JP7207172B2 - AUTOMATIC DRIVING DEVICE, METHOD AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic driving device, an automatic driving method, and an automatic driving program.

Conventionally, there has been proposed an automatic driving device that presents information about a parking lot that allows a user to consider and select a parking lot, including whether or not automatic driving is possible (see Patent Document 1). This automatic driving device extracts one or more parking positions around the destination from the parking position information, extracts the weather around the destination from the weather information, and extracts the extracted one or more parking positions , determines whether the vehicle can be parked by automatic driving, presents information indicating one or more extracted parking positions and the determination result to the user as parking position candidate information, and one or more indicated by the parking position candidate information A travel route of the vehicle to a parking position selected by the user from among a plurality of parking positions is calculated, and the vehicle is automatically controlled to move along the calculated travel route.

JP 2018-105814 A

However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 presents candidates from parking lot position information stored in advance, so it does not take into consideration cases where the vehicle cannot actually stop or where there is a better parking position. In addition, the technique described in Patent Document 1 focuses only on the case where the occupant gets off the automatically-operated vehicle, and does not consider the stop position when the occupant gets on the automatically-operated vehicle.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to stop the vehicle at an appropriate stop position in consideration of both situations in which passengers get on and off the automated driving vehicle. and

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic driving device (10, 210, 310) according to the present invention acquires information indicating a situation around a destination set in automatic driving of a vehicle (50), and obtains information and a determination unit (32, 232, 332) for determining whether or not an event to change the destination has occurred based on a search unit (34, 234, 334) for searching for a new destination that satisfies a predetermined condition when it is determined that the vehicle is stopped at the new destination searched by the search unit; and a control unit (38) for controlling automatic operation.

Further, in the automatic driving method according to the present invention, the determination unit acquires information indicating the situation around the destination set in automatic driving of the vehicle, and based on the acquired information, the event to change the destination has occurred, and a search unit searches for a new destination that satisfies a predetermined condition when the determination unit determines that an event requiring a change in the destination has occurred and a control unit controlling automatic driving of the vehicle so that the vehicle stops at the new destination searched by the search unit.

Further, the automatic driving program according to the present invention causes the computer to acquire information indicating the situation around the destination set in automatic driving of the vehicle, and based on the acquired information, an event that should change the destination a determination unit that determines whether or not an event has occurred; and a search unit that searches for a new destination that satisfies a predetermined condition when the determination unit determines that an event that should change the destination has occurred. and a program for functioning as a control unit that controls automatic driving of the vehicle so that the vehicle stops at the new destination searched by the search unit.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the automatic driving apparatus, the method, and the program according to the present invention, when it is determined that an event to change the destination set in the automatic driving of the vehicle has occurred, a new new vehicle that satisfies the predetermined condition is generated. Control the automatic driving of the vehicle to search for a destination and stop. Therefore, it is possible to stop the vehicle at an appropriate stop position in consideration of both situations in which the passenger gets on and off the automatically-operated vehicle.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an automatic driving system according to first to third embodiments; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an automatic driving device according to first to third embodiments; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an automatic driving device according to first to third embodiments; FIG. It is a flow chart which shows an example of automatic driving processing in a 1st embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the change of the destination in 1st Embodiment. It is a flow chart which shows an example of automatic driving processing in a 2nd embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the change of the destination in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of an action schedule. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of an action schedule; It is a flow chart which shows an example of automatic driving processing in a 3rd embodiment. It is a table defining determination and processing of each embodiment.

Each embodiment will be described below.

<First embodiment>
As shown in FIG. 1, an automatic driving system 100 according to the first embodiment includes an automatic driving device 10 mounted on a vehicle 50, a management device 40 installed in a management center or the like, and a user terminal held by a crew member 52. 42 and an infrastructure camera 44 installed on a road or the like. Note that FIG. 1 shows one each of the automatic driving device 10, the management device 40, the user terminal 42, and the infrastructure camera 44, but the automatic driving system 100 includes a plurality of each.

In the automatic driving system 100, for example, a vehicle 50 used as a private car, a bus, a taxi, a ride share, or the like automatically operates under the control of the automatic driving device 10. In particular, in the present embodiment, the automatic operation control will be described with attention paid to the stop position of the vehicle 50 when the passenger 52 gets on the vehicle 50 or when the passenger 52 gets off the vehicle 50 .

The management device 40 acquires an image captured by the infrastructure camera 44 and displays it on a display device, thereby enabling the operator to monitor road conditions and the like.

In addition, when the management device 40 receives a request for possible stop location information (details will be described later) including position information from the automatic driving device 10, the infrastructure camera installed near the position indicated by the position information included in the request 44 images are acquired. The management device 40 identifies one or more candidates for a place where the vehicle 50 can stop by recognizing the road surface by object recognition processing or the like from the acquired image. The management device 40 returns the information of the identified location candidates to the automatic driving device 10 that has transmitted the request as information on possible stopping locations.

In addition, not only in the case of automatically specifying information on possible stopping places by object recognition processing or the like, the operator checks the image of the infrastructure camera 44 to specify the possible stopping places, and the operator automatically operates the vehicle via the management device 40. You may transmit the possible stop place information to the apparatus 10. FIG. Alternatively, the possible stop location information may be notified by exchanging between the occupant 52 of the vehicle 50 and the operator via the automatic driving device 10 and the management device 40 .

In addition, the management device 40 distributes distribution information including congestion information, traffic regulation information, construction information, etc. to the automatic driving device 10 .

FIG. 2 shows the hardware configuration of the automatic driving device 10 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the automatic driving device 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 12, a memory 14, a storage device 16, an input device 18, an output device 20, a storage medium reader 22, and a communication I/F (Interface) 24. , a GPS (Global Positioning System) 26 and a sensing device 28 . Each component is communicatively connected to each other via a bus.

The storage device 16 stores an automatic driving program for executing automatic driving processing, which will be described later. The CPU 12 is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls each configuration. That is, the CPU 12 reads a program from the storage device 16 and executes the program using the memory 14 as a work area. The CPU 12 performs control of the above components and various arithmetic processing according to programs stored in the storage device 16 .

The memory 14 is composed of a RAM (Random Access Memory) and temporarily stores programs and data as a work area. The storage device 16 is composed of ROM (Read Only Memory) and HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores various programs including an operating system and various data.

The input device 18 is a device for performing various inputs, such as a keyboard and a mouse. The output device 20 is, for example, a device for outputting various information, such as a display and a printer. A touch panel display may be used as the output device 20 to function as the input device 18 .

The storage medium reading device 22 reads data stored in various storage media such as CD-ROMs (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), Blu-ray discs, USB (Universal Serial Bus) memories, and writes data to storage media. I do.

The communication I/F 24 is an interface for communicating with other devices, and uses standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), FDDI, or Wi-Fi (registered trademark), for example. Communication I/F24 functions also as an interface for performing inter-vehicle communication.

The GPS 26 measures the position of the automatic driving device 10, that is, the position of the vehicle 50 in which the automatic driving device 10 is mounted, and outputs position information for each positioning time. Location information is, for example, latitude, longitude, and altitude.

The sensing device 28 is, for example, a camera, a laser radar, or the like, and outputs sensing data obtained by sensing the situation around the vehicle.

The management device 40 is realized by an information processing device such as a personal computer or a server device. The user terminal 42 is implemented by an information processing device such as a personal computer, a tablet terminal, or a smart phone. The hardware configurations of the management device 40 and the user terminal 42 are substantially the same as the hardware configuration of the automatic driving device 10 shown in FIG. 2, so description thereof will be omitted.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the functional configuration of the automatic driving device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 3 , the automatic driving device 10 includes a determination unit 32, a search unit 34, a notification unit 36, and a control unit 38. Each functional unit is implemented by the CPU 12 shown in FIG.

The determination unit 32 acquires information indicating the situation around the destination set in automatic driving of the vehicle 50, and determines whether or not an event requiring a change in the destination has occurred based on the acquired information. . In the first embodiment, the determination unit 32 determines whether or not an obstacle exists at the set destination as an occurrence of an event that should change the destination.

Specifically, the determination unit 32 acquires sensing data output from the sensing device 28, processes the sensing data, and determines whether or not there is an obstacle at the destination. For example, when an image is acquired from a camera, which is an example of the sensing device 28, based on the position information of the set destination, the position information of the vehicle 50 obtained from the GPS 26, the mounting angle of the camera, etc., from the image Identify the area corresponding to the destination. The determination unit 32 determines whether or not an obstacle exists in the specified area by pattern matching, object recognition processing using a discriminator, or the like.

In addition, the determination unit 32 acquires the distribution information around the set destination from among the distribution information distributed from the management device 40, and determines whether an obstacle exists at the destination based on the content of the obtained distribution information. Determine whether or not For example, when the determining unit 32 acquires distribution information indicating that lanes are being reduced or roads are closed due to construction work at a certain location, if the location includes the destination, the determination unit 32 determines that there is an obstacle at the destination. .

Moreover, the distribution information distributed from the management apparatus 40 is transferred between the automatic driving apparatuses 10 by vehicle-to-vehicle communication. In addition to the distribution information distributed from the management device 40, information around the vehicle uniquely detected by the automatic driving device 10 is also transmitted and received between the automatic driving devices 10 by vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Therefore, the determination unit 32 may determine whether or not there is an obstacle at the destination based on the distribution information received through inter-vehicle communication. Note that the delivery from the management device 40 is an example of wide area communication, and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication is an example of short area communication.

Based on the distance to the set destination, the determination unit 32 may determine which information is used for the determination process. For example, when the destination is included in the sensing range of the sensing device 28 (when the distance to the destination is less than the first threshold value), the determination unit 32 performs determination processing based on the sensing data acquired from the sensing device 28. I do. On the other hand, when the destination is not included in the sensing range of the sensing device 28 and is close to the destination (when the distance to the destination is greater than or equal to the first threshold and less than the second threshold), the determination unit 32 determines the above determination processing based on the information received by the inter-vehicle communication. Furthermore, when the destination is not included in the sensing range of the sensing device 28 and is far from the destination (when the distance to the destination is greater than or equal to the second threshold value), the determination unit 32 distributes from the management device 40 Determination processing is performed based on the delivered information.

When determining that there is an obstacle at the destination, the determination unit 32 notifies the search unit 34 of the fact.

When the determination unit 32 determines that an event requiring a change of the destination has occurred, the search unit 34 determines that an obstacle exists at the destination in the present embodiment, the search unit 34 satisfies a predetermined condition. Explore new destinations that meet. In this embodiment, a new place where the vehicle 50 can stop is searched around the destination as the destination that satisfies a predetermined condition.

Specifically, the search unit 34 acquires sensing data output from the sensing device 28, processes the sensing data, and searches for a place where the vehicle can stop. For example, when the search unit 34 acquires an image from a camera, which is an example of the sensing device 28, the vehicle 50 can stop on the image by recognizing the road surface by object recognition processing or the like from the acquired image. Search for one or more candidate locations. Then, the searching unit 34 acquires possible stop place information indicating the position information of the place where the car can stop based on the position on the image of the searched place where the car can stop, the mounting angle of the camera, the position information of the vehicle 50, and the like. do.

Further, the searching unit 34 may transmit a request for information on possible stopping places including position information of the set destination to the management device 40 and acquire the information on possible stopping places from the managing device 40 . Furthermore, the search unit 34 may acquire stop-possible place information notified by the operator via the management device 40 . In addition, the search unit 34 may acquire stop-possible place information through inter-vehicle communication. Further, similarly to the determination unit 32, the search unit 34 may determine which information is used for the search process based on the distance to the set destination. For example, when the destination is included in the sensing range of the sensing device 28 (when the distance to the destination is less than the first threshold value), the search unit 34 processes the sensing data acquired from the sensing device 28 and stops the vehicle. Get available location information. On the other hand, when the destination is not included in the sensing range of the sensing device 28 and the destination is approaching (when the distance to the destination is greater than or equal to the first threshold and less than the second threshold), the search unit 34 , obtains the information on possible stops through the vehicle-to-vehicle communication described above. Furthermore, when the destination is not included in the sensing range of the sensing device 28 and is far from the destination (when the distance to the destination is greater than or equal to the second threshold value), the search unit 34 stops the vehicle from the management device 40. Get available location information.

The search unit 34 selects a new destination candidate from the acquired information on possible stops. The method of selection may be random, or a score may be calculated for each piece of possible stop location information based on the distance from the vehicle 50, and selection may be made in descending order of score. The searching unit 34 passes information on possible stops selected as new destination candidates to the notification unit 36 .

The notification unit 36 notifies the occupant 52 of the possible stop location information received from the search unit 34 as a new destination candidate. For example, the notification unit 36 displays new destination candidates on the display of the automatic driving device 10 when the passenger 52 is in the vehicle 50 . As a display method, for example, the notification unit 36 may display new destination candidates on a map of a navigation system that operates in conjunction with the automatic driving device 10 or on an image of the front of the vehicle 50 captured by a camera. can be done. In addition, when the passenger 52 has not boarded the vehicle 50, that is, when the passenger 52 is about to board, the notification unit 36 displays a new destination candidate on the display of the user terminal 42 held by the passenger 52 in the same manner as described above. indicate.

The notification unit 36 receives whether or not to approve the new destination candidate when notifying the crew member 52 of the new destination candidate. When the notified new destination candidate is not approved, the notification unit 36 notifies the search unit 34 to that effect, and receives another possible stop place information from the search unit 34 as a new destination candidate. Further, when the notified new destination candidate is approved, the notification unit 36 determines the approved new destination candidate as a new destination and notifies the control unit 38 of it.

The control unit 38 controls automatic driving of the vehicle 50 according to the route searched by the navigation system that operates in conjunction with the automatic driving device 10 . Further, when a new destination is notified from the notification unit 36, the control unit 38 updates the destination set in the navigation system to the new destination, and controls the vehicle 50 to stop at the new destination. control the automatic operation of

Next, operation of the automatic driving system 100 according to the first embodiment will be described. In the user terminal 42 held by the crew member 52, an application for using the service provided by the automatic driving system 100 operates, and a notification from the automatic driving device 10 can be received. Also, while the automatic driving system 100 is in operation, images captured by the infrastructure camera 44 are transmitted to the management device 40 . Then, when a destination is set in the automatic driving device 10 and automatic driving is instructed, a route to the set destination is searched in a navigation system that operates in conjunction with the automatic driving device 10, and the automatic driving device At 10, the automatic driving process shown in FIG. 4 is executed. Note that the automatic driving process is an example of the automatic driving method of the present invention.

The automatic driving process will be described with reference to FIG.

In step S12, the control unit 38 controls automatic driving of the vehicle 50 according to the route searched by the navigation system, and starts traveling to the set destination.

Next, in step S14, the determination unit 32 determines whether the distance to the set destination is less than a threshold TH1 based on the position information of the vehicle 50 obtained from the GPS 26 and the position information of the set destination. determine whether The threshold value TH1 may be set to a value that enables determination of whether or not the destination is included in the sensing range of the sensing device 28 . If the distance to the destination is less than the threshold TH1, the process proceeds to step S16, and if the distance is greater than or equal to the threshold TH1, the process proceeds to step S18.

In step S<b>16 , the determination unit 32 acquires sensing data output from the sensing device 28 .

In step S18, the determination unit 32 determines whether or not the distance to the destination is equal to or greater than the threshold TH1 and less than the threshold TH2. The threshold value TH2 may be set to a value that enables determination of whether or not the distance to the destination is short. When the distance to the destination is equal to or greater than the threshold TH1 and less than the threshold TH2, the process proceeds to step S20, and when the distance is equal to or greater than the threshold TH2, the process proceeds to step S22.

In step S20, the determination unit 32 acquires distribution information including congestion information, traffic control information, construction information, etc., through inter-vehicle communication. On the other hand, in step S<b>22 , the determination unit 32 acquires distribution information distributed from the management device 40 .

Next, in step S24, the determination unit 32 determines whether an obstacle exists at the set destination based on the sensing data acquired in step S16 or the distribution information acquired in step S20 or S22. determine whether or not When an obstacle exists, it transfers to step S26, and when it does not exist, it transfers to step S34.

In step S26, if the distance between the position of the vehicle 50 and the destination is less than the threshold TH1, the search unit 34 processes the sensing data acquired from the sensing device 28, searches for a place where the vehicle can stop, and Get available location information. In addition, when the distance to the destination is equal to or greater than the threshold TH1 and less than the threshold TH2, the search unit 34 acquires information on possible stopping places through vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Further, when the distance to the destination is equal to or greater than the threshold TH2, the search unit 34 transmits a request for information on possible stops, including position information of the set destination, to the management device 40, and the management device 40 Acquire information on available parking places from . Alternatively, the searching unit 34 may acquire stop-possible place information notified by the operator via the management device 40 .

Next, in step S<b>28 , the search unit 34 selects a new destination candidate from the acquired information on possible stops and passes it to the notification unit 36 . Then, the notification unit 36 notifies the occupant 52 of the possible stop location information received from the search unit 34 as a new destination candidate.

Next, in step S30, the notification unit 36 determines whether or not the passenger 52 has approved the new destination candidate notified in step S28. If approved, the notification unit 36 notifies the control unit 38 of the approved new destination candidate as a new destination, and proceeds to step S32. On the other hand, if not approved, the process returns to step S28, and the notification unit 36 notifies the passenger 52 of another possible stop location information as a new destination candidate. It should be noted that if none of the possible stop place information acquired in step S26 is approved, the process returns to step S26, the search conditions are changed, such as by expanding the search range for possible stop places, and the You may make it acquire the stop possible place information.

In step S<b>32 , the control unit 38 updates the destination set in the navigation system to the new destination notified from the notification unit 36 . Then, the control unit 38 controls the automatic operation of the vehicle 50 to stop at the new destination, and starts traveling to the new destination.

In step S34, the control unit 38 stops the vehicle 50 at the set destination, and the automatic driving process ends. As a result, when there is an obstacle at the initially set destination, the passenger 52 who has already boarded the vehicle gets off from the vehicle 50 stopped at the new destination. Further, the passenger 52 who is scheduled to board the vehicle moves to a new destination and board the stopped vehicle 50, as shown in FIG. Then, when the next destination is set, the automatic driving process is newly started.

As described above, in the automatic driving system according to the first embodiment, when the automatic driving device determines that an obstacle exists at the set destination as an event to change the destination, the set Explore new destinations around your destination. Then, the automatic operation of the vehicle is controlled so that the vehicle stops at the newly searched destination. As a result, the vehicle can be stopped at an appropriate stop position in consideration of both situations in which the passenger gets on and off the automatically-operated vehicle.

In addition, by notifying the passenger of the new destination, the passenger who is planning to board the vehicle can be appropriately guided to the boarding position.

In addition, when determining the presence or absence of obstacles at the destination and searching for new destination candidates, sensing data, information obtained by short-range communication, and information obtained by wide-area communication are used according to the distance to the destination. You can decide which one to use. As a result, in the vicinity of the destination, it is possible to acquire accurate information according to the actual situation of the destination. On the other hand, when the vehicle is far from the destination, it is possible to flexibly respond to search for a new destination, selection of a route to the destination, etc. by acquiring the situation of the destination at an early stage.

<Second embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the automatic driving system according to the second embodiment, the same parts as those of the automatic driving system 100 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Also, the hardware configuration of the automatic driving device according to the second embodiment is the same as the hardware configuration of the automatic driving device 10 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, so the description is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, an automatic driving system 200 according to the second embodiment includes an automatic driving device 210 mounted on a vehicle 50, a management device 40, a user terminal 42 held by a crew member 52, and an infrastructure camera 44. including.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the functional configuration of the automatic driving device 210 according to the second embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 3 , the automatic driving device 210 includes a determination unit 232, a search unit 234, a notification unit 36, and a control unit 38. Each functional unit is implemented by the CPU 12 shown in FIG.

The determination unit 232 determines whether or not an event requiring a change of the destination has occurred, based on the movement of the passenger 52 before boarding the vehicle 50 at the destination. Specifically, the determination unit 232 acquires the position information of the passenger 52 as the movement of the passenger 52 before boarding, and based on the relationship between the set destination, the position of the vehicle 50, and the position of the passenger 52, It is determined whether or not the passenger 52 can be boarded before the set destination.

More specifically, the determination unit 232 acquires position information from the user terminal 42 held by the passenger 52 who is scheduled to board, and acquires position information of the vehicle 50 from the GPS 26 of its own device. Further, for example, when the distance to the destination is greater than or equal to a predetermined distance and the distance between the occupant 52 and the vehicle 50 is smaller than the distance between the vehicle 50 or the occupant 52 and the destination, the determination unit 232 It is determined that the occupant 52 can be boarded before the ground. The determination unit 232 may also use whether or not the direction of travel of the passenger 52 and the vehicle 50 match to determine whether or not the passenger 52 can be boarded before the set destination. good.

If the determination unit 232 determines that the passenger 52 can be boarded before the set destination, the determination unit 232 notifies the search unit 234 to that effect.

When the determination unit 232 determines that an event requiring a change of the destination has occurred, the search unit 234 determines that the passenger 52 can be boarded before the set destination in this embodiment. If so, search for a new destination that satisfies a given condition. In this embodiment, a new place where the vehicle 50 can be stopped is searched around the current position of the crew member 52 or the vehicle 50 as a destination that satisfies a predetermined condition, and the possible stop place information is acquired. A method of acquiring the information on possible stops is the same as that of the searching unit 34 according to the first embodiment.

Next, operation of the automatic driving system 200 according to the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the automatic driving process shown in FIG. 6 is executed in the automatic driving device 210 . In addition, in the automatic operation process which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, the same code|symbol is attached|subjected about the same process as the automatic operation process (FIG. 4) which concerns on 1st Embodiment, and detailed description is abbreviate|omitted.

In step S12, the control unit 38 causes the vehicle 50 to start traveling to the set destination.

Next, in step S212, the determination unit 232 acquires position information from the user terminal 42 held by the passenger 52 who is scheduled to board, and acquires position information of the vehicle 50 from the GPS 26 of its own device. Then, the determination unit 232 determines, for example, whether the distance to the destination is greater than or equal to a predetermined distance and the distance between the occupant 52 and the vehicle 50 is smaller than the distance between the vehicle 50 or the occupant 52 and the destination. Thereby, it is determined whether or not the passenger 52 can be boarded before the set destination. If the vehicle can be boarded, the process proceeds to step S226, and if the vehicle cannot be boarded, the process proceeds to step S214.

In step S214, the determination unit 232 determines whether the vehicle 50 is in the vicinity of the destination by determining whether the distance to the destination is less than the threshold value TH1. In the vicinity of the destination, the process proceeds to step S16, the determination unit 232 acquires sensing data, and determines whether or not an obstacle exists at the destination in the next step S24. Note that FIG. 6 shows an example of returning to step S212 when the vehicle 50 is not in the vicinity of the destination. As in the automatic driving process of the first embodiment, when the distance to the destination is greater than or equal to the threshold TH1 and less than the threshold TH2, the distribution information is acquired through inter-vehicle communication, and when the distance to the destination is greater than or equal to the threshold TH2. Alternatively, distribution information distributed from the management device 40 may be obtained to determine whether or not there is an obstacle at the destination.

In step S226, the search unit 234 searches for new places where the vehicle 50 can be stopped around the current position of the passenger 52 or the vehicle 50, and acquires possible stop place information. Henceforth, it processes similarly to 1st Embodiment, and an automatic operation process is complete|finished.

As described above, in the automatic driving system according to the second embodiment, when the automatic driving device determines that the passenger can be boarded before the set destination as an event to change the destination In addition, search for new destinations in the vicinity of the occupant or vehicle scheduled to board. Then, the automatic operation of the vehicle is controlled so that the vehicle stops at the newly searched destination.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the amount of movement of the crew member 52 can be reduced compared to the initially set destination, and the convenience of the crew member 52 is improved.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment will be described. In the automatic driving system according to the third embodiment, the same parts as those of the automatic driving system 100 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Further, the hardware configuration of the automatic driving device according to the third embodiment is the same as the hardware configuration of the automatic driving device 10 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, so the description is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, an automatic driving system 300 according to the third embodiment includes an automatic driving device 310 mounted on a vehicle 50, a management device 340, a user terminal 42 held by a crew member 52, and an infrastructure camera 44. including.

The management device 340 distributes distribution information including congestion information, traffic regulation information, construction information, etc. to the automatic driving device 310, like the management device 40 in the first embodiment. Furthermore, in the third embodiment, the management device 340 includes real-time information indicating the current status of each facility around the route on which the vehicle 50 travels in the distribution information. Real-time information includes, for example, wait times at hospitals, banks, and the like, time sale information at supermarkets, and the like.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the functional configuration of the automatic driving device 310 according to the third embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the automatic driving device 310 includes a determination section 332, a search section 334, a notification section 336, and a control section . Each functional unit is implemented by the CPU 12 shown in FIG.

The determination unit 332 determines whether or not an event requiring a change of the destination has occurred, based on the movement of the passenger 52 after getting off the vehicle 50 at the destination. Specifically, the determination unit 332 acquires in advance the action plan after getting off the passenger 52 who gets off the vehicle 50 at the destination. Then, when the determination unit 332 acquires real-time information related to the action schedule during automatic driving, the efficiency of the action of the crew member 52 is improved when the schedule after getting off the vehicle is changed based on the acquired real-time information. determine whether or not to The determination unit 332 determines that an event that should change the destination has occurred when the efficiency is improved.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, it is assumed that an action schedule "shopping at supermarket A" is registered with a shopping list for supermarket A added. In this case, the initial destination is set to the parking lot of Super A, etc., and automatic driving of the vehicle 50 is started. Then, assume that the distribution information distributed from the management device 340 during automatic operation includes real-time information that the products included in the shopping list will be on sale at supermarket B at a time. In this case, the determination unit 332 compares the efficiency when the destination facility (destination) is Super A and when Super B is selected. Efficiency can be judged based on the distance to the destination facility, the time required, the expense associated with the activity at the destination facility, the relationship with the next destination included in the activity schedule, and the like.

As another example, as shown in FIG. 9, it is assumed that an action schedule is registered in which target facilities are arranged in the order of supermarket A→restaurant C→hospital D. FIG. In this case, the initial destination is set to the parking lot of Super A, etc., and automatic driving of the vehicle 50 is started. Assume that real-time information indicating that hospital D is currently available for examination without waiting time is included in the distribution information distributed from the management device 340 during automatic operation. In this case, the determination unit 332 determines whether or not the initial order and going to D hospital before Super A will improve efficiency. For example, the determination unit 332 determines the behavior at each destination facility in the case of supermarket A→restaurant C→hospital D, the case of hospital D→supermarket A→restaurant C, or the case of hospital D→restaurant C→supermarket A. Predict how long it will take. For example, statistical information such as the degree of congestion of each facility and traffic conditions for each time period may be stored, and the time required for movement, waiting time, etc. may be predicted, and the time required for the entire action schedule may be predicted.

Note that the real-time information is not limited to being included in the distribution information distributed from the management device 340. For example, information posted to SNS (Social Networking Service) or the like may be acquired as the real-time information.

If the determination unit 332 determines that the efficiency of the behavior of the crew member 52 is improved when the schedule after getting off the vehicle is changed, the determination unit 332 notifies the search unit 334 of the location of the destination facility after the change, and obtains the acquired real-time information and efficiency. The notification unit 336 is notified of the grounds for determining that the quality is improved. The grounds for the determination are, for example, that the distance to the destination facility is short, the required time is short, the expenses associated with activities at the destination facility are reduced, the next destination included in the activity schedule is close, and the like.

If the determination unit 332 determines that an event requiring a change in the destination has occurred, the search unit 334 improves the efficiency of the behavior of the crew member 52 when the schedule after getting off the vehicle is changed in this embodiment. If it is determined to be, search for a new destination that satisfies a predetermined condition. In the present embodiment, as a destination that satisfies a predetermined condition, a new place where the vehicle 50 can stop is searched around the location of the destination facility after the change notified by the determination unit 332, and information on possible stop places is acquired. . Then, the searching unit 334 selects a new destination candidate from the acquired information on possible stops, and passes it to the notification unit 336 . The acquisition method and selection method of the possible stop place information are the same as those of the determination unit 32 according to the first embodiment.

The notification unit 336 notifies the passenger 52 of the new destination candidate, like the notification unit 36 according to the first embodiment. Furthermore, in the third embodiment, the notification unit 336 also notifies the passenger 52 of the real-time information notified from the determination unit 332 and the basis for determining that the efficiency is improved. For example, the notification unit 336 can make a notification such as "Because there is a time sale of milk at supermarket B, it is recommended to change the destination to the vicinity of supermarket B".

Next, operation of the automatic driving system 300 according to the third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, the automatic driving process shown in FIG. 10 is executed in the automatic driving device 310. FIG. In the automatic driving process according to the third embodiment, the same processing as the automatic driving process (FIG. 4) according to the first embodiment or the automatic driving process (FIG. 6) according to the second embodiment is denoted by the same reference numeral. and detailed description is omitted.

In step S<b>312 , the determination unit 332 receives registration of an action plan from the crew member 52 . Next, in step S<b>12 , the control unit 38 sets the vicinity of the destination facility at the top of the action schedule as the destination, and causes the vehicle 50 to start running.

Next, in step S314, the determination unit 332 acquires the distribution information distributed from the management device 340, and determines whether real-time information related to the registered action schedule is included therein. If the real-time information is included, the process proceeds to step S316; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S214.

In step S316, the determination unit 332 determines whether or not the efficiency of the behavior of the crew member 52 is improved when the schedule after getting off the vehicle is changed. If the efficiency is improved, the determination unit 332 notifies the search unit 334 of the location of the target facility after the change, and notifies the notification unit 336 of the acquired real-time information and the grounds for determining that the efficiency is improved, The process proceeds to step S322. On the other hand, if the efficiency is not improved, the process proceeds to step S214.

In step S214, the determination unit 332 determines whether or not the vehicle 50 is in the vicinity of the destination. In addition, as in the automatic driving process of the first embodiment, according to the distance to the destination, any of the sensing data, the information distributed by inter-vehicle communication, and the information distributed from the management device 40 is acquired, and the purpose It may be determined whether or not an obstacle exists on the ground.

In step S326, the searching unit 334 searches for a new place where the vehicle 50 can stop in the vicinity of the location of the destination facility after the change notified by the determining unit 332, and acquires possible stop place information. Then, the searching unit 334 selects a new destination candidate from the acquired information on possible stops, and transfers it to the notification unit 336 .

Next, in step S328, the notification unit 336 notifies the passenger 52 of the new destination candidate notified from the search unit 334, the real-time information notified from the determination unit 332, and the grounds for determining that efficiency is improved. Notice. Henceforth, it processes similarly to 1st Embodiment, and an automatic operation process is complete|finished.

As described above, in the automatic driving system according to the third embodiment, the automatic driving device determines whether or not an event requiring a change in the destination has occurred. It is determined by whether or not the efficiency of the action of Then, when it is determined that efficiency will improve, it searches for a new destination in the vicinity of the target facility according to the changed action schedule, and controls the autonomous driving of the vehicle so that it stops at the new destination that has been searched. do. As a result, appropriate automatic driving can be performed in consideration of the efficiency of the actions of the occupants.

It should be noted that the above-described embodiments can be combined as appropriate and executed. At that time, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, various determinations and processes may be executed with reference to a table defining various determinations and processes.

Further, the determination of whether to change the destination is not limited to the approval of the passenger, and may be determined based on the positional relationship between the passenger and the destination. In addition, it may be determined to change the destination if points relating to the services provided by the automatic driving system are awarded or a discount is applied by changing the destination.

Further, the notification to the crew is not limited to the display on the user terminal or the display of the automatic driving device, and may be notified by voice output from the speaker. In addition, as a notification to the passengers before boarding, the vehicle such as an electronic bulletin board or a speaker installed outside the vehicle may notify the passenger through an HMI (Human Machine Interface). In addition, an in-vehicle HMI such as a tablet terminal may be installed in the vehicle separately from the user terminal and the automatic driving device, and notification may be given by display on the in-vehicle HMI display or voice output from the speaker. The notification method to be used may be set in advance by the user, or the notification method may be selected according to the event that caused the destination change. For example, when the destination is changed due to the presence of an obstacle, the user terminal is notified, and when the destination is changed according to the user's current position, the HMI outside the vehicle is notified. can be set in

Also, the timing of notifying the crew is not limited to when a new destination is searched, but may be notified when an event requiring a change of the destination is detected.

Moreover, various processors other than the CPU may execute the automatic driving process executed by the CPU reading the software (program) in each of the above-described embodiments. The processor in this case is a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) whose circuit configuration can be changed after manufacturing such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) for executing specific processing. A dedicated electric circuit or the like, which is a processor having a specially designed circuit configuration, is exemplified. In addition, the automatic driving process may be executed by one of these various processors, or a combination of two or more processors of the same or different type (for example, multiple FPGAs, and a combination of CPU and FPGA etc.). More specifically, the hardware structure of these various processors is an electric circuit in which circuit elements such as semiconductor elements are combined.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the automatic driving program has been pre-stored (installed) in the storage unit, but the present invention is not limited to this. The program is stored in non-transitory tangible storage media such as CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk Read Only Memory), USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, etc. may be provided in a form stored in the Also, the program may be downloaded from an external device via a network.

10, 210, 310 Automatic driving device 12 CPU
14 memory 16 storage device 18 input device 20 output device 22 storage medium reading device 24 communication I/F
26 GPS
28 sensing devices 32, 232, 332 determination units 34, 234, 334 search units 36, 336 notification unit 38 control units 40, 340 management device 42 user terminal 44 infrastructure camera 50 vehicle 52 occupants 100, 200, 300 automatic driving system

Claims (9)

As a process of determining whether or not an event requiring a change in the destination has occurred based on the movement of the occupant before boarding the vehicle at a preset destination in the automatic operation of the vehicle (50) and acquiring the position information of the passenger, and allowing the passenger to board before the set destination based on the relationship between the set destination, the position of the vehicle, and the position of the passenger. A determination unit ( 232 ) that determines whether or not
a search unit ( 234 ) for searching for a new destination that satisfies a predetermined condition when the determination unit determines that an event requiring a change of the destination has occurred;
A control unit (38) that controls automatic driving of the vehicle so as to stop at the new destination searched by the search unit;
an automated driving device (210) comprising: As a process of determining whether or not an event requiring a change in the destination has occurred based on the movement of the occupant after getting off the vehicle at the preset destination in automatic driving of the vehicle (50) a schedule after getting off the passenger is obtained in advance, real-time information indicating a current situation related to the schedule is obtained during automatic driving, and the schedule after getting off is calculated based on the obtained real-time information. a determination unit (332) that determines whether or not an event requiring the change of the destination has occurred depending on whether or not the efficiency of the occupant's behavior improves when the destination is changed;
a search unit (334) for searching for a new destination that satisfies a predetermined condition when the determination unit determines that an event requiring a change of the destination has occurred;
A control unit (38) that controls automatic driving of the vehicle so as to stop at the new destination searched by the search unit;
an automated driving device (310) comprising: The automatic driving device according to claim 1 or 2 , further comprising a notification unit (36, 336) that notifies an occupant (52) of the vehicle of the new destination searched by the search unit. The determination unit (32) determines whether or not an obstacle exists at the set destination as an occurrence of an event requiring a change of the destination. The automatic driving device described in . The search unit (34) acquires information on a position where the vehicle can be stopped by an in-vehicle sensor at a point where the distance to the set destination is less than a first threshold, At points equal to or greater than the first threshold and less than a second threshold larger than the first threshold, information on positions where the vehicle can be stopped is acquired by short-range communication, and the distance to the set destination is the second Any of claims 1 to 4 , wherein, at locations equal to or greater than the threshold of , information on locations where the vehicle can be stopped is acquired by wide area communication, and a new destination that satisfies the predetermined condition is searched from the locations where the vehicle can be stopped. The automatic driving device according to item 1. A process in which the determination unit determines whether or not an event requiring a change in the destination has occurred based on the movement of the occupant before boarding the vehicle at the destination set in advance in the automatic operation of the vehicle. , the position information of the passenger is acquired, and the passenger is boarded before the set destination based on the relationship between the set destination, the position of the vehicle, and the position of the passenger. determine whether it is possible
a search unit searching for a new destination that satisfies a predetermined condition when the determination unit determines that an event requiring a change of the destination has occurred;
An automatic driving method, wherein a control unit controls automatic driving of the vehicle so that the vehicle stops at the new destination searched by the searching unit. A process in which the determination unit determines whether or not an event requiring a change in the destination has occurred based on the movement of the occupant after getting off the vehicle at the destination set in advance in the automatic operation of the vehicle. a schedule after getting off the passenger is acquired in advance, real-time information indicating a current situation related to the schedule is acquired during automatic driving, and the schedule after getting off is obtained based on the acquired real-time information is changed, depending on whether the efficiency of the occupant's actions is improved, determining whether an event that should change the destination has occurred,
a search unit searching for a new destination that satisfies a predetermined condition when the determination unit determines that an event requiring a change of the destination has occurred;
A control unit controls automatic driving of the vehicle so as to stop at the new destination searched by the search unit.
self-driving method. the computer,
As a process for determining whether or not an event requiring a change in the destination has occurred based on the behavior of the occupant who gets on the vehicle at the destination set in advance in the automatic operation of the vehicle before boarding the vehicle, the occupant and whether or not the occupant can be boarded before the set destination based on the relationship between the set destination, the position of the vehicle, and the position of the occupant. determination unit for determining
a search unit that searches for a new destination that satisfies a predetermined condition when the determination unit determines that an event requiring a change of the destination has occurred;
An automatic driving program for functioning as a control unit that controls automatic driving of the vehicle so as to stop at the new destination searched by the searching unit. the computer,
As a process for determining whether or not an event requiring a change in the destination has occurred based on the movement of the occupant who exits the vehicle after getting off the vehicle at a preset destination in automatic driving of the vehicle, the occupant When the schedule after getting off the vehicle is acquired in advance, real-time information indicating the current situation related to the schedule is acquired during automatic driving, and the schedule after getting off is changed based on the acquired real-time information a determination unit that determines whether an event to change the destination has occurred according to whether the efficiency of the occupant's actions is improved;
a search unit that searches for a new destination that satisfies a predetermined condition when the determination unit determines that an event requiring a change of the destination has occurred;
A control unit that controls automatic operation of the vehicle so as to stop at the new destination searched by the search unit.
Autonomous driving program to function as

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