setting means. The traveling position of the moving object on the data may be specified based on the external environment information and the map data updated by the map data updating means.

  A program according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is a computer-readable storage medium storing at least at least one of a position of a moving object measured based on a satellite signal transmitted from a positioning satellite, and external environment information indicating the position of the moving object and an environment around the moving object. Correspondence is made between the difference information indicating the difference between the traveling position of the moving object on the map data and the position information indicating at least one of the position of the moving object and the traveling position specified on the one hand and the map data. A difference registration unit that stores the map data corresponding to the position information based on the difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database for each of the position information. This is a program for functioning as update information setting means for setting information indicating whether or not the information is not valid.

  A program according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to generate a time series of travel positions on the map data of the mobile object specified based on external environment information representing an environment around the mobile object and map data. A difference between a traveling locus of the moving body and a cumulative locus of the moving body generated from a time series of the momentum of the moving body, which is generated based on at least one of the external environment information and the traveling state of the moving body. Difference registration means for storing the difference information and the position information representing the travel position in a difference database in association with each other, and for each of the position information, based on the difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database, A program for functioning as update information setting means for setting information indicating whether to update the map data corresponding to the position information.

  A program according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to store a comparison result between a position of a moving object measured based on a satellite signal transmitted from a positioning satellite and road information included in map data, and an environment around the moving object. The surrounding environment information generated from the external environment information and the movement generated in accordance with at least one of the identification results of the traveling position of the moving object on the map data specified from the external environment information and the map data to be expressed; Difference information indicating a difference between at least one of the positioning trajectories of the moving object generated from the position of the body and the map data is associated with position information indicating at least one of the position of the moving object and the traveling position. Registering means for storing the difference information in the difference database based on the difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database. A program for functioning as update information setting means for setting information indicating whether to update the map data corresponding to the position information.

  The storage medium for storing the program of the present invention is not particularly limited, and may be a hard disk or a ROM. Further, it may be a CD-ROM, a DVD disk, a magneto-optical disk, or an IC card. Furthermore, the program may be downloaded from a server or the like connected to a network.

  As described above, according to the information processing apparatus, the program, and the map data updating system of the present invention, the difference information is stored in the difference database in association with the position information of the moving object, and the position information stored in the difference database is stored. By setting information indicating whether or not to update the map data corresponding to the position information based on the difference information corresponding to, the necessity of updating the map data can be determined. Can be

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a map data updating system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing an example showing the difference of a run position and a position measured by GPS. It is a figure showing other examples showing a difference of a run position and a position measured by GPS. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for describing an example of an error database. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a change amount of error information for each point. It is an explanatory view for explaining other examples of an error database. It is an explanatory view for explaining other examples of an error database. 5 is a flowchart showing the contents of a transmission processing routine in the computer of the vehicle-mounted device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of an update processing routine in the server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing an example showing the difference of a run locus and an accumulation locus. It is a figure showing other examples showing the difference of a running locus and an accumulation locus. It is a block diagram showing a map data updating system concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of generating a cumulative trajectory. It is a figure for explaining a difference of a run locus and an accumulation locus. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the transmission processing routine in the computer of the vehicle-mounted apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram showing a map data updating system concerning a 3rd embodiment of the present invention. It is a flow chart which shows the contents of the transmission processing routine in the computer of the in-vehicle device concerning a 3rd embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram showing a map data updating system concerning a 4th embodiment of the present invention. It is a flow chart which shows the contents of the transmission processing routine in the computer of the in-vehicle device concerning a 4th embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram showing a map data updating system concerning a 5th embodiment of the present invention. It is a flow chart which shows the contents of the transmission processing routine in the computer of the in-vehicle device concerning a 5th embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram showing a map data updating system concerning a 6th embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a lane graph included in map data. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for describing an example of a comparison between a road surface image and map data. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating an example of the reliability of the collation of a road surface image and map data. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for describing an example of a difference between a positioning trajectory and a lane graph. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining difference information. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining difference information. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining difference information. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining difference information. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining difference information. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for describing an example of a difference database. It is a flow chart which shows the contents of the transmission processing routine in the computer of the in-vehicle device concerning a 6th embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for describing a case where difference information is generated using target information. It is a block diagram showing a map data updating system concerning a 7th embodiment of the present invention. It is a flow chart which shows the contents of the registration processing routine in the server concerning a 7th embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that, in the present embodiment, a map data update system including an in-vehicle device provided in a vehicle and a server, receives error information transmitted from the in-vehicle device, and stores a map database in accordance with the error information. A case where the present invention is applied to a map data updating system for setting information indicating whether or not to update will be described as an example. Further, in the present embodiment, a case where the moving body is a vehicle will be described as an example.

[First Embodiment]
<Configuration of Map Data Update System According to First Embodiment>
As shown in FIG. 1, a map data updating system 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention receives an in-vehicle device 12 provided in a vehicle and error information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 12, The server 14 includes a server 14 that updates a map database in accordance with information, and an in-vehicle probe device 18 that transmits sensor information for updating map data to the server 14 based on a signal output from the server 14. The vehicle-mounted device 12, the server 14, and the probe vehicle-mounted device 18 are connected via a network 16 such as the Internet. The in-vehicle device 12 is an example of a mounting device, and the server 14 is an example of an information processing device.

[In-vehicle device 12]
The in-vehicle device 12 includes a map database 120 in which map data is stored, a camera 122 that captures a surrounding image of the vehicle, a GPS 124 that receives a satellite signal transmitted from a positioning satellite, and a self-image captured by the camera 122. A computer 126 is provided for calculating error information based on a surrounding image of the vehicle and a satellite signal received by the GPS 124. The in-vehicle device 12 is mounted on a vehicle. The camera 122 is an example of an external environment detecting unit.

  The map database 120 stores map data. In the map data, image information or three-dimensional information that records the surrounding environment including the road surface is recorded. In the present embodiment, a case where a road surface image on which the host vehicle travels is recorded for each point on the map data will be described as an example. The map data stored in the map database 120 is the same as the map data stored in the map database 152 of the server 14 described later.

  The camera 122 sequentially captures a surrounding image of the own vehicle as external environment information indicating an environment around the own vehicle.

  The computer 126 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM that stores a program for executing a transmission processing routine described later, and is functionally configured as follows. The computer 126 measures a position of the own vehicle based on a satellite signal received by the GPS 124, a position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128, and the own vehicle captured by the camera 122. Based on the surrounding image of the surroundings, the traveling position specifying unit 130 that specifies the traveling position of the own vehicle on the map data, the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128, and the traveling position specifying unit 130 A position error measuring unit 132 that calculates error information representing a difference from the traveling position of the own vehicle, a communication unit 134 that transmits the error information and the position information calculated by the position error measuring unit 132 to the server 14, Map data for updating the map data stored in the map database 120 in accordance with the map data update information transmitted from the server 14. And a base update unit 136. The position error measuring unit 132 is an example of a difference information generating unit. The road surface image is an example of peripheral environment information generated from external environment information.

  The position measuring unit 128 measures the position of the own vehicle based on the satellite signal received by the GPS 124.

  The traveling position specifying unit 130 performs a map based on the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128, a peripheral image around the own vehicle captured by the camera 122, and map data stored in the map database 120. The running position of the own vehicle on the data is specified.

  Specifically, the traveling position identification unit 130 generates a road surface image by projecting a peripheral image around the own vehicle captured by the camera 122 onto the road surface. Then, the traveling position specifying unit 130 collates the road surface image on the map data obtained from the map database 120 with the generated road surface image corresponding to the position of the vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128. Then, the traveling position of the own vehicle on the map data is specified.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining error information relating to a position due to a change in road shape. As shown in FIG. 2, if the road on which the host vehicle is currently traveling is a newly established road, the current traveling position does not exist on the map data, and thus the traveling position is specified by the traveling position specifying unit 130. The running position is incorrect. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, it is expected that the difference between the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128 and the running position of the own vehicle on the map data specified by the running position specifying unit 130 will increase. Is done.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining error information regarding a position due to a change in a road surface pattern. As shown in FIG. 3, even when there is a difference between the map data and the road surface display of the traveling road, the road surface pattern represented by the road surface image on the map data and the road surface image obtained from the peripheral image during traveling are represented. The road pattern is matched at the wrong position. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, a large difference may occur between the traveling position of the host vehicle on the map data specified by the driving position specifying unit 130 and the position of the host vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128. is expected.

  The position error measuring unit 132 calculates error information indicating a difference between the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128 and the running position of the own vehicle specified by the running position specifying unit 130. In the present embodiment, the position error measuring unit 132 calculates the difference in the current time between the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128 and the running position of the own vehicle specified by the running position specifying unit 130 as error information. Is calculated as In addition, the average value or the accumulated value of the difference between the positions in a certain section (which may be time or traveling distance) may be used as the position error. The error information is an example of difference information.

  Further, the difference between the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128 and the running position of the own vehicle specified by the running position specifying unit 130 may be obtained by a linear distance between two points, or the latitude and longitude. And the difference may be determined. In addition, the difference can be obtained by dividing into the traveling direction component and its orthogonal direction component. In the present embodiment, a straight-line distance between two points is calculated as error information.

  If the error information calculated by the position error measuring unit 132 is transmitted to the server 14 and collected and analyzed by the server 14, a large amount of data having a large error is collected at the place where the difference occurs, so that the map data is updated. Can be specified, and the map data can be updated efficiently.

  The communication unit 134 includes the error information calculated by the position error measurement unit 132, the position information indicating the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measurement unit 128, and the traveling position of the own vehicle identified by the traveling position identification unit 130. Is transmitted to the server 14. Further, the communication unit 134 receives the update information of the map data transmitted from the server 14. As the position information, any one of the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128 and the traveling position of the own vehicle specified by the traveling position specifying unit 130 may be used.

  The map database updating unit 136 updates the map data stored in the map database 120 based on the map data update information received by the communication unit 134.

[Server 14]
The server 14 includes a server including a CPU, a ROM storing a program for realizing a processing routine to be described later, a RAM for temporarily storing data, a memory as a storage unit, a network interface, and the like. Specifically, a communication unit 140 that receives the error information and the position information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 12, an error registration unit 142 that registers the error information received by the communication unit 140 in an error database 144, and stores the error information. Error database 144, a change measuring unit 146 that measures a change amount of error information stored in the error database 144, and sets the update priority of the map data based on the change amount measured by the change measuring unit 146. Priority setting unit 148, a map based on the priority set by priority setting unit 148 Map database update unit 150 for updating the over data can be represented by structure including an error updating section 154 for updating the error information stored in the map database 152 and the error database 144, the map data is stored. Note that the communication unit 140 is an example of a receiving unit, the error registration unit 142 is an example of a difference registration unit, the priority setting unit 148 is an example of an update information setting unit, and the error database 144 is a difference database. This is an example.

  Communication unit 140 receives the error information and the position information transmitted from vehicle-mounted device 12 of the vehicle. In addition, the communication unit 140 transmits the update information of the map data output from the map database update unit 150 described later to the in-vehicle device 12. In addition, the communication unit 140 transmits, to the probe in-vehicle device 18, request information for requesting sensor information of an area in which map data is to be updated. Further, the communication unit 140 receives the sensor information transmitted from the in-vehicle probe device 18.

  The error registration unit 142 stores the error information in the error database 144 in association with a point corresponding to the position information received by the communication unit 140.

  The error database 144 stores error information stored in association with a point. FIG. 4 shows a conceptual diagram of the error database 144.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the error information is registered in association with a point corresponding to the position information. Further, the error registration unit 142 updates the number of registered data at each point. The registration point is determined from the position information (latitude and longitude) received by the communication unit 140 with reference to a preset registration point table. As the information to be registered at this time, in addition to the error information, additional information such as a data reception date and time may be registered. In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which the reception date and time are registered in error database 144 along with the error information.

  The change measuring unit 146 measures the amount of change at the point based on the error information corresponding to the point stored in the error database 144. In the present embodiment, the change measuring unit 146 calculates, for each point, an average value of all registered error information as a change amount.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the change amount. As shown in FIG. 5, if the reception date and time are registered for the error information, the average value of the error information for the latest fixed period can be calculated as the amount of change. In addition, since a certain error may always occur depending on the GPS reception status, the difference between the latest average value for a certain period and another average value may be used as the amount of change. Using the date and time information makes it possible to detect a change earlier than when using the average value of the whole.

  In addition, if the dispersion of the error information registered for each point as a value indicating the amount of change other than the average value increases, it is suggested that a difference has occurred in the map. May be calculated as

  Further, the number of pieces of error information equal to or larger than a preset threshold value may be used as the change amount. At this time, the set threshold may be always constant, or a different value may be used for each point.

  Note that the change measuring unit 146 may calculate the amount of change based on another method. FIG. 6 shows another example of the error database 144. As shown in FIG. 6, instead of registering all the error information in order to reduce the data capacity, the error information is updated so that the number of registered data at each point and the average value calculated sequentially are updated. You may register. Further, the variance values may be sequentially used. Further, it is also possible to use a method of updating the number of pieces of error information equal to or greater than a preset threshold value among the received error information.

  In the case of the error database 144 as shown in FIG. 6, the average value or the variance value of the registered error information, or the number of pieces of error information that are equal to or larger than a preset threshold value can be directly used as the change amount.

  FIG. 7 shows another example of the error database 144. Although the error information may hold only the average value of all the registered data, as shown in FIG. 7, the error information is registered at regular intervals (for example, every week) so that more detailed analysis can be performed. The average value of the error information can be held. In the case of the error database 144 as shown in FIG. 7, in the same manner as in FIG. 6, the average value of the latest period or the difference between the average value of the latest period and the average value of the other periods is used as the amount of change. be able to.

  In addition, the above-described change amount is calculated using information of only one point. However, it is also possible to calculate not only error information of a point of interest but also error information of a surrounding area. For example, a total value or a weighted average of the amount of change in the point of interest and the amount of change in the surrounding points may be finally set as the amount of change in the point of interest. At this time, it is necessary to measure the amount of change not only at the point where the error information is registered, but also at all points affected by the registered point data.

  The priority setting unit 148 updates, for each registered point, based on the error information corresponding to the point stored in the error database 144, as information indicating whether to update the map data corresponding to the point. Set the priority. In the present embodiment, the priority setting unit 148 sets the update priority based on the average time series of the error information corresponding to the point stored in the error database 144.

  As a method of setting the update priority, for example, five levels from 1 to 5 (1: update unnecessary, −5: update required) can be set according to a predetermined threshold of the amount of change. At this time, the threshold value may be the same in all regions, or there may be a difference in GPS positioning accuracy between the urban region and the other regions. A different determination condition may be set for each point, such as setting the threshold and setting a lower threshold in other areas.

  However, the magnitude of the change does not include the number of times of measurement of the error information, and if the number of times of measurement is small (≒ when the map data is just updated), the large amount of error information is measured by accident. In some cases, the update priority is set high even though there is not enough data. Therefore, when the number of times of measurement is not equal to or more than a certain number, it is desirable to set a low update priority. However, at this time, there is a possibility that the required minimum number of measurements cannot be obtained even after a long period of time in a place where the traffic volume is small. Therefore, if a certain period has elapsed since the last update, the priority can be set based on the change amount without the minimum number of measurements.

  The map database updating unit 150 updates the map data stored in the map database 152 based on the priority set by the priority setting unit 148.

  Specifically, the map database updating unit 150 transmits request information indicating a request for a data collection request of a necessary point to the in-vehicle probe device 18 based on the update priority set by the priority setting unit 148. , Via the communication unit 140. Note that the map database updating unit 150 may transmit request information of a data collection request to all points having a priority equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value, or may transmit priority information according to the processing capability of the server 14. The request information of the data collection request may be transmitted to the top X% of the point having a high degree. In the present embodiment, the map database update unit 150 transmits, via the communication unit 140, request information of a data collection request for all points having a priority equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold.

  Upon receiving the request information from the map database updating unit 150, the probe in-vehicle device 18 senses the surrounding environment of a point having a priority equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold using a sensor, and transmits the obtained sensor information to a server. 14 to be transmitted. The map database updating unit 150 of the server 14 updates the map data stored in the map database 152 using the sensor information transmitted from the in-probe device 18.

  The map database 152 stores map data. In the map database 152, similarly to the map database 120 of the in-vehicle device 12, image information that records the surrounding environment including the road surface is recorded. The map data stored in the map database 152 is the same as the map data stored in the map database 120 of the vehicle-mounted device 12.

  The error update unit 154 updates the error information at the point where the map data has been updated. Specifically, the error update unit 154 deletes all error information at the point where the map data has been updated, so that error information for newly acquired map data can be recorded.

  When date and time information is added to the error information, even if the map data is not updated, a process of deleting the past error information may be performed under predetermined conditions in consideration of the server capacity. .

<Operation of map data update system>
Next, an operation of the map data updating system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. When each of the vehicles equipped with the in-vehicle device 12 is traveling, the in-vehicle device 12 of each vehicle executes the transmission processing routine shown in FIG. 8, and the server 14 executes the update processing routine shown in FIG.

  First, a transmission processing routine executed by the vehicle-mounted device 12 of each vehicle will be described. When the satellite signal is received by the GPS 124 and the peripheral image of the own vehicle is sequentially captured by the camera 122, the in-vehicle device 12 executes the transmission processing routine illustrated in FIG.

<Transmission processing routine>
First, in step S100, the position measurement unit 128 measures the position of the own vehicle based on the satellite signal received by the GPS 124.

  Next, in step S102, the traveling position identification unit 130 acquires a peripheral image around the own vehicle captured by the camera 122 as external environment information.

  In step S104, the traveling position identification unit 130 converts the position of the own vehicle measured in step S100 and the surrounding image around the own vehicle acquired in step S102 into the map data stored in the map database 120. Based on the map data, the travel position of the own vehicle is specified.

  In step S106, the position error measuring unit 132 calculates error information indicating a difference between the position of the own vehicle measured in step S100 and the traveling position of the own vehicle specified in step S104.

  In step S108, the communication unit 134 compares the error information calculated in step S106 with the position of the host vehicle measured in step S100 and the position information indicating the traveling position of the host vehicle specified in step S104. , To the server 14.

  Next, the operation of the server 14 will be described. When the communication unit 140 of the server 14 receives the error information and the position information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 12, the error registration unit 142 associates the error information with the point corresponding to the position information received by the communication unit 140, and stores the error information. It is stored in the error database 144. The error registration unit 142 of the server 14 stores the error information in the error database 144 every time the position information and the error information are received.

  Then, the server 14 executes the update processing routine shown in FIG. 9 every predetermined period. The server 14 may execute the update processing routine at another timing. For example, the server 14 may execute an update processing routine according to the amount of data stored in the error database 144.

<Update processing routine>
In step S200, one point is set from the points registered in the error database 144.

  In step S202, the change measuring unit 146 calculates the amount of change at the point corresponding to the position information set in step S200 based on the error information corresponding to the point stored in the error database 144. measure.

  In step S204, the priority setting unit 148 sets the update priority for the point where the amount of change is calculated in step S202.

  In step S206, it is determined whether the priority set in step S204 is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold. If the priority set in step S204 is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold, the process proceeds to step S208. On the other hand, if the priority set in step S204 is less than the predetermined threshold, the process proceeds to step S210.

  In step S208, the map database updating unit 150 sends request information indicating a request for a data collection request of the point set in step S200 to the probe in-vehicle device 18 based on the priority set in step S204. , Via the communication unit 140.

  In step S210, it is determined whether or not the processes of steps S200 to S208 have been executed for all points registered in the error database 144. When the processes in steps S200 to S208 have been executed for all the points registered in the error database 144, the update processing routine ends. On the other hand, when there is a point where the processes of steps S200 to S208 are not performed, the process returns to step S200.

  Upon receiving the request information transmitted in step S208, the probe in-vehicle device 18 senses the surrounding environment of the point and transmits the obtained sensor information to the server 14.

  The communication unit 140 of the server 14 receives the sensor information transmitted from the vehicle-mounted probe device 18. Then, the map database updating unit 150 of the server 14 updates the map data stored in the map database 152 using the sensor information received by the communication unit 140. The error update unit 154 updates the error information at the point where the map data is updated by the map database update unit 150. Then, the map database updating unit 150 transmits the update information of the map data corresponding to the updated point to each of the in-vehicle devices 12 via the communication unit 140, and the map database updating unit 136 of the in-vehicle device 12 transmits the updated information to the communication unit 134. The map data stored in the map database 120 is updated based on the update information of the map data received by the above.

  As described above, according to the map data updating system of the first embodiment of the present invention, the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128 and the traveling position identified by the traveling position identifying unit 130 Is calculated, the calculated error information and the position information are transmitted to the server 14, the error information is stored in the error database in association with the transmitted position information, and the error information is stored in the error database. By setting the priority corresponding to the position information based on the error information corresponding to the position information, it is possible to determine the necessity of updating the map data at each position.

  Also, if a difference occurs between the map data and the road on which the vehicle is traveling, the error between the traveling position and the position measured by the GPS sensor increases. Therefore, the necessity of updating and its priority can be determined by analyzing the error information measured by the vehicle in time series.

  Further, since the presence or absence of a change is determined by using the trajectory error at each point, the change point can be limited, so that the update processing can be performed only at a place that needs to be updated.

  In addition, since information (eg, images and three-dimensional information) obtained by sensing the external environment of the vehicle as well as the trajectory information of the vehicle is used, map data that does not change in road shape such as a new pedestrian crossing is used. A change can be detected and an update can be determined.

[Second embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that portions having the same configuration as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that error information is calculated using a trajectory of a vehicle, and a map database is updated according to the calculated error information.

  In the second embodiment, error information is calculated from the difference between two different generated trajectories, and the update priority of map data is determined. The two trajectories used in the second embodiment are as follows.

  The first trajectory is a traveling trajectory, the position of the vehicle obtained by GPS, the traveling state of the vehicle obtained by an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)), the vehicle captured by a camera. This is a trajectory generated by collating with map data using a peripheral image or the like. The second trajectory is a cumulative trajectory, which is a trajectory generated by accumulating vehicle running states estimated by using a running state of the vehicle obtained by the IMU, a peripheral image of the vehicle captured by the camera, and the like.

  The traveling locus is a locus indicating where the host vehicle has traveled on the map data. On the other hand, the cumulative trajectory is a trajectory generated from the momentum (vehicle speed, yaw rate, etc.) of the own vehicle without using the map data.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating error information relating to a trajectory due to a change in road shape. As shown in FIG. 10, if the road on which the host vehicle is currently traveling is a newly established road, the current traveling position does not exist on the map data. Is a wrong path. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, it is expected that the difference between the traveling locus and the accumulated locus becomes large.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining error information regarding a trajectory due to a change in a road surface pattern. As shown in FIG. 11, even when there is a difference between the map data and the road surface display of the traveling road, the road surface pattern represented by the road surface image on the map data and the road surface image obtained from the surrounding image while traveling are represented. The road pattern is matched at the wrong position. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, it is expected that a large difference occurs between the traveling locus and the accumulated locus.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, if the server 14 collects and analyzes the error information related to the trajectory, a large number of data having a large error will be collected at the place where the difference occurs, so that it is necessary to update the map data. The location can be specified, and the map data can be updated with priority.

<Configuration of the map data updating system 210 according to the second embodiment>
As shown in FIG. 12, a map data updating system 210 according to the second embodiment of the present invention receives an error message transmitted from the in-vehicle device 212 and the The server 14 includes a server 14 that updates a map database in accordance with information, and an in-vehicle probe device 18 that transmits sensor information for updating map data to the server 14 based on a signal output from the server 14. The in-vehicle device 212, the server 14, and the in-vehicle probe device 18 are connected via the network 16 such as the Internet. The in-vehicle device 212 is an example of a mounting device.

[In-vehicle device 212]
The in-vehicle device 212 includes a map database 120 in which map data is stored, a camera 122 for capturing an image of the surroundings of the vehicle, a GPS 124 for receiving a satellite signal transmitted from a positioning satellite, and a self-image captured by the camera 122. A computer 226 for calculating and transmitting error information based on a surrounding image of the vehicle and a satellite signal received by the GPS 124. The in-vehicle device 212 is mounted on a vehicle.

  The computer 226 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM that stores a program for executing a transmission processing routine described later, and is functionally configured as follows. The computer 226 includes a position measuring unit 128 that measures the position of the own vehicle based on the satellite signal received by the GPS 124, the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128, and the own vehicle captured by the camera 122. Based on the surrounding image and the map data in the map database 120, a traveling position identification unit 130 that identifies the traveling position of the own vehicle on the map data, and a traveling position of the own vehicle identified by the traveling position identification unit 130. A travel locus generating unit 230 that generates a travel locus of the own vehicle based on the time series of the vehicle, and a vehicle motion estimating unit that estimates the amount of motion of the own vehicle based on a peripheral image around the own vehicle captured by the camera 122. 232 and an accumulation generating a cumulative trajectory of the own vehicle based on the time series of the momentum of the own vehicle estimated by the own vehicle movement estimating unit 232. A trace generation unit 234, a position error measurement unit 236 that calculates error information indicating a difference between the traveling trajectory generated by the traveling trajectory generation unit 230 and the cumulative trajectory generated by the cumulative trajectory generation unit 234, and a position error measurement The communication unit 134 transmits the error information and the position information calculated by the unit 236 to the server 14, and updates the map data stored in the map database 120 according to the update information of the map data transmitted from the server 14. And a map database updating unit 136 to be executed. The position error measurement unit 236 is an example of a difference information generation unit. The vehicle motion estimation unit 232 is an example of a motion amount estimation unit.

The traveling locus generating unit 230 generates a traveling locus of the own vehicle based on the time series of the traveling positions specified by the traveling position specifying unit 130.
Specifically, the traveling trajectory generation unit 230 generates a traveling trajectory using the time series of the traveling positions in the certain section specified by the traveling position specifying unit 130. Here, the fixed section may be a distance section or a time section.

  The own-vehicle motion estimating unit 232 estimates the amount of exercise of the own vehicle based on the peripheral image around the own vehicle captured by the camera 122. In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which the host vehicle motion estimating unit 232 estimates the vehicle speed and the yaw rate as the momentum of the host vehicle.

  For example, the own-vehicle motion estimating unit 232 estimates the amount of motion of the own-vehicle based on continuous frames of peripheral images around the own vehicle captured by the camera 122 by a technique described in the following reference.

(References)
Yamaguchi, Kato, Ninomiya, "Motion estimation of own vehicle using in-vehicle monocular camera", IEICE Transactions C, vol. 129, No. 12, pp. 2213-2221, 2009.

  The cumulative trajectory generation unit 234 generates a cumulative trajectory of the host vehicle based on the time series of the vehicle speed and the yaw rate of the host vehicle estimated by the host vehicle motion estimation unit 232. Here, the cumulative locus generation unit 234 generates a cumulative locus in the same section as the travel locus generated by the travel locus generation unit 230.

  The cumulative trajectory is a trajectory generated by accumulating the momentum of the host vehicle from the set starting point. Therefore, the cumulative trajectory generation unit 234 generates trajectories in the same section by setting the starting point (position and direction) of the cumulative trajectory to be the same as the starting point of the trajectory generated by the traveling trajectory generation unit 230.

  FIG. 13 shows an example of a method of generating a cumulative trajectory. FIG. 13 shows an example in which the estimation result of the moving distance d and the moving direction (yaw rate) θ is used to generate the trajectory. The cumulative trajectory generating unit 234 calculates the moving distance d from the vehicle speed of the own vehicle estimated by the own vehicle motion estimating unit 232, and generates the cumulative trajectory of the own vehicle based on the time series of the moving distance d and the yaw rate θ. .

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, the cumulative trajectory generation unit 234 determines the position of the own vehicle at time t (the black square at time t shown in FIG. 13) and the direction (from the black square at time t shown in FIG. 13). With respect to the extended dashed line), the trajectory is extended by the estimated distance in the direction estimated between time t and time t + 1 to generate a cumulative trajectory. At this time, the estimated direction is a relative angle from time t. As shown in FIG. 13, a cumulative locus is generated by repeatedly performing the same processing.

  The position error measuring unit 236 calculates error information indicating a difference between the traveling locus generated by the traveling locus generating unit 230 and the cumulative locus generated by the cumulative locus generating unit 234. FIG. 14 shows an example of the difference between the running locus and the cumulative locus.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the position error measuring unit 236 measures the difference between the current time position on the running locus and the current time position on the cumulative locus as error information (difference between points P6 in FIG. 14). I do. Alternatively, the position error measuring unit 236 may use the average value or the accumulated value of the difference between the positions of the traveling trajectory and the accumulated trajectory at each point (the difference between the points P1 to P6 in FIG. 14) as the error information. it can. Further, the difference may be obtained by a linear distance between two points, or may be obtained by dividing the difference into components of latitude and longitude. In addition, the difference can be obtained by dividing into the traveling direction component and its orthogonal direction component.

<Operation of map data update system>
Next, the operation of the map data updating system 210 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. When each of the vehicles equipped with the in-vehicle device 212 is traveling, the in-vehicle device 212 of each vehicle executes the transmission processing routine shown in FIG. 15, and the server 14 executes the update processing routine shown in FIG. .

  A transmission processing routine executed by the vehicle-mounted device 212 of each vehicle will be described. When the satellite signal is received by the GPS 124 and the peripheral image of the own vehicle is sequentially captured by the camera 122, the in-vehicle device 212 executes the transmission processing routine shown in FIG.

<Transmission processing routine>
In step S306, the traveling locus generating unit 230 generates a traveling locus of the own vehicle based on the time series of the traveling positions obtained from the traveling position specified this time in step S104 and the traveling position specified before the previous time. .

  In step S307, the own-vehicle motion estimating unit 232 estimates the vehicle speed and the yaw rate based on the continuous frames of the peripheral image around the own vehicle acquired in step S102.

  In step S308, the cumulative trajectory generation unit 234 determines the time series of the vehicle speed and the time series of the yaw rate obtained from the vehicle speed and the yaw rate of the own vehicle currently estimated in the step S307 and the vehicle speed and the yaw rate estimated before the previous time. Thus, a cumulative trajectory of the own vehicle is generated.

  In step S309, the position error measurement unit 236 calculates error information indicating a difference between the traveling locus generated in step S306 and the cumulative locus generated in step S308.

  Note that other configurations and operations of the map data updating system 210 according to the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  As described above, according to the map data updating system of the second embodiment, the traveling trajectory of the vehicle is generated based on the time series of the traveling position, and based on the time series of the estimated momentum of the own vehicle. A cumulative trajectory of the vehicle is generated, error information representing a difference between the running trajectory and the cumulative trajectory is calculated, the calculated error information and the position information are transmitted to the server 14, and the error is associated with the transmitted position information. By storing the information in the error database and setting the priority corresponding to the position information based on the error information corresponding to the position information stored in the error database, the necessity of updating the map data at each position is determined. Can be determined.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that portions having the same configuration as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The third embodiment differs from the first or second embodiment in that the in-vehicle device determines whether to transmit the calculated error information to the server in the first embodiment. ing.

<Configuration of Map Data Update System According to Third Embodiment>
As shown in FIG. 16, a map data updating system 310 according to the third embodiment of the present invention receives an in-vehicle device 312 provided in a vehicle and error information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 312, The server 314 includes a server 314 that updates a map database in accordance with information, and an in-vehicle probe device 18 that transmits sensor information for updating map data to the server 314 based on a signal output from the server 314. The in-vehicle device 312, the server 314, and the in-vehicle probe device 18 are connected via a network 16 such as the Internet. Note that the in-vehicle device 312 is an example of a mounting device.

[In-vehicle device 312]
The in-vehicle device 312 includes a map database 120 in which map data is stored, a camera 122 that captures an image of the surroundings of the vehicle, a GPS 124 that receives a satellite signal transmitted from a positioning satellite, and a self-image captured by the camera 122. A computer 326 for calculating and transmitting error information based on a surrounding image of the vehicle and a satellite signal received by the GPS 124. The in-vehicle device 312 is mounted on a vehicle.

  The computer 326 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM storing a program for executing a transmission processing routine described later, and is functionally configured as follows. The computer 326 measures a position of the own vehicle based on a satellite signal received by the GPS 124, a position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128, and the own vehicle captured by the camera 122. A traveling position identification unit 130 that identifies the traveling position of the own vehicle on the map data based on the surrounding image of the periphery and the map data of the map database 120, and a position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128; A position error measuring unit 132 that calculates error information indicating a difference from the traveling position of the vehicle identified by the traveling position identifying unit 130, a determination unit 333 that determines whether to transmit the error information to the server 314, Based on the determination result determined by the determination unit 333, the error information and the position information calculated by the position error measurement unit 132 are A communication unit 334 to be transmitted to over server 314, in accordance with the update information of the map data transmitted from the server 314, and a map database update unit 136 for updating the map data stored in the map database 120.

  The determining unit 333 determines whether to transmit the error information and the position information according to the error information calculated by the position error measuring unit 132. Specifically, based on the error information calculated by the position error measurement unit 132 and the predetermined threshold, the determination unit 333 determines that the error information is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, and that the communication unit 134 And outputs the error information and the position information. Then, the communication unit 134 transmits the error information and the position information output by the determination unit 333 to the server 14.

  On the other hand, when the error information calculated by the position error measurement unit 132 is less than a predetermined threshold, the determination unit 333 does not output the error information and the position information.

  The predetermined threshold value may be a constant value or a variable value according to the traveling position of the own vehicle specified by the running position specifying unit 130 or the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128. May be set.

  In the present embodiment, whether or not to transmit the error information and the position information is determined according to the error information calculated by the position error measuring unit 132. May be determined. For example, the necessity of transmission may be determined according to the traveling position of the own vehicle so that a large amount of error information at the same location is not transmitted from the same vehicle. Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not to transmit the error information and the position information according to the number of times the vehicle has traveled on the location on the map data corresponding to the position information. Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not to transmit the error information and the position information according to the traveling date and time when the vehicle has traveled.

  The communication unit 334 transmits error information and position information according to the determination result determined by the determination unit 333.

[Server 314]
The server 314 is composed of a server including a CPU, a ROM for storing a program for realizing a processing routine to be described later, a RAM for temporarily storing data, a memory as a storage unit, a network interface, and the like. Specifically, the communication unit 140 receives the error information and the position information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 312, the error registration unit 142 registers the error information received by the communication unit 140 in the error database 144, and stores the error information. The error database 144, the change measuring unit 346 that measures the amount of change in the error information stored in the error database 144, and the update priority of the map data are set based on the amount of change measured by the change measuring unit 346. Priority setting unit 148, based on the priority set by priority setting unit 148 Map database update unit 150 for updating the Figure, can be represented by structure including an error updating section 154 for updating the error information stored in the map database 152 and the error database 144, the map data is stored. The communication unit 140 is an example of a receiving unit.

The change measuring unit 346 measures the amount of change at the point based on the number of updates of the error information corresponding to the point stored in the error database 144. In the present embodiment, since only information having large error information is transmitted from the in-vehicle device 312, the change measuring unit 346 uses the number of receptions at the registration point of the error database 144 as the amount of change.
When the determination unit 333 determines whether to transmit the error information and the position information according to the traveling position of the own vehicle, the traveling date and time, and the like, the change measurement unit 346 performs the first implementation. The change amount is calculated in the same manner as in the embodiment.

<Operation of map data update system>
Next, the operation of the map data updating system 310 according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. When each of the vehicles equipped with the in-vehicle device 312 is traveling, the in-vehicle device 312 of each vehicle executes the transmission processing routine shown in FIG. 17, and the server 14 executes the update processing routine shown in FIG. .

  A transmission processing routine executed by the vehicle-mounted device 312 of each vehicle will be described. The in-vehicle device 312 executes a transmission processing routine shown in FIG. 17 when a satellite signal is received by the GPS 124 and peripheral images of the own vehicle are sequentially captured by the camera 122.

<Transmission processing routine>
In step S507, the determination unit 333 determines whether or not the error information is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold based on the error information calculated in step S106 and a predetermined threshold. If the error information is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold, the process proceeds to step S508. On the other hand, if the error information is less than the predetermined threshold, the process returns to step S100.

  In step S508, the communication unit 334 transmits the error information and the position information.

  Note that other configurations and operations of the map data updating system 310 according to the third embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  As described above, according to the map data updating system of the third embodiment, the difference between the position of the host vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128 and the traveling position specified by the traveling position specifying unit 130 is calculated. The calculated error information is calculated, it is determined whether the calculated error information and the position information are transmitted to the server 14, and the error information is stored in the error database in association with the transmitted position information. Based on the error information corresponding to the stored position information, by setting a priority corresponding to the position information, it is possible to determine whether or not transmission of the error information and the position information is necessary, thereby enabling communication and server communication. The processing load can be reduced.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that portions having the same configuration as in the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The fourth embodiment is different from the first to third embodiments in that, in the second embodiment, the in-vehicle device determines whether to transmit the calculated error information to the server. ing.

<Configuration of Map Data Update System According to Fourth Embodiment>
As shown in FIG. 18, the map data updating system 410 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention receives an in-vehicle device 412 provided in a vehicle and error information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 412, The server 414 includes a server 414 that updates a map database in accordance with information, and a probe-mounted device 18 that transmits sensor information for updating map data to the server 414 based on a signal output from the server 414. The in-vehicle device 412, the server 414, and the in-vehicle probe device 18 are connected via a network 16 such as the Internet. Note that the in-vehicle device 412 is an example of a mounting device.

[In-vehicle device 412]
The in-vehicle device 412 includes a map database 120 in which map data is stored, a camera 122 for capturing an image around the own vehicle, a GPS 124 for receiving a satellite signal transmitted from a positioning satellite, and a self-image captured by the camera 122. A computer 426 for calculating and transmitting error information based on a surrounding image of the vehicle and a satellite signal received by the GPS 124. The in-vehicle device 412 is mounted on a vehicle.

  The computer 426 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM storing a program for executing a transmission processing routine described later, and is functionally configured as follows. The computer 426 includes a position measurement unit 128 that measures the position of the vehicle based on the satellite signal received by the GPS 124, the position of the vehicle measured by the position measurement unit 128, and the vehicle measured by the camera 122. Based on the surrounding image and the map data in the map database 120, a traveling position identification unit 130 that identifies the traveling position of the own vehicle on the map data, and a traveling position of the own vehicle identified by the traveling position identification unit 130. A travel locus generating unit 230 that generates a travel locus of the own vehicle based on the time series of the vehicle, and a vehicle motion estimating unit that estimates the amount of motion of the own vehicle based on a peripheral image around the own vehicle captured by the camera 122. 232 and an accumulation generating a cumulative trajectory of the own vehicle based on the time series of the momentum of the own vehicle estimated by the own vehicle movement estimating unit 232. A trace generation unit 234, a position error measurement unit 236 that calculates error information representing a difference between the traveling trajectory generated by the traveling trajectory generation unit 230 and the cumulative trajectory generated by the cumulative trajectory generation unit 234, A determination unit 433 that determines whether or not to transmit to the server 414, and transmits the error information and the position information calculated by the position error measurement unit 236 to the server 414 based on the determination result determined by the determination unit 433. And a map database update unit 136 that updates the map data stored in the map database 120 according to the map data update information transmitted from the server 414.

  The determination unit 433 determines whether or not to transmit the error information and the position information according to the error information calculated by the position error measurement unit 236. More specifically, based on the error information calculated by the position error measurement unit 236 and the predetermined threshold, the determination unit 433 determines that the error information is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, and that the communication unit 434 And outputs the error information and the position information. Then, the communication unit 434 transmits the error information and the position information output by the determination unit 433 to the server 414.

  On the other hand, based on the error information calculated by the position error measurement unit 236 and the predetermined threshold, the determination unit 433 determines the error information and the position information when the error information is less than the predetermined threshold. Is not output.

  The predetermined threshold value may be a constant value or a variable value according to the traveling position of the own vehicle specified by the running position specifying unit 130 or the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128. May be set.

  In the present embodiment, whether or not to transmit the error information and the position information is determined according to the error information calculated by the position error measurement unit 236. May be determined. For example, the necessity of transmission may be determined according to the traveling position of the own vehicle so that a large amount of error information at the same location is not transmitted from the same vehicle. Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not to transmit the error information and the position information according to the number of times the vehicle has traveled on the location on the map data corresponding to the position information. Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not to transmit the error information and the position information according to the traveling date and time when the vehicle has traveled.

  The communication unit 434 transmits error information and position information according to the determination result determined by the determination unit 433.

[Server 414]
The server 414 includes a server including a CPU, a ROM storing a program for realizing a processing routine to be described later, a RAM for temporarily storing data, a memory as a storage unit, a network interface, and the like. Specifically, the communication unit 140 receives the error information and the position information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 412, the error registration unit 142 registers the error information received by the communication unit 140 in the error database 144, and stores the error information. Error database 144, a change measurement unit 446 that measures the change amount of the error information stored in the error database 144, and sets the update data update priority based on the change amount measured by the change measurement unit 446. Priority setting unit 148, based on the priority set by priority setting unit 148 Map database update unit 150 for updating the Figure, can be represented by structure including an error updating section 154 for updating the error information stored in the map database 152 and the error database 144, the map data is stored. The communication unit 140 is an example of a receiving unit.

The change measuring unit 446 measures the amount of change at the point based on the number of updates of the error information corresponding to the point stored in the error database 144. In the present embodiment, since only error information having a large error is transmitted from the in-vehicle device 412, the change measuring unit 446 uses the number of receptions at the registration point of the error database 144 as the change amount.
When the determination unit 433 determines whether to transmit the error information and the position information according to the traveling position of the own vehicle, the traveling date and time, and the like, the change measurement unit 446 performs the second implementation. The change amount is calculated in the same manner as in the embodiment.

<Operation of map data update system>
Next, an operation of the map data updating system 410 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. When each of the vehicles equipped with the in-vehicle device 412 is running, the in-vehicle device 412 of each vehicle executes the transmission processing routine shown in FIG. 19, and the server 414 executes the update processing routine shown in FIG. .

  The transmission processing routine executed by the vehicle-mounted device 412 of each vehicle will be described. The in-vehicle device 412 executes the transmission processing routine illustrated in FIG. 19 when the satellite signal is received by the GPS 124 and the peripheral image of the own vehicle is sequentially captured by the camera 122.

<Transmission processing routine>
In step S607, the determination unit 433 determines whether or not the error information is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold based on the error information calculated in step S309 and the predetermined threshold. If the error information is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold, the process proceeds to step S608. On the other hand, if the error information is less than the predetermined threshold, the process returns to step S100.

  In step S608, the communication unit 334 transmits the error information and the position information.

  Note that other configurations and operations of the map data updating system 410 according to the fourth embodiment are the same as those of the second embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, according to the map data updating system of the fourth embodiment, the traveling trajectory of the vehicle is generated based on the time series of the traveling position, and based on the time series of the estimated momentum of the own vehicle. A cumulative trajectory of the vehicle is generated, error information indicating a difference between the running trajectory and the cumulative trajectory is calculated, and it is determined whether to transmit the calculated error information and the position information to the server 414, and the calculated error is calculated. The information and the position information are transmitted to the server 414, the error information is stored in the error database in association with the transmitted position information, and the position information is stored based on the error information corresponding to the position information stored in the error database. By setting the priority corresponding to, the necessity of transmission of the error information and the position information is determined, so that the load of communication and processing on the server can be reduced.

[Fifth Embodiment]
Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that portions having the same configuration as those of the first to fourth embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The fifth embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the momentum of the host vehicle is estimated using an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)) in the first to fourth embodiments. It is different from the form.

<Configuration of Map Data Update System 510 According to Fifth Embodiment>
As shown in FIG. 20, a map data updating system 510 according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention receives an in-vehicle device 512 provided in a vehicle and error information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 512, The server 14 includes a server 14 that updates a map database in accordance with information, and an in-vehicle probe device 18 that transmits sensor information for updating map data to the server 14 based on a signal output from the server 14. The in-vehicle device 512, the server 14, and the in-vehicle probe device 18 are connected via a network 16 such as the Internet. The in-vehicle device 512 is an example of a mounting device.

[In-vehicle device 512]
The in-vehicle device 512 includes a map database 120 in which map data is stored, a camera 122 that captures a surrounding image of the vehicle, a GPS 124 that receives a satellite signal transmitted from a positioning satellite, and a self-image captured by the camera 122. The computer 526 calculates and transmits error information based on a surrounding image of the vehicle, a satellite signal received by the GPS 124, and a traveling state of the own vehicle detected by the IMU 524. The in-vehicle device 512 is mounted on a vehicle.

  The IMU 524 sequentially measures the angular velocities and accelerations of the three axes of the own vehicle as the running state of the own vehicle.

  The computer 526 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM storing a program for executing a transmission processing routine described later, and is functionally configured as follows. The computer 526 includes a position measuring unit 128 that measures the position of the own vehicle based on the satellite signal received by the GPS 124, the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128, and the own vehicle captured by the camera 122. Based on the surrounding image and the map data in the map database 120, a traveling position identification unit 130 that identifies the traveling position of the own vehicle on the map data, and a traveling position of the own vehicle identified by the traveling position identification unit 130. A travel trajectory generation unit 230 that generates a travel trajectory of the vehicle based on the time series of the vehicle, and a vehicle motion estimation unit that estimates the amount of motion of the vehicle based on the angular velocity and acceleration of the vehicle detected by the IMU 524. 532 and a cumulative trajectory of the host vehicle based on the time series of the momentum of the host vehicle estimated by the host vehicle motion estimating unit 532. A product trajectory generation unit 234, a position error measurement unit 236 that calculates error information indicating a difference between the travel trajectory generated by the travel trajectory generation unit 230 and the cumulative trajectory generated by the cumulative trajectory generation unit 234, The communication unit 134 transmits the error information and the position information calculated by the measuring unit 236 to the server 14, and the map data stored in the map database 120 according to the update information of the map data transmitted from the server 14. And a map database updating unit 136 for updating. The vehicle motion estimation unit 532 is an example of a motion amount estimation unit.

  The own-vehicle motion estimating unit 532 estimates the vehicle speed and the yaw rate as the amount of motion of the own vehicle based on the three-axis angular velocity and acceleration of the own vehicle measured by the IMU 524.

<Operation of map data update system>
Next, an operation of the map data updating system 510 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. When each of the vehicles equipped with the in-vehicle device 512 is traveling, the in-vehicle device 512 of each vehicle executes the transmission processing routine shown in FIG. 21, and the server 14 executes the update processing routine shown in FIG. .

  A transmission processing routine executed by the vehicle-mounted device 512 of each vehicle will be described. The in-vehicle device 512 performs a transmission processing routine illustrated in FIG. 21 when the satellite signal is received by the GPS 124, the peripheral image of the own vehicle is sequentially captured by the camera 122, and the angular velocity and acceleration of the own vehicle are detected by the IMU 524. Execute

<Transmission processing routine>
In step S506, the own-vehicle motion estimation unit 532 acquires the angular velocity and acceleration of the own vehicle detected by the IMU 524.

  In step S507, the own-vehicle motion estimating unit 532 estimates the vehicle speed and the yaw rate based on the angular speed and acceleration of the own vehicle acquired in step S506.

  Note that other configurations and operations of the map data updating system 510 according to the fifth embodiment are the same as those of the second embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, according to the map data updating system of the fifth embodiment, the traveling trajectory of the vehicle is generated based on the time series of the traveling position, and is estimated from the traveling state of the own vehicle detected by the IMU 524. A cumulative trajectory of the vehicle is generated based on the time series of the momentum of the own vehicle, error information indicating a difference between the running trajectory and the cumulative trajectory is calculated, and the calculated error information and position information are transmitted to the server 14. By storing the error information in the error database in association with the transmitted position information, based on the error information corresponding to the position information stored in the error database, by setting a priority corresponding to the position information, The necessity of updating at each position of the map data can be determined.

[Sixth Embodiment]
Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that portions having the same configuration as those of the first to fifth embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The sixth embodiment is different from the first to fifth embodiments in that difference information is generated based on a comparison result between a traveling position and a lane graph included in map data and a result of specifying the traveling position. Is different.

<Configuration of Map Data Update System 610 According to Sixth Embodiment>
As shown in FIG. 22, the map data updating system 610 according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention receives an in-vehicle device 612 provided in a vehicle, The server 614 includes a server 614 that updates a map database in accordance with information, and a vehicle-mounted probe device 18 that transmits sensor information for updating map data to the server 614 based on a signal output from the server 614. The in-vehicle device 612, the server 614, and the in-vehicle probe device 18 are connected via a network 16 such as the Internet. Note that the in-vehicle device 612 is an example of a mounting device.

[In-vehicle device 612]
The in-vehicle device 612 includes a map database 620 in which map data is stored, a camera 122 that captures an image around the own vehicle, a GPS 124 that receives a satellite signal transmitted from a positioning satellite, and a self-image captured by the camera 122. A computer 626 for calculating and transmitting difference information based on a surrounding image of the vehicle and a satellite signal received by the GPS 124. The in-vehicle device 612 is mounted on a vehicle.

  The map database 620 stores map data including a lane graph. FIG. 23 shows an example of a lane graph. As shown in FIG. 23, the lane graph represents a trajectory serving as a guide for the vehicle to travel according to traffic rules. Further, the lane graph can be created from the traveling locus of the vehicle, lane information drawn on the road surface, and the like. Each point of the lane graph holds latitude, longitude, and height information. The lane graph is an example of road information.

  The computer 626 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM storing a program for executing a transmission processing routine described later, and is functionally configured as follows. The computer 626 generates a map based on the position measurement unit 128, the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measurement unit 128, the peripheral image around the own vehicle captured by the camera 122, and the map data in the map database 620. A traveling position identification unit 630 that identifies the traveling position of the own vehicle on the data and calculates the reliability of the comparison between the road surface image and the map data; and a time series of the own vehicle position measured by the position measuring unit 128. A positioning trajectory generating unit 629 that generates a positioning trajectory of the vehicle, a lane graph comparing unit 631 that compares a lane graph stored in the map database 620 with a positioning trajectory generated by the positioning trajectory generating unit 629, The result of specifying the traveling position of the own vehicle specified by the position specifying unit 630 and the comparison obtained by the lane graph comparing unit 631 A difference information generation unit 632 that generates difference information indicating a difference between the road surface image and the map data stored in the map database 620, a communication unit 134, and a map database update unit 136 according to the result. . The lane graph comparing unit 631 is an example of a comparing unit.

  The traveling position specifying unit 630 performs a map based on the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128, a peripheral image around the own vehicle captured by the camera 122, and map data stored in the map database 620. The running position of the own vehicle on the data is specified.

  Specifically, the traveling position specifying unit 630 generates a road surface image by projecting a peripheral image around the own vehicle captured by the camera 122 onto the road surface. Then, the traveling position identification unit 630 compares the generated road surface image with the road surface image on the map data obtained from the map database 620 corresponding to the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measurement unit 128. Then, the traveling position of the own vehicle on the map data is specified.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 24, the traveling position specifying unit 630 searches for a matching point on the road surface image of the map data by an image matching method using the generated road surface image as a template, thereby obtaining map data. Identify the upper running position. As a method of image matching, a normalized correlation matching, a phase-only correlation method, or the like can be used.

  In addition, it is desirable that the traveling position specifying unit 630 generates an orthoimage of a relatively wide range (about 100 m) as the road surface image. This means that even if there is a change in the road surface display, it is highly likely that a characteristic pattern or road shape will be included in the ortho image, and that such information can be used to identify the traveling position of the vehicle on the map data. This is because In the present embodiment, a case where an orthoimage is used as an example of a road surface image will be described.

  Next, the traveling position identification unit 630 determines whether or not the highly reliable traveling position has been identified by comparing the road surface image with the map data.

  Specifically, the traveling position specifying unit 630 calculates the reliability of the comparison between the road surface image and the map data.

For example, as shown in FIG. 25, the traveling position specifying unit 630 calculates a correlation value of the collation between the road surface image and the road surface image on the map data for each collation position, and the maximum correlation value is determined in advance. If the difference between the largest correlation value and the second largest correlation value is larger than one threshold value and larger than a predetermined second threshold value, it is determined that the reliability of the matching is high.
Further, as shown in FIG. 25, the traveling position identification unit 630 determines whether the maximum correlation value is equal to or less than a predetermined first threshold value or the difference between the maximum correlation value and the second largest correlation value is determined in advance. If the value is equal to or less than the predetermined second threshold, it is determined that the reliability of the matching is low.

  In the present embodiment, a method of generating difference information, which will be described later, is determined according to the calculated reliability of the collation.

  The positioning trajectory generating unit 629 generates a positioning trajectory of the own vehicle from the time series of the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128.

  The lane graph comparison unit 631 compares the positioning trajectory generated by the positioning trajectory generation unit 629 with the lane graph included in the map data stored in the map database 620, and calculates the sum of the differences between the positioning trajectory and the lane graph. Calculate the value to represent.

  In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which a positioning trajectory representing a trajectory of a positioning position in a past fixed distance section from the current position of the host vehicle is compared with a lane graph.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 26, the lane graph comparing unit 631 calculates the sum of the distances between each point on the positioning trajectory and the nearest point on the lane graph, and the sum of the differences between the positioning trajectory and the lane graph. Can be obtained as In the example shown in FIG. 26, the positioning trajectory and the lane graph are expressed in two dimensions. However, since the positioning trajectory and the lane graph hold three-dimensional information, it is necessary to measure the distance on three-dimensional coordinates. Can also. Note that a maximum value, an average value, or the like may be used instead of the sum of the differences between the positioning trajectory and the lane graph.

  Then, when the calculated value is equal to or smaller than the preset threshold, the lane graph comparing unit 631 determines that the positioning trajectory matches the lane graph. When the calculated value is larger than a preset threshold, the lane graph comparing unit 631 determines that the positioning locus does not match the lane graph. Note that the threshold value may be constant at all positions, or a different value may be used depending on the position.

  The difference information generation unit 632 generates a result of specifying the travel position of the own vehicle in a range for generating the predetermined difference information on the map data specified by the travel position specification unit 630, and generates the predetermined difference information. According to the comparison result obtained by the lane graph comparing section 631 for the range, the area of the range for generating the difference information is divided into a plurality of partial areas, and the road surface image generated by the traveling position specifying section 630 and Difference information representing the difference between the map data stored in the map database 620 and the road surface image is generated for each partial area.

  In the present embodiment, when the travel position is specified by the travel position identification unit 630, information of a relatively wide range is used, so that a stable travel position is identified even if a change occurs in the range. In the generation of the difference information, each collated road surface image (a part of the road surface image generated by the camera and a part of the road surface image of the map data) is divided into partial regions instead of being obtained from the entire road surface image. By generating the difference information for each of the partial regions, it is possible to grasp in more detail which point on the map data the difference occurs.

  If the travel position identification processing is performed with a wide range of information, it is highly likely that a correct travel position can be identified (high-reliability matching can be performed). If the travel position can be identified, difference information is generated by a simple feature difference process. Therefore, the processing load can be reduced.

  However, when the difference information is generated using the collated road surface images, even if there is a change in the road surface information or the like, most of the change does not change, so that the difference information of the changed portion is buried. On the other hand, the difference of each pixel of the road surface image may erroneously generate large value difference information in response to noise or the like.

  Therefore, the travel position is specified in a predetermined wide range, and the difference information from the map data is efficiently and stably obtained by dividing the predetermined range used for specifying the travel position into partial regions. The possibility that a large difference information can be generated increases.

  Specifically, the comparison result by the lane graph comparison unit 631 is a case where it is determined that the positioning trajectory matches the lane graph, and the traveling position identification unit 630 determines that the reliability of the collation is high. In this case, the difference information generation unit 632 determines the difference between the road surface image and the map data based on each partial region of the road surface image generated by the traveling position specifying unit 630 and each partial region of the road surface image of the map data. Generate difference information representing the difference.

  More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 27, the difference information generating unit 632 calculates a difference between a partial area of the road surface image of the map data and a partial area of the road surface image corresponding to the partial area for each partial area. . In the present embodiment, the sum of the differences between the luminance values of the pixels in the partial region is used as the difference information. As the difference information, an average of the difference between the luminance values of the pixels in the partial region may be used. Further, the correlation of the edge gradient histogram in the partial area may be used as the difference information.

  In the example of FIG. 27, there is information that is effective for collation such as a diamond-shaped road display and a break in a vehicle lane on the map data, and highly reliable collation can be performed. Since the pedestrian crossing is newly provided at the lower right of the road surface image, as a result of the comparison between the partial areas, the difference becomes larger only in the partial area corresponding to the newly installed pedestrian crossing.

  On the other hand, when the lane graph comparing unit 631 determines that the positioning trajectory and the lane graph match in the comparison result, and the traveling position specifying unit 630 determines that the reliability of the verification is low. In addition, the difference information generation unit 632 generates difference information based on the characteristic region of each partial region of the road surface image generated by the traveling position specifying unit 630 and the characteristic region of each partial region of the road surface image of map data. I do.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 28, the difference information generation unit 632 extracts a characteristic region from each partial region of the road surface image as a characteristic region.

  For example, the difference information generation unit 632 extracts a region having an edge gradient in a direction perpendicular to the positioning trajectory or a group having the same luminance (white or orange) as a characteristic region.

  Next, the difference information generation unit 632 selects the lane graph closest to the positioning trajectory as shown in FIG. Then, the difference information generation unit 632 extracts a characteristic region on the road surface image of the map data corresponding to the selected lane graph. In this case, the extracted feature regions are only those near the selected lane graph. If there is room for the processing time or the resources, the difference information generating unit 632 may detect the road surface display. These are considered to be effective areas for specifying the traveling position. The fact that the reliability of the verification is low despite the presence of such information may indicate a significant change in the road surface display or a new road.

  Then, as illustrated in FIG. 29, the difference information generation unit 632 compares the presence or absence of a characteristic region in the corresponding region between the road surface image and the road surface image of the map data. Then, when there is a difference between the presence and absence of the characteristic region, the difference information generation unit 632 gives a difference value to the characteristic region to generate difference information.

  In the example shown in FIG. 29, a traveling direction display, a stop line, and an intersection cross mark are extracted as a characteristic region from the road surface image, and a traveling direction display is extracted as a characteristic region from the road surface image of the map data. In the example illustrated in FIG. 29, the difference information generation unit 632 determines that there is no difference because the traveling direction display exists in the same feature region, and does not include the difference value of the feature region in the generated difference information. On the other hand, the difference information generation unit 632 gives a difference value to the feature area where the stop line and the intersection cross mark exist, and includes the difference value of the feature area in the generated difference information. The difference values may all be constant, or may be variable according to the size or shape of the extracted feature.

  Also, in the comparison result by the lane graph comparing unit 631, when it is determined that the positioning trajectory and the lane graph do not match, and when the traveling position specifying unit 630 determines that the reliability of the collation is high. In addition, the difference information generating unit 632 indicates a difference between the road surface image and the map data based on each partial region of the road surface image generated by the traveling position specifying unit 630 and each partial region of the road surface image of the map data. Generate difference information.

  If it is determined that the positioning trajectory does not match the lane graph, and if it is determined that the reliability of the collation is high, a difference between the lane graph and the positioning trajectory has occurred because a positioning error has occurred. Is considered to have increased.

  Therefore, it is determined that the traveling position on the map data has been correctly identified because the reliability of the matching is high, and it is determined that the positioning trajectory matches the lane graph, and the reliability of the matching is high. The same processing as when the determination is made is performed.

  However, it is also conceivable that the matching is performed at another similar position on a road surface pattern different from the traveling position on the map due to a large deviation of the positioning result (for example, matching with another intersection several tens of meters away). . Therefore, the difference information generation unit 632 may generate the difference information by reducing the value of the difference value according to the amount of deviation between the positioning trajectory and the lane graph.

  In addition, in the comparison result by the lane graph comparing unit 631, when it is determined that the positioning locus does not match the lane graph, and when the traveling position specifying unit 630 determines that the reliability of the collation is low. In addition, the difference information generation unit 632 generates difference information based on each partial area of the road surface image generated by the traveling position identification unit 630 and each partial area on the positioning trajectory generated by the positioning trajectory generation unit 629. Generate.

  In this case, since the possibility of a new road is very high, the difference information generating unit 632 projects the positioning trajectory on the map data as shown in FIG. The value is set to a predetermined value and generated as difference information.

  Note that the difference information generated in one process by the difference information generation unit 632 is difference information in a part of the map data as shown in FIG. Therefore, it is efficient to hold the difference information on the same map data and send the difference information to the next process at the timing when the traveling position of the own vehicle moves to the next map data. The holding of the difference information can be performed by averaging the difference values of the respective partial areas. Also, the number of times the difference value of each partial area is measured is registered as additional information.

  The communication unit 134 includes the difference information generated by the difference information generation unit 632, the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measurement unit 128, and the position information indicating the traveling position of the own vehicle identified by the traveling position identification unit 630. Is transmitted to the server 614. The difference information is provided with unique information indicating a position for each partial area, and a difference database 644 described later is updated using the information.

  Further, the communication unit 134 receives the update information of the map data transmitted from the server 614. In addition, as the position information, any one of the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128 and the traveling position of the own vehicle identified by the traveling position identifying unit 630 may be used.

[Server 614]
The server 614 is configured by a server including a CPU, a ROM storing a program for realizing a processing routine to be described later, a RAM for temporarily storing data, a memory as a storage unit, a network interface, and the like. Specifically, the communication unit 140 receives the difference information and the position information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 612, the difference registration unit 642 registers the difference information received by the communication unit 140 in the difference database 644, and stores the difference information. Difference database 644, a change measuring unit 646 for setting the amount of change in the difference information stored in the difference database 644, and setting the update priority of the map data based on the amount of change set by the change measuring unit 646. Priority setting unit 648, based on the priority set by priority setting unit 648 It is represented by a configuration including a map database updating unit 150 for updating figure data, a map database 652 storing map data including a lane graph, and a difference updating unit 654 for updating difference information stored in the difference database 644. be able to. The communication unit 140 is an example of a receiving unit, and the priority setting unit 648 is an example of an update information setting unit.

  Communication unit 140 receives the difference information and the position information transmitted from vehicle-mounted device 612 of the vehicle. In addition, the communication unit 140 transmits the update information of the map data output from the map database update unit 150 described later to the in-vehicle device 612. In addition, the communication unit 140 transmits, to the probe in-vehicle device 18, request information for requesting sensor information of an area in which map data is to be updated. Further, the communication unit 140 receives the sensor information transmitted from the in-vehicle probe device 18.

  The difference registration unit 642 stores the difference information in the difference database 644 in association with a point corresponding to the position information received by the communication unit 140. Specifically, the difference registration unit 642 registers the difference information in the corresponding storage area of the difference database 644 based on the position information on the map data added to the difference information.

  The difference database 644 stores difference information stored in association with a point. FIG. 32 shows a conceptual diagram of the difference database 644.

  As shown in FIG. 32, difference information is stored for each point in the difference database 644, and the difference information of the corresponding point is updated. In the example of FIG. The number of measurements of each partial area 1032 and the average of the difference values included in the difference information are updated.

  The change measuring unit 646 sets an index of the amount of change at the point based on the difference information corresponding to the point stored in the difference database 644. The change measuring unit 646 sets an index of a change amount of the entire point for each point and stores the index in the difference database 644 in order to determine a priority described later. In the present embodiment, the maximum value of the difference values of the partial areas registered for each point of the map data is set as the difference value of the entire point, and the priority is determined using this index. As the difference value of the entire point, the number of partial regions having a difference value equal to or more than a certain value can be used. Also, since the number of accumulations can be used for setting the priority, the value of the entire point is set. Here, the number of measurements of the partial area having the maximum difference value is set, but the number of times the difference database 644 is updated may be set as the number of measurements.

  For each registered point, the priority setting unit 648 corresponds to the point based on the difference information corresponding to the point stored in the difference database 644 and the change amount index set by the change measuring unit 646. An update priority is set as information indicating whether or not to update the map data. In the present embodiment, the update priority is set in five steps from 1 to 5 (1: update unnecessary, 5: update required) according to a predetermined threshold value of the difference value of the entire map. Set. In this case, the threshold value may be the same value at all points, or may be different determination conditions for each point.

  However, the magnitude of the difference value does not include the number of data measurements, and if the number of measurements is small (≒ just after updating the map), it is sufficient data if a large difference value is accidentally measured. There is a case where the update priority is set high even though there is no update priority. Therefore, when the number of times of measurement is not equal to or more than a certain number, it is desirable to set a low update priority. However, in this case, the required minimum number of measurements may not be obtained even in a place with a small traffic volume even after a long period of time. Therefore, the priority setting unit 648 may be configured to set a higher priority by a difference value even if there is no minimum measurement number when a certain period has elapsed since the last update.

  The difference update unit 654 updates the difference information at the point where the map data has been updated. Specifically, the difference update unit 654 deletes all the difference information at the point where the map data is updated, and records the difference information with respect to the newly acquired map data.

  When date information is added to the difference information, even if the map data is not updated, a process of deleting the past difference information may be performed under predetermined conditions in consideration of the server capacity. .

<Operation of map data update system>
Next, the operation of the map data updating system 610 according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. When each of the vehicles equipped with the in-vehicle device 612 is running, the in-vehicle device 612 of each vehicle executes the transmission processing routine shown in FIG. 33, and the server 614 executes the update processing routine shown in FIG. .

  The transmission processing routine executed by the vehicle-mounted device 612 of each vehicle will be described. The in-vehicle device 612 executes a transmission processing routine shown in FIG. 33 when a satellite signal is received by the GPS 124 and peripheral images of the own vehicle are sequentially captured by the camera 122.

<Transmission processing routine>
In step S603, the positioning trajectory generating unit 629 generates a positioning trajectory of the own vehicle from the time series of the position of the own vehicle measured in step S100.

  In step S604, the lane graph comparing unit 631 compares the positioning trajectory generated in step S603 with the lane graph included in the map data stored in the map database 620, and calculates the difference between the positioning trajectory and the lane graph. Calculate the value representing the sum.

  In step S605, the traveling position specifying unit 630 generates a road surface image by projecting the peripheral image around the own vehicle acquired in step S102 on the road surface. Then, the traveling position specifying unit 630 compares the generated road surface image with the road surface image on the map data obtained from the map database 620 corresponding to the position of the own vehicle measured in step S100, The running position of the own vehicle on the map data is specified. In addition, the traveling position specifying unit 630 calculates the reliability of the comparison between the road surface image and the map data.

  In step S606, the difference information generation unit 632 determines the travel position according to the reliability of the comparison between the road surface image calculated in step S605 and the map data and the comparison result obtained by the lane graph comparison unit 631. Difference information indicating a difference between the road surface image generated by the unit 630 and the map data stored in the map database 620 is generated.

  In step S608, the communication unit 134 compares the difference information generated in step S606 with the position of the own vehicle measured in step S100 and the position information indicating the traveling position of the own vehicle specified in step S605. Send to server 614.

  Next, the operation of the server 614 will be described. When the communication unit 140 of the server 614 receives the difference information and the position information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 612, the difference registration unit 642 associates the difference information with the point corresponding to the position information received by the communication unit 140, and stores the difference information. It is stored in the difference database 644. The difference registration unit 642 of the server 614 stores the difference information in the difference database 644 each time the position information and the difference information are received.

  Then, the server 14 executes the update processing routine shown in FIG. 9 every predetermined period.

  Note that other configurations and operations of the map data updating system 610 according to the sixth embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  As described above, according to the map data updating system of the sixth embodiment, the result of specifying the running position of the vehicle on the map data specified by the running position specifying unit 630 and the lane graph comparing unit 631 are used. By generating the difference information according to the obtained comparison result, it is possible to determine the necessity of updating at each position of the map data.

  Further, according to the difference between the traveling position of the vehicle and the lane graph on the map data, and the difference between the road surface image obtained from the external environment information of the vehicle and the road surface image on the map data, It is possible to determine the necessity of the update and the priority.

  In the sixth embodiment, a case has been described in which difference information is generated in accordance with the result of specifying the traveling position of the own vehicle on the map data and the result of comparing the lane graph with the positioning trajectory of the vehicle. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

For example, the difference information may be generated only in accordance with the result of specifying the traveling position of the own vehicle on the map data. In this case, for example, when it is determined that the reliability of the collation for identifying the traveling position of the own vehicle on the map data is high, the difference information generating unit 632 determines the difference information as shown in FIG. Generate
On the other hand, when it is determined that the reliability of the matching is low, the difference information generation unit 632 assumes that the positioning track matches the lane graph, and projects the positioning track on the road surface image of the map data. As shown in FIG. 28, a process for generating difference information may be performed, or it may be determined not to calculate the difference value included in the difference information.

Further, the difference information may be generated only in accordance with the comparison result between the positioning trajectory and the lane graph obtained by the lane graph comparing unit 631. In this case, for example, when it is determined that the positioning trajectory and the lane graph do not match, the difference information generation unit 632 determines each of the partial areas of the road surface image generated by the traveling position identification unit 630 and the positioning Difference information may be generated based on the respective partial regions on the positioning trajectory generated by the trajectory generating unit 629 as shown in FIG.
On the other hand, when it is determined that the positioning track matches the lane graph, the difference information generation unit 632 assumes that the position of the vehicle at the current time in the positioning track is the position on the road surface image of the map data. As shown in FIG. 27, the processing for generating the difference information may be performed, or it may be determined that the calculation of the difference value included in the difference information is not performed.

In the sixth embodiment, when the road surface image is included in the map data, the road surface image generated by the traveling position specifying unit 630 and the road surface image of the map data stored in the map database 620 are used. The case where the difference information representing the difference between the two is generated has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the map data includes target information (for example, type and position information of signals and signs, etc.) as shown in FIG. 34, the difference information is detected by using an on-vehicle sensor. Difference information can also be generated for target information. The target information is an example of peripheral environment information generated from external environment information.
In this case, the object at the matching position on the map data is determined according to the result of specifying the running position of the vehicle on the map data specified by the running position specifying unit 630 and the comparison result obtained by the lane graph comparing unit 631. The difference between the target information and the target information generated from the detection result corresponding to the matching position detected by the on-board sensor is calculated as difference information.
For example, as shown in the drawing on the left side of FIG. 34, the target information generated from the detection result by the on-board camera, and the map data in the vicinity of the lane graph most similar to the traveling locus, as shown in the drawing on the right side of FIG. Can be divided into partial areas, and the difference between the type and number of targets in each corresponding partial area can be obtained, and the number of differences can be used as difference information.

[Seventh Embodiment]
Next, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that portions having the same configuration as in the first to sixth embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The seventh embodiment is different from the first to sixth embodiments in that the traveling position specifying unit and the position error measuring unit, which are mounted on the vehicle-mounted device, are mounted on the server.

  When a large amount of image data can be transmitted from the in-vehicle device to the server and the processing performance of the server is high, the traveling position specifying unit and the position error measuring unit in the first embodiment can be implemented on the server side. The data transmitted in this case is the position of the vehicle and the image data. When the above processing is performed on the server side, data from a plurality of vehicles is individually processed to generate error information, and the generated individual error information is registered.

<Configuration of Map Data Update System 710 According to Seventh Embodiment>
As shown in FIG. 35, a map data updating system 710 according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention receives an in-vehicle device 712 provided in a vehicle and information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 712, and outputs error information. And a server on-board device 18 that transmits sensor information for updating map data to the server 714 based on a signal output from the server 714 based on a signal output from the server 714. Have. The in-vehicle device 712, the server 714, and the in-vehicle probe device 18 are connected via a network 16 such as the Internet. Note that the in-vehicle device 712 is an example of a mounting device.

[In-vehicle device 712]
The in-vehicle device 712 includes a map database 120 in which map data is stored, a camera 122 that captures an image of the surroundings of the vehicle, a GPS 124 that receives a satellite signal transmitted from a positioning satellite, and a self-image captured by the camera 122. And a computer 726 for transmitting a surrounding image of the vehicle and satellite signals received by the GPS 124. The in-vehicle device 712 is mounted on a vehicle.

  The computer 726 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM storing a program for executing a transmission processing routine described later, and is functionally configured as follows. The computer 726 includes a position measurement unit 128, a communication unit 734 that transmits the position of the vehicle measured by the position measurement unit 128, and a peripheral image around the vehicle captured by the camera 122 to the server 714, And a map database update unit 136 that updates the map data stored in the map database 120 in accordance with the map data update information transmitted from the 714.

[Server 714]
The server 714 is constituted by a server including a CPU, a ROM storing a program for realizing a processing routine to be described later, a RAM for temporarily storing data, a memory as a storage unit, a network interface, and the like. Specifically, a communication unit 740 that receives a satellite signal transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 712 and a peripheral image around the vehicle, and based on the position of the vehicle and the peripheral image around the vehicle received by the communication unit 740, the map data is displayed on the map data. Error information representing the difference between the traveling position specifying unit 130 that specifies the traveling position of the own vehicle and the vehicle position received by the communication unit 740 and the traveling position of the vehicle that is specified by the traveling position specifying unit 130. The position error measurement unit 132 and the position of the vehicle received by the communication unit 740 and the traveling position identification unit 130 specify the position. The error registration unit 142 stores the error information calculated by the position error measurement unit 132 in the error database 144 in association with a point corresponding to the position information indicating the traveling position of the vehicle, and the error database in which the error information is stored. 144, a change measuring unit 146 for measuring a change amount of error information stored in the error database 144, and a priority setting for setting a priority of updating map data based on the change amount measured by the change measuring unit 146. Unit 148, a map database updating unit 150 that updates map data based on the priority set by the priority setting unit 148, a map database 152 storing map data, and error information stored in an error database 144. Can be represented by a configuration including an error update unit 154 that updates

  The traveling position identification unit 130 identifies the traveling position of the own vehicle on the map data for each vehicle based on the position of the vehicle received by the communication unit 740 and the peripheral image around the vehicle.

  The position error measuring unit 132 calculates, for each vehicle, error information indicating a difference between the position of the vehicle received by the communication unit 740 and the traveling position of the vehicle identified by the traveling position identifying unit 130.

<Operation of map data update system>
Next, the operation of the map data updating system 710 according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  First, the operation of the vehicle-mounted device 712 will be described. When each of the vehicles equipped with the in-vehicle device 712 is traveling, the communication unit 734 of the in-vehicle device 712 of each vehicle communicates with the position of the own vehicle measured by the position measurement unit 128 and the self-image captured by the camera 122. A peripheral image around the vehicle is transmitted to the server 714.

  Next, the operation of the server 714 will be described. When the communication unit 740 of the server 714 receives the position of the vehicle and the peripheral image around the vehicle transmitted from the in-vehicle device 712, the server 714 executes a registration processing routine shown in FIG. 36 for each vehicle.

<Registration processing routine>
In step S702, the traveling position identification unit 130 acquires a peripheral image around the vehicle received by the communication unit 740 as external environment information.

  In step S704, the traveling position specifying unit 130 determines the position of the vehicle received by the communication unit 740, the peripheral image around the vehicle acquired in step S702, and the map data stored in the map database 152. The running position of the vehicle on the map data is specified.

  In step S706, the position error measurement unit 132 calculates error information indicating a difference between the position of the vehicle received by the communication unit 740 and the traveling position of the vehicle specified in step S704.

  In step S708, the error registration unit 142 stores the error information calculated in step S706 in the error database 144 in association with a point corresponding to the position information of the vehicle.

  As described above, according to the map data updating system of the seventh embodiment of the present invention, the position of the vehicle measured by the position measuring unit 128 provided in the in-vehicle device and the traveling position provided in the server Error information representing a difference from the traveling position specified by the specifying unit 130 is calculated, the calculated error information is associated with the position information, and the error information is stored in the error database, and the position information stored in the error database is stored. By setting the priority corresponding to the position information based on the error information corresponding to the above, it is possible to determine the necessity of updating the map data at each position.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the drawings, and can be variously modified and applied without departing from the scope of the invention.

  For example, the system configuration described in the seventh embodiment may be applied to the second and fifth embodiments. In this case, the in-vehicle device is provided with a position measuring unit, and the server is provided with a running position specifying unit, a running locus generating unit, a vehicle motion estimating unit, a cumulative locus generating unit, and a position error measuring unit. Is also good.

  Further, the system configuration described in the seventh embodiment may be applied to the sixth embodiment. In this case, the in-vehicle device may include a position measuring unit, and the server may include a traveling position specifying unit, a positioning trajectory generating unit, a lane graph comparing unit, and a difference information generating unit.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the position measuring unit 128 measures the position of the own vehicle based on the satellite signal received by the GPS 124 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The position of the own vehicle may be measured by combining the satellite signal received by the above with CAN information (Controller Area Network) (for example, vehicle speed, yaw angular speed, etc.). Alternatively, the position measurement unit 128 may measure the current position of the host vehicle based on the measurement result of the position of the host vehicle in the past.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which a road surface image on which the host vehicle travels is recorded for each point on the map data stored in the map database, but the present invention is not limited to this. Not something. For example, for each point on the map data, three-dimensional position information (distance information) of a three-dimensional object around which the host vehicle runs may be recorded. When the three-dimensional position information of the three-dimensional object is recorded for each point on the map data, the traveling position specifying unit determines the three-dimensional position information of the three-dimensional object obtained from the stereo camera or the three-dimensional position information obtained from the laser radar. The traveling position can be specified using the three-dimensional position information of the object, and the difference information in the three-dimensional position information can be generated.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the change measuring unit calculates the average value of the difference information registered for each point as the amount of change has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The change amount may be calculated by a method.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the own vehicle motion estimating unit estimates the amount of exercise of the own vehicle based on the external environment information of the own vehicle or the running state of the own vehicle has been described as an example. Instead, for example, the momentum of the host vehicle may be estimated based on the external environment information of the host vehicle and the traveling state of the host vehicle.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the vehicle and the probe vehicle are distinguished is described as an example. However, the invention is not limited to this, and the vehicle and the probe vehicle do not need to be distinguished.

  In the first to sixth embodiments, the position measuring unit and the traveling position measuring unit are provided on the in-vehicle device side, and in the seventh embodiment, the traveling position measuring unit is provided on the server side. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The arrangement of each processing unit in the in-vehicle device and the server may be any arrangement as long as the map data updating system of the present embodiment can be realized.

  The program of the present invention may be provided by being stored in a storage medium.

10, 210, 310, 410, 510, 610, 710 Map data update system 12, 212, 312, 412, 512, 612, 712 In-vehicle device 14, 314, 414, 614, 714 Server 16 Network 18 Probe in-vehicle device 122 Camera 120, 152, 620, 652 Map database 126, 226, 326, 426, 526, 626, 726 Computer 128 Position measuring unit 130, 630 Running position specifying unit 132, 236 Position error measuring unit 134, 140, 334, 434, 734 , 740 Communication unit 136, 150 Map database update unit 142 Error registration unit 144 Error database 146, 346, 446, 646 Change measurement unit 148, 648 Priority setting unit 154 Error update unit 232, 532 Vehicle motion estimation unit 230 Running Locus generating unit 234 cumulative trajectory generation unit 333,433 determination unit 629 positioning trace generation unit 631 lane graph comparing unit 632 difference information generating unit 642 difference registration unit 644 differential database 654 the difference update portion

Claims (17)

The position of the moving object measured based on the satellite signal transmitted from the positioning satellite, and specified by collating the external environment information and the map data representing the environment around the moving object, the moving object on the map data Difference registration means for storing in a difference database the difference information representing the difference from the traveling position and the position information representing at least one of the position of the moving object and the traveling position,
Update information setting means for setting, for each of the position information, information indicating whether or not to update the map data corresponding to the position information, based on the difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database. An information processing device comprising: The travel position is specified by comparing a road surface image obtained from the external environment information with a road surface image stored in map data,
The information processing device according to claim 1. The update information setting unit measures, for each of the position information, a change amount in the position information based on difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database. based on the amount of change, the information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, sets the information indicating whether to update the map data corresponding to the position information. The update information setting means, for each of the position information, based on difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database, measures the average of the difference information in the position information as the change amount, The information processing device according to claim 3 , wherein information indicating whether to update the map data corresponding to the position information is set based on a time series of an average of the difference information in the measured position information. The update information setting means, for each of the position information, based on difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database, measures the variance of the difference information in the position information as the amount of change, The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein information indicating whether to update the map data corresponding to the position information is set based on a time series of variance of the difference information in the measured position information. The update information setting means, for each of the position information, based on the difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database, the number of the difference information in the position information equal to or more than a predetermined threshold, It was measured as the amount of change, based on the time series of the number of the difference information in the measured positional information, according to claim 3 configured to set the information indicating whether to update the map data corresponding to the position information An information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The result of comparison between the position of the moving object measured based on the satellite signal transmitted from the positioning satellite and the road information included in the map data, and the external environment information representing the environment around the moving object and the map data were used to specify the position. At least one of the surrounding trajectory information generated based on the specified result of the traveling position of the moving object on the map data , and the position information of the moving object generated from the position of the moving object and the surrounding environment information generated from the external environment information. Difference registration means for associating difference information indicating a difference between one of the map data with the position information indicating at least one of the position of the moving object and the traveling position in a difference database,
Update information setting means for setting, for each of the position information, information indicating whether or not to update the map data corresponding to the position information, based on the difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database. equipped with a door,
The comparison result is information on the degree of coincidence between the positioning trajectory of the moving object and the lane graph as road information included in the map data,
The identification result is a reliability obtained by comparing a road surface image obtained from the external environment information with a road surface image included in the map data,
When the information regarding the degree of coincidence as the comparison result is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, and the reliability as the identification result is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, a road surface image obtained from the external environment information and By comparing with the road surface image included in the map data, the difference information is generated,
When the information on the degree of coincidence as the comparison result is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, and the reliability as the identification result is less than a predetermined threshold, a road surface image obtained from the external environment information By comparing the characteristic region with the characteristic region of the road surface image included in the map data, the difference information is generated,
When the information on the degree of coincidence as the comparison result is less than a predetermined threshold, and when the reliability as the identification result is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, a road surface image obtained from the external environment information By comparing with the road surface image included in the map data, the difference information is generated,
When the information on the degree of coincidence as the comparison result is less than a predetermined threshold, and when the reliability as the identification result is less than a predetermined threshold, a road surface image obtained from the external environment information The difference information is generated by matching with a road surface image included in the map data, which corresponds to a positioning trajectory of the moving object.
Information processing device. The difference information is a result of comparing a positioning trajectory of the moving object generated from a position of the moving object with road information included in map data, for a range in which predetermined difference information is generated, and the external environment. It is generated in accordance with the result of specifying the traveling position of the moving object in a range for generating the predetermined difference information on the map data specified from the information and the map data,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the difference information is generated for each of a plurality of partial areas obtained by dividing an area in a range in which the predetermined difference information is generated. A map data updating system comprising a mounting device provided on a moving body and the information processing device according to claim 1,
The mounting device,
External environment detection means for detecting external environment information representing the environment around the moving body,
Position measuring means for measuring the position of the moving object based on a satellite signal transmitted from the positioning satellite,
Transmitting means for transmitting the external environment information detected by the external environment detecting means, and position information representing the position of the moving object measured by the position measuring means, to the information processing apparatus,
The information processing device,
The map data updating system, wherein the difference registration unit stores the difference information in a difference database in association with the difference information indicating a difference between the position of the moving object measured by the position measurement unit and the position information. A map data updating system comprising a mounting device provided on a moving body and the information processing device according to claim 7 ,
The mounting device,
External environment detection means for detecting external environment information representing the environment around the moving body,
Position measuring means for measuring the position of the moving object based on a satellite signal transmitted from the positioning satellite,
The external environment information detected by the external environment detection unit, and a transmission unit that transmits to the information processing apparatus position information representing the position of the mobile object measured by the position measurement unit,
The information processing device,
The difference registration unit is responsive to at least one of the comparison result of the positioning trajectory of the moving object generated from the position of the moving object measured by the position measurement unit and the road information included in the map data, and the identification result. Difference information representing a difference between at least one of the surrounding environment information generated from the external environment information and the positioning trajectory of the moving object generated from the position of the moving object and the map data, the movement being generated; A map data updating system that stores the difference information in a difference database in association with a body position and position information representing at least one of the running positions. The mounting device,
The position of the moving object measured by the position measuring means, and at least one of the external environment information detected by the external environment detecting means for detecting external environment information representing the environment around the moving body, and the map data Traveling position specifying means for specifying a traveling position of the moving object on the map data,
Difference information generating means for calculating difference information representing a difference between the position of the moving body measured by the position measuring means and the traveling position specified by the traveling position specifying means,
The difference information calculated by the difference information generation means, and position information representing at least one of the position of the moving object measured by the position measurement means and the travel position specified by the travel position identification means, Transmitting means for transmitting to the information processing apparatus,
The information processing device,
Further comprising a receiving means for receiving the difference information and the position information transmitted by the transmitting means,
The map data updating system according to claim 9 , wherein the difference registration unit stores the difference information in a difference database in association with the position information received by the reception unit. The mounting device,
A comparison unit that compares the position of the moving object measured by the position measurement unit with road information included in the map data;
The position of the moving object measured by the position measuring means, and at least one of the external environment information detected by the external environment detecting means for detecting external environment information representing the environment around the moving body, and the map data Traveling position specifying means for specifying a traveling position of the moving object on the map data,
Difference information generating means for generating difference information representing a difference between the external environment information and the map data based on at least one of a comparison result obtained by the comparing means and a specifying result obtained by the traveling position specifying means. When,
The difference information calculated by the difference information generation means, and position information representing at least one of the position of the moving object measured by the position measurement means and the travel position specified by the travel position identification means, Transmitting means for transmitting to the information processing apparatus,
The information processing device,
Further comprising a receiving means for receiving the difference information and the position information transmitted by the transmitting means,
The map data updating system according to claim 10 , wherein the difference registration unit stores the difference information in a difference database in association with the position information received by the reception unit. The mounting device,
According to at least one of the difference information calculated by the difference information generating means, the travel date and time when the moving body traveled, and the number of times the moving body traveled a location on the map data corresponding to the position information. And further comprising a determination unit that determines whether to transmit the difference information and the position information,
The transmission unit, in response to said result of determination by the determination means, the map data updating system according to claim 11 or claim 12 for transmitting and said positional information and said difference information. The mounting device,
A determination unit configured to determine whether to transmit data from the on-board device in accordance with at least one of a travel date and time when the mobile body has traveled and a number of times the mobile body has traveled the position on the map data. Prepared,
The map data updating system according to any one of claims 9 to 13 , wherein the transmission unit transmits the data in accordance with a result of the determination made by the determination unit. The information processing device,
A map data updating unit that updates the map data based on information indicating whether to update the map data set by the update information setting unit,
Travel position of the movable body on the map data, the and the external environment information, in any one of the map data on the basis of the map data updated by the update means as specified claims 9 to 14 Map data update system described. Computer
The position of the moving object measured based on the satellite signal transmitted from the positioning satellite, and specified by collating the external environment information and the map data representing the environment around the moving object, the moving object on the map data Difference registering means for associating difference information representing a difference with a traveling position with position information representing at least one of the position of the moving object and the traveling position in a difference database, and for each of the position information, A program for functioning as update information setting means for setting information indicating whether to update the map data corresponding to the position information based on difference information corresponding to the position information stored in a database. Computer
The result of comparison between the position of the moving object measured based on the satellite signal transmitted from the positioning satellite and the road information included in the map data, and the external environment information representing the environment around the moving object and the map data were used to specify the position. At least one of the surrounding trajectory information generated based on the specified result of the traveling position of the moving object on the map data , and the position information of the moving object generated from the position of the moving object and the surrounding environment information generated from the external environment information. Difference registration means for associating difference information indicating a difference between one of the map data with the position information indicating at least one of the position of the moving object and the travel position and storing the difference information in a difference database; A table indicating whether to update the map data corresponding to the position information based on the difference information corresponding to the position information stored in the difference database. A program for functioning as update information setting means for setting to information,
The comparison result is information on the degree of coincidence between the positioning trajectory of the moving object and the lane graph as road information included in the map data,
The identification result is a reliability obtained by comparing a road surface image obtained from the external environment information with a road surface image included in the map data,
When the information regarding the degree of coincidence as the comparison result is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, and the reliability as the identification result is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, a road surface image obtained from the external environment information and By comparing with the road surface image included in the map data, the difference information is generated,
When the information on the degree of coincidence as the comparison result is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, and the reliability as the identification result is less than a predetermined threshold, a road surface image obtained from the external environment information By comparing the characteristic region with the characteristic region of the road surface image included in the map data, the difference information is generated,
When the information on the degree of coincidence as the comparison result is less than a predetermined threshold, and when the reliability as the identification result is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, a road surface image obtained from the external environment information By comparing with the road surface image included in the map data, the difference information is generated,
When the information on the degree of coincidence as the comparison result is less than a predetermined threshold, and when the reliability as the identification result is less than a predetermined threshold, a road surface image obtained from the external environment information The difference information is generated by matching with a road surface image included in the map data, which corresponds to a positioning trajectory of the moving object.
program.