Vehicle control system and vehicle control method

Abstract

Vehicle control system and vehicle control method. Provided is a system for generating a recommended driving lane based on a general map, the system having an improved real-time update feature. A vehicle control system (1) for controlling a vehicle (2) during autonomous driving of the vehicle (2), the vehicle control system comprising a vehicle control unit (3) and a mobile terminal (5). The vehicle control unit (3) acquires driving control map data from a first map server (4) and transmits position data of the vehicle (2) to the mobile terminal (5). The mobile terminal (5) acquires navigation map data including lane information about lanes forming each road section from a second map server (6), generates driving route information including a recommended driving lane that should be preferentially selected as the driving lane of the vehicle based on the lane information and the position data of the vehicle (2), and transmits the driving route information to the vehicle control unit (3).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control system and a vehicle control method for controlling a vehicle based on map information during autonomous driving of the vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Generally, known in-vehicle navigation devices are configured to identify the current position of the vehicle in built-in map data based on the position coordinates of the vehicle obtained from a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) or any other positioning system. In addition, the in-vehicle navigation device is configured to search for a driving route from the current position of the vehicle to a destination specified by a user, and overlay the searched driving route on a map screen of a display for display.

[0003] In the case of a stand-alone in-vehicle navigation device, built-in map data in the navigation device needs to be updated by a car dealer or a maintenance service company, which leads to problems such as difficulty in frequently updating map data (e.g., in real time) and high operating costs associated with updating maps.

[0004] There is a known navigation device that has been proposed to solve these problems, and is configured to receive the latest map data in real time from a communicably connected mobile terminal to improve the efficiency and real-time characteristics of updating the map (see Patent Document 1).

[0005] In recent years, some known vehicle control systems for autonomous driving are configured so that a general map is located in an on-board navigation device and used for navigation, while a high-precision map containing more detailed information than the general map is obtained from a map server or any other site used for driving control of the vehicle (see patent document 2).

[0006] Prior art literature

[0007] Patent Literature

[0008] Patent Document 1: JP2016-105080A

[0009] Patent Document 2: JP2006-266865A Summary of the invention

[0010] The task to be accomplished by the present invention

[0011] In the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 2, the general built-in map in the vehicle navigation device is relatively poor in real-time characteristics of updating to a high-precision map acquired from a map server or other external sites. Since the general built-in map does not include information about lanes forming each road section, the driving route determined by using the general map does not include information about the driving lane.

[0012] In the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, the system can acquire the latest general map data from the mobile terminal in real time. However, this general map also does not include information about the lanes forming each road section.

[0013] In other words, the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 does not consider determining a driving route based on general map data, including information of a driving lane that should be preferentially selected as a driving lane for the vehicle. Therefore, these prior art systems need to coordinate driving route information generated based on general map data that does not include lane information with a high-precision map that includes lane information, resulting in a high processing load imposed on the system in the operation of coordinating the two types of map data.

[0014] The present invention is proposed in view of the problems of the prior art, and the main purpose of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control system and a vehicle control method for controlling a vehicle, which can generate a recommended driving lane that should be preferentially selected as the driving lane of the vehicle based on a general map with improved real-time update characteristics (that is, a general map that can be updated more in real time or substantially in real time).

[0015] The means to accomplish this task

[0016] An aspect of the present invention provides a vehicle control method for controlling a vehicle based on map information during autonomous driving of the vehicle, the vehicle control method being performed by a vehicle control system, wherein the vehicle control system includes: a vehicle control unit installed in the vehicle, wherein the vehicle control unit is configured to acquire travel control map data from a first map server, and perform travel control of the vehicle based on the travel control map for travel control, the travel control map data being data of the travel control map; and a mobile terminal communicatively connected to the vehicle control unit, wherein the mobile terminal is configured to acquire navigation map data from a second map server, and provide the vehicle control unit with driving route information about a driving route in a navigation map for route navigation, the navigation map data being data of the navigation map, wherein the navigation map includes lane information about lanes forming each road section, wherein the vehicle control unit is configured to transmit position data of the vehicle to the mobile terminal, and wherein the mobile terminal is configured to: generate driving route information including recommended lane information about a recommended driving lane that should be preferentially selected as a driving lane of the vehicle based on the lane information and the position data of the vehicle received from the vehicle control unit; and transmit the driving route information including the recommended lane information to the vehicle control unit.

[0017] In this configuration, map data of a navigation map (ie, a general map) is acquired from a map server, which enables generation of a recommended driving lane that should be preferentially selected as a driving lane for a vehicle based on the general map with an improved real-time update characteristic.

[0018] In the above aspects, the mobile terminal is preferably configured to: receive multiple position data of the moving vehicle from the vehicle control unit in sequence; update the driving route information including the recommended lane information based on the latest position data of the vehicle; and transmit the updated driving route information to the vehicle control unit.

[0019] This configuration is able to determine a more appropriate driving route based on the vehicle's latest location.

[0020] In the above aspects, the driving control map data preferably includes dynamically variable information, which is not included in the navigation map data and can change over time in a more dynamic manner than the information included in the navigation map data, and wherein the dynamically variable information includes at least one type of information selected from signal information, nearby vehicle information and pedestrian information.

[0021] This configuration can effectively utilize navigation maps (i.e., general maps) with relatively small amounts of information (i.e., data volume) and driving control maps (i.e., high-precision maps) with relatively large amounts of information, for route navigation and driving control, respectively.

[0022] In the above aspect, the vehicle control unit is preferably configured to request the first map server to transmit the travel control map data based on the driving route information including the recommended lane information.

[0023] This configuration can efficiently acquire the travel control map data of a necessary area based on the driving route information including the recommended lane information on the recommended driving lane that should be preferentially selected as the driving lane of the vehicle.

[0024] In the above aspect, the mobile terminal is preferably configured to calculate an estimated arrival time when the vehicle will arrive at an end point of the driving route based on the driving route information including the recommended lane information, and transmit the estimated arrival time to the vehicle control unit.

[0025] This configuration enables the vehicle control unit to easily obtain the estimated arrival time to the end point (i.e., the destination) of the driving route from the mobile terminal. In this case, the mobile terminal calculates the estimated arrival time based on the driving route information including the recommended lane information, which improves the accuracy of the calculated value.

[0026] In the above aspect, the mobile terminal is preferably configured to obtain sensor measurement data from the vehicle control unit and determine the driving route based on the sensor measurement data, wherein the sensor measurement data is obtained by a sensor for measuring the remaining amount of battery or fuel used to drive the vehicle.

[0027] This configuration can determine a more suitable driving route according to the remaining amount of battery or fuel used for driving the vehicle.

[0028] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle control system for controlling the vehicle based on map information during autonomous driving of the vehicle, the vehicle control system comprising: a vehicle control unit installed in the vehicle, wherein the vehicle control unit is configured to acquire driving control map data from a first map server and perform driving control of the vehicle based on the driving control map, the driving control map data being data of the driving control map used for the driving control; and a mobile terminal communicatively connected to the vehicle control unit, wherein the mobile terminal is configured to acquire navigation map data from a second map server and provide the vehicle control unit with driving route information about a driving route in a navigation map, the navigation map data being data of the navigation map used for route navigation, wherein the navigation map contains lane information about lanes forming each road section, wherein the vehicle control unit is configured to transmit position data of the vehicle to the mobile terminal, and wherein the mobile terminal is configured to: generate driving route information including recommended lane information about a recommended driving lane that should be preferentially selected as a driving lane of the vehicle based on road information and the position data of the vehicle received from the vehicle control unit; and transmit the driving route information including the recommended lane information to the vehicle control unit.

[0029] In this configuration, map data of a navigation map (ie, a general map) is acquired from a map server, which makes it possible to generate a recommended driving lane that should be preferentially selected as a driving lane for a vehicle based on the general map with an improved real-time update characteristic.

[0030] Effects of the Invention

[0031] As described above, the present invention can provide a vehicle control system and a vehicle control method for controlling a vehicle, which can generate a recommended driving lane that should be preferentially selected as a driving lane for the vehicle based on a general map with improved real-time update characteristics. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle control system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a mobile terminal.

[0034] Figure 3 is a timing diagram showing the operation of a vehicle control system during autonomous driving of the vehicle; and

[0035] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of a route generation operation performed by a mobile terminal.

[0036] Glossary

[0037] 1 Vehicle Control System

[0038] 2 Vehicles

[0039] 3 Vehicle Control Unit

[0040] 4 First Map Server

[0041] 5 Mobile Terminals

[0042] 6 Second Map Server

[0043] 11 Powertrain

[0044] 13 Braking device

[0045] 15 Steering device

[0046] 17 External environment sensor

[0047] 19 Vehicle Sensors

[0048] 21 Communication devices

[0049] 23 GNSS receiving unit

[0050] 30 External environment recognition unit

[0051] 31 Autonomous driving control unit

[0052] 32 Map Positioning Unit

[0053] 33 Detection information acquisition unit

[0054] 41 Action Plan Unit

[0055] 42 Driving control unit

[0056] 43 Mode setting unit

[0057] 51 Map acquisition unit

[0058] 52 map storage unit

[0059] 53 Vehicle Positioning Unit

[0060] 54 Map Coordination Unit

[0061] 61 Dynamic map storage unit

[0062] 62 block data transfer unit

[0063] 63 Detection Information Management Unit

[0064] 64 Detection information storage unit

[0065] 67 Universal map storage unit

[0066] 71 Communication unit

[0067] 72 Control Unit

[0068] 73 Storage Units

[0069] 74 Input Units

[0070] 81 Map acquisition unit

[0071] 82 Vehicle Coordination Unit

[0072] 86 Navigation map data

[0073] 87 Vehicle Coordination Application DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0074] Hereinafter, embodiments of a vehicle control system and a vehicle control method for controlling a vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0075] like Figure 1 As shown in the figure, the vehicle control system 1 mainly includes: a vehicle control unit 3 installed in the vehicle 2; a first map server 4, which is communicably connected to the vehicle control unit 3 and configured to provide driving control map data to the vehicle control unit 3, and the driving control map data is data of a driving control map used for driving control; a mobile terminal 5, which is communicably connected to the vehicle control unit 3 and configured to provide driving route information about the driving route of the vehicle 2 to the vehicle control unit 3; and a second map server 6, which is configured to provide navigation map data to the mobile terminal 5, and the navigation map data is data of a navigation map used for route navigation of the vehicle 2.

[0076] The vehicle 2 can be driven autonomously (automatically) with the help of the vehicle control system 1 without the need for a driver's driving operation. In addition to the vehicle control unit 3, the vehicle 2 also includes a power system 11, a braking device 13, a steering device 15, an external environment sensor 17, a vehicle sensor 19, a communication device 21, a GNSS receiving unit 23 and an HMI (human-machine interface) 25. These devices and elements are connected to each other so that they can transmit and receive signals to each other with the help of a communication network such as CAN (control area network) (not shown). At least some of these devices and elements can constitute a part of the vehicle control system 1.

[0077] The power system 11 is a well-known device for providing driving force to the vehicle 2, and is provided with at least one of an internal combustion engine (such as a gasoline engine and a diesel engine) and an electric motor. In addition, the power system 11 is provided with a fuel tank for the internal combustion engine and / or a battery for the electric motor as needed. The brake device 13 is a well-known device for providing braking force to the vehicle 2. The steering device 15 is a well-known device for changing the steering angle of the wheels. The power system 11, the brake device 13 and the steering device 15 are controlled by the vehicle control unit 3.

[0078] The external environment sensor 17 is a sensor for detecting an object outside the vehicle by capturing electromagnetic waves or sound waves reflected by an object located around the vehicle 2. The external environment sensor 17 may include one or more sensors having a known configuration, such as sonar, an external camera (e.g., a camera for recording a front view of the vehicle 2), a millimeter wave radar, and a laser rider. The detection result of the external environment sensor 17 is supplied to the vehicle control unit 3.

[0079] The vehicle sensor 19 is a sensor for measuring the state of the vehicle 2. The vehicle sensor 19 includes one or more sensors, such as: a vehicle speed sensor for detecting the speed of the vehicle 2; an accelerometer for detecting the acceleration of the vehicle 2; a gyro sensor for detecting the angular velocity around the vertical axis of the vehicle 2; a direction sensor for detecting the orientation of the vehicle 2; a tilt sensor for detecting the inclination of the vehicle body; and a wheel speed sensor for detecting the rotation speed of the wheel. In addition, the vehicle sensor 19 may also include: a sensor for detecting the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank of the internal combustion engine; and a sensor for detecting the remaining amount of the battery of the electric motor.

[0080] The communication device 21 includes a communication circuit and an antenna for wirelessly communicating with an external device (e.g., a data processing device such as a mobile terminal 5 or a first map server 4) according to a well-known standard communication method. The communication device 21 can also communicate with an external device by wire via a well-known communication cable. The communication device 21 includes a router that connects the vehicle control unit 3 to a network such as the Internet. The communication device 21 can transmit various data to the external device and receive various data from the external device by connecting to the external device via a nearby base station or access point. The communication device 21 can be mainly composed of a plurality of communication devices, each of which can communicate with an external device.

[0081] The GNSS receiving unit 23 receives signals (hereinafter referred to as “GNSS signals”) from a plurality of satellites constituting a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). The GNSS receiving unit 23 supplies the received GNSS signals to the vehicle control unit 3 .

[0082] The vehicle 2 is provided with known operation input members such as a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a shift lever, a parking brake lever, and a signal light lever as required. In addition, the vehicle 2 is provided with known driving sensors such as a steering angle sensor for detecting the amount of operation of the steering wheel, an acceleration sensor for detecting the amount of operation of the accelerator pedal, and a brake sensor for detecting the amount of operation of the brake pedal as required.

[0083] The HMI 25 notifies the occupants of the vehicle 2 (generally including the user of the mobile terminal 5) of various information by means of visual indication or voice, and receives input operations performed by the occupants. The HMI 25 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display and an organic EL, and includes a touch panel for receiving input operations performed by the occupants, and a sound generator such as a buzzer and a speaker.

[0084] The HMI 25 also serves as an interface for input / output with the mobile terminal 5. Specifically, when the HMI 25 receives a destination input operation by the occupant, the mobile terminal 5 starts generating a route to the destination entered by the occupant. In addition, when providing guidance on the route to the occupant, the HMI 25 can display the current position of the vehicle 2 and the route to the destination generated by the mobile terminal 5.

[0085] Next, the vehicle control unit 3 will be described. The vehicle control unit 3 is mainly composed of one or more electronic control units (ECUs), and the electronic control unit includes a processor such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. In the vehicle control unit 3, the processor performs processing operations according to a program, thereby performing various vehicle controls. The vehicle control unit 3 can be configured as a hardware, or can be configured as a unit composed of multiple hardware. At least a part of each functional unit of the vehicle control unit 3 can be implemented by hardware (such as LSI, ASIC, FPGA) or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0086] like Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 1 , the vehicle control unit 3 includes an external environment recognition unit 30, an autonomous driving control unit 31 (advanced driving assistance system: ADAS), a map positioning unit 32 (map positioning unit: MPU), and a detection information acquisition unit 33. These components can be configured by independent electronic control devices, respectively, and can be connected to each other via a gateway (central gateway, CGW). Alternatively, these components can be configured by an integrated electronic control device.

[0087] The external environment recognition unit 30 recognizes target objects located around the vehicle based on the detection results of the external environment sensor 17 and obtains information about the position and size of the target objects. The target objects to be recognized by the external environment recognition unit 30 include lane markings, lanes, roadside ends, shoulders, and obstacles set on the road on which the vehicle travels.

[0088] Lane markings are dividing lines that extend in the direction of vehicle travel. Lanes are areas separated by one or more lane markings. Roadside ends are the ends of the road in the width direction. The shoulder is the area between the roadside end and the outermost lane marking in the width direction. Obstacles include, for example, barriers (guardrails), utility poles, nearby vehicles, pedestrians, and other nearby objects.

[0089] The external environment recognition unit 30 analyzes the images captured by the external camera to recognize the relative positions of the target objects located around the vehicle 2. For example, the external environment recognition unit 30 may use a known method (such as triangulation or motion stereo) to recognize the distance and direction from the vehicle 2 to the target object when viewed from directly above the vehicle body. In addition, the external environment recognition unit 30 analyzes the images captured by the external camera using a known recognition scheme to determine the type of each target object (e.g., lane markings, lanes, roadside ends, road shoulders, obstacles).

[0090] The autonomous driving control unit 31 includes an action planning unit 41 , a travel control unit 42 , and a mode setting unit 43 .

[0091] The action planning unit 41 creates an action plan for controlling the travel of the vehicle 2. The action planning unit 41 supplies the travel control unit 42 with a travel control signal corresponding to the created action plan.

[0092] The travel control unit 42 controls the power system 11, the brake device 13, and the steering device 15 based on the travel control signal from the action planning unit 41. In other words, the travel control unit 42 drives the vehicle 2 according to the action plan created by the action planning unit 41.

[0093] The mode setting unit 43 switches the driving mode of the vehicle 2 between the manual driving mode and the autonomous driving mode in response to the input of the occupant to the HMI 25. In the manual operation mode, the travel control unit 42 controls the power system 11, the brake device 13, and the steering device 15 in response to the operation of the operation input member (e.g., the steering wheel, the accelerator pedal, and / or the brake pedal) by the occupant, thereby driving the vehicle 2. In the autonomous driving mode, the occupant does not need to operate the operation input member, and the travel control unit 42 controls the power system 11, the brake device 13, and the steering device 15, thereby autonomously driving the vehicle 2. In other words, the automation level when driving in the autonomous driving mode is higher than the automation level in the manual operation mode.

[0094] The map positioning unit 32 includes a map acquisition unit 51 , a map storage unit 52 , a vehicle positioning unit 53 , and a map coordination unit 54 .

[0095] The map acquisition unit 51 accesses the first map server 4 to acquire dynamic map data (i.e., data of the dynamic map) including high-precision map information from the first map server 4. The dynamic map is used as a map for driving control. For example, the map acquisition unit 51 may acquire the latest dynamic map data of an area corresponding to a route generated by the mobile terminal 5 from the first map server 4. The map data acquired by the map acquisition unit 51 is not limited to dynamic map data, but may be different map data having at least higher precision than navigation map data.

[0096] Dynamic map data is map data that is more detailed than navigation map data used to generate a route, including static information, quasi-static information, quasi-dynamic information, and dynamic information. Static information includes three-dimensional map data that is more accurate than navigation map data. Quasi-static information includes traffic control information, road construction information, and wide-area weather information, which are more detailed than navigation map data. Semi-dynamic information includes accident information, congestion information, and narrow-area weather information that are more detailed than navigation map data. Dynamic information includes dynamically variable information, which can change over time in a more dynamic way than static information, such as signal information, surrounding vehicle information, and pedestrian information that are not included in navigation map data. Signal information includes information about traffic lights located in the route (e.g., the timing of traffic light changes). Surrounding vehicle information includes information about other vehicles located near vehicle 2 (e.g., position, direction of movement, speed of each nearby vehicle). Pedestrian information includes information about pedestrians located around vehicle 2 (e.g., position, direction of movement, and character attributes of each nearby pedestrian). It should be noted that all static information, quasi-static information, quasi-dynamic information and dynamic information need not be used as driving control map data of the vehicle 2, and map data including at least static information as high-precision map data can be used as driving control map data.

[0097] The static information in the dynamic map data includes information about lanes of each road segment in the driving path (e.g., the number of lanes) and information about lane markings on the road on which the vehicle is traveling (e.g., the type of lane markings). For example, the information about lane markings in the static information is represented by a plurality of nodes arranged at intervals shorter than those of nodes in the navigation map and links connecting adjacent pairs of nodes.

[0098] In addition, the road surface (including each road section) in the static information is also represented by a plurality of nodes arranged at predetermined intervals and links connecting adjacent node pairs (hereinafter referred to as road surface links). Road surface nodes are created between a series of lane marking nodes at the left edge of the road and a series of lane marking nodes at the right edge of the road. Road surface link nodes are set at predetermined intervals along the road.

[0099] The static information further includes information about the shoulder edge. The shoulder edge is the side edge of the road on which the vehicle travels, and when a sidewalk is provided along the road, the shoulder edge may be the boundary between the road and the sidewalk. The shoulder edge in the static information is represented by a plurality of nodes arranged along the shoulder edge and links connecting adjacent node pairs, and the intervals of these nodes are approximately the same as the intervals of the lane marking nodes.

[0100] The map storage unit 52 includes a storage device such as an HDD or an SSD, and stores various information required for autonomous driving of the vehicle in the autonomous driving mode. The map storage unit 52 stores dynamic map data acquired by the map acquisition unit 51 from the first map server 4 .

[0101] The vehicle positioning unit 53 recognizes the position (latitude, longitude) of the vehicle 2 , which is the position of the own vehicle, based on the GNSS signal provided from the GNSS receiving unit 53 . The vehicle positioning unit 53 transmits the vehicle position information (position data of the vehicle 2 ) to the mobile terminal 5 .

[0102] In addition, the vehicle positioning unit 53 uses the detection results of the vehicle sensor (such as IMU) to determine the movement amount of the vehicle 2 (the moving distance and moving direction of the vehicle, hereinafter referred to as "DR movement amount") by means of dead reckoning (such as odometry). For example, when the GNSS signal cannot be received, the vehicle positioning unit 53 can identify the position of the vehicle based on the DR movement amount. In this embodiment, the vehicle positioning unit 53 uses the DR movement amount to correct the vehicle position determined based on the GNSS signal, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the vehicle.

[0103] The position of the host vehicle identified by the vehicle control unit 3 is more accurate than the position that can be acquired by the mobile terminal 5 by using the same function as the GNSS receiving unit 23 (e.g., the GPS function). Therefore, by acquiring the position data of the vehicle identified by the vehicle 2, the mobile terminal 5 can use the position of the vehicle 2 with higher accuracy than that estimated from the position of the mobile terminal 5 itself that has been brought into the vehicle 2. In addition, the mobile terminal 5 can advantageously acquire the position data of the vehicle 2 even when the user of the mobile terminal 5 is not in the vehicle 2 (i.e., when the mobile terminal 5 is not brought into the vehicle).

[0104] The map coordination unit 54 extracts a corresponding route in the high-precision map (static information) stored in the map storage unit 52 based on the route information received from the mobile terminal 5 .

[0105] When the vehicle 2 is instructed to start autonomous driving, the action planning unit 41 plans a global action plan (including, for example, changing lanes, following a road that merges with another road, and selecting a road at a fork in the road) based on information about the route in the high-precision map extracted by the map coordination unit 54. The action planning unit 41 can use information about the route in the navigation map received from the mobile terminal 5 as the basis for the global action plan. After this planning operation, when the vehicle 2 starts autonomous driving, the action planning unit 41 creates a more detailed action plan (including, for example, avoiding dangerous actions) based on the global action plan, the vehicle position identified by the vehicle positioning unit 53, the object identified by the external environment recognition unit 30, the high-precision map stored in the map storage unit 52, and other information, and then based on the created plan, the driving control unit 42 controls the driving of the vehicle.

[0106] The detection information acquisition unit 33 associates the vehicle position identified by the vehicle positioning unit 53 based on the GNSS signal with the data detected by at least one sensor including the external environment sensor 17, the vehicle sensor 19 and the driving operation sensor (such as a steering angle sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a brake sensor), thereby acquiring and storing the relevant data set as detection information. The detection information acquisition unit 33 also acquires and stores the surrounding information acquired by the external environment sensor 17 (such as a video image of the front view of the vehicle acquired by an external camera). The detection information acquisition unit 33 transmits the acquired detection information to the first map server 4 as appropriate. The detection information acquisition unit 33 can also transmit the detection information to the mobile terminal 5 as needed.

[0107] (First Map Server)

[0108] Next, the first map server 4 will be described. Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 1 , the first map server 4 is connected to the vehicle control unit 3 via a network (the Internet in this embodiment). The first map server 4 is a computer including a processor such as a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and a storage device such as a HDD or a SSD.

[0109] The storage device of the first map server 4 stores dynamic map data. The dynamic map data stored in the first map server 4 is map data of a wider area than the dynamic map data stored in the map storage unit 52 of the vehicle control unit 3. In other words, the dynamic map data that needs to be stored in the map storage unit 52 of the vehicle control unit 3 is only part of the map data required for the route of the vehicle 2. The dynamic map data of the first map server 4 includes a plurality of block data (partial map data) corresponding to each area on the map. Preferably, each block data is map data corresponding to a rectangular area on the map defined by two sets of boundaries extending in the latitude direction and the longitude direction.

[0110] Upon receiving a data request from the vehicle control unit 3 (map acquisition unit 51) via the communication device 21, the first map server 4 transmits a dynamic map corresponding to the requested data to the vehicle control unit 3. The transmitted data may include congestion information and weather information.

[0111] like Figure 1 As shown in , the first map server 4 includes a dynamic map storage unit 61, a block data transmission unit 62, a detection information management unit 63 and a detection information storage unit 64.

[0112] The dynamic map storage unit 61 is configured by a storage device, and stores a dynamic map covering an area where the vehicle 2 can travel. The block data transmission unit 62 receives a transmission request for specific block data from the vehicle 2, and transmits the block data corresponding to the transmission request to the vehicle.

[0113] The detection information storage unit 64 stores and maintains the detection information acquired by the detection information receiving unit. Based on the detection information stored in the detection information storage unit 64, the detection information management unit 63 performs statistical processing operations as appropriate, and performs an update operation to update the dynamic map data. In other embodiments, the vehicle 2 can transmit the detection information to the mobile terminal 5 as appropriate, so that the detection information management unit 63 can receive the detection information from the vehicle 2 via the mobile terminal 5. This configuration can reduce the processing load imposed on the communication device 21 that performs wireless communication.

[0114] (Mobile terminal)

[0115] The mobile terminal 5 is a data processing device with a known hardware configuration, such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, and a laptop computer carried by a user of the vehicle 2. Figure 2 As shown in , the mobile terminal 5 includes a communication unit 71 , a control unit 72 , a storage unit 73 , and a display / input unit 74 .

[0116] The communication unit 71 has a communication circuit and an antenna for wireless communication according to a well-known standard communication method. The communication unit 71 transmits data to and receives data from the vehicle control unit 3 by directly wirelessly communicating with the communication device 21 of the vehicle 2 or by indirectly communicating with the communication device 21 via the Internet or any other network. The communication unit 71 can also be connected to the communication device 21 via a well-known communication cable so that it can communicate with the communication device 21 by wire. The communication unit 71 is communicably connected to the second map server 6 via the Internet or any other network.

[0117] The control unit 72 includes a map acquisition unit 81 and a vehicle coordination unit 82 .

[0118] The map acquisition unit 81 acquires navigation map data 86 from the second map server 6. The navigation map data 86 acquired by the map acquisition unit 81 is stored in the storage unit 73. The navigation map data is wide-area map data, including at least data of an area where the route of the vehicle 2 can be determined. In other embodiments, the map acquisition unit 81 may acquire map data corresponding to all areas where the vehicle 2 can travel in advance from the second map server 6.

[0119] The vehicle coordination unit 82 coordinates with the vehicle control unit 3 of the vehicle 2 to perform an operation for assisting the autonomous driving of the vehicle 2. In particular, the vehicle coordination unit 82 provides the vehicle control unit 3 with map data including information on the route of the vehicle 2.

[0120] The control unit 72 includes a processor such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. Each functional unit of the control unit 72 (such as the map acquisition unit 81 and the vehicle coordination unit 82) may be implemented by a processor that performs processing operations according to a program.

[0121] The storage unit 73 includes a storage device such as an HDD or an SSD. The storage unit 73 stores a vehicle coordination application 87, which is a program for coordinating operations with the vehicle control unit 3. The control unit 72 can perform a coordination operation using the vehicle coordination application 87, thereby generating route information about the route of the vehicle 2 and providing the route information to the vehicle 2.

[0122] The display / input unit 74 includes a touch panel display. The display / input unit 74 displays various information for the user. The user can enter various settings and operation instructions for the mobile terminal 5 via the display / input unit 74.

[0123] (Second map server)

[0124] like Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 1 , the second map server 6 is connected to the mobile terminal 5 via a network (the Internet in this embodiment). The second map server 6 is a computer including a processor such as a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and a storage device such as a HDD or a SSD.

[0125] The general map storage unit 67 of the second map server 6 stores navigation map data, i.e., data of the navigation map. The navigation map is a general map such as Google Maps or Apple Maps. Although in the present embodiment, the second map server 6 is shown as a component of the vehicle control system 1, the second map server 6 does not need to be provided specifically for the vehicle control system 1, and can be a shared map server that is managed independently of the vehicle control system 1. The same applies to the first map server 4 described above.

[0126] Next, refer to Figure 3 The operation of the vehicle control system 1 will be described. Figure 3 2 is a timing chart showing the operation of the vehicle control system from the time when the vehicle 2 starts moving until the vehicle reaches the destination.

[0127] When the occupant enters the vehicle 2 and starts the vehicle 2, the vehicle control unit 3 (including the autonomous driving control unit 31 and the map positioning unit 32) and other devices and equipment installed in the vehicle 2 start their operation. The map positioning unit 32 starts to recognize the position of the vehicle (the position of the vehicle 2) based on the GNSS signal from the satellite and the DR movement amount. The acquired position data of the vehicle 2 is sequentially transmitted to the mobile terminal 5.

[0128] The user of the mobile terminal 5 (in this case, the passenger) operates the mobile terminal 5 to activate the vehicle coordination application 87. In other cases, the vehicle coordination application 87 may be automatically activated when the mobile terminal 5 starts wireless communication with the vehicle control unit 3 without any user's operation.

[0129] Subsequently, when the user operates the mobile terminal 5 to enter a destination, the mobile terminal 5 performs a route generation operation to generate a route from the current position of the vehicle 2 to the destination based on the navigation map data. The current position of the vehicle 2 is based on the latest position data of the vehicle 2 received from the vehicle control unit 3. The user can enter a destination using the HMI 25. In this case, the mobile terminal 5 can obtain the destination information input by means of the HMI 25 from the vehicle control unit 3.

[0130] The mobile terminal 5 performs a route generation operation to generate a route based on the acquired current position data and destination information of the vehicle 2. The mobile terminal 5 transmits the generated route information about the driving route of the vehicle to the vehicle control unit 3 (map positioning unit 32). The route information is formed based on the navigation map data. As will be described in detail later, the route searched by the mobile terminal 5 includes lane information about a lane that should be preferentially selected as a driving lane for the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a recommended driving lane).

[0131] When receiving the route information from the mobile terminal 5, the map positioning unit 32 requests the first map server 4 to transmit the block data of the dynamic map corresponding to the route.

[0132] Upon receiving a request from the map positioning unit 32, the first map server 4 generates corresponding block data based on the route determined by the mobile terminal 5 and the current position of the vehicle 2, and transmits the generated block data to the vehicle control unit 3. In this way, the vehicle control system 1 can effectively obtain map data of a necessary area in the dynamic map based on the driving route information including the recommended driving lane. The first map server 4 can obtain the latest position data of the vehicle 2 from the vehicle control unit 3 (map positioning unit 32) and use the latest position data as the current position data of the vehicle 2.

[0133] Upon receiving the block data, the map positioning unit 32 acquires (expands) dynamic map data around the vehicle from the block data. Subsequently, the map positioning unit 32 (map coordination unit 54) performs a map coordination operation to provide the autonomous driving control unit 31 with a route in a high-precision map corresponding to the route from the starting point (the current position of the vehicle 2) to the destination set by the mobile terminal 5 in the block data.

[0134] The route in the navigation map set by the mobile terminal 5 includes lane information, which includes a recommended driving lane. This enables the map coordination unit 54 to easily associate the lanes on the route in the navigation map with the corresponding lanes in the route in the high-precision map (dynamic map) during the map coordination operation. Therefore, compared with the case where a route without lane information in the navigation map is associated with a route in the high-precision map (which means that the vehicle control unit 3 needs to determine a new recommended driving lane), the processing load imposed on the vehicle control unit 3 during the map coordination operation is reduced.

[0135] Thereafter, the autonomous driving control unit 31 (action planning unit 41) creates a global action plan based on the route in the high-precision map.

[0136] Then, when the user operates the HMI 25 to instruct the vehicle to travel, the map positioning unit 32 identifies the position of the vehicle, and the autonomous driving control unit 31 sequentially creates a more detailed action plan based on the identified vehicle position, the position of the object recognized by the external environment recognition unit 30, and other information, and the driving control unit 42 controls the vehicle 2 to travel according to the created action plan.

[0137] When the vehicle 2 starts to travel, the detection information acquisition unit 33 starts to acquire detection information. When the vehicle is traveling, the detection information acquisition unit 33 transmits the acquired detection information as detection information during autonomous driving to the first map server 4 as appropriate. When receiving the detection information during autonomous driving, the first map server 4 stores the detection information as detection information during autonomous driving, and updates the dynamic map as appropriate based on the detection information during autonomous driving.

[0138] When the vehicle arrives at the destination, the autonomous driving control unit 31 performs a stop operation of stopping the vehicle, and displays a notification indicating that the vehicle has arrived at the destination on the HMI 25 .

[0139] The user of the mobile terminal 5 does not necessarily have to be an occupant of the vehicle 2. In this case, the mobile terminal 5 may acquire the location data of the destination and the location data of the vehicle 2 in advance to perform an operation of generating a route, and transmit the generated route information to the vehicle control unit 3.

[0140] Next, refer to Figure 4 The details of the route generation operation performed by the mobile terminal 5 are described. First, the mobile terminal 5 acquires the destination information entered by the user (or occupant) and acquires the current position data of the vehicle 2 as appropriate (ST101, ST102).

[0141] Then, the mobile terminal 5 searches the navigation map for a route that the vehicle 2 can travel based on the destination information and the current position data of the vehicle 2 (ST103). When searching for the route, a well-known route search technology is used.

[0142] The route searched by the mobile terminal 5 includes additional recommended lane information about a recommended driving lane for each road section. The recommended driving lane information includes a priority level or priority order for each lane in the road section. The recommended lane information may include information about only one lane in each road section, which is selected from a plurality of lanes as a lane that the vehicle should travel.

[0143] For example, the mobile terminal 5 may determine a recommended driving lane selected from a plurality of lanes in each road section based on the following information records: (i) a point where the vehicle 2 needs to turn right or left; (ii) lane types around the intersection that the vehicle 2 is to pass through (e.g., whether there is a right-turn or left-turn lane); (iii) speed limits and average vehicle speeds in each road section; (iv) congestion information records in each lane (e.g., occupancy and traffic volume); and (v) locations of entrances and exits of toll roads. When a road section includes only one lane, that lane is determined as the recommended driving lane.

[0144] In the route search operation of step ST103, the mobile terminal 5 can calculate the arrival time (the time when the vehicle 2 arrives at the destination) based on information such as the travel distance of the vehicle 2 for each route, the estimated vehicle speed for each section, and the date and time (day of the week, time zone). The arrival time information is added to the route information generated later as needed. Therefore, the vehicle control unit 3 can easily obtain the time to arrive at the destination from the mobile terminal 5.

[0145] Subsequently, the mobile terminal 5 determines whether the remaining battery power data of the battery for the electric motor of the vehicle 2 has been acquired from the vehicle control unit 3 (ST104). When the remaining battery power data has not been acquired (No), the mobile terminal 5 determines an optimal route based on the route selection conditions preset by the user (for example, conditions selected from the shortest time, the shortest distance, the minimum fuel consumption, and the recommended conditions of the system) (ST105).

[0146] When the remaining battery power data is acquired (Yes in ST104), the mobile terminal 5 sets the remaining battery power as a priority condition for route determination (ST106), and determines the best route based on the priority condition (ST105). In this case, for example, when the route selection condition set by the user is "shortest time", the mobile terminal 5 determines the shortest route within the range in which the vehicle 2 can reach the destination with the current remaining battery power.

[0147] In step ST104, the mobile terminal 5 may determine whether the remaining fuel amount data is acquired instead of the remaining battery power data or the remaining fuel amount data in addition. In this case, in step ST105, the mobile terminal 5 sets at least one of the remaining battery power and the remaining fuel amount as a priority condition for route determination. In this way, the mobile terminal 5 can set a more appropriate route according to the remaining battery power and / or the remaining fuel amount for the vehicle 2 to travel.

[0148] Then, the mobile terminal 5 generates route information produced by adding the route information to the navigation map data (ST107). Furthermore, the mobile terminal 5 transmits the route information to the vehicle control unit 3 (ST108).

[0149] In this way, the vehicle control system 1 is configured to receive data of a navigation map (i.e., a general map) from the second map server 6, thereby being able to improve the real-time characteristics for updating the navigation map. The vehicle control system 1 can also generate driving route information including recommended lane information about a recommended driving lane based on such navigation map data. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the processing load imposed on the vehicle control unit 3 during the map coordination operation.

[0150] The mobile terminal 5 can update the driving route information by repeating the route generation operation until the vehicle 2 arrives at the destination. In this case, since the current position data of the vehicle 2 acquired in step ST102 is based on the latest position in the lane in which the vehicle 2 is traveling, the mobile terminal 5 can generate a more suitable route.

[0151] In addition, the vehicle control system 1 can effectively utilize the navigation map (i.e., general map) with relatively small amount of information (i.e., data volume) and the driving control map (i.e., high-precision map) with relatively large amount of information to perform route navigation and driving control respectively.

[0152] The present invention has been described based on specific embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and can be modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the vehicle 2 can be equipped with a well-known in-vehicle navigation device. In this case, the mobile terminal 5 can be configured to perform processing operations that replace at least a portion of the functions of the in-vehicle navigation device.

Claims

1. A vehicle control method for controlling a vehicle based on map information during autonomous driving of the vehicle, the vehicle control method being performed by a vehicle control system, wherein: The vehicle control system comprises: a vehicle control unit installed in the vehicle, wherein the vehicle control unit is configured to acquire travel control map data from a first map server and perform travel control of the vehicle based on a travel control map for travel control, the travel control map data being data of the travel control map; and a mobile terminal communicatively connected to the vehicle control unit, wherein the mobile terminal is configured to acquire navigation map data from a second map server and provide driving route information about a driving route in a navigation map for route navigation to the vehicle control unit, the navigation map data being data of the navigation map, wherein the navigation map includes lane information about lanes forming each road section, wherein the vehicle control unit is configured to transmit the location data of the vehicle to the mobile terminal, and Wherein, the mobile terminal is configured as follows: generating driving route information including recommended lane information about a recommended driving lane that should be preferentially selected as a driving lane for the vehicle based on the lane information and the position data of the vehicle received from the vehicle control unit; and The driving route information including the recommended lane information is transmitted to a vehicle control unit.

2. The vehicle control method according to claim 1, wherein: The mobile terminal is configured as follows: sequentially receiving a plurality of pieces of position data of a moving vehicle from the vehicle control unit; updating the driving route information including the recommended lane information based on the latest position data of the vehicle; and The updated driving route information is transmitted to the vehicle control unit.

3. The vehicle control method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The travel control map data includes dynamically variable information that is not included in the navigation map data and that is changeable over time in a more dynamic manner than information included in the navigation map data, and The dynamically variable information includes at least one type of information selected from signal information, nearby vehicle information and pedestrian information.

4. The vehicle control method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The vehicle control unit is configured to request the first map server to transmit the travel control map data based on the driving route information including the recommended lane information.

5. The vehicle control method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The mobile terminal is configured to calculate an estimated arrival time at which the vehicle will arrive at an end point of the driving route based on the driving route information including the recommended lane information, and transmit the estimated arrival time to the vehicle control unit.

6. The vehicle control method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The mobile terminal is configured to acquire sensor measurement data from the vehicle control unit and determine the driving route based on the sensor measurement data, the sensor measurement data being acquired by a sensor for measuring a remaining amount of a battery or fuel for driving the vehicle.

7. A vehicle control system for controlling a vehicle based on map information during autonomous driving of the vehicle, the vehicle control system comprising: a vehicle control unit installed in the vehicle, wherein the vehicle control unit is configured to acquire travel control map data from a first map server and perform travel control of the vehicle based on a travel control map, the travel control map data being data of the travel control map used for the travel control; and a mobile terminal communicatively connected to the vehicle control unit, wherein the mobile terminal is configured to acquire navigation map data from a second map server and provide driving route information about a driving route in a navigation map to the vehicle control unit, the navigation map data being data of the navigation map used for route navigation, wherein the navigation map includes lane information about lanes forming each road section, wherein the vehicle control unit is configured to transmit the location data of the vehicle to the mobile terminal, and Wherein, the mobile terminal is configured as follows: generating driving route information including recommended lane information about a recommended driving lane that should be preferentially selected as a driving lane for the vehicle based on road information and the position data of the vehicle received from the vehicle control unit; and The driving route information including the recommended lane information is transmitted to a vehicle control unit.

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