Vehicle travel control device, method for acquiring vehicle position information, computer-readable recording medium, and program for acquiring vehicle position information

Abstract

A vehicle management device according to the present invention is a vehicle management device configured to manage a vehicle to be in a travel state where a plurality of vehicles form a group of platoons while traveling based on position information received from another vehicle different from the vehicle. A determination unit is configured to determine, whether connection between the platoons is permitted based on the travel state of the vehicle. A decision unit is configured to decide a connection mode between the platoons based on a determination result obtained by the determination unit. An instruction unit is configured to instruct the connection between the platoons by transmitting information on the connection mode decided by the decision unit to a leading vehicle of each platoon. A connection control unit is configured to control the connection between the platoons through communication with the leading vehicle instructed by the instruction unit.

Description

(19) *EP004760211A2* (11) EP 4 760 211 A2 (12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION (43) Date of publication: 17.06.2026 Bulletin 2026 / 25 (21) Application number: 26175605.0 (22) Date of filing: 30.09.2022 (51) International Patent Classification (IPC): G01C 21 / 30 (2006.01) (52) Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC): B60W 30 / 165; G01C 21 / 30; G01S 19 / 14; G01S 19 / 41; G01S 19 / 49; G08G 1 / 0112; G08G 1 / 017; G08G 1 / 096725; G08G 1 / 096775; G08G 1 / 096791; G08G 1 / 22; H04W 4 / 44; H04W 4 / 46 (84) Designated Contracting States: AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR (30) Priority: 27.12.2021 JP 2021213338 (62) Document number(s) of the earlier application(s) in accordance with Art. 76 EPC: 22915451.3 / 4 459 591 (71) Applicant: Broadleaf Co., Ltd. Tokyo 140‑0002 (JP) (72) Inventor: HIRANO, Yoshitake Tokyo, 140‑0002 (JP) (74) Representative: Grünecker Patent‑ und Rechtsanwälte PartG mbB Leopoldstraße 4 80802 München (DE) Remarks: This application was filed on 30‑04‑2026 as a divisional application to the application mentioned under INID code 62. (54) VEHICLE TRAVEL CONTROL DEVICE, METHOD FOR ACQUIRING VEHICLE POSITION INFORMATION, COMPUTER‑READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM, AND PROGRAM FOR ACQUIRING VEHICLE POSITION INFORMATION (57) A vehicle management device according to the present invention is a vehicle management device con- figured tomanage a vehicle to be in a travel statewhere a plurality of vehicles form a group of platoons while travel- ing based on position information received from another vehicle different from the vehicle. A determination unit is configured to determine, whether connection between the platoons is permitted based on the travel state of the vehicle. A decision unit is configured to decide a connec- tion mode between the platoons based on a determina- tion result obtained by the determination unit. An instruc- tion unit is configured to instruct the connection between the platoons by transmitting information on the connec- tion mode decided by the decision unit to a leading vehicle of each platoon. A connection control unit is configured to control the connection between the pla- toons through communication with the leading vehicle instructed by the instruction unit. EP 4 76 0 21 1 A 2 Processed by Luminess, 75001 PARIS (FR) 2 1 EP 4 760 211 A2 2 Description TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle travel control device, a method for acquiring vehicle position information, a computer-readable recording medium, and a program for acquiring vehicle position information. BACKGROUND ART

[0002] In recent years, from the viewpoint of reduction in energy consumption and measures against under- staffing of drivers, when a plurality of vehicles travel on a highway or the like, a platoon travel in which the vehicles travel while forming a platoon is performed. Patent Literature 1 discloses a platoon travel system in which a plurality of vehicles having an automated driving function are arranged in a traveling direction to perform a platoon travel. In the platoon travel system, an order and the like of the vehicles in the platoon travel are deter- mined based on characteristic information indicating characteristics of the vehicles such that the fuel con- sumption is minimized. CITATION LIST PATENT LITERATURE

[0003] Patent Literature 1: JP2017‑215681A SUMMARY OF INVENTION TECHNICAL PROBLEM

[0004] A management device configured to manage vehicles in the system for managing a platoon as dis- closed in Patent Literature 1 issues instructions on an order of vehicles forming the platoon, but Patent Litera- ture 1 does not disclose connection of a plurality of platoons. In a case where another platoon is traveling in the vicinity of a platoon of which destinations or travel speedsare close toeachother, if theplatoonsare caused to travel while being connected to each other, labor saving and improvement of fuel consumption can be expected.

[0005] However, in the mechanism of the automated driving and the follow-up driving in the related art, indi- vidual vehicles find vehicles to follow and form a platoon. For this reason, in order to connect the platoons to each other, the vehicles are separated one by one from the platoon to which the vehicles belong and then are indi- vidually merged into another platoon. In a method in which the vehicles are individually merged, there is a problem that the formation of a new platoon involves a danger on road traffic, and the efficiency is low because and the vehicles control mutually one by one.

[0006] The present invention has beenmade in view of theaboveproblem, andanobject of thepresent invention is to provide a vehicle travel control device, a method for acquiring vehicle position information, a computer-read- able recording medium, and a program for acquiring vehicle position information, which are capable of more accurately measuring a current position of a traveling vehicle in order to perform, for example, connection between platoons.

[0007] Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle management device, a vehicle man- agement method, a vehicle management system, and a vehicle management program that are capable of smoothly connecting platoons and reducing a danger- ousness at the connection. SOLUTION TO PROBLEM

[0008] According to the present invention, the above- described problem is solved by a vehicle travel control device configured to control traveling of a vehicle based on current position information of the vehicle, the vehicle travel control device being connected to a remote control device configured to operate the traveling of the vehicle through communication via a network, the vehicle travel control device including: an absolute position calculation unit configured to acquire GNSS information required for standalone positioning through a GNSS receiver mounted on the vehicle and calculate an absolute posi- tion of the vehicle by the standalone positioning; a recep- tion determination unit configured to determine whether GNSS correction information required for relative posi- tioning can be received from an external reference sta- tion; a relative position calculation unit configured to calculate a relative position of the vehicle by the relative positioning; and a communication unit configured to transmit current position information of the vehicle to the remote control device, in which the communication unit is configured to: transmit position information based on the relative position when the GNSS correction in- formation canbe received; and transmit position informa- tion based on the absolute position when the GNSS correction information cannot be received.

[0009] According to the present invention, the above- described problem is solved by a vehicle management device configured to manage a vehicle, the vehicle man- agement device including: a second communication unit configured to perform communication with a first com- munication unit in the vehicle, the vehicle including an absolute position calculation unit configured to acquire GNSS information required for standalone positioning through a GNSS receiver mounted on a host vehicle and calculate an absolute position of the vehicle using the GNSS information, a relative position calculation unit configured to, in response to GNSS correction informa- tion required for relative positioning being received from an external reference station, correct the absolute posi- tion by the relative positioning using theGNSScorrection information and calculate a relative position of the vehicle 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 3 3 EP 4 760 211 A2 4 at the reference station, a position specification unit configured to specify a current position of the vehicle using the relative position, a travel control unit configured to control traveling of the vehicle based on current posi- tion information specified by the position specification unit, and the first communication unit configured to trans- mit and receive the current position information of the vehicle; a management unit configured to manage a travel state of each vehicle subjected to travel control by the travel control unit based on position information of the vehicle acquired by the second communication unit through communication with each vehicle; and a state control unit configured to control the travel state of the vehicle managed by the management unit, in which: the management unit manages each vehicle to be in a travel state where a plurality of vehicles form a group of pla- toons while traveling based on position information re- ceived from another vehicle different from the vehicle; and the state control unit includes: a determination unit configured to determine, when the management unit manages the travel state where the vehicles travel while forming the group of platoons, whether connection be- tween the platoons is permitted based on the travel state of the vehicle; a decision unit configured to decide a connection mode between the platoons based on a de- termination result obtained by the determination unit; an instruction unit configured to instruct the connection be- tween the platoons by transmitting information on the connection mode decided by the decision unit to a lead- ing vehicle of each platoon; and a connection control unit configured to control the connection between the pla- toons through communication with the leading vehicle instructed by the instruction unit.

[0010] As described above, the vehicle management device cansmoothly perform theconnectionbetween the platoons by determining, by the determination unit, whether the connection between the platoons is per- mitted based on the travel state of the vehicles forming the group of platoons, and instructing the connection between the platoons by transmitting the connection mode between the platoons decided by the decision unit to each leading vehicle of the platoons.

[0011] Since a connection traveling is performed as a vehicle group by the leading vehicle of the platoon, as comparedwith a casewhere the vehicles are individually merged, a dangerousness at the connection is reduced. Therefore, it is possible to achieve a vehicle manage- ment device capable of smoothly connecting the pla- toons and reducing the dangerousness at the connec- tion. ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve a vehicle travel control device, a method for acquiring vehicle position information, a computer-read- able recording medium, and a program for acquiring vehicle position information that are capable of more accurately measuring a current position of a traveling vehicle.

[0013] Further, according to the present invention, since an instruction is given to a leading vehicle of a platoon to form a vehicle group and platoons are con- nected to each other, a dangerousness at the connection is reduced as compared with a case where vehicles individually merged. Therefore, it is possible to achieve a vehicle management device, a vehicle management system, and a vehicle management program that are capable of smoothly connecting platoons and reducing the dangerousness at the connection. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] [FIG. 1] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an entire vehicle management system according to an embo- diment. [FIG. 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a vehicle travel control device. [FIG. 3A] FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a vehicle information processing device. [FIG. 3B] FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a position of an identification mark attached to a target vehicle. [FIG. 3C] FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating a position of an identification mark attached to the target ve- hicle. [FIG. 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a remote control device. [FIG. 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating functions of the vehicle travel control device, the vehicle informa- tion processing device, and the remote control de- vice. [FIG. 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a vehicle position information acquisition process. [FIG. 7A] FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating a state where autonomous driving control is performed. [FIG. 7B] FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating a state where the autonomous driving control is changed to relative driving control. [FIG. 7C] FIG. 7C is a diagram illustrating a state where the autonomous driving control is changed from the relative driving control, and a host vehicle overtakes the target vehicle. [FIG. 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating inter-vehicle distance data. [FIG. 9] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a vehicle travel control method. [FIG. 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a vehicle management device. [FIG. 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating functions of the vehicle management device. [FIG. 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a front platoon and a rear platoon before connection and a new platoon after connection. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 4 5 EP 4 760 211 A2 6 [FIG. 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a synthesized image generated from images ac- quired from a leading vehicle and a rearmost vehicle of a platoon. [FIG. 14] FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating a connection determination process. [FIG. 15] FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram illustrating a platoon connection control process. [FIG. 16] FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an exam- ple of a process of determining whether connection between platoons is permitted. [FIG. 17] FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an exam- ple of a process in a case where the connection between platoons is cancelled. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS <<Overview of Vehicle Management System>>

[0015] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present in- vention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 17.

[0016] As illustrated in FIG. 1, a vehicle management system S according to the present embodiment includes a vehicle C that is capable of performing automated drivingor remotedrivingbyacquiringposition information such as GNSS information and specifying position in- formation (also referred to as "vehicle position" or "ve- hicleposition information") of ahost vehicle, andavehicle management device 80 that receives position informa- tionand the like from thevehicleCandmanages traveling of a plurality of platoonsF formedbyaplurality of vehicles C.

[0017] Each of the vehicles C forming the platoon F is controlled by a vehicle travel control system S1. The vehicle travel control system S1 is a system that imple- ments "automated driving" in which the vehicle C is caused to travel by grasping an external environment of the vehicle C (a host vehicle V), planning a scheduled travel route of the vehicle C in place of a driver, and controlling the vehicleCalong the scheduled travel route, and "follow-up driving" inwhich the vehicleC is caused to travel by following a predetermined target vehicle FV that is a following destination.

[0018] The plurality of vehicles C controlled by the vehicle travel control system S1 repeat switching be- tween the "automated driving" and the "follow-up driving" to form platoons F including a plurality of vehicles. The platoons F indicate groups including a plurality of vehi- cles, and are also referred to as a "group of platoons".

[0019] Since a leading vehicle Ct of the platoons F is remotely driven based on an operation from the vehicle managementdevice80or a remotecontrol device70, the platoons F are remotely driven as the entire vehicle group.

[0020] In particular, since the vehicle management device 80 remotely drives only the leading vehicle Ct and sets the vehicle C traveling behind to the follow-up driving, the vehicle management device 80 can be set to a state of remotely driving as a vehicle group (platoon).

[0021] When the plurality of vehicles C are traveling by thevehicle travel control systemS1,agroupof platoonsF may be formed on the same road. When a plurality of such a group of platoons F are traveling, if distances between the platoons F are reduced and a destination and a travel speed thereof are also close to each other, it is possible to reduce the number of the leading vehicle Ct to be remotely driven or to reduce the communication charge required for remotely or automatedly driving the leading vehicle Ct by merging the platoons.

[0022] In the vehiclemanagement systemS according to the present embodiment, the vehicle management device 80 manages a travel state including the position information of the vehicles C forming the platoons F as travel state information, and controls the leading vehicle Ct of each platoon F such that the connection between the platoons F is performed when a predetermined con- dition is satisfied.

[0023] That is, in the present invention, it is clear that each vehicle performs driving control such as automated drivingor follow-updriving, so that theplurality of vehicles travel while forming a group of platoons, and that the platoons are not formed by controlling the platoons. Hereinafter, first, the vehicle travel control system S1 that realizes the "automated driving" and the "follow-up driving" of the vehicle C will be described, and thereafter, the vehicle management system S that performs a pro- cess of connecting platoons by the vehicle management device 80 will be described. <<Vehicle Travel Control System>>

[0024] As described above, the vehicle travel control system S1 is a system that implements "automated driv- ing" in which the vehicle C is caused to travel by grasping an external environment of the vehicle C, planning a scheduled travel route of the vehicleC in placeof a driver, and controlling the vehicle C along the scheduled travel route, and "follow-up driving" in which the vehicle C is caused to travel by following the predetermined target vehicle FV. In the vehicle travel control system S1, it is possible to perform a "mode switching process" for switching between an automated driving control mode and a follow-up driving control mode.

[0025] The "follow-up driving (follow-up driving con- trol)" may be referred to as "relative driving (relative driving control)". In the following description, the "fol- low-up driving (follow-up driving control)" is referred to as "relative driving".

[0026] In the present embodiment, the "automated driving control mode (a first driving control mode)" is simply referred to as an "automated driving mode", and the "follow-up driving control mode (a second driving control mode)" is simply referred to as a "relative driving mode".

[0027] The vehicle C that is relatively driven is referred to as a "host vehicle V", and the vehicle C to be followed 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 5 7 EP 4 760 211 A2 8 by thehost vehicleV is referred toasa "target vehicleFV".

[0028] The "automated driving (automated driving mode)" includes "autonomous driving (an autonomous driving mode)" in which the host vehicle V is autono- mously traveling by controlling the host vehicle V, and "remote driving (a remote driving mode)" in which an operator outside the host vehicle V performs a remote operation (an external operation) to cause the host ve- hicle V to travel. That is, in the present embodiment, "autonomous driving" and "remote driving" are collec- tively referred to as "automated driving". Basically, the expression "automateddriving"meansautonomousdriv- ing.

[0029] In the remote driving, the operator may not be a human, and may be artificial intelligence (AI), for exam- ple.

[0030] In addition to the "automated driving" and the "relative driving", there is a "manual driving (a manual drivingmode)" inwhichadriver rideson thehost vehicleV and actually performs a driving operation. In the mode switching process, in addition to switching between the manual driving mode and the automated driving mode, the manual driving mode and the relative driving mode can be switched.

[0031] The "host vehicle V" is a vehicle on which a vehicle travel control device 1 to be described later is mountedand that hasa functionof performingautomated driving and a function of performing relative driving.

[0032] The "target vehicle FV" is a vehicle on which at least a vehicle information transmission device 50 to be described later is mounted and that travels in a state where vehicle information (specifically, vehicle identifica- tion information, current position information, and sched- uled travel route information) can be transmitted through communication via a network. The "target vehicle FV" may include the vehicle travel control device 1 to be described later mounted thereon, and may have a func- tion of performing automated driving and a function of performing relative driving, similarly to the host vehicle V.

[0033] The target vehicle FV is not limited to a preced- ing vehicle that travels ahead of the host vehicle V, and may be a parallel traveling vehicle that travels parallel to thehost vehicleV.Alternatively, the target vehicleFVmay be a following vehicle that travels behind the host vehicle V.

[0034] The target vehicle FV may be, for example, a bus, a taxi, a truck, or the like that travels along a preset scheduled travel route, or a circulation bus or the like that travels along a predetermined circulation route. Of course, other general vehicles may be used. <<Hardware Configuration of Vehicle Travel Control System>>

[0035] As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle travel control system S1 includes the vehicle travel control device 1 that is mounted on each of host vehicles V and comprehensively controls traveling of the host vehi- cles, an in-vehicle sensor 10 that detects an external environment around the host vehicle V, an in-vehicle locator 20 that receives a GNSS signal from artificial satellites SA and reference stations ST and measures a current position of the host vehicle V, an in-vehicle ECU 30 that controls steering, acceleration and deceleration, and the like of the host vehicle V, and an in-vehicle communication device 40 that communicates with an external device.

[0036] The vehicle travel control system S1 includes: the vehicle information transmission device 50 that is mounted on the target vehicle FV, is connected to the vehicle travel control device 1 via a network, and trans- mits target vehicle information includingposition informa- tion of the target vehicle FV through communication via thenetwork; and identificationmarks60 that areattached to the target vehicle FVand in which vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FV is embedded.

[0037] The host vehicle V may further include the vehicle information transmission device 50 included in the target vehicle FVand the identification marks 60, and the target vehicle FV may further include the in-vehicle sensor 10, the in-vehicle locator 20, the in-vehicle ECU 30, and the in-vehicle communication device 40 included in the host vehicle V. That is, the host vehicle V and the target vehicle FV may have the same configuration, and thus the host vehicle Vand the target vehicle FV may be interchanged with each other to configure the vehicle travel control system S1.

[0038] Further, the vehicle travel control system S1 includes the remote control device 70 that is installed outside the host vehicle V and operates (remotely con- trols) traveling of the host vehicle V through communica- tion with the vehicle travel control device 1 via a network.

[0039] The vehicle travel control device 1, the vehicle information transmission device 50, and the remote con- trol device 70may directly communicate with each other. <<Hardware Configuration of Vehicle Travel Control Device>>

[0040] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the vehicle travel control device 1 is a computer that is connected to the in-vehicle sensor 10, the in-vehicle locator 20, the in-vehicle ECU 30, and the in-vehicle communication device 40 via an in- vehicle network (CAN).

[0041] Specifically, the vehicle travel control device1 is a computer that includes a CPU serving as a data calcu- lation and control processing device, aROM,aRAM,and an HDD (SSD) serving as storage devices, and a com- munication interface that transmits and receives informa- tion data via the in-vehicle network.

[0042] The storage device of the vehicle travel control device 1 stores a vehicle travel control program and a vehicle management program in addition to a main pro- gram that implements necessary functions as a compu- ter. By executing these programs by the CPU, the func- tions of the vehicle travel control device 1 are exhibited. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 6 9 EP 4 760 211 A2 10

[0043] The in-vehicle ECU30 (integrated ECU31), the vehicle information transmission device 50, and the re- mote control device 70 are computers having the same hardware configuration.

[0044] In order to perform the "autonomous driving", the vehicle travel control device 1 controls the "autono- mous travel" of the host vehicle V by controlling the in- vehicle ECU 30 (the integrated ECU 31) based on ex- ternal environment information obtained from the in-ve- hicle sensor 10, position information of the host vehicle V obtained from the in-vehicle locator 20, and host vehicle information obtained from the in-vehicle ECU 30.

[0045] In order to perform the "relative operation (fol- low-up driving)", the vehicle travel control device 1 per- forms wireless communication with the vehicle informa- tion transmission device 50 via the in-vehicle commu- nication device 40, and receives target vehicle informa- tion including the position information of the predeter- mined target vehicle FV. The in-vehicle ECU 30 (the integrated ECU 31) is controlled based on the external environment information, the position information of the host vehicle V, and the target vehicle information includ- ing the position information of the target vehicle FV, thereby controlling the "relative traveling (follow-up tra- veling)" of the host vehicle V relative to the target vehicle FV.

[0046] In addition, in order to perform the "remote driving", the vehicle travel control device 1 performs wireless communication with the remote control device 70 through the in-vehicle communication device 40, and transmits the external environment information, the posi- tion information of the host vehicle V, and the host vehicle information to the remote control device 70. The remote control device70can receive thesepiecesof information, display contents based on the external environment in- formation and the position information of the host vehicle Vonamonitor 71 (anavigationmonitor 72), andnotify the operator of the contents by a user.

[0047] More specifically, the vehicle travel control de- vice 1 is newlymounted on the host vehicle Vonwhich an "autonomous driving function (the in-vehicle sensor 10, the in-vehicle locator 20, and the in-vehicle ECU 30)" is mounted in advance, so that the performance of the existing "autonomous driving function" is improved and a "relative driving function" and a "remote driving func- tion" are newly provided. <Configuration of In-vehicle Sensor>

[0048] The in-vehicle sensor 10 detects a moving ob- ject (another vehicle, a pedestrian, or the like), various structures, a road shape, and the like around the host vehicle V as an external environment around the host vehicle V. Specifically, the in-vehicle sensor 10 mainly includes a plurality of image capturing devices 11, a plurality of radars 12, and a plurality of lidars 13.

[0049] The in-vehicle sensor 10 may further include a detection sensor other than those described above.

[0050] Each of the image capturing devices 11 is a small-sized imaging camera (a wide-angle camera) that acquires an external video around the host vehicle V, generates external video data to implement a "sensing function" for travel control of the host vehicle V and a "monitoring function" for a driver (operator), and trans- mits the external video data to the vehicle travel control device 1.

[0051] The plurality of image capturing devices 11 are mounted on the host vehicle V, and include, as main cameras, a first image capturing device 11a, a second image capturing device 11b, and a third image capturing device 11c that are attached to windshields of the host vehicle Vand capture images of a front side, a right side, and a left side of the host vehicle V, a fourth image capturing device 11d that is attached to a back bumper of the host vehicle Vand captures images of a rear side of the host vehicle V, and a fifth image capturing device 11e and a sixth image capturing device 11f that are attached to left and right mirrors of the host vehicle V and capture images of an obliquely right rear side andan obliquely left rear side of the host vehicle V.

[0052] In addition, the image capturing devices 11 in- clude, as sub-cameras, a seventh image capturing de- vice 11g that is attached to a front bumper of the host vehicle Vand captures images in front of the host vehicle V, and an eighth image capturing device 11h and a ninth image capturing device 11i that are attached to the per- iphery of right and left backlights of the host vehicle Vand capture images of an obliquely right rear side and an obliquely left rear side of the host vehicle V.

[0053] In thepresent embodiment, a total of nine image capturing devices 11 are attached to predetermined po- sitions of the host vehicle V, but the number and attach- ment positions of the image capturing devices 11 can be changed according to a type and shape of the host vehicle V. The same applies to the radars 12 and the lidars 13.

[0054] As another example of the sub-camera, the seventh image capturing device 11g may be attached to an upper portion of a back glass (a rear glass) of the host vehicle V, and may capture image of the rear of the host vehicle V from the upper portion. In this case, the eighth image capturing device 11h may be attached to a front right A-pillar of the host vehicle V, and the ninth image capturing device 11i may be attached to a front left A-pillar.

[0055] Each of the radars 12 is amillimeter wave radar that detects a target object (measures a position and speed of the target object) by emitting radio waves while continuously changing an emission direction and receiv- ing reflected waves from the target object and performs three-dimensional spatial imaging. As comparedwith the imagecapturingdevices11and the lidars13, it is possible to accurately detect an environmental situation such as night or bad weather with poor visibility.

[0056] The radars 12 acquire detection result data (detection signals) of the target object and transmit the 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 7 11 EP 4 760 211 A2 12 detection result data to the vehicle travel control device 1.

[0057] The plurality of radars 12 are mounted on the host vehicle V, and include a first radar 12a and a second radar 12b that are attached to the periphery of left and right front lights of the host vehicleV, anda third radar 12c and a fourth radar 12d that are attached to the periphery of left and right backlights of the host vehicle V.

[0058] The radars 12 are not particularly limited to a millimeterwave radar, andmaybea radar suchas a laser radar or an ultrasonic sensor.

[0059] Each of the lidars 13 is also referred to as a "lidar", and isa remote sensor that performs three-dimen- sional spatial imagingbyemitting laser light and receiving reflected light from the target object to measure a dis- tance to the target object. As compared with the image capturing devices 11 and the radars 12, the distance to the target object in the vicinity canbemeasured in units of several centimeters.

[0060] The lidars 13 acquire distance measurement data obtained by measuring the distance to the target object and transmit the distance measurement data to the vehicle travel control device 1.

[0061] The plurality of lidars 13 are mounted on the host vehicle V, and include a first lidar 13a and a second lidar 13b that are attached to the periphery of the left and right front lights of the host vehicle V, a third lidar 13c that is attached to a back pan of the host vehicle V, and a fourth lidar 13dandafifth lidar 13e that areattached to the periphery of the left and right backlights of the host vehicle V. <Configuration of In-vehicle Locator>

[0062] The in-vehicle locator 20 measures the current position of the host vehicle V using a sanitary positioning system using the artificial satellites SA and the reference stations ST, andmeasures an acceleration and an angu- lar velocity of the host vehicle V to increase themeasure- ment accuracy of the current position.

[0063] Specifically, the in-vehicle locator 20 includes a GNSSreceiver 21 that receivesGNSSradiowaves (GPS radio waves) from a plurality of artificial satellites SA, and an inertial measurement unit 22 thatmeasures the accel- eration and the angular velocity of the host vehicle V.

[0064] Specifically, the GNSS receiver 21 is an RTK- GNSS receiver that receivesGNSS radiowaves from the plurality of (specifically, four) artificial satellites SA, and generates "GNSS information" required for standalone positioning. Further, "GNSS correction information" re- quired for relative positioning is received from the exter- nal reference stations ST. The GNSS receiver 21 is an example of a receiving device that receives information specifying position information (vehicle position, vehicle position information) specifying a position of a vehicle, and may be a GPS receiver that receives GPS radio waves, an RNSS receiver that receives RNSS radio waves (radio navigation satellite system), or the like.

[0065] The reference station ST is a fixed reference station set at a known point, receives GNSS radio waves from the plurality of artificial satellites SA, generates "GNSS correction information", and transmits the GNSS correction information to the GNSS receiver 21.

[0066] The "GNSS information" is distance information between the plurality of artificial satellites SA and the GNSS receiver 21.

[0067] The "GNSS correction information" is correc- tion data for correcting an error of a distance caused by a delay or a failure in information reception from a satellite when the reference station ST located at a known point receivesGNSS radiowavesand the reference stationST communicates with the GNSS receiver 21.

[0068] The inertial measurement unit 22 is also called an IMU, includes a three-axis gyro sensor (an angular velocity meter) and a three-axis acceleration sensor (an acceleration meter), measures a three-dimensional an- gular velocity and acceleration of the host vehicle V, and transmitsaccelerationandangular velocity informationof the host vehicle V to the vehicle travel control device 1.

[0069] The vehicle travel control device 1 canmeasure the current position of the host vehicle V in a smaller error range by combining the GNSS information (the GNSS correction information) received from the GNSS receiver 21 and the angular velocity and acceleration information of the host vehicle V received from the inertial measure- ment unit 22 and positioning the position. <Configuration of In-vehicle ECU>

[0070] The in-vehicle ECU 30 is, for example, an ECU for ADAS, includes an integrated ECU 31 in an upper layer that is connected to the vehicle travel control device 1 and transmits and receives various data, a steering wheel ECU 32, an accelerator ECU 33, and a brake ECU 34 in a lower layer that are connected to the integrated ECU 31 in the upper layer and control steering, accel- erationanddeceleration, and the likeof thehost vehicleV in a subdivided manner, and forms a hierarchical struc- ture.

[0071] The steering wheel ECU 32 is also called a driving support computer, and the accelerator ECU 33 and the brake ECU 34 are also called a power manage- ment control unit.

[0072] The number and functions of the individual ECUs connected to the integrated ECU 31 are not parti- cularly limited to the threeECUs32 to34, andotherECUs may be further provided in the same layer as those of the ECUs.

[0073] The steering wheel ECU 32 controls an electric power steering V1 of the host vehicle V in response to an instruction from the integrated ECU 31, and mainly con- trols a traveling direction of the host vehicle V.

[0074] The electric power steering V1 includes a steer- ing mechanism that steers front wheels of the host ve- hicle V. For example, in the manual driving mode, the front wheels of the host vehicle Vare steered by a steer- ing operation of a steering wheel V1a by the driver. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 8 13 EP 4 760 211 A2 14

[0075] The accelerator ECU 33 controls an electric throttle V2 of the host vehicle V in response to an instruc- tion from the integrated ECU 31, and mainly controls the acceleration and deceleration of the host vehicle V.

[0076] The electric throttle V2 includes a driving me- chanism that outputs a driving force for rotating driving wheels of the host vehicle V. For example, in the manual driving mode, an output of an engine is adjusted in accordance with an accelerator operation of the accel- erator pedal V2a by the driver.

[0077] The brake ECU 34 controls an electromagnetic brake device V3 of the host vehicle V in response to an instruction from the integrated ECU 31, and mainly con- trols the deceleration and stop of the host vehicle V.

[0078] The electromagnetic brake device V3 includes a mechanism that is attached to each wheel of the host vehicle V and decelerates or stops the host vehicle V by applying resistance to the rotation of the wheel. For example, in the manual driving mode, an operation of the electromagnetic brake device V3 is adjusted in ac- cordance with a brake operation of the brake pedal V3a by the driver. <In-vehicle Communication Device>

[0079] The in-vehicle communication device 40 is a device that performs information communicationwith the vehicle information transmission device 50 mounted on the target vehicle FV, the remote control device 70 in- stalled outside, the vehicle management device 80, and an external server (not illustrated) via a network.

[0080] Specifically, the in-vehicle communication de- vice 40 receives, as information required for "relative driving", the target vehicle information including the posi- tion information of the target vehicle FV acquired by the vehicle information transmission device 50, and trans- mits the target vehicle information to the vehicle travel control device 1.

[0081] In addition, the in-vehicle communication de- vice 40 transmits external video information acquired by the vehicle travel control device1and the current position information to the remote control device 70 as informa- tion required for the "remote driving". Driving operation information of the host vehicle V is received from the remote control device 70 that receives a user input by the operator, and is transmitted to the vehicle travel control device 1.

[0082] The in-vehicle communication device 40 trans- mits the external video information acquired from the vehicle travel control device 1, the current position in- formation, the vehicle information, and the like to the vehicle management device 80 as information required for a "platoons-connection determination process" to be described later. Further, the driving operation information of the host vehicleV is received from thevehiclemanage- ment device 80 and transmitted to the vehicle travel control device 1.

[0083] In addition, the in-vehicle communication de- vice 40 can perform information communication with an external server (not illustrated) and receive the latest traffic information, weather information, and the like from the external server, for example. <Hardware Configuration of Vehicle Information Trans- mission Device>

[0084] As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3A, the vehicle information transmission device 50 is a computer that is mounted on the target vehicle FV, acquires target vehicle information including current position information of the target vehicle FV, and transmits the target vehicle infor- mation to the host vehicle V. The vehicle information transmission device 50 includes an in-vehicle locator 51 and an in-vehicle communication device 52 as a specific hardware configuration.

[0085] The "target vehicle information" includes posi- tion information (real time position information) of the target vehicle FV, scheduled travel route information, and vehicle identification information, and is stored in the storage unit 500 of the vehicle information transmis- sion device 50.

[0086] The "vehicle identification information" is a ve- hicle ID for identifying the target vehicle FV, and informa- tion such as a vehicle type name, a model, and a frame number is associated with each vehicle ID and stored in the storage unit 500. The vehicle identification informa- tion is stored in the storage unit 500, and is also em- bedded in the identification marks 60 attached to the target vehicle FV. <Configuration of In-vehicle Locator>

[0087] Similarly to the in-vehicle locator 20 described above, the in-vehicle locator 51 includes a GNSS recei- ver 51a that receives GNSS radio waves (GPS radio waves) from the plurality of artificial satellites SA, and an inertial measurement unit 51b that measures an ac- celeration and an angular velocity of the target vehicle FV.

[0088] The in-vehicle communication device 52 is a device that performs information communicationwith the vehicle travel control device 1 mounted on the host vehicle V via a network.

[0089] Specifically, the in-vehicle communication de- vice 52 transmits, as information required for the "relative driving" of the host vehicle V, the target vehicle informa- tion to the vehicle travel control device 1 (the in-vehicle communication device 40) at all times or as necessary.

[0090] Specifically, the in-vehicle communication de- vice 52 can transmit the position information of the target vehicle FV in the target vehicle information in real time.

[0091] Theexpression "transmit in real time" includesa case where the position information is transmitted at the same timing asa change in theposition information of the target vehicle FV, and a casewhere the position informa- tion is transmitted in a state where some time lag occurs. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 9 15 EP 4 760 211 A2 16 <Identification Mark>

[0092] As illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 3C, the identifica- tion mark 60 is a two-dimensional bar codes in which vehicle identification information for identifying the target vehicle FV is embedded (stored), and a plurality of the identificationmarks60areattached toanouter surfaceof the target vehicle FV. In each of the identification marks 60, information capable of specifying a scheduled travel routeof the target vehicleFVmaybeembedded together.

[0093] The identification mark 60 is recognized by the image capturing device 11 of the host vehicle V.

[0094] Specifically, when the identification mark 60 is recognized in a video captured by the image capturing device 11, the image capturing device 11 acquires, as recognition results, vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FVembedded in the identificationmark 60, information capable of specifying a scheduled travel route, and the like. The vehicle travel control device 1 can acquire the vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FV from the image capturing device 11 through network communication in a predetermined communica- tion method or via the in-vehicle network (CAN).

[0095] In the above embodiment, the vehicle identifi- cation information can be acquired from the vehicle in- formation transmission device 50 and the identification mark 60.

[0096] The identificationmarks 60 includes a first iden- tificationmark 60a, a second identificationmark 60b, and a third identification mark 60c that are attached to a central portion, a left-side end portion, and a right-side endportion inavehiclewidthdirectionona rear surfaceof the target vehicle FV, respectively, and a fourth identifi- cation mark 60d, a fifth identification mark 60e, and a sixth identification mark 60f that are attached to a central portion, a left-side end portion, and a right-side end portion on a front surface of the target vehicle FV, re- spectively.

[0097] The identification marks 60 includes a seventh identificationmark 60g, aneighth identificationmark 60h, and a ninth identification mark 60i that are attached to a central portion, a front end portion, and a rear end portion in a vehicle front-rear direction ona left side surfaceof the target vehicle FV, respectively, and a tenth identification mark 60j, an eleventh identification mark 60k, and a twelfth identification mark 601 that are attached to a central portion, a front end portion, and a rear end portion on a right side surface of the target vehicle FV, respec- tively.

[0098] The first identificationmark 60a, the fourth iden- tification mark 60d, the seventh identification mark 60g, and the tenth identification mark 60j that are disposed at the central portions of the rear surface, the front surface, and both side surfaces of the target vehicle FV, respec- tively, are formed to be slightly larger than the other identification marks. Therefore, when the host vehicle V travels around the target vehicle FV, the image captur- ing device 11 can easily recognize the identificationmark 60. In other words, the vehicle travel control device 1 can easily detect the presence of the target vehicle FV.

[0099] In each of the identification marks 60a to 601, vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FV is embedded, and mark position information indicating a position (a vehicle body position) at which each identifi- cation mark 60 is attached to the target vehicle FV is embedded.

[0100] Therefore, when any one of the identification marks 60 among the identification marks 60a to 601 is recognized by the image capturing device 11 of the host vehicle V, the vehicle travel control device 1 can acquire the vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FV and detect the target vehicle FV.

[0101] In addition, for example, by recognizing the identification mark 60a and the identification mark 60c among the identification marks 60a to 601 or by recog- nizing only the identification mark 60c, the vehicle travel control device 1 can detect that the host vehicle V is at a rear position of the target vehicle FVand further at a right position of the target vehicle FV based on the mark position information.

[0102] In particular, the vehicle travel control device 1 can accurately grasp a position (a relative position) of the target vehicle FV relative to the host vehicle V based on environment information around the host vehicle V, the position information of the host vehicle V, the position informationof the target vehicleFV, and themarkposition information acquired from the identification mark 60.

[0103] The identification mark 60 may be marked with ink, which is invisible and is called transparent ink, in- visible ink, or the like, and may be recognized mainly by irradiating high-frequency ultraviolet rays. <Hardware Configuration of Remote Control Device>

[0104] As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, the remote control device 70 is a computer that is operated by an operator to perform "remote driving" of the host vehicle V, and includes a plurality of monitors 71, a navigation monitor 72, a steering wheel 73, an accelerator pedal 74, a brake pedal 75, and aplurality of operation switches 76 as a specific hardware configuration.

[0105] The remote control device 70 may further in- clude components such as a speaker, amicrophone, and a shift lever.

[0106] The monitors 71 and the navigation monitor 72 are display units that output visual information for per- forming the "remote driving", and themonitors 71 display a synthesized video (a synthesized image) obtained by synthesizing the external videos of the host vehicle V obtained by the plurality of image capturing devices 11a to 11i based on predetermined layout information.

[0107] The predetermined layout information is, for example, a display mode of a layout that does not create a blind spot for the operator and is easy for the operator to operate. At this time, a plurality of pieces of layout in- formation including predetermined layout information 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 10 17 EP 4 760 211 A2 18 may be associated with each other by a layout ID (layout identification information) and stored in the storage unit 100 of the vehicle travel control device 1. In this case, when a predetermined layout information change opera- tion is performed using the operation switches 76 or the like, the changed layout ID is transmitted from the remote control device 70 to the vehicle travel control device 1.

[0108] The vehicle travel control device 1 generates a synthesized video obtained by synthesizing the external videos based on the layout information corresponding to the changed layout ID, and transmits the synthesized video to the remote control device 70. Thus, the synthe- sized video is changed anddisplayed on themonitors 71.

[0109] Thesteeringwheel 73 is anoperation unit that is operated by an operator and is used to adjust a steering angle (a steering amount) of the host vehicle V.

[0110] Theaccelerator pedal 74and thebrakepedal75 are operation units that are operated by an operator and are used to adjust the driving of the electric throttle V2 of the host vehicle V and the operation of the electromag- netic brake device V3.

[0111] The plurality of operation switches 76 are used to input setting information for performing, for example, "remotedriving"by theuser.Forexample, by theoperator appropriately operating the operation switches 76, the external videos (the synthesized video) of the host ve- hicle V can be switched to a predetermined layout dis- play, and the driving mode can be switched among the autonomous drivingmode, the relative drivingmode, and the remote driving mode. <Function of Vehicle Travel Control Device>

[0112] As illustrated in FIG. 5, from the viewpoint of functions, the vehicle travel control device 1 includes, as main components, a storage unit 100 that stores various programs and various data, an environment information acquisition unit 101, a position information acquisition unit 102 (a position specification unit), a driving control unit 103 (a travel control unit), a vehicle detection unit 104, a communication unit 105 (a first communication unit), a mode change unit 106, a travel speed acquisition unit 107, and a video processing unit 108.

[0113] These components are implemented by aCPU, a ROM, a RAM, an HDD, a communication interface, various programs, and the like.

[0114] The storage unit 100 stores vehicle identifica- tion information of the host vehicle V, scheduled travel route information of the host vehicle V, "inter-vehicle distance data" illustrated in FIG. 8, and the like.

[0115] From the viewpoint of functions, the vehicle information transmission device 50 includes, as main components, a storage unit 500 that stores various pro- grams and various data, a position information acquisi- tion unit 501 that acquires "current position information" of the target vehicle FV, and a communication unit 502 that transmits and receives various data to and from the vehicle travel control device 1.

[0116] The storage unit 500 stores "target vehicle in- formation" including current position information of the target vehicleFV, scheduled travel route information, and vehicle identification information.

[0117] The position information acquisition unit 501 acquires the "current position information" of the target vehicle FV in real time using the in-vehicle locator 51. By storing the acquired "current position information" in the storage unit 500, it is possible to record a travel trajectory (a past travel route) of the target vehicle FVon which the vehicle information transmission device 50 is mounted, and the travel trajectory of the target vehicle FV is stored in the storage unit 500.

[0118] The communication unit 502 transmits the "tar- get vehicle information" to the vehicle travel control de- vice 1 (the in-vehicle communication device 40) using the in-vehicle communication device 52. In addition, the "current position information" of the target vehicle FV among the target vehicle information is transmitted in real time.

[0119] From the viewpoint of functions, the remote control device 70 includes, as main components, a sto- rage unit 700 that stores various programs and various data, a communication unit 701 that transmits and re- ceives various data to and from the vehicle travel control device 1, a screen display unit 702 that displays an external video of the host vehicle Vand vehicle informa- tion on the monitors 71 and displays contents (for ex- ample, vehicle navigation) based on current position information of the host vehicle V on the navigation moni- tor 72, an operation data generation unit 703 that re- ceives an input of a user operation and generates opera- tion data, and a user notification unit 704 that notifies an operator of the user.

[0120] Hereinafter, functions of the vehicle travel con- trol device 1 included in the host vehicle V will be de- scribed in detail. <<External Environment Information and Position Infor- mation of Host Vehicle>>

[0121] The environment information acquisition unit 101 acquires "environment information (strictly, external environment detection information)" around the host ve- hicle V from the in-vehicle sensor 10.

[0122] Specifically, as the "environment information", external video data around the host vehicle V is acquired from the image capturing device 11, detection result data of a target object around the host vehicle V is acquired from the radar 12, and distance measurement data ob- tained by measuring a distance from the lidar 13 to the target object of the host vehicle V is acquired.

[0123] Specifically, the "environment information" is detection information such as a moving object (another vehicle, a pedestrian, or the like) around the host vehicle V, various structures, a road shape, or the like, is also referred to as traveling environment information, and includes traffic environment information, road environ- 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 11 19 EP 4 760 211 A2 20 ment information, or the like.

[0124] The environment information acquisition unit 101 can acquire information on the travel state of the target vehicle FV from the in-vehicle sensor 10 in real time as "environment information".

[0125] The "information on the travel state" is informa- tion on a traveling operation, an acceleration operation, a deceleration operation, a stop operation, a left turn op- eration, a right turn operation, a backward movement operation, and the like at a constant speed according to the target vehicle FV, in other words, behavior informa- tion of the target vehicle FV (information based on the behavior).

[0126] When the environment information acquisition unit 101 acquires the information on the travel state of the target vehicle FV in real time, the vehicle travel control device 1 can detect, for example, that the traveling target vehicleFVstops, that thestopped target vehicleFVstarts traveling, that the target vehicle FV starts traveling on a route different from the scheduled travel route of the host vehicle V, and the like based on a change in the informa- tion on the travel state of the target vehicle FV (a change in the behavior information).

[0127] At this time, "the target vehicle FV starts travel- ing on a route different from the scheduled travel route of thehost vehicleV (the scheduled travel routeof the target vehicle FV does not match the scheduled travel route of the host vehicle V)" is determined by determining whether a travel trajectory of the host vehicle V is the scheduled travel route of the host vehicle V based on the "travel trajectory of the target vehicle FV" stored in the storage unit 500 of the target vehicle FV and the "travel trajectory of the host vehicle V" to be described later.

[0128] The environment information acquisition unit 101 may further acquire the "vehicle control information" of the host vehicle V from the in-vehicle ECU 30. Exam- ples of the "vehicle control information" include "steering angle information" obtained from the steeringwheel ECU 32, "throttle opening degree information" obtained from the accelerator ECU 33, and "brake depression amount information" obtained from the brake ECU 34.

[0129] The position information acquisition unit 102 acquires "current position information" of the host vehicle V from the in-vehicle locator 20.

[0130] Specifically, the position information acquisition unit 102 acquires the GNSS information (the GNSS correction information) from the GNSS receiver 21, ac- quires the angular velocity and acceleration information of the host vehicle V from the inertial measurement unit 22, and specifies the current position of the host vehicleV based on the GNSS information (the GNSS correction information) and the angular velocity and acceleration information.

[0131] By storing the acquired "current position infor- mation" in the storage unit 100, it is possible to record the travel trajectory (a past travel route) of the host vehicle V on which the vehicle travel control device 1 is mounted, and the travel trajectory of the host vehicle V is stored in the storage unit 100. The travel trajectory of the host vehicle V is used to determinewhether the host vehicle V is on a scheduled travel route onwhich the host vehicle V travels, and to set a new scheduled travel route to be guided to the scheduled travel route as necessary.

[0132] The "current position information" may be an "absolute position" calculated by standalone positioning, a "relativeposition" calculatedby relativepositioning, or a "corrected absolute position" or a "corrected relative position" corrected based on the "angular velocity and acceleration information" of the host vehicle V.

[0133] The position accuracy of the "absolute position" is about± 10m, and the position accuracy of the "relative position" is about± 40 cm. The position accuracy of the "corrected absolute position" is higher than the position accuracy of the absolute position, and the position ac- curacyof the "corrected relativeposition" is about±5cm, which is the highest position accuracy. <Calculation Method of Current Position Information>

[0134] Next, an example of a process of a program for acquiring vehicle position information (a vehicle position information acquisition process) performed by the vehi- cle travel control system S1 will be described with refer- ence to FIG. 6.

[0135] The absolute position calculation unit 102a ac- quires the "GNSS information" required for standalone positioning through theGNSS receiver 21 and calculates the "absolute position" of the host vehicle V by the stan- dalone positioning (step S01: an absolute position cal- culation process, an absolute position calculation step).

[0136] The "absolute position" of the host vehicle V is a three-dimensional position of the host vehicle Vobtained by receiving GNSS radio waves from the plurality of artificial satellites SA, measuring distances between the artificial satellites SA located at known points and the host vehicle V, and solving a three-dimensional pro- cessing equation for obtaining unknown points from the measured distances (corresponding to the GNSS infor- mation).

[0137] In stepS01, the relative position calculation unit 102b acquires the "GNSS correction information" re- quired for the relative positioning, corrects the "absolute position" by the relative positioning, and calculates the "relative position" of the host vehicle V (a relative position calculation process, a relative position calculation step).

[0138] The "relative position" of the host vehicle V is a three-dimensional position of the host vehicle V that is obtained from the measured distance (corresponding to the GNSS correction information) by receiving GNSS radio waves at the reference station ST located at a known points, acquiring a distance (a distance between the artificial satellite SA and the host vehicle V) having a smaller measurement error from the reference station ST.

[0139] A calculation method of the "relative position" includes a calculation method of an RTK positioning 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 12 21 EP 4 760 211 A2 22 method (an interferometric positioning method) and a calculation method of a DGPS positioning method (a relative positioning method). Any calculation method may be used.

[0140] A correction position calculation unit 102c ac- quires the "angular velocity andacceleration information" of the host vehicle Vand calculates a "corrected absolute position" obtained by correcting the absolute position of the host vehicle V based on the "GNSS information" and the "acceleration and angular velocity information".

[0141] The "corrected absolute position" of the host vehicle V is a three-dimensional position of the host vehicle V obtained by combining the GNSS information and the angular velocity and acceleration information (also referred to as IMU information) of the host vehicle V and positioning the position.

[0142] The correction position calculation unit 102c calculates a "corrected relative position" obtained by correcting the relativepositionof thehost vehicleVbased on the "GNSS correction information" and the "accelera- tion and angular velocity information".

[0143] A reception determination unit 102ddetermines whether the GNSS information can be received in real time (step S02). Subsequently, in response to determin- ing that the GNSS information can be received in real time (step S02: Yes), the reception determination unit 102d determines whether the GNSS correction informa- tion can be received in real time (step S03).

[0144] Specifically, the reception determination unit 102d determines whether the radio waves can be re- ceived from the artificial satellites SA and whether data can be transmitted and received to and from the refer- ence stations ST on the assumption that there is an obstacle around the host vehicle V and the radio waves cannot be received from the artificial satellitesSAand the data cannot be transmitted and received to and from the reference stations ST.

[0145] In response to determining by the reception determination unit 102d that the GNSS information and the GNSS information can be received in real time (step S03: Yes), the position information acquisition unit 102 specifies a current position of the host vehicle V using a "corrected relative position" with the highest position accuracy (a position specification step, a position speci- fication process).

[0146] In response to determining that the GNSS in- formation can be received in real time and the GNSS correction information cannot be received in real time (step S03: No), the position information acquisition unit 102specifiesacurrent positionof thehost vehicleVusing a "corrected absolute position" with high position accu- racy.

[0147] Further, in response to determining that the GNSS information and the GNSS correction information cannot be received in real time (step S02: No), the posi- tion informationacquisitionunit 102mayspecifya current position of the host vehicle V using an "estimated posi- tion" calculated based on received latest "GNSS infor- mation" and the "acceleration and angular velocity in- formation" received immediately before (step S06).

[0148] The position information acquisition unit 102 acquires the "corrected relative position" with the highest accuracy as the "position information" of the host vehicle V. On the other hand, when data cannot be transmitted and received to and from the reference stations ST, a "corrected absolute position" is acquired. Alternatively, when there is an obstacle around the host vehicle Vand the radio waves cannot be received from the artificial satellites SA, an "estimated position" is acquired (step S07).

[0149] After that the current position of the host vehicle V is specified, the host vehicle V transmits the current position of the host vehicle V to the remote control device 70, the following vehicles, and the vehicle management device 80 (step S08).

[0150] Position information from a travel start position to a travel end position of the host vehicle V acquired by the position information acquisition unit 102 is aggre- gated, and thus actual travel route information (also referred to as travel trajectory informationor travel history information) of the host vehicle V is generated.

[0151] The generated travel route information (travel route data) of the host vehicle V is stored in the storage unit 100 in association with information on the travel date and time and the travel time, information on a driving mode of the host vehicle V (for example, the number of times of changing the driving mode and the execution time of each driving mode), vehicle information of the target vehicle FV to follow in the relative driving mode, and the like. <<Autonomous Driving Control>>

[0152] The driving control unit 103 controls the inte- grated ECU 31 based on the "environment information" obtained by the environment information acquisition unit 101 and the "position information of the host vehicle V" obtained by the position information acquisition unit 102, andperforms the "autonomousdrivingcontrol" of thehost vehicle V.

[0153] In order to perform the "autonomous driving control" of the host vehicle V, the driving control unit 103 may acquire the "vehicle information" of the host vehicleV from the in-vehicleECU30and further combine the "vehicle information" to control the integrated ECU 31.

[0154] When the host vehicle V starts traveling along the scheduled travel route of the host vehicle V, the driving control unit 103 performs "autonomous driving control" and starts autonomousdriving of the host vehicle V.

[0155] Specifically, when the host vehicle V starts tra- veling, thehost vehicleV is set in the "autonomousdriving mode", and the driving control unit 103 performs auton- omous driving control in a state where the "autonomous driving mode" is set. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 13 23 EP 4 760 211 A2 24

[0156] Thereafter, the host vehicle V travels toward a destination of the scheduled travel route while a driving mode of the host vehicle V is changed between the "autonomous driving mode" and the "relative driving mode" by the mode change unit 106.

[0157] When the target vehicle FV to follow is detected at the timing when the host vehicle V starts traveling and the position information of the target vehicle FV is ob- tained in real time, themodechangeunit 106maychange the "autonomous driving mode" to the "relative driving mode". In this case, the driving control unit 103 performs the relative driving control in a state where the "relative driving mode" is set, and starts the relative driving of the host vehicle V relative to the target vehicle FV.

[0158] Alternatively, when the host vehicle V starts traveling, the "remote driving mode" may be set instead of the "autonomousdrivingmode", and thedriving control unit 103may perform the remote driving control in a state where the "remote driving mode" is set.

[0159] The vehicle detection unit 104 detects that a predetermined preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the host vehicle V is the target vehicle FV to follow on the scheduled travel routeof thehost vehicleV (seeFIG. 7B).

[0160] The "target vehicle to follow" includes a vehicle that travels on a scheduled travel route that partially matches at least the scheduled travel route of the host vehicle V, and a vehicle that travels on the same route as the scheduled travel route of the host vehicle V at a constant travel distance (travel time).

[0161] The "target vehicle to follow" includes, for ex- ample, a vehicle that travels around the host vehicle V when traveling on a highway, a general road, or the like having no branch point at a constant travel distance (travel time).

[0162] Specifically, the vehicle detection unit 104 de- tects that a predetermined preceding vehicle is the target vehicle FV based on recognition results of the identifica- tion marks 60 of the preceding vehicle recognized by the image capturing devices 11.

[0163] For example, when the first identification mark 60a of the target vehicle FV is recognized, the vehicle detection unit 104 detects that the target vehicle FV is present at a front position of the host vehicle V.

[0164] Alternatively, when the seventh identification mark 60g of the target vehicle FV is recognized, the vehicle detection unit 104 detects that the target vehicle FV is present at a right position of the host vehicle V.

[0165] More specifically, by acquiring the recognition results of the identification marks 60a to 60l of the target vehicle FV from the image capturing devices 11 in real time, the vehicle detection unit 104 can accurately detect a relative position of the target vehicle FV relative to the host vehicle V in real time based on the vehicle identifica- tion information (a shape and size of the target vehicle FV) of the target vehicle FV and the mark position in- formation embedded in the identification marks 60a to 60l.

[0166] For example, the vehicle travel control device 1 can accurately detect that the target vehicle FV travels at a front position slightly on a left side relative to the host vehicle V, or that the target vehicle FV travels in parallel with the host vehicle V and travels slightly in front of the host vehicle V, and the like. In this case, the relative position of the target vehicle FV may be specified by, for example, a three-dimensional coordinate position having the host vehicle V as a center position.

[0167] Thus, as illustrated inFIG.7B, thehost vehicleV can be relatively driven while maintaining an appropriate inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle Vand the target vehicle FV. In addition, as illustrated inFIG. 7C, the host vehicle V can be autonomously driven such that the host vehicle Vappropriately overtakes the target vehicle FV.

[0168] Thevehicle detectionunit 104detects the target vehicle FV based on the recognition results of the identi- fication marks 60, and the target vehicle FV may be detected by other detection units.

[0169] For example, the vehicle detection unit 104may acquire the vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FV from the vehicle information transmission device 50 mounted on the target vehicle FV through wireless communication using the in-vehicle communi- cation device 40, and detect the target vehicle FV based on the vehicle identification information.

[0170] In other words, the target vehicle FV may be detected by the identification marks 60 attached to the target vehicle FV, or the target vehicle FV may be de- tected through wireless communication with the vehicle information transmission device 50 mounted on the tar- get vehicle FV.

[0171] An image of a license plate of the target vehicle FV is captured by the image capturing devices 11, the vehicle detection unit 104 may read license information from the license plate, acquire the vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FV from a management server (for example, the vehicle management device 80) on a network, and detect the target vehicle FV based on the vehicle identification information.

[0172] The communication unit 105 receives target vehicle information including at least the position infor- mation of the target vehicle FV detected by the vehicle detection unit 104.

[0173] Specifically, when the vehicle detection unit 104 detects the target vehicleFV, the communicationunit 105 starts communication with the vehicle information trans- mission device 50 via a network.

[0174] The communication unit 105 receives the posi- tion information of the target vehicle FV and the sched- uled travel route information from the vehicle information transmissiondevice 50mountedon the target vehicleFV.

[0175] The position information acquisition unit 501 of the vehicle information transmission device 50 acquires the "current position information" of the target vehicle FV in real time in the same manner as the above-described position information acquisition unit 102. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 14 25 EP 4 760 211 A2 26 <<Mode Change (Autonomous driving→ Relative Driv- ing)>>

[0176] Themode change unit 106 changes the "auton- omous drivingmode (autonomous driving control)" to the "relative driving mode (relative driving control)" when a predetermined relative driving start condition is satisfied.

[0177] Specifically, in a case where the autonomous driving control is performed in the statewhere the "auton- omousdrivingmode" is set as illustrated inFIG. 7A,when the target vehicle FV is detected by the vehicle detection unit 104 and the target vehicle information is received by the communication unit 105, the mode change unit 106 changes the "autonomous driving mode" to the "relative driving mode" as illustrated in FIG. 7B.

[0178] More specifically, the vehicle detection unit 104 determines whether a preceding vehicle is the target vehicle FV when the preceding vehicle is detected under the "predetermined relative driving start condition", and recognizes thepreceding vehicle as the target vehicleFV in response to determining that the preceding vehicle is the target vehicleFV.Themodechangeunit 106changes the "autonomous driving mode" to the "relative driving mode".

[0179] In response to determining that the preceding vehicle is not the target vehicle FV, the "predetermined relative driving start condition" is not satisfied even when the preceding vehicle is detected, and thus the mode change unit 106 does not change the mode.

[0180] Here, the "target vehicle FV" is a vehicle that has a vehicle ID registered in advance by the vehicle travel control device 1 (the storage unit 100) mounted on thehost vehicleVand is identifiedby thevehicle ID.When the vehicle ID is set for the preceding vehicle, the "pre- determined relative driving start condition" is satisfied, and when the vehicle ID is not set, the condition is not satisfied.

[0181] Specifically, when the target vehicle FV is de- tected in a case where the autonomous driving control is performed in the state where the "autonomous driving mode" is set, themode change unit 106 sets the "relative drivingmode" in the statewhere the "autonomous driving mode" is set. In otherwords, the "relative drivingmode" is switched from an enabled state to a disabled state while the "autonomousdrivingmode" is switched toanenabled state.

[0182] At this time, the mode change unit 106 prefer- entially continues the "autonomous driving mode" in a state where both modes are set. That is, the driving control unit 103 continuously performs the autonomous driving control.

[0183] When the target vehicle informationof the target vehicle FV is obtained in a case where the autonomous driving control continues in the state where both modes are set, themodechangeunit 106preferentially performs the "relative drivingmode" in the state where bothmodes are set. That is, the driving control unit 103 newly per- forms the relative driving control.

[0184] When the target vehicle informationof the target vehicle FV is not obtained in the case where the auton- omous driving control continues in the state where both modes are set, that is, when the wireless communication with the vehicle information transmission device 50 mounted on the target vehicle FV is not possible, the mode change unit 106 returns the "relative drivingmode" set once to an unset state. In other words, the "relative driving mode" is returned from an enabled state to a disabled state. At this time, since the "autonomous driv- ing mode" remains set (the enabled state), the driving control unit 103 continues to perform the autonomous driving control. <<Relative Driving Control>>

[0185] The driving control unit 103 controls the inte- grated ECU 31 based on the "environment information", the "position information of the host vehicle V", and the "target vehicle information of the target vehicle FV", and performs the "relativedrivingcontrol" of thehost vehicleV relative to the target vehicle FV (see FIG. 7B).

[0186] The driving control unit 103 can perform suita- ble relative driving according to a type of the target vehicle FV (a shape or size, traveling performance, fuel consumption, an exhaust amount, and the like) by further combining the "vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FV" obtained from the recognition result of the identification marks 60 and controlling the integrated ECU 31 to perform the "relative driving control".

[0187] The "relative driving control" performed by the driving control unit 103 is a control process of specifying, based on the "position information of the target vehicle FV" included in the target vehicle information acquired from the target vehicle FV, position information on which the host vehicle V travels on a travel trajectory (a past travel route) drawn based on the position information of the target vehicle FV. In the relative driving control, in order to appropriately secure an inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle V and the target vehicle FV on the travel trajectory, control of traveling predetermined position information with a setting inter-vehicle distance according to a travel speed of the host vehicle V is performed.

[0188] Specifically, the travel speed acquisition unit 107 acquires the "angular velocity and acceleration in- formation" of the host vehicleV from the inertialmeasure- ment unit 22, and acquires the "travel speed" of the host vehicle V in real time by integrating the acceleration and the angular velocity.

[0189] The driving control unit 103 specifies position information on which the host vehicle V travels based on the position information of the target vehicle FV with reference to the "inter-vehicle distance data" illustrated in FIG. 8 stored in the storage unit 100, and performs relative driving control for causing the host vehicle V to travel relative to the target vehicle FV based on the position information of the host vehicle V and the envir- 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 15 27 EP 4 760 211 A2 28 onment information.

[0190] In the relative driving control, a process of cor- recting the position information specified based on the position information of the target vehicle FVand correct- ing the trajectory basedon the "position informationof the host vehicle V" such that the host vehicle V actually travels. That is, the process is a process of correcting a deviation (error) between the position information on a position where the host vehicle travels and the position information on a position where the host vehicle actually travels, which are specified based on the position infor- mation on the target vehicle FV, and correcting the tra- jectory.

[0191] Accordingly, a travel trajectory along which the host vehicle V actually travels (a travel trajectory based on the position information of the host vehicle V) is stored in the storage unit 100.

[0192] The "inter-vehicle distance data" illustrated in FIG.8 isadata table indicatingacorrespondence relation between the travel speed of the host vehicle V and the setting inter-vehicle distance.

[0193] For example, when the travel speed (an aver- age travel speed) of the host vehicle V is "80 km / h", the setting inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle V and the target vehicle FV is set to "40 m to 70 m".

[0194] The "inter-vehicle distance data" may be graph data in which the travel speed of the host vehicle V is taken as an X-axis, the setting inter-vehicle distance is taken as a Y-axis, and the setting inter-vehicle distance increases in proportion to the travel speed (increases quadratically).

[0195] In addition to setting the inter-vehicle distance to the target vehicle FV as described above, a time intervalmay be set such that the target vehicle FV travels at a position a predetermined time before (for example, several seconds before). In this case, a minimum inter- vehicle distance may be set such that the host vehicle V does not collide with the target vehicle FV.

[0196] In order to calculate the "travel speed" of the host vehicle V, the travel speed acquisition unit 107 may calculate a "speed" of the host vehicle V by processing the "GNSS information (the GNSS correction informa- tion)" and the "acceleration and angular velocity informa- tion" using a Kerman filter. Thus, the "travel speed" can be calculated more accurately.

[0197] Inorder toacquire the "speed information"of the host vehicle V, a wheel speed sensor may be newly mounted on the host vehicle V, and the "speed informa- tion" may be acquired through the wheel speed sensor.

[0198] Although the driving control unit 103 performs the relative driving control at a setting inter-vehicle dis- tance according to the travel speed of the host vehicle V, the driving control unit 103 may perform the relative driving control of the host vehicle V relative to the target vehicle FV in a synchronous state between the host vehicle V and the target vehicle FV (for example, a state where the host vehicle V also travels "1 m" when the target vehicle FV travels "1 m").

[0199] In the case of the synchronous state, the driving control unit 103mayacquire theenvironment information around the host vehicle V, the position information of the host vehicle V, and the target vehicle information includ- ing the position information of the target vehicle FV in real time, and combine these pieces of information to perform the relative driving control. <<Mode Change (Relative Driving → Autonomous Driving)>> (When Target Vehicle Performs Stop Operation)

[0200] When the "predetermined condition according to the travel state" of the target vehicle FV is satisfied in a casewhere the relative driving control is performed in the statewhere the "relativedrivingmode" is set as illustrated in FIG. 7B, the mode change unit 106 changes the relative driving mode to the "autonomous driving mode". Thedrivingcontrol unit 103performsautonomousdriving control in the "autonomous drivingmode" as illustrated in FIG. 7C.

[0201] The "predetermined condition according to the travel state" isacasewhere, inorder for thehost vehicleV to travel efficiently, it is detected from the behavior of the target vehicle FV that it is necessary for the host vehicleV to overtake the target vehicle FV, or it is necessary to travel alonga routedifferent from that of the target vehicle FV.

[0202] The "predetermined condition according to the travel state" is, for example, a case where it is detected from the behavior of the target vehicle FV that the travel- ing target vehicle FV performs a stop operation on a roadside (a roadside zone) or starts the stop operation.

[0203] Further, the "predetermined condition accord- ing to the travel state" is, for example, a case where it is detected from the behavior of the target vehicle FV that the traveling target vehicle FV starts traveling on a route (specifically, a route toward a rest area) different from the scheduled travel route.

[0204] That is, the "predetermined condition according to the travel state" can also be referred to as a "relative driving releasecondition" for releasing the relativedriving control of the host vehicle V.

[0205] Hereinafter, as illustrated in FIG. 7C, a case where the traveling target vehicle FV performs a stop operation on the roadside will be described.

[0206] In a case where the relative driving control is performed in thestatewhere the "relativedrivingmode" is set as illustrated in FIG. 7B, the environment information acquisition unit 101 detects that the target vehicle FV performs a stop operation on a roadside (starts the stop operation) as detection information related to the travel state of the target vehicle FV.

[0207] The mode change unit 106 determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied when it is detected that the target vehicle FV performs a stop operation at a roadside based on a detection result of the environment 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 16 29 EP 4 760 211 A2 30 information acquisition unit 101 as the predetermined conditionaccording to the travel stateof the target vehicle FV. The "relative driving mode" is changed to the "auton- omous driving mode".

[0208] Thee driving control unit 103 performs autono- mous driving control in the "autonomous driving mode". Specifically, the autonomous driving control of the host vehicle V is performed to overtake the target vehicle FV as illustrated in FIG. 7C while grasping the traveling environment information around the host vehicle V.

[0209] Since the "autonomous driving mode" remains set to a normal state (an enabled state), the driving control unit 103 can smoothly shift from the relative driving control to the autonomous driving control. (When Target Vehicle is separated at Branch Point)

[0210] In addition to the above conditions, when a predetermined condition according to the scheduled tra- vel route of the target vehicle FV is satisfied in a case where the relative driving control is performed in the state where the "relative drivingmode" is set, themodechange unit 106 changes the relative driving mode to the "auton- omous driving mode". Thee driving control unit 103 per- forms autonomous driving control in the "autonomous driving mode".

[0211] The "predetermined condition according to the scheduled travel route" is a case where it is detected that the scheduled travel route of the target vehicleFVand the scheduled travel route of the host vehicle V do notmatch.

[0212] For example, it is assumed that the scheduled travel routeof the target vehicleFV isacquired inadvance and the scheduled travel routes are not matched, or the scheduled travel routeof the target vehicleFV is changed and the changed scheduled travel routes are not matched.

[0213] Hereinafter, a case where the target vehicle FV and the host vehicle Vare separated at a branch point will be described.

[0214] The communication unit 105 receives the "tar- get vehicle information" including theposition information of the target vehicle FV and the scheduled travel route information from the vehicle information transmission device 50.

[0215] In a case where the relative driving control is performed in thestatewhere the "relativedrivingmode" is set as illustrated in FIG. 7B, when it is detected that both of the scheduled travel routes do not match based on the target vehicle information obtained by the communica- tion unit 105, the mode change unit 106 regards that the "predetermined condition according to the travel state" is satisfied. The relative driving mode is changed to the "autonomous driving mode".

[0216] Thee driving control unit 103 performs autono- mous driving control in the "autonomous driving mode". Specifically, the autonomous driving control of the host vehicle V is started separately from the target vehicle FV at a predetermined branch point.

[0217] With the above configuration, it is possible to realize thevehicle travel control device1 inwhich thehost vehicle V can travel relative to the target vehicle FV and the driving state of the host vehicle V can be changed as necessary.

[0218] In addition, by using the vehicle travel control device 1, it is possible to receive the position information of the target vehicle FV in real time and switch between the "autonomous driving control" and the "relative driving control" according to the behavior (a change in the travel state) of the target vehicle FV. <<Remote Driving Control>>

[0219] Next, "remote driving control" will be described.

[0220] Thevideoprocessingunit 108acquiresexternal videodata of the host vehicleV from the plurality of image capturing devices 11a to 11i, and generates a synthe- sized video (synthesized video data) obtained by synthe- sizing the external videos based on the predetermined layout information.

[0221] By generating the synthesized video and trans- mitting the generated synthesized video data to the re- mote control device 70, a data communication cost can be reduced as compared with a case of transmitting a plurality of pieces of external video data.

[0222] The communication unit 105 performs trans- mission and reception of data between the vehicle travel control device 1 and the remote control device 70 using the in-vehicle communication device 40.

[0223] Specifically, the communication unit 105 trans- mits the "environment information" obtained by the en- vironment information acquisition unit 101 and the "cur- rent position information" obtained by the position infor- mation acquisition unit 102 to the remote control device 70 as information required for the "remote driving" of the host vehicle V.

[0224] The communication unit 105 receives the "driv- ing operation information" of the host vehicle V from the remote control device 70 that receives the user input by the operator.

[0225] The driving control unit 103 controls the inte- grated ECU 31 based on the "driving operation informa- tion" of the host vehicle V acquired from the remote control device 70, and performs the "remote driving con- trol" of the host vehicle V.

[0226] With the above configuration, it is possible to realize the vehicle travel control device 1 capable of performing "remote driving control" in which the operator remotely operates the host vehicle V to cause the host vehicle V to travel.

[0227] Therefore, it is also possible to switch between the "remote driving control" and the "relative driving control" according to the behavior of the target vehicle FV. When the "remote driving control" is switched to the "relative driving control", the operator is released froman operation of the relative driving of the host vehicle V. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 17 31 EP 4 760 211 A2 32 <<Vehicle Travel Control Method>>

[0228] Next, anexampleof aprocessof a vehicle travel control program (a vehicle travel control method) exe- cuted by the vehicle travel control system S1 will be described with reference to FIG. 9.

[0229] The program according to the present embodi- ment is a program for realizing the environment informa- tion acquisition unit 101, the position information acquisi- tion unit 102, the driving control unit 103 (a travel control unit), the vehicle detection unit 104, the communication unit 105, the mode change unit 106, the travel speed acquisition unit 107, and the video processing unit 108 described above as functional components of the vehicle travel control device 1 including the storage unit 100, and a CPU of the vehicle travel control device 1 executes the vehicle travel control program.

[0230] Theprogram is executed by receiving anopera- tion instruction from a user (specifically, a driver of the host vehicle V or an external operator).

[0231] In a vehicle travel control flow illustrated in FIG. 9, first, the vehicle travel control device 1 starts from step S101 in which the "autonomous driving mode" is set when the host vehicle V starts traveling.

[0232] The vehicle travel control device 1 may set a "remote operation driving mode" instead of the "autono- mous driving mode".

[0233] When the "remote operation driving mode" is temporarily set, the driving control unit 103 performs remote operation driving control of the host vehicle V in step S103 to be described later.

[0234] Next, in stepS102, the environment information acquisition unit 101 starts acquiring the "environment information" around the host vehicle V, and the position information acquisition unit 102 starts acquiring the "po- sition information of the host vehicle V". The position information acquisition unit 102 acquire the "position information of the host vehicle V" by a "current position information acquisition process" illustrated in FIG. 6.

[0235] In step S103, the driving control unit 103 con- trols the integrated ECU 31 based on the environment information and the position information of the host ve- hicle V, and performs the "autonomous driving control" of the host vehicle V (see FIG. 7A).

[0236] Next, in step S104, the vehicle detection unit 104 detects whether a predetermined preceding vehicle is the target vehicle FV to follow on the scheduled travel route of the host vehicle V.

[0237] Specifically, the vehicle detection unit 104 de- termines, based on the predetermined relative driving start condition, whether the preceding vehicle is the target vehicle FV based on recognition results of the identification marks 60 of the predetermined preceding vehicle recognized by the image capturing devices 11.

[0238] When the vehicle detection unit 104 determines that the preceding vehicle is the target vehicle FV by satisfying a predetermined relative driving start condition (step S104: Yes), the process proceeds to step S105. On the other hand, when the vehicle detection unit 104 does not determine that the predetermined relative driving start condition is not satisfied and the preceding vehicle is the target vehicle FV (step S104: No), the process returns to step S102. That is, the autonomous driving control in the "autonomous driving mode" is continued.

[0239] Next, in step S105, the mode change unit 106 sets the "relative driving mode" in a state where the "autonomous driving mode" is set. In other words, the "relativedrivingmode" is changed from thedisabledstate to theenabledstatewhile the "autonomousdrivingmode" is set to the enabled state.

[0240] Next, in step S106, the communication unit 105 attempts to receive the "target vehicle information" in- cluding the "position information of the target vehicle FV" detected by the vehicle detection unit 104.

[0241] Specifically, the communication unit 105 starts communicationwith the vehicle information transmission device 50mounted on the target vehicle FV via a network and attempts to receive the position information of the target vehicle FV from the vehicle information transmis- sion device 50.

[0242] When the communication unit 105 receives the position information of the target vehicle FV from the target vehicle FV (step S106: Yes), the process proceeds to step S107. The driving control unit 103 controls the integrated ECU 31 based on the "environment informa- tion", the "position information of the host vehicle V", and the "target vehicle information of the target vehicle FV", and performs the "relative driving control" of the host vehicle V relative to the target vehicle FV (see FIG. 7B).

[0243] On the other hand, when the communication unit 105 does not receive the position information of the target vehicle FV (step S106: No), the process proceeds to step S108. The mode change unit 106 changes the "relative driving mode" from the enabled state to the disabled state and releases the "relative driving mode" in a state where the "autonomous driving mode" is set, and the process returns to step S102.

[0244] Next, in step S109, the mode change unit 106 determines whether the target vehicle FV satisfies the "predetermined condition" in a case where the relative driving control is performed in the state where the "re- lative driving mode" is set.

[0245] Specifically, the mode change unit 106 deter- mines whether the target vehicle FV satisfies the "pre- determined condition according to the travel state" or whether the target vehicle FV satisfies the "predeter- mined condition according to the scheduled travel route".

[0246] In response to determining that either the "pre- determined condition according to the travel state" or the "predetermined condition according to the scheduled travel route" of the target vehicle FV is satisfied, themode change unit 106 determines that the "predetermined condition" is satisfied.

[0247] In response to determining that the target ve- hicle FV satisfies the "predetermined condition" (step S109: Yes), the process proceeds to step S110, and 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 18 33 EP 4 760 211 A2 34 the mode change unit 106 changes the "relative driving mode" from the enabled state to the disabled state and releases the mode.

[0248] In step S111, the driving control unit 103 per- forms autonomous driving control in the "autonomous driving mode" as illustrated in FIG. 7C.

[0249] For example, when the "predetermined condi- tion according to the travel state" is satisfied by detecting that the traveling target vehicle FV performs a stop op- eration, the mode change unit 106 releases the "relative driving mode", and the driving control unit 103 switches the relative driving control to perform the autonomous driving control.

[0250] On the other hand, in response to determining that the target vehicle FV does not satisfy the "predeter- mined condition" (step S109: NO), the process returns to step S107.

[0251] Finally, at step S112, when the vehicle travel control device1determines that thehost vehicleVarrives at a destination or the autonomous driving control ac- cording to the autonomous driving mode is to be ended (step S112: Yes), the process of FIG. 9 is ended.

[0252] On the other hand, when the vehicle travel control device 1 continues to perform the driving control of the host vehicleV (stepS112:NO), the process returns to step S102.

[0253] With a configuration of the vehicle travel control program, the host vehicle V can travel relative to the target vehicle FV, and a driving state of the host vehicle V can be changed as necessary.

[0254] Further, it is possible to receive the position informationof the target vehicleFV in real timeandswitch between the "autonomous driving control" and the "re- lative driving control" according to the behavior of the target vehicle FV. <<Vehicle Management System>>

[0255] By using the vehicle travel control system S1, a plurality of host vehicles V find the target vehicle FV to follow, and the switching of the "autonomous driving control" and the "relative driving control" is repeated to form a plurality of platoons (vehicle groups) including a plurality of vehicles. The platoon at this time can be recognized as being formed in an outer shape by "auton- omous driving control" and "relative driving control" be- tween the vehicles.

[0256] When a plurality of platoons having close des- tinations, routes to a destination, and travel speeds are traveling, labor saving and improvement of fuel con- sumption can be expected by merging the platoons.

[0257] Hereinafter, the vehiclemanagement device 80 and the vehicle management system S that control a plurality of platoons F formed by the vehicle travel control system S1 and connect the platoons will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 10 to 17.

[0258] In the vehicle travel control system S1, the functions of the host vehicle V and the target vehicle FVare separately described, and it is assumed that each vehicle C forming the platoon F also has a function in which the host vehicle V serves as the target vehicle FV. That is, the vehicle C controlled by the vehicle manage- ment system S includes the vehicle travel control device 1, the in-vehicle sensor 10, the in-vehicle locator 20, the in-vehicle ECU 30, and the in-vehicle communication device 40, and includes the vehicle information transmis- sion device 50 and the identification mark 60. Accord- ingly, it is alsopossible to switch thehost vehicleVand the target vehicle FV to each other and continue traveling. Hereinafter, a case where the host vehicle V having a function of the target vehicle FV serves as the vehicle C will be described.

[0259] The vehicle C automatically identifies the target vehicleFVand follows the target vehicleFVby thevehicle travel control system S1, and the driver may directly specify a vehicle to follow and follow the vehicle. For example, the vehicle information is received from a ve- hicle that travels around the vehicle C, and the driver specifies a vehicle to follow based on vehicle information displayed on a display provided in the vehicle C. In this case, it is also possible to prohibit following or call atten- tion based on a difference in a vehicle size class or information on the scheduled travel route of the vehicle.

[0260] It is also possible to set in advance whether each vehicle C performs follow-up driving. Whether to perform the follow-up driving (ON / OFF) can be manually set. Further, whether to perform the follow-up driving can be automatically set by the vehicle travel control device 1 determininga typeandweight of apackage loadedon the vehicle C by registering information on the package by the driver. <<Hardware Configuration of Vehicle Management De- vice>>

[0261] As illustrated inFIG. 1, the vehiclemanagement device 80 is a computer for managing the traveling of a group of platoonsF formed by a plurality of vehiclesC. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the vehicle management device 80 includes a CPU serving as a data calculation and control device, andacommunication interface that transmits and receives information data to and from a ROM, a RAM, and an HDD (SSD) serving as a storage device via a network. Further, the vehicle management device 80 includes a communication device 81 that communicates with an external device.

[0262] The storage device of the vehicle management device 80 stores a vehicle management program in addition to a main program that performs necessary functions as a computer. By executing these programs by the CPU, the functions of the vehicle management device 80 are exhibited. <Function of Vehicle Management Device>

[0263] From the viewpoint of functions described with 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 19 35 EP 4 760 211 A2 36 reference to FIG. 10, the vehicle management device 80 includes, as main components, a storage unit 800 that stores various programs and various data, a communi- cation unit 801 (a second communication unit) that trans- mits and receives various data to and from the vehicle travel control device 1 of the vehicle C, a management unit 802 that manages a travel state of each vehicle C subjected to travel control by the vehicle travel control device 1 based on position information of the vehicle C acquired through communication with the vehicle travel control device 1 of the vehicle C, and a state control unit 803 that controls the travel state of the vehicle C mana- ged by the management unit 802.

[0264] The state control unit 803 includes a determina- tion unit 804, a decision unit 805, an instruction unit 806, and a connection control unit 807. The determination unit 804 determines whether connection between the pla- toons F is permitted based on the travel state of the vehicle C. The decision unit 805 decides a connection mode between the platoons F based on the determina- tion result of the determination unit 804. The instruction unit 806 transmits information on the connection mode decided by the decision unit 805 to the leading vehicle Ct of each platoon F. The connection control unit 807 con- trols connection between the platoons F through com- munication with the leading vehicle Ct instructed by the instruction unit 806.

[0265] These components are implemented by aCPU, a ROM, a RAM, an HDD, a communication interface, various programs, and the like illustrated in FIG. 10.

[0266] Hereinafter, each function of the vehicle man- agement device 80will bedescribed in detail. Thevehicle management device 80 provides the vehicles with infor- mation required for determination ofwhether the group of platoons F can be connected, connection permission, management of the connection state, and connection, and is implementedby functions tobedescribedbelow. In view of appearance, in the vehicle management system S according to the present embodiment, the vehicles are connected to each other in the formof a platoon, but each vehicle C actually performs driving control such as auto- mated driving or follow-up driving to form a group of platoons, and the vehicle management device 80 does not directly issue an instruction to each vehicle C to form the platoon F. <Communication Unit>

[0267] The communication unit 801 communicates with the communication unit 105 (a first communication unit) of the vehicle travel control device1 included in each of the vehicles C forming the platoon F, and receives the "current position information" transmitted by the commu- nication unit 105. The communication unit 801 receives the "current position information" of the vehicle C and stores the information in the storage unit 800. The com- munication unit 801may further acquire "vehicle informa- tion" from the vehicle C. The "vehicle information" in- cludes information such as: identification information (a vehicle ID) of the vehicle C; a vehicle type; a vehicle size class; anda full width, a full height, a full length, an engine displacement (an output of amotor), passenger capacity, and a weight of the vehicle, which are recorded in a vehicle inspection certificate.

[0268] The "vehicle information" may include informa- tion such as a destination that does not change during operation but changes for each operation, a scheduled travel route to the destination, the content and weight of loading, and the number of passengers.

[0269] The "vehicle information" may include informa- tion that changes during traveling, for example, a driving mode (an autonomous driving mode or a remote driving operation mode), images of a host vehicle captured by the image capturing devices 11 mounted on the vehicle C, information on remaining fuel, and information on a target vehicle to follow.

[0270] As the "vehicle information", failure information (disconnection of wiring of an electronic circuit, abnormal signals fromvarious sensors, and the like) detectedbyan on-board diagnostics device (OBD) mounted on the ve- hicle C may be acquired.

[0271] Hereinafter, the "current position information" and the "vehicle information" received from each vehicle C are collectively referred to as "travel information".

[0272] In addition, the communication unit 801 can perform information communication with an external ser- ver (not illustrated) and receive the latest traffic informa- tion, weather information, and the like (hereinafter, "ex- ternal factor information") from the external server, for example.

[0273] The "travel information" and the "external factor information" received by the communication unit 801 are stored in the storage unit 800. <Management Unit>

[0274] The management unit 802 of the vehicle man- agement device 80 manages a travel state of the vehicle C based on the "current position information" received by the communication unit 801. Specifically, the manage- ment unit 802manages information on a traveling opera- tion, an acceleration operation, a deceleration operation, a stop operation, a left turn operation, a right turn opera- tion, a backward movement operation, and the like at a constant speed according to the vehicle C, in other words, behavior information (information based on a behavior) of the vehicle C.

[0275] By using the communication unit 801 to acquire the "current position information" of the vehicle C in real time, the management unit 802 can detect, for example, that the traveling vehicle C stops, that the stopping ve- hicle C starts traveling, and that the vehicle C starts traveling on a route different from the scheduled travel route, based on a change in information on the travel state of the vehicle C (a change in the behavior informa- tion). 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 20 37 EP 4 760 211 A2 38

[0276] The management unit 802 manages "platoon information" on theplatoonF.The "platoon information" is information indicating a state of the platoon F, and in- cludes types of vehicles C constituting the platoon, iden- tification information, the number of vehicles C constitut- ing the platoon, and the like. The management unit 802 may calculate a length of the platoon F or a distance between vehicles using the received "current position information" or the like of the vehicles C and manage the calculated length and distance as the platoon infor- mation. In addition, information on the leading vehicle Ct of the platoon F, identification information, a driving mode, a destination, a scheduled travel route, and the like may be included.

[0277] Whether the vehicle C belongs to the platoon F is determined based onwhether a distance CD (see FIG. 12) between GNSS receivers 21 mounted on the vehicle C (the leading vehicle Ct2) traveling ahead and the vehicle C traveling behind is within a predetermined distance D according to the travel speed. The predeter- mined distance D is set to, for example, an inter-vehicle distance × 1.5 according to the travel speed.

[0278] A distance FD (see FIG. 12) between the pla- toonF traveling ahead and the platoon F traveling behind is calculated from a difference between a position of the GNSS receiver 21 of a rearmost vehicle Ce (a rearmost vehicle) of a front platoon Ff (a second platoon) traveling ahead and a position of the GNSS receiver 21 of the leading vehicle Ct1 of a rear platoon Fr (a first platoon) traveling behind the front platoon Ff. The position (the current position information) of the GNSS receiver 21 may be specified using the IMU information and the RTK positioning method.

[0279] The management unit 802 may manage "pla- toon information" on the platoon F and transmit the "platoon information" to the vehicles C constituting the platoonF.Eachof thevehiclesCcan recognize, basedon the received "platoon information", that the platoon F is formed and at which position (in order within the platoon) thehost vehicle is travelingwithin theentire platoonF.For example, it is possible tograspwhether thehost vehicle is the leading vehicle Ct of the platoon F, whether the host vehicle is an intermediate vehicle traveling in the platoon, what number the host vehicle travels from the leading vehicle Ct, and whether the host vehicle is the rearmost vehicle Ce.

[0280] The management unit 802 may generate, based on image information received from the vehicles C constituting the platoon F, a video referred to by an operator who remotely operates the leading vehicle Ct. The video to be referred to is preferably a video from which the travel state of the entire platoon F can be grasped. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 13, image information from the image capturing devices 11 mounted on the leading vehicle Ct and the rearmost vehicle Ce of the platoon F is acquired to generate a synthesized image P (a platoon image, a synthesized video). At this time, in order to reduce an amount of data to be transmitted and received, it is preferable not to use image information from an intermediate vehicle in a platoon. <Storage Unit>

[0281] The storage unit 800 stores the "travel informa- tion" and the "external factor information" received by the communication unit 801 as described above, and the "platoon information" managed by the management unit 802.

[0282] In addition, the storage unit 800 stores a "con- nection method" for connecting platoons based on the "travel information". As the "connection method", for ex- ample, there is amethod in which, when the front platoon Ff reduces a travel speed and the rear platoon Fr in- creases a travel speed, an interval between platoons is reduced, and thereafter, when the interval is equal to or less than a constant interval, the vehicle C of the front platoonFf and the vehicleCof the rear platoonFr travel at the same travel speed.

[0283] The storage unit 800 also registers a driving mode of the leading vehicle Ct of the platoon F according to the "connection method".

[0284] The storage unit 800 stores, as a "platoon con- nectionprohibition condition", a condition for not perform- ing platoon connection used when the determination unit 804 determines whether connection between platoons is permitted.

[0285] Examplesof the "platoonconnectionprohibition condition" include the following conditions. <Prohibition Condition according to External Factor In- formation>

[0286] (1) When a road to be traveled is congested. (2) When a risk condition due to the climate is sa- tisfied, for example, snow or rain is falling.

[0287] Whether the road is congested is determined based on traffic information received from an external server. information on the climate information may be determined based on the information received from the external server or may be determined based on the environment information acquired from the vehicle C. <Prohibition Condition according to Travel information and Platoon information>

[0288] (3)When the distance FD between platoons is equal to or larger than a predetermined distance. (4) When arrival times to a destination are signifi- cantly different. (5)When a speed difference between the platoons is 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 21 39 EP 4 760 211 A2 40 larger than a threshold value. (6)When scheduled travel routes of the platoons are different. (7) When there is a scheduled travel route common to platoons, but the remaining common scheduled travel route is shorter thanapredetermineddistance. (8)Whena load capacity or a vehicleweight included in the vehicle information exceeds a certain value. (9) When the vehicle C of the platoon F does not correspond to the vehicle information set in a con- nection controllable segment.

[0289] The "connection controllable segment" is a seg- ment inwhich permission or rejection of the connection is set based on the platoon information and the vehicle information of the vehicles C constituting the platoon. For example, conditions, such as a condition that the connection is permittedwhena length of the platoon is 25 m or less and a vehicle size class is an ordinary vehicle, and a condition that the connection is permitted when a length of the platoon is 40mor less, a vehicle size class is a heavy vehicle, and a total weight of the platoon is 60 t or less, are set for each segment. The connection control- lable segment set ona road, the vehicle information set in the segment, and the like may be stored in the storage unit 800 in advance.

[0290] The state control unit 803 controls the travel state of the vehicle C managed by the management unit 802. As described above, the state control unit 803 in- cludes the determination unit 804, the decision unit 805, the instruction unit 806, and the connection control unit 807.

[0291] Thedetermination unit 804 determineswhether connection between theplatoonsF is permitted basedon the travel state of the vehicle Cmanaged by themanage- ment unit 802.

[0292] Thedetermination as towhether the connection is permitted is performed by first confirming whether the connection is permitted for the leading vehicle Ct of the platoonF requested tobeconnected.When theplatoonF requested to be connected does not permit the connec- tion, the leading vehicle Ct transmits a signal for rejecting theconnection to thevehiclemanagementdevice80. Ina case where the platoon F rejects the connection, for example, there is a case where a valuable item, a dan- gerous item, or the like is included in loading of some vehicles C.

[0293] When the platoon F requested to be connected permits the connection, the determination unit 804 de- termines whether the connection is permitted based on the travel state. Specifically, the vehicle management device 80 acquires the platoon F and the travel state (the travel information, the platoon information, and the external factor information) of each vehicle C, and de- termines that the travel state does not correspond to the "platoon connection prohibition condition" stored in the storage unit 800.

[0294] The decision unit 805 decides a connection mode between the platoons F based on the determina- tion result of the determination unit 804. When the de- termination unit 804 determines that the connection of the platoons F is not permitted, the connection between the platoons F is cancelled. When the connection be- tween the platoons F is permitted, an optimum connec- tion method is selected and decided from connection methods stored in the storage unit 800 based on the travel state of each vehicle C, that is, the received "travel information", the "platoon information" and the "external factor information" stored in the storage unit 800.

[0295] The decision unit 805 also decides a driving mode of the leading vehicle Ct of each platoon F based on the decided connectionmethod. A state of the platoon after the connection, the connection method, the set drivingmode, and the like are referred to asa "connection mode".

[0296] The instruction unit 806 transmits information on the connectionmode decided by the decision unit 805 to the leading vehicle Ct of each platoon F to be con- nected. The information on the connectionmode is trans- mitted to instruct connection between the platoons F.

[0297] When the instruction unit 806 instructs the lead- ing vehicle to perform connection, safety confirmation of an external factor may be performed from the travel information, and a connection start timing at which the connection is started may be transmitted. The leading vehicle Ct of each platoon F starts connection based on the received connection method.

[0298] The connection control unit 807 controls the connection between the platoons through communica- tion with the leading vehicle Ct of each platoon F.When it is decided to cancel the connection during the connec- tion, the leading vehicle Ct is controlled to release the connection.

[0299] Even after the connection is started, the vehicle management device 80 receives the travel information from the leading vehicle Ct of the platoon F in which the connection is started, and the determination unit 804 determines whether the connection proceeds normally based on the travel information.

[0300] For example, when a vehicle that is irrelevant to the platoon F cuts in between platoons, the platoons cannot be connected to each other, and thus the deter- mination unit 804 determines to cancel the connection.

[0301] When the determination unit 804 determines to cancel the connection, the connection control unit 807 notifies the leading vehicle Ct of each platoon of connec- tion cancellation. After the connection is released, each platoonFcontinues to travelwhilemaintaininganoriginal platoon. When it is not determined to cancel the connec- tion, the connection between the platoons is completed. <Vehicle Management Program>

[0302] Next, an example of a process of a vehicle management program (a vehicle management method) executed by the vehicle management device 80 and the 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 22 41 EP 4 760 211 A2 42 leading vehicle Ct of each platoon F in the vehicle man- agement system S will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 17.

[0303] The program according to the present embodi- ment is a program for implementing the communication unit 801, the management unit 802, the state control unit 803, the determination unit 804, the decision unit 805, the instruction unit 806, and the connection control unit 807 described above as functional components of the vehicle management device 80 including the storage unit 800, and a CPU of the vehicle management device 80 exe- cutes the vehicle management program (the vehicle management method).

[0304] In order to describe a process of the vehicle management program, as illustrated in FIG. 12, an ex- ample is given as a more specific situation in which the rearplatoonFr (thefirst platoon) travelingbehind the front platoon Ff (the second platoon) traveling ahead on the same road is connected to the front platoon Ff.

[0305] In addition, the vehicle management program mainly includes a "connection determination process" for determining whether connection between platoons is permitted, and a "platoon connection control process" for controlling connection between platoons when con- nection is permitted.

[0306] In the following description, first, the "connec- tion determination process" for determiningwhether con- nection between platoons is permitted will be described with reference to a sequence diagram illustrated in FIG. 14, and then the "platoon connection control process" for connecting platoons will be described. <When Leading Vehicle of Rear Platoon is in Remote Driving Mode>

[0307] In order to describe an example of a process of the vehicle management program, it is assumed that the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff is in automated driving (an autonomous driving mode) and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr is driven by a remote operation (the remote driving mode).

[0308] In a "first communication process (a first com- munication step)", the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr transmit and receive the travel information including the current position information between the vehicles C and transmit the travel information to the vehicle man- agement device 80 before the start of the "connection determination process".

[0309] In a "second communication process (a second communication step)", the communication unit 801 of the vehicle management device 80 receives the travel in- formation including the current position information and the like in real time from each of the vehicles C constitut- ing the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr before the start of the "connection determination process".

[0310] Further, each vehicle C performs travel control (a travel control step, a travel control process) of the vehicle based on the current position information speci- fied in the position specification step.

[0311] The travel information of each vehicle C is stored in the storage unit 800, and the management unit 802 manages a "management process (a management step)" andmanages that theplurality of vehiclesCare ina travel state in which the plurality of vehicles C are travel- ing while forming the front platoon Ff or the rear platoon Fr.

[0312] In the "connection determination process" illu- strated in FIG. 14, first, a connection request is trans- mitted from the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr in the remote driving mode to the vehicle management device 80 and the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff (step S201). The connection request may bemanually transmitted by an operator who remotely drives the lead- ing vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr.

[0313] The connection request for connecting the pla- toons may be automatically transmitted when a connec- tion enabling condition is satisfied, for example,when the leading vehicle Ct1 travels on a highway or when the leading vehicle Ct1 starts travelling on a predetermined road designated in advance. The connection request may be automatically transmitted on a condition that the leading vehicleCt1 recognizes the identificationmark 60 (an QR code (registered trademark)) in a rear vehicle Cr of the platoon F desired to be connected.

[0314] Thecommunicationunit 801of the vehicleman- agement device 80 and the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff receive the connection request. The vehicle management device 80 transmits, to the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff, a connection confir- mation for confirming whether connection is permitted (step S202).

[0315] The leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff receives the connection confirmation from the vehicle management device 80 and transmits a connection per- mission / rejection response indicating whether the con- nection is permitted (step S203).

[0316] In some cases, the front platoon Ff rejects the connection with another platoon while traveling in a pla- toon. For example, when the loaded package is a valu- able item, the front platoonFfmaynot desire toconnect to another platoon. When the connection with the other platoon is prohibited, the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff transmits, to the vehicle management device 80, a signal indicating that the connection is not per- mitted. When the front platoon Ff may be connected to another platoon F, the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff transmits, to the vehicle management device 80, a signal indicating that the connection is permitted.

[0317] Thecommunicationunit 801of the vehicleman- agement device 80 receives the connection permission / - rejection response from the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff, and the determination unit 804 deter- mineswhether to connect the front platoonFfand the rear platoon Fr based on the connection permission / rejection response, the travel states of the vehicles C forming a 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 23 43 EP 4 760 211 A2 44 platoon, and the like (a connection permission determi- nationprocess (adeterminationprocess, adetermination step): step S204). A process corresponding to a "state control process (a state control step)" according to the present invention is a "connection permission determi- nationprocess (adeterminationprocess, adetermination step)", "a decision process (a decision step)", "an instruc- tion process (an instruction step)", and "a platoon con- nection control process (a connection control process, a connection control step)". <Connection Permission Determination Process>

[0318] Here, the "connection permission determina- tion process" executed in step S204 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 16. The communication unit 801 of the vehiclemanagement device 80 receives a connection permission response (an approval response) from the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff that has transmitted the connection confirmation (stepS401).

[0319] The determination unit 804 confirms the re- ceived connection permission / rejection response (step S402). When the connection permission / rejection re- sponse indicates that the connection is not permitted (step S402: No), the connection between the platoons is not permitted, and the process ends. At this time, a fact that the connection is not permitted together with the reason may be transmitted to the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr.

[0320] When the connection permission / rejection re- sponse from the front platoon Ff indicates that the con- nection is permitted (step S402: Yes), the determination unit 804 determines whether the external factor informa- tion corresponds to the "platoon connection prohibition condition" stored in the storage unit 800 (step S403). For example, in a case where the scheduled travel route is congestedor the snowor the rain falls, when the platoons are connected to each other, it may be rather dangerous, and thus the connection between the platoons is not permitted, and the process ends (step S403: Yes).

[0321] In step S403, when the external factor informa- tion does not correspond to the "platoon connection prohibition condition" (step S403: No), the determination unit 804 determines whether the platoon information of the front platoonFf and the rearplatoonFr and thevehicle information of the vehicles C constituting the platoon correspond to the "platoon connection prohibition condi- tion".

[0322] For example, when the scheduled travel routes are different, since the platoon information and the ve- hicle information correspond to "when scheduled travel routes of the platoons are different" of the platoon con- nection prohibition condition (6), it is determined that the connection is not permitted.

[0323] In step S404 of the "connection permission determination process", when the platoon information or the vehicle information corresponds to at least one "platoon connection prohibition condition" (step S404: Yes), the current platoon state is maintained without the connection. At this time, as in the case where the connection is not permitted in step S402, the vehicle management device 80 may transmit, to the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr to which the connection request is transmitted, that the connection is not per- mitted together with the reason.

[0324] When the platoon information or the vehicle information does not correspond to any of the "platoon connection prohibition conditions" (step S404: No), the communication unit 801 of the vehicle management de- vice 80 transmits "connection permission" to the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr (step S405, step S205 of the connection determination process). Thereafter, the ve- hicle management device 80, the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoonFf, and the leadingvehicleCt1of the rear platoon Fr perform the "platoon connection control pro- cess" (step S206).

[0325] In the above-described "connection permission determination process", the determination ofwhether the external factor information corresponds to the "platoon connection prohibition condition" (step S403) is per- formed before the determination based on the platoon information or the vehicle information (step S404), and the determination based on platoon information or vehi- cle information may be performed before the determina- tion based on external factor information. <Platoon Connection Control Process>

[0326] In step S204 of the connection determination process, when the connection between the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr is permitted, the vehicle man- agement device 80, the front platoon Ff, and the rear platoon Fr shift to a platoon connection control process (the connection control step) for actually connecting the platoons. Hereinafter, the "platoon connection control process" will be described with reference to FIG. 15.

[0327] When theplatoonsare connected to eachother, in the "first communication process", the vehicles C constituting the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr transmit the travel information of the host vehicle, parti- cularly the current position information to the vehicle management device 80 in real time, and transmit the travel information even immediately after the "platoon connection control process" is started (steps S301 and S302).

[0328] When the connection is started, the vehicles C constituting the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr may travel in a cooperative control mode. The coopera- tive control mode is amode in which the vehicles C travel in cooperation asa vehicle groupwithout separating from the platoon F individually. In other words, the cooperative control mode is a mode in which the vehicles C traveling behind the leading vehicle Ct are prohibited from freely departing from the platoon F. The cooperative control mode is performed until the connection between the 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 24 45 EP 4 760 211 A2 46 platoons is terminated or the connection is determined to be cancelled.

[0329] Thecommunicationunit 801of the vehicleman- agement device 80 acquires travel information from the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr, and stores the travel information in the storageunit 800 togetherwith the platoon information. The external factor information is acquired from the external server and stored in the sto- rage unit 800 (step S304).

[0330] Next, the decision unit 805 of the vehicle man- agement device 80 decides a connection mode for con- necting the platoons based on the acquired travel infor- mation (the decision process, the decision process). Specifically, an optimum connection method is selected and set from a plurality of connection methods stored in the storageunit 800basedon the travel informationof the platoon (step S305).

[0331] In the connection method, information on a speed of each platoon at the time of connection, an interval between platoons, a vehicle interval, and the like are determined. As an example of the connection meth- od, there is a method in which "a speed of the front platoon Ff is reduced, and a speed of the rear platoon Fr is increased to reducean interval FDbetweenplatoons (see FIG. 12). Thereafter, when the interval FD between the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr is equal to or less than a predetermined interval, both the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr travel at the same speed.". In addition, as another connectionmethod, there is a meth- od in which "a speed of the front platoon is reduced and a speed of the rear platoon is increased to reduce an interval between platoons, and when the interval FD between platoons is wider than the vehicles C constitut- ing the platoon, the vehicles C of the rear platoon are raised by a unit speed per hour from that state, and approachuntil the interval FDbetweenplatoonsmatches the vehicle interval".

[0332] After the decision unit 805 selects and sets a connection method in step S304, the decision unit 805 sets driving modes of the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr based on the set connection method (step S306).

[0333] At this time, when the connection method se- lected by the decision unit 805 is a method for automa- tically controlling both the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr, both the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr are set to the "automated driving mode".

[0334] When the selected connection method is a method for automatically controlling only the rear platoon Fr, for example, amethod for increasing only the speed of the rear platoon Fr, the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr is set to the "automated drivingmode" at least.

[0335] When the selected connection method is a method forautomatically controllingonly the frontplatoon Ff, for example, when only the speed of the front platoon Ff is reduced, the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff is set to the "automated driving mode" at least.

[0336] Bysetting the leading vehicleCt of the platoonF to be controlled to the "automated driving mode", the platoons can be more safely connected to each other than when the leading vehicle Ct is set to the "remote driving mode".

[0337] Next, the decision unit 805 performs safety confirmation of the external factor before connection based on the acquired platoon information and travel information (step S307). Specifically, it is confirmed whether a road is a travel place on which the platoons can be connected and whether the weather is appropri- ate. At this time, an operator who remotely drives the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr may perform safety confirmation by viewing a synthesized video of the platoon F illustrated in FIG. 13 displayed on a monitor.

[0338] The decision unit 805 decides whether the con- nection between platoons can be started in step S308 while performing safety confirmation.Whenaconnection start condition is not satisfied due to the external factor (step S308: No), the process returns to step S307, and the safety confirmation of the external factor is continued. In step S308, when the connection start condition is satisfied, theconnectionmethodand theconnection start timing selectedby thedecisionunit 805are transmitted to the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr (step S309: an instruction process, an instruction process).

[0339] After receiving information on the connection method and the connection start timing from the vehicle management device 80, the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoonFr start the connection betweenplatoons accord- ing to the received connection method (steps S310 and S311). At this time, when a driving mode is set in the connection method, the driving modes of the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr are changed accordingly.

[0340] When the connection to the front platoon Ff is permitted by the vehicle management device 80 and the information on the connection method and the connec- tion start timing are received, the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Frmay confirm that the front platoon Ff is a target to be connected by recognizing the identification mark 60 (for example, an QR code (registered trade- mark), see FIG. 1) mounted on the rear vehicle Cr of the front platoon Ff.

[0341] After the connection is started, each of the vehicles C constituting the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr transmits the travel information to the vehicle management device 80 (steps S312 and S313). The vehicle management device 80 analyzes the travel in- formation when the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr are connected to each other, and determines whether to cancel (release) the connection between the platoons (step S314). The "connection cancellation determination process" during connection will be described with refer- ence to the flowchart of FIG. 17.

[0342] Thecommunicationunit 801of the vehicleman- 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 25 47 EP 4 760 211 A2 48 agement device 80 receives the travel information from each of the vehicles C constituting the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr (step S501). The determination unit 804 analyzes the platoon information and the travel information (step S502). Next, the determination unit 804 determines whether a connection cancellation condition is satisfied. When the connection cancellation condition is satisfied (stepS503:Yes), the leadingvehicleCt2of the front platoon Ff and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr are notified of the connection cancellation (release of connection) (step S504).

[0343] The "connection cancellation condition" (a pre- determined connection condition) is the same as the "platoon connection prohibition" used when determining whether connection between platoons is permitted, and forexample,when there isachange inweatherduring the connection between platoons, and snow or rain falls, the connection between platoons is cancelled.

[0344] For example, when it is determined that the scheduled travel route common to the platoons is suffi- ciently long and a predetermined distance ormore based on the scheduled travel route information of each platoon at a point in time when the connection is started, but it takes time to connect the platoons, and a distance (a platoon travel distance) of the common scheduled travel route after the connection is not the predetermined dis- tance or more, the connection cancellation condition is satisfied, and thus the connection between the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr is cancelled.

[0345] When the connection cancellation condition is not satisfied (step S503: No), the vehicle management device 80 confirms whether a connection completion notification is received from the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr. When the connection completion notification is not received, since the connection is in progress, the process returns to step S501 and the "connection can- cellation determination process" is continuously per- formed.

[0346] Thedeterminationunit 804 repeatedly performs the "connection cancellation determination process" until the connection completion notification is received from the leading vehicles Ct1 and Ct2.

[0347] Returning to FIG. 15. When the determination unit 804 of the vehicle management device 80 deter- mines to cancel the connection between platoons in step S314 of the "platoon connection control process", the communication unit 801 transmits a connection cancel- lation notification to the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr (step S315).

[0348] The leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff and the leadingvehicleCt1of the rearplatoonFrnormally monitor whether the connection cancellation notification is received from the vehicle management device 80 during connection (steps S316 and S317), and when the connection cancellation notification is not received (steps S316 and S317: No), a connection operation between platoons is continued and the connection is completed (steps S318 and S320).

[0349] When the connection cancellationnotification is received (steps S316 and S317: Yes), the connection operationbetweenplatoons is cancelled (stepsS319and S321).

[0350] The "platoon connection control process" ends when theconnection between the front platoonFf and the rear platoon Fr is completed or when the connection is determined to be cancelled.

[0351] The process returns to the "connection deter- mination process" in FIG. 14. After the "platoon connec- tion control process" ends, the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr confirm whether the connection is completed (steps S207 and S208). When the connection between the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr is completed (steps S207 and S208: Yes), the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr transmit a connection completion notification to the vehicle management device 80 (steps S209 and S210).

[0352] After the communication unit 801 of the vehicle management device 80 receives the connection comple- tion notification from the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr, themanagement unit 802 receives the travel informa- tion from the vehicles C constituting a new platoon Fn after the connection. The management unit 802 gener- ates platoon information from the travel information of each of the vehicles C constituting the new platoon Fn and stores (saves) the platoon information in the storage unit 800 (step S213). Thereafter, the management unit 802 manages the new platoon Fn after the connection.

[0353] The connection completion notification may be transmitted fromeither the leading vehicleCt2 of the front platoonFfor the leadingvehicleCt1of the rearplatoonFr.

[0354] In the "platoon connection control process", when the connection between the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr is cancelled (released) and the con- nection between the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr is not completed (steps S207 and S208: No), the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr transmit the connection cancellation and the reason thereof to the vehicle man- agement device 80 (steps S211 and S212). At this time, the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr also transmits notification that the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr continue to travel independently.

[0355] Thecommunicationunit 801of the vehicleman- agement device 80 receives the connection cancellation and the reason thereof, and stores the information in the storageunit 800.Themanagementunit 802manages the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr as platoons that travel independently. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 26 49 EP 4 760 211 A2 50 <When Leading Vehicle of Front Platoon is in Remote Driving Mode>

[0356] In the example of the connection determination process illustrated in FIG. 14, the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff is in the "automated driving mode", and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr is in the "remote driving mode". This is an example, and the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff may be driven in the "remote drivingmode", and the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr may be driven in the "automated driving mode".

[0357] In this case, when the "connection determina- tion process" illustrated in FIG. 14 is started, the vehicle management device 80 first calculates the distance FD between platoons from the travel information of the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr. When it is determined that the distance FD between platoons is shorter than a predetermineddistance, thevehiclemanagementdevice 80 transmits the connection confirmation to the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff.

[0358] When a connection enabling condition is satis- fied, for example,when the leading vehicleCt1of the rear platoon Fr travels on a highway or when the leading vehicle Ct1 starts traveling on a predetermined road designated in advance, the leading vehicle Ct1 may automatically transmit a connection request to the vehi- clemanagement device 80 and the vehiclemanagement device 80 may start the "connection determination pro- cess". The connection request may be automatically transmitted on a condition that the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr in the automated driving mode recognizes the identification mark 60 mounted on the rear vehicle Cr of the front platoon Ff.

[0359] When an operator who remotely drives the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff receives the connection confirmation, the operator manually trans- mits a connection permission / rejection response to the vehicle management device 80, for example. When the connection permission / rejection is registered in advance in the leading vehicle Ct2, the connection permission / re- jection responsemay be automatically transmitted to the vehicle management device 80.

[0360] When the connection is permitted, the vehicle management device 80 that receives the connection permission / rejection response from the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff performs the "connection permission determination process" of step S204 and determines whether the connection is permitted based on the external factor information, the travel information, and the like.

[0361] Thereafter, similarly to a casewhere the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr is in the remote driving mode, a process of the connection permission transmis- sion (step S205), a process of the "platoon connection control", and the like are performed, and the connection between the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr is performed. <When Leading Vehicle of Each Platoon is Automated Driving>

[0362] Both the leading vehicles Ct1 and Ct2 of the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr may be driven in the automated driving mode.

[0363] In this case, when the "connection determina- tion process" illustrated in FIG. 14 is started, the vehicle management device 80 calculates the distance FD be- tween platoons from the travel information of the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr, and when it is deter- mined that the distance FD between platoons is shorter than a predetermined distance (the platoons are close to each other), a connection confirmation transmission is transmitted to the leadingvehiclesCt2andCt1ofboth the platoons Ff and Fr.

[0364] When a connection enabling condition is satis- fied, for example, when the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff or the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr travels on a highway or when the leading vehicle Ct2 of the front platoon Ff or the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr starts traveling on a predeter- mined road designated in advance, one of the leading vehicles Ct2 and Ct1 may automatically transmit a con- nection request to the vehicle management device 80, and the vehicle management device 80 may start the "connection determination process". The connection re- quest may be automatically transmitted on a condition that the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr in the automated driving mode recognizes the identification mark 60 mounted on the rear vehicle Cr of the front platoon Ff.

[0365] The leading vehicles Ct1 and Ct2 that have received the connection confirmation transmit the con- nection permission / rejection response to the vehicle management device 80, and thereafter, the vehicleman- agement device80determineswhether theconnection is permitted based on the connection permission / rejection response received from both the leading vehicles Ct1 and Ct2 (step S204 of the connection determination process).

[0366] Thereafter, similarly to a casewhere the leading vehicle Ct1 of the rear platoon Fr is in the remote driving mode, a process of the connection permission transmis- sion (step S205), a process of the "platoon connection control", and the like are performed, and the connection between the front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr is performed.

[0367] As described above, in a case where a connec- tion request or the like is transmitted when a condition such as the fact that a vehicle travels on a highway or the fact that the vehicle starts traveling on a predetermined road designated in advance is satisfied, the vehicle may detect whether the satisfied condition is satisfied at a constant interval, and when the satisfied condition is not satisfied, a following vehicle (or a following platoon) may release the connection traveling and depart or separate.

[0368] Similarly, when the travel information is trans- 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 27 51 EP 4 760 211 A2 52 mitted on a condition that an identification mark of the vehicle C is recognized, the vehicle may perform a pro- cess of recognizing the identification mark at a constant interval, and when the identification mark is not recog- nized, the following vehicle (or the following platoon)may release the connection traveling and depart or separate.

[0369] In the above embodiment, a vehicle manage- ment program is stored in a recording medium readable by the vehicle travel control device 1 (a first computer) and the vehicle management device 80 (a second com- puter), and a process is performed by the vehicle travel control device 1 and the vehicle management device 80 reading and executing the program. Here, the recording medium readable by the vehicle travel control device 1 and the vehicle management device 80 is a magnetic disk, amagneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, aDVD-ROM, a semi-conductor memory, or the like.

[0370] Alternatively, dedicated software may be acti- vated using a terminal (a mobile terminal) serving as the vehicle travel control device 1 and the vehicle manage- ment device 80, and the vehicle management program may be executed on a web browser.

[0371] In the above embodiment, the vehicle manage- ment device, the vehicle management method, the ve- hiclemanagement system, and the vehiclemanagement program according to the present invention are mainly described.

[0372] According to the vehicle management device, the vehicle management method, the vehicle manage- ment system, and the vehicle management program described above, it is possible to smoothly perform the connection between platoons by transmitting connection modes of the platoons to the leading vehicles and in- structing the connection between platoons when the platoons are connected.

[0373] That is, the vehicle management device 80 provides, only to the leading vehicle of a group of pla- toons, information necessary for the determination of whether the connection between the platoons F is per- mitted, transmission of the connection permission, man- agement of the connection state, and connection, and since the vehicles following the leading vehicle are driven by a vehicle travel control system, and thus the vehicle management device 80 does not directly manage the entire group of vehicles in the platoon F. Therefore, the process performed by the vehicle management device 80 becomes simple, and thus it is possible to smoothly perform the connection between platoons.

[0374] Inaddition, since thenumberof leadingvehicles is reduced by connecting the platoons, it is possible to reduce thenumber of vehicles drivenby remotedrivingor automated driving, and it is possible to reduce the com- munication charge for the remote driving or the auto- mated driving. By connecting the platoons, it is possible to inform the surrounding vehicles constituting the pla- toons that the vehicles are automated driving vehicles or remotedriving vehicles toward the samedestination, and the risk of other vehicles cutting in between the vehicles and the risk of road rage can be reduced.

[0375] The above embodiment is merely an example for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention. It is needless to say that the present invention can be changed or mod- ified without departing from a scope of the present in- vention, and includes the equivalents thereof.

[0376] The above embodiment will be additionally de- scribed below. (Appendix 1)

[0377] A vehicle management device according to the present invention is a vehicle management device con- figured to manage a vehicle, the vehicle management device including: a second communication unit config- ured to perform communication with a first communica- tion unit in the vehicle, the vehicle including an absolute position calculation unit configured to acquire GNSS information required for standalone positioning through aGNSSreceivermountedonahost vehicleandcalculate an absolute position of the vehicle using the GNSS in- formation, a relative position calculation unit configured to, in response to GNSS correction information required for relative positioning being received from an external reference station, correct the absolute position by the relative positioning using the GNSS correction informa- tion and calculate a relative position of the vehicle at the reference station, a position specification unit configured to specify a current position of the vehicle using the relative position, a travel control unit configured to control traveling of the vehicle based on current position infor- mation specified by the position specification unit, and the first communication unit configured to transmit and receive the current position information of the vehicle; a management unit configured to manage a travel state of each vehicle subjected to travel control by the travel control unit based on position information of the vehicle acquired by the second communication unit through communication with each vehicle; and a state control unit configured to control the travel state of the vehicle managed by the management unit, in which: the man- agement unitmanages each vehicle to be in a travel state where a plurality of vehicles form a group of platoons while traveling based on position information received from another vehicle different from the vehicle; and the state control unit includes: a determination unit config- ured to determine, when the management unit manages the travel state where the vehicles travel while forming the group of platoons, whether connection between the platoons is permitted based on the travel state of the vehicle; a decision unit configured to decide a connection mode between the platoons based on a determination result obtained by the determination unit; an instruction unit configured to instruct the connection between the platoons by transmitting information on the connection mode decided by the decision unit to a leading vehicle of each platoon; and a connection control unit configured to 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 28 53 EP 4 760 211 A2 54 control the connection between the platoons through communication with the leading vehicle instructed by the instruction unit. (Appendix 2)

[0378] In the vehicle management device according to Appendix 1, thesecondcommunicationunit is configured to receive a connection request from a leading vehicle forming afirst platoon, the connection request requesting connection with a second platoon serving as a target to be connected, the determination unit is configured to determine whether the connection with the second pla- toon is possible based on a travel state of a leading vehicle of the second platoon managed by the manage- ment unit, and the decision unit is configured to request the leading vehicle of the second platoon to connect with the first platoon in response to the determination unit determining that the connection with the second platoon is possible, and in response to receiving a permission response from the second platoon, decide a connection mode between the first platoon and the second platoon based on platoon information of the second platoon in- cluded in the permission response. (Appendix 3)

[0379] In the vehicle management device according to Appendix 2, the predetermined connection condition is that, based on scheduled travel route information of each platoon, the platoons are connected and travel in a case in which a platoon travel distance after the connection of the platoons is a predetermined distance, and the con- nection between the platoons is released in a case in which the platoon travel distance is not the predeter- mined distance. (Appendix 4)

[0380] In the vehicle management device according to Appendix 1, thesecondcommunicationunit is configured to receive images of a host vehicle captured by an image capturing device of the vehicle, the management unit is configured tomanagea platoon image as a travel state of the platoon, the platoon image being obtained by synthe- sizing, among the images received from the vehicles, images of a leading vehicle and a rearmost vehicle of each platoon, and the determination unit is configured to determine whether the connection between the platoons is permitted based on the platoon image. (Appendix 5)

[0381] A vehicle travel control device configured to control traveling of a vehicle based on current position information of the vehicle, the vehicle travel control de- vice being connected to a remote control device config- ured to operate the traveling of the vehicle through com- munication via a network, the vehicle travel control de- vice comprising: an absolute position calculation unit configured to acquire GNSS information required for standalone positioning through a GNSS receiver mounted on the vehicle and calculate an absolute posi- tion of the vehicle by the standalone positioning; a recep- tion determination unit configured to determine whether GNSS correction information required for relative posi- tioning can be received from an external reference sta- tion; a relative position calculation unit configured to calculate a relative position of the vehicle by the relative positioning; and a communication unit configured to transmit the current position information of the vehicle to the remote control device, wherein the communication unit is configured to: transmit position information based on the relative position in a case in which the GNSS correction information can be received; and transmit position information based on the absolute position in a case in which the GNSS correction information cannot be received. (Appendix 6)

[0382] The vehicle travel control device according to Appendix 5, further comprising: a correction position calculation unit configured to acquire acceleration and angular velocity information of the vehicle froman inertial measurement unit mounted on the vehicle and calculate a corrected relative position obtained by correcting the relative position of the vehicle based on the GNSS cor- rection information and the acceleration and angular velocity information,wherein inacase inwhich theGNSS correction information can be received, the current posi- tion information of the vehicle is position information specified using the corrected relative position obtained by correcting the relative position. (Appendix 7)

[0383] In the vehicle travel control device according to Appendix 6, the correction position calculation unit is further configured to calculate a corrected absolute posi- tion obtained by correcting the absolute position of the vehicle based on the GNSS information and the accel- eration and angular velocity information, and in a case in which the GNSS correction information cannot be re- ceived, the current position information of the vehicle is position information is specified using the corrected ab- solute position. (Appendix 8)

[0384] In the vehicle travel control device according to Appendix 6, the reception determination unit is further configured to determine whether the GNSS information canbe received, and determine, in response to determin- ing that the GNSS information can be received, whether the GNSS correction information can be subsequently 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 29 55 EP 4 760 211 A2 56 received, and in response to determining that the GNSS information cannot be received, the position specification unit specifies the current position of the vehicle using an estimated position of the vehicle calculated based on received latest GNSS information and the acceleration and angular velocity information. (Appendix 9)

[0385] Amethod for acquiring vehicle position informa- tion executed by a computer configured to control travel- ing of a vehicle based on current position information of the vehicle, the method comprising: by the computer connected to a remote control device configured to op- erate the traveling of the vehicle through communication via a network, acquiring GNSS information required for standalone positioning through a GNSS receiver mounted on the vehicle, and calculating an absolute position of the vehicle by the standalone positioning; determining whether GNSS correction information re- quired for relative positioning can be received from an external reference station; calculating a relative position of the vehicle by the relative positioning; and transmitting position information based on the relative position to the remote control device in a case in which the GNSS correction information can be received; and transmitting position information based on the absolute position to the remote control device in a case in which the GNSS correction information cannot be received. (Appendix 10)

[0386] Acomputer-readable recordingmediumstoring a program for acquiring vehicle position information, the program causing a computer, the computer serving as a vehicle travel control device configured to control travel- ing of a vehicle based on current position information of the vehicle, to execute: a process of acquiring GNSS information required for standalone positioning through a GNSS receiver mounted on the vehicle and calculating an absolute position of the vehicle by standalone posi- tioning; a process of determining whether GNSS correc- tion information required for relative positioning can be received from an external reference station; a process of calculating a relative position of the vehicle by the relative positioning; and a process of transmitting position infor- mation based on the relative position to a remote control device configured to operate traveling of the vehicle through communication with the computer via a network in a case in which the GNSS correction information can be received and transmitting position information based on the absolute position to the remote control device in a case inwhich theGNSScorrection information cannot be received. (Appendix 11)

[0387] A program for acquiring vehicle position infor- mation, the program causing a computer serving as a vehicle travel control device configured to control travel- ing of a vehicle based on current position information of the vehicle to execute: a process of acquiring GNSS information required for standalone positioning through aGNSS receiver mounted on the vehicle and calculating an absolute position of the vehicle by standalone posi- tioning; a process of determining whether GNSS correc- tion information required for relative positioning can be received from an external reference station; a process of calculating a relative position of the vehicle by the relative positioning; and a process of transmitting position infor- mation based on the relative position to a remote control device configured to operate traveling of the vehicle through communication with the computer via a network in a case in which the GNSS correction information can be received and transmitting position information based on the absolute position to the remote control device in a case inwhich theGNSScorrection information cannot be received. REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0388] S: vehicle management system S1: vehicle travel control system C: vehicle V: host vehicle V1: electric power steering V1a: steering wheel V2: electric throttle V2a: accelerator pedal V3: electromagnetic brake device V3a: brake pedal FV: target vehicle 1: vehicle travel control device 10: in-vehicle sensor 11: image capturing device 11a to 11i: first image capturing device to ninth image capturing device 12: radar (millimeter wave radar) 12a to 12d: first radar to fourth radar 13: lidar 13a to 13e: first lidar to fifth lidar 20: in-vehicle locator 21: GNSS receiver (RTK-GNSS receiver) 22: inertial measurement unit (IMD) 30: in-vehicle ECU 31: integrated ECU 32: steering wheel ECU 33: accelerator ECU 34: brake ECU 40: in-vehicle communication device 50: vehicle information transmission device 51: in-vehicle locator 51a: GNSS receiver 51b: inertial measurement unit 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 30 57 EP 4 760 211 A2 58 52: in-vehicle communication device 60: identification mark 60a to 60l: first identification mark to twelfth identi- fication mark 70: remote control device 71: monitor 72: navigation monitor 73: steering wheel 74: accelerator pedal 75: brake pedal 76: operation switch 80: vehicle management device 81: communication device 100: storage unit 101: environment information acquisition unit 102: position information acquisition unit 102a: absolute position calculation unit 102b: relative position calculation unit 102c: correction position calculation unit 102d: reception determination unit 103: driving control unit (travel control unit) 104: vehicle detection unit 105: communication unit 106: mode change unit 107: travel speed acquisition unit 108: video processing unit 500: storage unit 501: position information acquisition unit 502: communication unit 700: storage unit 701: communication unit 702: screen display unit 703: operation data generation unit 704: user notification unit 800: storage unit 801: communication unit (second communication unit) 802: management unit (management unit) 803: state control unit 804: determination unit 805: decision unit 806: instruction unit 807: connection control unit SA: artificial satellite ST: reference station F: platoon Ff: front platoon (second platoon) Fr: rear platoon (first platoon) Ct, Ct1, Ct2: leading vehicle Cr: rear vehicle Ce: rearmost vehicle P: synthesized image Claims 1. Avehiclemanagement device configured tomanage a vehicle, the vehicle management device compris- ing: a second communication unit configured to per- form communication with a first communication unit in the vehicle, the vehicle including: an absolute position calculation unit config- ured to acquire GNSS information required for standalone positioning through a GNSS receiver mounted on a host vehicle and calculate an absolute position of the vehicle using the GNSS information; a relative position calculation unit config- ured to, in response to GNSS correction information required for relative positioning being received from an external reference station, correct the absolute position by the relative positioning using the GNSS correc- tion information and calculate a relative po- sition of the vehicle at the reference station; a position specification unit configured to specify a current position of the vehicle using the relative position; a travel control unit configured to control traveling of the vehicle based on current position information specified by the posi- tion specification unit; and the first communication unit configured to transmit and receive the current position information of the vehicle; a management unit configured to manage a travel state of each vehicle subjected to travel control by the travel control unit based on posi- tion information of the vehicle acquired by the second communication unit through communi- cation with each vehicle; and a state control unit configured to control the travel state of the vehicle managed by the man- agement unit, wherein the management unit manages each vehicle to be in a travel state where a plurality of vehicles form a group of platoonswhile traveling based on position information received from another vehicle different from the vehicle, wherein each of the platoons is formed by a plurality of vehicles, and wherein the state control unit includes: a determination unit configured to deter- mine, when themanagement unit manages the travel state where the vehicles travel while forming the group of platoons, whether connection between two platoons of thegroupof platoons, a first platoonanda second platoon, wherein the first platoon traveling directly behind the second pla- toon, is permitted based on the travel state 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 31 59 EP 4 760 211 A2 60 of the vehicle; a decision unit configured to decide a con- nection mode between the platoons based on a determination result obtained by the determination unit; an instruction unit configured to instruct the connection between the platoons by trans- mitting information on the connection mode decided by the decision unit to a leading vehicle of each platoon of the two platoons; and a connection control unit configured to con- trol the connection between the two pla- toons through communicationwith the lead- ing vehicle of each platoon of the two pla- toons instructed by the instruction unit. 2. The vehicle management device according to claim 1, wherein the second communication unit is con- figured to receive a connection request from a leading vehicle of the first platoon, the connec- tion request requesting connection with a sec- ond platoon serving as a target to be connected, wherein the determination unit is configured to determine whether the connection with the sec- ondplatoon is possible basedona travel state of a leading vehicle of the second platoon mana- ged by the management unit, and wherein the decision unit is configured to: request the leading vehicle of the second platoon to connect with the first platoon in response to the determination unit deter- mining that the connection with the second platoon is possible; and in response to receiving a permission re- sponse from the second platoon, decide a connection mode between the first platoon and the second platoon based on platoon information of the second platoon included in the permission response. 3. The vehicle management device according to claim 2, wherein a condition that the determination unit de- termines that the connectionwith the secondplatoon is possible is that, based on scheduled travel route information of each platoon, the platoons are connected and travel in a case in which a platoon travel distance after the con- nection of the platoons is a predetermined dis- tance, and theconnectionbetween theplatoons is released in a case in which the platoon travel distance is not the predetermined distance. 4. The vehicle management device according to claim 1, wherein the second communication unit is con- figured to receive images of a host vehicle cap- tured by an image capturing device of the vehi- cle, wherein the management unit is configured to manage a platoon image as a travel state of the platoon, the platoon image being obtained by synthesizing, among the images received from the vehicles, images of a leading vehicle and a rearmost vehicle of each platoon, and wherein the determination unit is configured to determine whether the connection between the platoons is permitted based on the platoon im- age. 5. The vehiclemanagement device according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the determination unit is con- figured to determine that connection between pla- toons is not permitted, based on external factor in- formation, when a road to be traveled is congested, or when snow or rain is falling. 6. Thevehiclemanagement systemaccording to anyof claims 1 to 5, wherein the determination unit is con- figured to determine that connection between pla- toons is not permitted, based on travel information and platoon information, if at least one of the follow- ing conditions holds: when the distance between platoons is equal to or larger than a predetermined distance, when arrival times to a destination are signifi- cantly different, when a speed difference between the platoons is larger than a threshold value, whenscheduled travel routesof theplatoonsare different, when there is a scheduled travel route common to platoons, but the remaining common sched- uled travel route is shorter than a predetermined distance, when a load capacity or a vehicle weight in- cluded in the vehicle information exceeds a certain value, or when the vehicle of a platoon does not corre- spond to the vehicle information set in a con- nection controllable segment. 7. Thevehiclemanagement systemaccording to anyof claims 1 to 6, wherein a vehicle belongs to a platoon together with a vehicle traveling ahead, when the distance between its GNSS receiver and a GNSS receiver mounted on the vehicle traveling ahead is 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 32 61 EP 4 760 211 A2 62 below a predetermined distance according to the travel speed. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 33 EP 4 760 211 A2 34 EP 4 760 211 A2 35 EP 4 760 211 A2 36 EP 4 760 211 A2 37 EP 4 760 211 A2 38 EP 4 760 211 A2 39 EP 4 760 211 A2 40 EP 4 760 211 A2 41 EP 4 760 211 A2 42 EP 4 760 211 A2 43 EP 4 760 211 A2 44 EP 4 760 211 A2 45 EP 4 760 211 A2 46 EP 4 760 211 A2 47 EP 4 760 211 A2 48 EP 4 760 211 A2 49 EP 4 760 211 A2 50 EP 4 760 211 A2 51 EP 4 760 211 A2 52 EP 4 760 211 A2 53 EP 4 760 211 A2 REFERENCES CITED IN THE DESCRIPTION This list of references cited by the applicant is for the reader’s convenience only. It does not form part of the European patent document. Even though great care has been taken in compiling the references, errors or omissions cannot be excluded and the EPO disclaims all liability in this regard. Patent documents cited in the description • JP 2017215681 A

[0003] (19) *EP004760211A3* (11) EP 4 760 211 A3 (12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION (88) Date of publication A3: 01.07.2026 Bulletin 2026 / 27 (43) Date of publication A2: 17.06.2026 Bulletin 2026 / 25 (21) Application number: 26175605.0 (22) Date of filing: 30.09.2022 (51) International Patent Classification (IPC): G08G 1 / 00 (2006.01) G08G 1 / 09 (2006.01) G08G 1 / 13 (2006.01) G08G 1 / 16 (2006.01) G01C 21 / 28 (2006.01) B60W 30 / 165 (2020.01) G01S 19 / 14 (2010.01) G01S 19 / 41 (2010.01) G01S 19 / 49 (2010.01) G08G 1 / 01 (2006.01) G08G 1 / 017 (2006.01) G08G 1 / 0967 (2006.01) G01C 21 / 30 (2006.01) H04W 4 / 44 (2018.01) H04W 4 / 46 (2018.01) (52) Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC): B60W 30 / 165; G01C 21 / 30; G01S 19 / 14; G01S 19 / 41; G01S 19 / 49; G08G 1 / 0112; G08G 1 / 017; G08G 1 / 096725; G08G 1 / 096775; G08G 1 / 096791; G08G 1 / 22; H04W 4 / 44; H04W 4 / 46 (84) Designated Contracting States: AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR (30) Priority: 27.12.2021 JP 2021213338 (62) Document number(s) of the earlier application(s) in accordance with Art. 76 EPC: 22915451.3 / 4 459 591 (71) Applicant: Broadleaf Co., Ltd. Tokyo 140‑0002 (JP) (72) Inventor: HIRANO, Yoshitake Tokyo, 140‑0002 (JP) (74) Representative: Grünecker Patent‑ und Rechtsanwälte PartG mbB Leopoldstraße 4 80802 München (DE) (54) VEHICLE TRAVEL CONTROL DEVICE, METHOD FOR ACQUIRING VEHICLE POSITION INFORMATION, COMPUTER‑READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM, AND PROGRAM FOR ACQUIRING VEHICLE POSITION INFORMATION (57) A vehicle management device according to the present invention is a vehicle management device con- figured tomanage a vehicle to be in a travel statewhere a plurality of vehicles form a group of platoons while travel- ing based on position information received from another vehicle different from the vehicle. A determination unit is configured to determine, whether connection between the platoons is permitted based on the travel state of the vehicle. A decision unit is configured to decide a connec- tion mode between the platoons based on a determina- tion result obtained by the determination unit. An instruc- tion unit is configured to instruct the connection between the platoons by transmitting information on the connec- tion mode decided by the decision unit to a leading vehicle of each platoon. A connection control unit is configured to control the connection between the pla- toons through communication with the leading vehicle instructed by the instruction unit. EP 4 76 0 21 1 A 3 Processed by Luminess, 75001 PARIS (FR) (Cont. next page) 2 EP 4 760 211 A3 3 EP 4 760 211 A3 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 4 EP 4 760 211 A3 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 摘要 根据本发明的车辆管理设备是一种如下配置的车辆管理设备：基于从不同 于车辆的另一车辆接收到的位置信息，管理该车辆使其在行驶时处于多个车辆 形成车队群的行驶状态。判定单元被配置为基于该车辆的行驶状态来判定是否 允许车队之间的连接。决策单元被配置为基于由所述判定单元获取的判定结果 来决定所述车队之间的连接模式。指示单元被配置为通过将关于由所述决策单 元决定的连接模式的信息传输给每个车队的领航车辆，来指示所述车队之间的 连接。连接控制单元被配置为通过与由所述指示单元指示的领航车辆进行通 信，来控制所述车队之间的连接。

Claims

1. A vehicle management device configured to manage a vehicle, the vehicle management device comprising: a second communication unit configured to perform communication with a first communication unit in the vehicle, the vehicle including: an absolute position calculation unit configured to acquire GNSS information required for standalone positioning through a GNSS receiver mounted on a host vehicle and calculate an absolute position of the vehicle using the GNSS information; a relative position calculation unit configured to, in response to GNSS correction information required for relative positioning being received from an external reference station, correct the absolute position by the relative positioning using the GNSS correction information and calculate a relative position of the vehicle at the reference station; a position specification unit configured to specify a current position of the vehicle using the relative position; a travel control unit configured to control traveling of the vehicle based on current position information specified by the position specification unit; and the first communication unit configured to transmit and receive the current position information of the vehicle; a management unit configured to manage a travel state of each vehicle subjected to travel control by the travel control unit based on position information of the vehicle acquired by the second communication unit through communication with each vehicle; and a state control unit configured to control the travel state of the vehicle managed by the management unit, wherein the management unit manages each vehicle to be in a travel state where a plurality of vehicles form a group of platoons while traveling based on position information received from another vehicle different from the vehicle, wherein each of the platoons is formed by a plurality of vehicles, and wherein the state control unit includes: a determination unit configured to determine, when the management unit manages the travel state where the vehicles travel while forming the group of platoons, whether connection between two platoons of the group of platoons, a first platoon and a second platoon, wherein the first platoon traveling directly behind the second platoon, is permitted based on the travel state of the vehicle; a decision unit configured to decide a connection mode between the platoons based on a determination result obtained by the determination unit; an instruction unit configured to instruct the connection between the platoons by transmitting information on the connection mode decided by the decision unit to a leading vehicle of each platoon of the two platoons; and a connection control unit configured to control the connection between the two platoons through communication with the leading vehicle of each platoon of the two platoons instructed by the instruction unit.

2. The vehicle management device according to claim 1, wherein the second communication unit is configured to receive a connection request from a leading vehicle of the first platoon, the connection request requesting connection with a second platoon serving as a target to be connected, wherein the determination unit is configured to determine whether the connection with the second platoon is possible based on a travel state of a leading vehicle of the second platoon managed by the management unit, and wherein the decision unit is configured to: request the leading vehicle of the second platoon to connect with the first platoon in response to the determination unit determining that the connection with the second platoon is possible; and in response to receiving a permission response from the second platoon, decide a connection mode between the first platoon and the second platoon based on platoon information of the second platoon included in the permission response.

3. The vehicle management device according to claim 2, wherein a condition that the determination unit determines that the connection with the second platoon is possible is that, based on scheduled travel route information of each platoon, the platoons are connected and travel in a case in which a platoon travel distance after the connection of the platoons is a predetermined distance, and the connection between the platoons is released in a case in which the platoon travel distance is not the predetermined distance.

4. The vehicle management device according to claim 1, wherein the second communication unit is configured to receive images of a host vehicle captured by an image capturing device of the vehicle, wherein the management unit is configured to manage a platoon image as a travel state of the platoon, the platoon image being obtained by synthesizing, among the images received from the vehicles, images of a leading vehicle and a rearmost vehicle of each platoon, and wherein the determination unit is configured to determine whether the connection between the platoons is permitted based on the platoon image.

5. The vehicle management device according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the determination unit is configured to determine that connection between platoons is not permitted, based on external factor information, when a road to be traveled is congested, or when snow or rain is falling.

6. The vehicle management system according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the determination unit is configured to determine that connection between platoons is not permitted, based on travel information and platoon information, if at least one of the following conditions holds: when the distance between platoons is equal to or larger than a predetermined distance, when arrival times to a destination are significantly different, when a speed difference between the platoons is larger than a threshold value, when scheduled travel routes of the platoons are different, when there is a scheduled travel route common to platoons, but the remaining common scheduled travel route is shorter than a predetermined distance, when a load capacity or a vehicle weight included in the vehicle information exceeds a certain value, or when the vehicle of a platoon does not correspond to the vehicle information set in a connection controllable segment.

7. The vehicle management system according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein a vehicle belongs to a platoon together with a vehicle traveling ahead, when the distance between its GNSS receiver and a GNSS receiver mounted on the vehicle traveling ahead is below a predetermined distance according to the travel speed.

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