Driving assistance control device and driving assistance control method

Abstract

In the driving assistance control device (10) of the present invention, the surrounding vehicle recognition unit (11) recognizes the positions of other vehicles, namely surrounding vehicles (2), existing around the vehicle (1). The surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit (12) acquires surrounding vehicle control information, which includes information on whether the surrounding vehicle (2) implements driving control using a high-precision map including road data for each lane. The surrounding vehicle reliability judgment unit (13) judges the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle (2), namely the driving reliability, based on the surrounding vehicle control information. The driving assistance plan formulation unit (14) formulates a driving assistance plan based on the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles (2) to enable the vehicle (1) to drive with surrounding vehicles (2) with higher driving reliability as much as possible, or a driving assistance plan to enable the vehicle (1) to avoid driving with surrounding vehicles (2) with lower driving reliability as much as possible, and controls the driving assistance device (24) of the vehicle (1) according to the driving assistance plan.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a driving assistance control device that controls a driving assistance device of a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the preparation of high-precision maps containing road data for each lane has been underway, and driving assistance devices such as automatic driving devices and ADAS (Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems) devices that use high-precision maps for driving control have been developed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for improving the safety and reliability of driving assistance devices by using high-precision maps.

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-135643 Summary of the invention

[0006] Technical problem to be solved by the invention

[0007] The technology of Patent Document 1 is a technology for improving the driving safety and reliability of a vehicle equipped with a driving assistance device using a high-precision map. It does not consider improving the driving safety and reliability of a vehicle other than a vehicle equipped with a driving assistance device using a high-precision map.

[0008] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to improve the driving safety and reliability of a vehicle other than a vehicle equipped with a driving assistance device using a high-precision map.

[0009] Technical means for solving technical problems

[0010] The driving assistance control device involved in the present disclosure includes: a surrounding vehicle identification unit, which identifies the positions of other vehicles existing around the vehicle, namely, surrounding vehicles; a surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit, which acquires surrounding vehicle control information, wherein the surrounding vehicle control information includes information on whether the surrounding vehicles have implemented driving control using a high-precision map including road data for each lane; a surrounding vehicle reliability judgment unit, which judges the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles, namely, the driving reliability, based on the surrounding vehicle control information; and a driving assistance plan formulation unit, which formulates a driving assistance plan for making the vehicle travel with surrounding vehicles with higher driving reliability as much as possible, or formulates a driving assistance plan for making the vehicle travel as little as possible with surrounding vehicles with lower driving reliability, and controls the driving assistance device of the vehicle according to the driving assistance plan.

[0011] Effects of the Invention

[0012] According to the present disclosure, the driving safety and reliability of the vehicle can be improved by performing driving control using high-precision maps with surrounding vehicles. That is, it is possible to improve the driving safety and reliability of a vehicle different from a vehicle equipped with a driving assistance device using high-precision maps.

[0013] The objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 It is a diagram showing the configuration of a driving assistance control device according to the first embodiment.

[0015] Figure 2 It is a diagram showing an example of the travel positions of the own vehicle and surrounding vehicles.

[0016] Figure 3 : is a diagram showing an example of a driving assistance plan.

[0017] Figure 4 This is a flowchart showing the operation of the driving assistance control device according to the first embodiment.

[0018] Figure 5 It is a diagram showing a display example when the HUD as a driving assistance device is used.

[0019] Figure 6 This is a flowchart showing the operation of the driving assistance control device according to the modification of the first embodiment.

[0020] Figure 7 This is a flowchart showing the operation of the driving assistance control device according to the second embodiment.

[0021] Figure 8 This is a diagram showing an example of travel reliability in the second embodiment.

[0022] Fig. 9 This is a diagram showing an example of travel reliability in the second embodiment.

[0023] Fig.10 This is a flowchart showing the operation of the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit in the modified example of the second embodiment.

[0024] Fig.11 This is a diagram showing an example of travel reliability in a modified example of the second embodiment.

[0025] Fig.12 This is a diagram showing an example of travel reliability in a modified example of the second embodiment.

[0026] Fig.13 It is a diagram showing an example of the travel positions of the own vehicle and surrounding vehicles.

[0027] Fig.14 It is a diagram for explaining the driving risk of the host vehicle.

[0028] Fig.15 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a recommended position for returning to the original lane after a lane change.

[0029] Fig.16 It is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a driving assistance control device.

[0030] Fig.17 It is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a driving assistance control device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] <Implementation method 1>

[0032] Figure 1 1 is a diagram showing the structure of the driving assistance control device 10 involved in Embodiment 1. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the driving assistance control device 10 is mounted on the vehicle 1. Hereinafter, the vehicle 1 equipped with the driving assistance control device 10 is referred to as the "host vehicle". However, the driving assistance control device 10 does not need to be permanently installed on the host vehicle 1. For example, it can also be implemented on a portable device such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, or a PND (Portable Navigation Device) and brought into the host vehicle 1. In addition, a part of the functions of the driving assistance control device 10 can also be implemented on a server that is provided outside the host vehicle 1 and can communicate with the driving assistance control device 10.

[0033] like Figure 1As shown, the driving assistance control device 10 is connected to a current position calculation device 21 , a peripheral sensor 22 , an external vehicle communication device 23 , and a driving assistance device 24 , which are included in the host vehicle 1 .

[0034] The current position calculation device 21 is a unit for calculating the current position of the host vehicle 1 and is composed of, for example, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver, etc. The current position calculation device 21 may have a function of correcting the position of the host vehicle 1 calculated using GNSS by map matching using map information.

[0035] The surrounding sensor 22 is a unit that detects objects on the ground around the vehicle 1. The surrounding sensor 22 is composed of, for example, a camera (image processing sensor), a millimeter wave sensor, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), etc., and can at least detect the positions of other vehicles 2 that exist around the vehicle 1. Hereinafter, other vehicles 2 that exist around the vehicle 1 are referred to as "surrounding vehicles". Figure 1 In FIG. 1 , only one surrounding vehicle 2 is shown, but there may be a plurality of surrounding vehicles 2 .

[0036] The off-vehicle communication device 23 is a unit for performing communication, in which the driving assistance control device 10 acquires information related to driving control of the surrounding vehicles 2, namely, driving control information. The off-vehicle communication device 23 may be a communication device dedicated to the driving assistance control device 10, or may be a general-purpose communication device such as a mobile phone or a smart phone. Here, it is assumed that the off-vehicle communication device 23 acquires the driving control information from the surrounding vehicles 2 through inter-vehicle communication with the surrounding vehicles 2. However, the method for acquiring the driving control information may be any method, for example, the driving control information of the surrounding vehicles 2 may be acquired from infrastructure such as roadside devices or a specific server.

[0037] Here, the position of the host vehicle 1 calculated by the current position calculation device 21 is an absolute position (latitude, longitude, etc.). On the other hand, the position of the surrounding vehicle 2 detected by the surrounding sensor 22 is a relative position relative to the host vehicle 1, which is information indicating the distance and direction from the host vehicle 1 to the surrounding vehicle 2. In the case where the driving assistance control device 10 does not need information on the absolute position of the host vehicle 1 but only needs information on the relative position of the host vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles 2, the current position calculation device 21 can also be omitted (usually, the current position calculation device 21 is required when the driving assistance control device 10 processes map information). In addition, in the case where the external communication device 23 can obtain not only the driving control information of the surrounding vehicles 2 but also the position information of the surrounding vehicles 2, the surrounding sensor 22 can also be omitted.

[0038] The driving assistance device 24 is a device that assists the driving of the host vehicle 1. The driving assistance device 24 includes not only a device that performs driving control of the host vehicle 1, such as an automatic driving device, but also a notification device (such as an image display device, a sound output device, etc.) that notifies the driver of information used to assist the driving of the host vehicle 1 by image or sound. The driving assistance device 24 starts to operate according to the instruction from the driver of the host vehicle 1, and the operation is controlled by the driving assistance control device 10.

[0039] like Figure 1 As shown, the driving assistance control device 10 includes a surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 , a surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit 12 , a surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 , and a driving assistance plan formulation unit 14 .

[0040] The surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 recognizes the position of the surrounding vehicle 2 based on the absolute position of the host vehicle 1 calculated by the current position calculation device 21 and the relative position of the surrounding vehicle 2 relative to the host vehicle 1 detected by the surrounding sensor 22. However, depending on the content of the driving assistance performed by the driving assistance control device 10, the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 only needs to be able to recognize the relative position of the surrounding vehicle 2 relative to the host vehicle 1. The surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit 12 uses the external vehicle communication device 23 to acquire the surrounding vehicle control information including the information on whether the surrounding vehicle 2 implements the driving control using the high-precision map.

[0041] The correspondence between the surrounding vehicles 2 identified by the surrounding vehicle identification unit 11 and the surrounding vehicle control information acquired by the surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit 12 can be performed by any method. For example, a method of comparing the profile (model, license plate number, etc.) of the surrounding vehicles 2 detected by the surrounding sensors 22 with the information of the profile of the surrounding vehicles 2 acquired by the vehicle-external communication device 23, or a method of comparing the position of the surrounding vehicles 2 detected by the surrounding sensors 22 with the information of the position of the surrounding vehicles 2 acquired by the vehicle-external communication device 23, etc. can be considered.

[0042] When the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 can obtain the surrounding vehicle control information of the surrounding vehicle 2 using the surrounding sensor 22, the vehicle external communication device 23 can be omitted. For example, when it is required by law to display whether the driving control using the high-precision map is implemented on the outside of the vehicle, it is considered that the surrounding vehicle control information can be obtained from the image of the surrounding vehicle 2 captured by the camera as the surrounding sensor 22.

[0043] The surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2, i.e., the driving reliability, based on the surrounding vehicle control information acquired by the surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit 12. The surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines that the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that implements the driving control using the high-precision map is higher than the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that does not implement the driving control using the high-precision map. In the first embodiment, the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 is set to two levels of "high" and "low", and the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines that the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that implements the driving control using the high-precision map is "high", and determines that the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that does not implement the driving control using the high-precision map is "low".

[0044] The driving assistance plan formulation unit 14 formulates a driving assistance plan for making the host vehicle 1 travel with the surrounding vehicles 2 with higher driving reliability as much as possible, or a driving assistance plan for making the host vehicle 1 not travel with the surrounding vehicles 2 with lower driving reliability as much as possible, based on the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles 2 determined by the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13. In addition, the driving assistance plan formulation unit 14 controls the driving assistance device 24 based on the formulated driving assistance plan.

[0045] For example, at time t1, if Figure 2 As shown, assume the following situation: the vehicle 1 is driving at position P[t1] by automatic driving, and in front of the vehicle 1, the surrounding vehicle 2-1 that implements driving control using a high-precision map and the surrounding vehicle 2-2 that does not implement driving control using a high-precision map are driving. In SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), 6 levels of automatic driving are defined, ranging from level 0, which means full manual driving, to level 5, which maintains full automatic driving. Here, the vehicle 1 is set to automatic driving level 3, which is a state in which various driving controls such as constant speed driving, following driving, lane keeping driving, and automatic lane change can be implemented. However, the automatic driving level of the vehicle 1 can also be set to any one of 0 to 5.

[0046] If there are no other vehicles near the vehicle 1, the vehicle 1 at the autonomous driving level 3 performs constant speed driving and lane keeping driving. Figure 2As shown, when the host vehicle 1 approaches the surrounding vehicles 2-1 and 2-2 traveling ahead, in the driving assistance control device 10, the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 recognizes the position Q1[t1] of the surrounding vehicle 2-1 and the position Q2[t1] of the surrounding vehicle 2-2, and the surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit 12 acquires the surrounding vehicle control information of the surrounding vehicles 2-1 and 2-2. The surrounding vehicle control information includes information on whether the surrounding vehicles 2-1 and 2-2 have respectively implemented the driving control using the high-precision map, and the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles 2-1 and 2-2 based on the surrounding vehicle control information. That is, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2-1 that has implemented the driving control using the high-precision map as "high", and determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2-2 that has not implemented the driving control using the high-precision map as "low".

[0047] In this case, the driving assistance plan formulation unit 14 formulates a driving assistance plan for making the host vehicle 1 travel together with the surrounding vehicle 2-1 as much as possible. Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 , the following driving assistance plan is formulated: at time t2, the host vehicle 1 changes lanes to the same lane as the surrounding vehicle 2-1 through automatic lane change, and at time t3, the host vehicle 1 follows the surrounding vehicle 2-1. Then, the driving assistance plan formulation unit 14 controls the driving assistance device 24 according to the formulated driving assistance plan. As a result, the host vehicle 1 changes lanes to the same lane as the surrounding vehicle 2-1 through automatic lane change, and at time t3, the host vehicle 1 follows the surrounding vehicle 2-1. Figure 3 The host vehicle 1 runs as shown, and starts following the surrounding vehicle 2-1. By making the host vehicle 1 follow the surrounding vehicle 2-1 with high driving reliability, the driving safety and reliability of the host vehicle 1 are improved.

[0048] Thus, according to the driving assistance control device 10 involved in the first embodiment, the driving reliability level of the surrounding vehicles 2 that implement the driving control using the high-precision map can be used to improve the driving safety and reliability of the host vehicle 1. In other words, the driving safety and reliability of a vehicle (host vehicle 1) different from the vehicle (surrounding vehicle 2) equipped with the driving assistance device using the high-precision map can be improved.

[0049] Figure 4 1 is a flowchart showing the operation of the driving assistance control device 10 according to the first embodiment. Figure 4 The operation of the driving assistance control device 10 will be described. In the following description, conventional driving assistance that does not take the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles 2 into consideration will be referred to as "normal driving assistance."

[0050] When the driving assistance control device 10 is activated, the driving assistance control device 10 causes the driving assistance device 24 to start normal driving assistance corresponding to the automatic driving level of the host vehicle 1 set by the driver (step S101 ).

[0051] Next, the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 confirms whether there is a surrounding vehicle 2 around the host vehicle 1 based on the detection result of the surrounding sensor 22 (step S102). If there is no surrounding vehicle 2 around the host vehicle 1 ("No" in step S102), the driving assistance control device 10 causes the driving assistance device 24 to perform (continue) normal driving assistance (step S103).

[0052] On the other hand, when there is a surrounding vehicle 2 around the host vehicle 1 ("Yes" in step S102), the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 recognizes the position of the surrounding vehicle 2 based on the absolute position of the host vehicle 1 calculated by the current position calculation device 21 and the relative position of the surrounding vehicle 2 with respect to the host vehicle 1 detected by the surrounding sensor 22 (step S104). In addition, the surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit 12 uses the external communication device 23 to acquire the surrounding vehicle control information including information on whether the surrounding vehicle 2 implements the driving control using the high-precision map (step S105).

[0053] Next, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 based on the surrounding vehicle control information. In the present embodiment, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that implements the driving control using the high-precision map as "high" (step S106), and determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that does not implement the driving control using the high-precision map as "low" (step S107).

[0054] A surrounding vehicle 2 that cannot obtain surrounding vehicle control information can be considered to have not performed driving control using a high-precision map, and its driving reliability is judged to be "low". A surrounding vehicle 2 that cannot obtain surrounding vehicle control information but can obtain information that maintains a high-precision map can be considered to have performed driving control using a high-precision map, and its driving reliability is judged to be "high". In addition, the driving reliability of surrounding vehicles 2 that are not related to driving assistance of the host vehicle 1, such as surrounding vehicles 2 located behind the host vehicle 1, may not be judged.

[0055] Then, the driving assistance plan formulation unit 14 formulates a driving assistance plan based on the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles 2 to make the vehicle 1 travel with the surrounding vehicles 2 with higher driving reliability as much as possible, or a driving assistance plan to prevent the vehicle 1 from traveling with the surrounding vehicles 2 with lower driving reliability as much as possible (step S108), and controls the driving assistance device 24 according to the driving assistance plan (step S109).

[0056] If the vehicle 1 continues to travel (No in step S110), the process returns to step S102 and the driving assistance control device 10 repeats the operations of steps S102 to S109. If the vehicle 1 ends traveling (Yes in step S110), the operation of the driving assistance control device 10 also ends.

[0057] [Modifications]

[0058] The driving assistance control device 10 may cause the driving assistance device 24 to perform driving assistance other than Figure 3 The driving control shown can notify the driver of information for assisting the driving of the host vehicle 1. For example, the driving assistance control device 10 can control the notification device as the driving assistance device 24 to show the driver of the host vehicle 1 the positions of the surrounding vehicles 2 with high driving reliability. Figure 5 An example is as follows: Figure 2 In the illustrated situation, the driving assistance control device 10 controls the HUD (Head-Up Display) as the driving assistance device 24, and displays a display object 31 (star mark) indicating the position of the surrounding vehicle 2-1 with "high" driving reliability on the windshield 30 of the host vehicle 1. The driver can judge which surrounding vehicle 2 has high driving reliability by observing the display object 31, and even in manual driving, by making the host vehicle 1 drive together with the surrounding vehicle 2 with high driving reliability, the driving safety and reliability of the host vehicle 1 can be improved.

[0059] In addition, Figure 5 In such a displayed state, when the driver presses a follow-up driving start button (not shown), the vehicle 1 can switch to automatic driving, such as Figure 3 The vehicle 2-1 drives in this manner and starts following the surrounding vehicle 2-1.

[0060] Figure 5 The display object 31 is just one example of a display object for driving assistance. The display object for driving assistance may be arbitrary, and may be, for example, an arrow image for guiding the driver to change lanes to the same lane as the surrounding vehicle 2 with high driving reliability.

[0061] The display device of the driving assistance device 24 is not limited to the HUD, and may be a liquid crystal display device, for example. For example, an image (e.g., a screen image) showing the positions of the host vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles 2 and the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles 2 may be displayed on the liquid crystal display device. Figure 2 (aerial image shown).

[0062] In the first embodiment, an example is shown in which the host vehicle 1 follows the surrounding vehicle 2 having high driving reliability. However, the application of the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 is not limited to this, and can be applied to various driving controls.

[0063] For example, when the host vehicle 1 is following the surrounding vehicle 2, if the speed VB of the front vehicle, i.e., the surrounding vehicle 2, is lower than the set speed VA of the host vehicle 1 for constant speed driving, and the difference between VA and VB is greater than a predetermined threshold value Vth (i.e., VA-VB≥Vth), the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 can be applied to the automatic overtaking control for the host vehicle 1 to overtake the front vehicle. Specifically, the threshold value Vth=Vth1 when the driving reliability of the front vehicle is "high" and the threshold value Vth=Vth2 when the driving reliability of the front vehicle is "low" can be set to different values, and Vth1>Vth2 can be set. That is, when the driving reliability of the front vehicle is "high", the allowable range of VA-VB becomes larger than when the driving reliability of the front vehicle is "low". As a result, it can be expected that the time for the host vehicle 1 to follow the front vehicle with "high" driving reliability becomes longer, which can contribute to the improvement of the driving safety and reliability of the host vehicle 1.

[0064] Therefore, when the driving reliability of the leading vehicle is "high", the distance between the host vehicle 1 and the leading vehicle can be shortened compared to when the driving reliability of the leading vehicle is "low".

[0065] When there is a surrounding vehicle 2 traveling in an adjacent lane of the host vehicle 1, it is preferred to avoid parallel driving and perform driving control to obtain the distance (distance along the traveling direction) between the surrounding vehicle 2 in the adjacent lane and the host vehicle 1. In this case, when the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 in the adjacent lane is "high", the distance between the host vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicle 2 in the adjacent lane can be allowed to be shorter than when the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 in the adjacent lane is "low".

[0066] In addition, in the driving control of selecting the lane in which the host vehicle 1 is traveling from a plurality of lanes, a lane in which the surrounding vehicle 2 is traveling ahead with a "high" driving reliability can be easily selected compared to a lane in which the surrounding vehicle 2 is traveling ahead with a "low" driving reliability. In addition, a lane in which there is no surrounding vehicle 2 within a certain distance ahead (for example, 200 m) can also be selected most easily.

[0067] In the first embodiment, the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles 2 is set to two levels of "high" and "low", but it may be three or more levels. For example, the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles 2 that implement driving control using a high-precision map including road data for each lane may be set to "high", the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles 2 that implement driving control using a normal-precision map that does not include road data for each lane may be set to "medium", and the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles 2 that do not implement driving control using a map may be set to "low". However, in this case, it is necessary to include information on whether the surrounding vehicles 2 implement driving control using a normal-precision map in the surrounding vehicle control information.

[0068] Figure 6 This is a flowchart showing the operation of the driving assistance control device 10 when the driving reliability is set to the above-mentioned three levels. Figure 6 The process is to Figure 4 The process of step S107 is replaced by steps S111 and S112. Figure 6 In the process of, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that implements the driving control using the high-precision map as "high" in step S106, determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that implements the driving control using the normal-precision map as "medium" in step S111, and determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that does not implement the driving control using the map as "low" in step S112. Figure 4 The process is the same as in , so the description is omitted here.

[0069] In addition, high-precision maps differ in the representation and accuracy of road shapes depending on the specifications of their supply source and version. Therefore, the closer the specifications of the high-precision map used by the host vehicle 1 for driving control and the high-precision map used by the surrounding vehicles 2 for driving control are, the better. Therefore, the information on the specifications of the high-precision maps used by the surrounding vehicles can be included in the surrounding vehicle control information, and the surrounding vehicle reliability judgment unit 13 judges that the surrounding vehicles 2 that use high-precision maps with specifications closer to the specifications of the high-precision map of the host vehicle 1 have higher driving reliability. In addition, it can also be judged that the surrounding vehicles 2 that use newer versions of high-precision maps have higher driving reliability.

[0070] In the case of multiple levels of driving reliability of 3 or more levels, Figure 5 The display method of the display object 31 shown changes according to the level of driving reliability. In addition, the display method of the display object 31 may be changed so that the surrounding vehicle 2 with the highest driving reliability and the surrounding vehicle 2 with the lowest reliability can be identified. In addition, the display object 31 may be added to the surrounding vehicle 2 whose driving reliability is above a predetermined threshold.

[0071] <Implementation method 2>

[0072] In the second embodiment, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 of the driving assistance control device 10 determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 in consideration of the automatic driving level of the surrounding vehicle 2. The structure of the driving assistance control device 10 of the second embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment ( Figure 1 However, the surrounding vehicle control information acquired by the surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit 12 includes information on the level of automatic driving being implemented by the surrounding vehicle 2 in addition to information on whether the surrounding vehicle 2 has implemented driving control using a high-precision map.

[0073] Figure 7 This is a flowchart showing the operation of the driving assistance control device 10 according to the second embodiment. Figure 7 The process is to Figure 4 The steps S106 and S107 of the process are replaced by step S120. In step S120, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 based on the implementation status of the driving control using the high-precision map in the surrounding vehicle 2 and the automatic driving level implemented by the surrounding vehicle 2. Figure 4 The process is the same as in , so the description is omitted here.

[0074] Figure 8 and Fig. 9 An example of the relationship between the implementation status of the driving control in the surrounding vehicle 2 and the automatic driving level, and the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 determined by the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 is shown.

[0075] like Figure 8 As shown in FIG. 1 , the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines that the higher the autonomous driving level of the surrounding vehicle 2, the higher the driving reliability. Furthermore, it is determined that, at the same autonomous driving level, the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that implements the driving control using the high-precision map is higher than that of the surrounding vehicle 2 that does not implement the driving control using the high-precision map. In addition, the driving reliability determination also takes into account the case of driving control using the normal-precision map, such as Fig. 9 As shown, the surrounding vehicle reliability judgment unit 13, under the same autonomous driving level, judges the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that implements driving control using the normal precision map to be lower than the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that implements driving control using the high precision map, and higher than the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that does not implement driving control using the map.

[0076] [Modifications]

[0077] The surrounding vehicle reliability judgment unit 13 can respectively calculate the first reliability factor of the surrounding vehicle 2 calculated based on whether driving control using a high-precision map is implemented and the second reliability factor of the surrounding vehicle 2 calculated based on the automatic driving level, and judge the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 based on the calculated first reliability factor and second reliability factor.

[0078] In this case, Figure 7 In step S120 of the process, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 performs Fig.10 That is, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 calculates the first reliability factor of the surrounding vehicle 2 based on whether the driving control using the high-precision map is implemented (step S121), and calculates the second reliability factor of the surrounding vehicle 2 based on the automatic driving level (step S122). Then, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 based on the first reliability factor calculated in step S121 and the second reliability factor calculated in step S122 (step S123).

[0079] Fig.11 and Fig.12 , an example of the relationship between the implementation status of the driving control in the surrounding vehicle 2, the automatic driving level, the first reliability factor, the second reliability factor, and the driving reliability is shown.

[0080] exist Fig.11 In the example, if the surrounding vehicle 2 implements driving control using a high-precision map, the first reliability factor (R1) takes a value of 0.5, and if it is not implemented, it takes a value of 0. That is, the first reliability factor is a function of whether the surrounding vehicle 2 implements driving control using a high-precision map. On the other hand, the higher the level of autonomous driving of the surrounding vehicle 2, the larger the value of the second reliability factor (R2). That is, the second reliability factor is a function of the level of autonomous driving of the surrounding vehicle 2. And, the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 is defined as the sum of the first reliability factor and the second reliability factor (R1+R2).

[0081] exist Fig.12 In the example, if the surrounding vehicle 2 implements driving control using a high-precision map, the higher the level of autonomous driving, the larger the value of the first reliability factor (R1), and if it is not implemented, it takes a value of 0. That is, the first reliability factor is a function of whether the surrounding vehicle 2 implements driving control using a high-precision map and the level of autonomous driving. On the other hand, the higher the level of autonomous driving of the surrounding vehicle 2, the larger the value of the second reliability factor (R2). That is, the second reliability factor is a function of the level of autonomous driving of the surrounding vehicle 2. And the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 is defined as the sum of the first reliability factor and the second reliability factor (R1+R2).

[0082] exist Fig.11 and Fig.12 The higher the level of autonomous driving, the greater the difference between the first reliability factor and the second reliability factor. Fig.12 In the figure, the second reliability factor changes significantly between autonomous driving levels 2 and 3, and between autonomous driving levels 3 and 4, where the quality of autonomous driving changes.

[0083] Fig.11 and Fig.12 Each is just an example, and other methods may also be used as long as the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles 2 with higher autonomous driving levels becomes higher, and at the same autonomous driving level, the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles 2 that implement driving control using high-precision maps becomes higher than that of the surrounding vehicles 2 that do not implement driving control using high-precision maps.

[0084] In the second embodiment, since the surrounding vehicle control information acquired by the surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit 12 includes information on the automatic driving level of the surrounding vehicle 2, as described above, Figure 5 As shown, when the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles 2 is displayed using a display device such as a HUD, a display object indicating the automatic driving level of the surrounding vehicles 2 can also be displayed.

[0085] <Implementation method 3>

[0086] In the first and second embodiments, the range of the "surroundings" of the vehicle 1 is equivalent to the detection range of the surrounding sensor 22. In the third embodiment, the range of the "surroundings" is expanded, for example, it is considered that the range of several kilometers from the vehicle 1 is also the "surroundings". That is, the vehicles existing within a range of several kilometers from the vehicle 1 are the surrounding vehicles 2. However, vehicles existing outside the detection range of the surrounding sensor 22 cannot be detected by the surrounding sensor 22. Therefore, the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 uses the external communication device 23 to obtain the position of the surrounding vehicles 2 existing outside the detection range of the surrounding sensor 22. Alternatively, the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 can also use the external communication device 23 to obtain the positions of all surrounding vehicles 2, in which case the surrounding sensor 22 can be omitted.

[0087] The width of the "periphery" can be determined according to the content of the control performed by the driving assistance control device 10. In addition, the range of the "periphery" of the host vehicle 1 does not need to be a circle centered on the host vehicle 1. For example, the range within 500m in front of the host vehicle 1 and within 50m behind the host vehicle 1 can be defined as the "periphery" of the host vehicle 1.

[0088] For example, it is assumed that the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 recognizes the position of the surrounding vehicle 2 within 500 m in front of the host vehicle 1 and within 50 m behind the host vehicle 1, and the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2. Fig.13 Such surrounding vehicles 2 (2-1 to 2-9) and the distribution of driving reliability.

[0089] To simplify the description, the driving reliability is set to two levels of "high" and "low" as in the first embodiment. In addition, the speeds of all surrounding vehicles 2 are the same, and the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicles 2 does not change even if time passes. In addition, when a surrounding vehicle 2 with "low" driving reliability (i.e., a surrounding vehicle 2 that does not implement driving control using a high-precision map) exists in front of, behind, or to the side of the vehicle, a certain driving risk occurs in the vehicle 1. The front, rear, and side mentioned here refer to the front, rear, and side within a predetermined distance from the vehicle 1, respectively.

[0090] For example, according to Fig.13 In the state of the vehicle 1 Fig.14 When the vehicle 1 moves as shown in FIG. 1 , when the vehicle 1 is at position P[t1], there are surrounding vehicles 2 (2-1 to 2-3) with "low" driving reliability in three directions in front of, behind, and to the right of the vehicle 1, so the driving risk at this time is set to 3 points. When the vehicle 1 is at position P[t2], since there are surrounding vehicles 2 (2-2, 2-3) with "low" driving reliability in two directions behind and to the left of the vehicle 1, the driving risk at this time is set to 2 points. In addition, when the vehicle 1 is at position P[t8], there are no surrounding vehicles 2 with "low" driving reliability in any direction (the surrounding vehicle 2-7 is far enough away from the vehicle 1), and the driving risk at this time is 0 points.

[0091] The value of the driving risk generated by the surrounding vehicle 2 with a driving reliability of "low" can be changed according to the positional relationship between the surrounding vehicle 2 and the host vehicle 1. For example, the driving risk of the surrounding vehicle 2 in front of the host vehicle 1 can be set to 1.5 points, the driving risk of the surrounding vehicle 2 behind the host vehicle 1 can be set to 1 point, and the driving risk of the surrounding vehicle 2 on the side of the host vehicle 1 can be set to 0.5 points. In addition, the smaller the distance from the host vehicle 1 to the surrounding vehicle 2, the higher the driving risk of the surrounding vehicle 2.

[0092] The driving assistance plan formulation unit 14 of the third embodiment calculates the driving risk of the host vehicle 1 at each position based on the positional relationship between the host vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles 2 with "low" driving reliability. Fig.13In the figure, the driving assistance plan is set to move the vehicle 1 to a position where the number of surrounding vehicles 2 with "low" driving reliability is small, and the driving assistance device 24 of the vehicle 1 is controlled according to the formulated driving assistance plan. In practice, since the speeds of the surrounding vehicles 2 are different, it is also necessary to consider the changes in the positional relationship between the surrounding vehicles 2 to calculate the driving risk and formulate the driving assistance plan.

[0093] According to the driving assistance control device 10 of implementation mode 3, since a driving assistance plan is formulated to minimize the surrounding vehicles 2 with low driving reliability around the vehicle 1, and driving assistance is performed according to the plan, the driving risk of the vehicle 1 can be reduced, and the driving safety and reliability of the vehicle 1 can be improved.

[0094] [Modifications]

[0095] In the third embodiment, although the lanes in which the surrounding vehicles 2 are traveling are distinguished, it is also possible to calculate the driving risk based only on the positional relationship between the traveling directions of the host vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles 2 without distinguishing the lanes. In other words, the driving risk of the surrounding vehicles 2 in the same lane as the host vehicle 1 and the driving risk of the surrounding vehicles 2 in the adjacent lane may not be different.

[0096] In addition, Fig.14 , an example of overtaking is shown in order to move the host vehicle 1 to a position where there are fewer surrounding vehicles 2 with "low" driving reliability, but it is not necessary to overtake, and only the lane where the host vehicle 1 is traveling may be selected. That is, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 may calculate the number and density of surrounding vehicles 2 with "high" driving reliability and surrounding vehicles 2 with "low" driving reliability for each lane, determine which lane has a lower driving risk when the host vehicle 1 is traveling, and formulate a driving assistance plan so that the host vehicle 1 travels in a lane with a lower driving risk. The lane with more surrounding vehicles 2 with "high" driving reliability or the lane with fewer surrounding vehicles 2 with "low" driving reliability becomes a lane with a lower driving risk.

[0097] In addition, when the host vehicle 1 changes to the overtaking lane and returns to the original lane, the driving assistance control device 10 may control the host vehicle 1 to return to the original lane by considering the number or density of surrounding vehicles 2 with "high" driving reliability and surrounding vehicles 2 with "low" driving reliability in the original lane. Fig.15 , (the right lane is the overtaking lane), the area 32 where there are no surrounding vehicles 2 with "low" driving reliability is the recommended position for the vehicle 1 to return to the original lane (the left lane).

[0098] In the third embodiment, the driving assistance device 24 implements the driving control as the driving assistance, but the driving assistance device 24 may also notify the driver of information for assisting the driving of the host vehicle 1. For example, the driver may be prompted Fig.13 Such an image showing the distribution status of the surrounding vehicles 2, Fig.14 Such images showing recommended routes, Fig.15 Such images show recommended positions for returning to the original lane after overtaking.

[0099] <Hardware Configuration Example>

[0100] Fig.16 and Fig.17 Each of the diagrams shows an example of the hardware configuration of the driving assistance control device 10 . Figure 1 The functions of the components of the driving assistance control device 10 shown in FIG. Fig.16 The processing circuit 50 shown in FIG. 1 is implemented. That is, the driving assistance control device 10 includes a processing circuit 50, which is used to identify the positions of other vehicles existing around the host vehicle, that is, surrounding vehicles, obtain surrounding vehicle control information, the surrounding vehicle control information including information on whether the surrounding vehicles have implemented driving control using a high-precision map including road data for each lane, determine the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles based on the surrounding vehicle control information, formulate a driving assistance plan that allows the host vehicle to drive with surrounding vehicles with higher driving reliability as much as possible, or formulate a driving assistance plan that allows the host vehicle to avoid driving with surrounding vehicles with lower driving reliability as much as possible, and control the driving assistance device of the host vehicle according to the driving assistance plan. The processing circuit 50 may be dedicated hardware, or may be composed of a processor (also called a central processing unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit), a processing device, an arithmetic device, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor)) that executes a program stored in a memory.

[0101] When the processing circuit 50 is dedicated hardware, the processing circuit 50 is, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmable processor, a parallel programmable processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof. The functions of the components of the driving assistance control device 10 may be implemented by separate processing circuits, or these functions may be integrated and implemented by one processing circuit.

[0102] Fig.17 An example of the hardware structure of the driving assistance control device 10 when the processing circuit 50 is configured using a processor 51 that executes a program is shown. In this case, the functions of the structural elements of the driving assistance control device 10 are implemented by software or the like (software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware). The software or the like is expressed in the form of a program and stored in the memory 52. ​​The processor 51 reads and executes the program stored in the memory 52, thereby realizing the functions of each part. That is, the driving assistance control device 10 includes a memory 52 for storing a program, and the program, when executed by the processor 51, ultimately performs the following processing: a process of identifying the positions of other vehicles existing around the vehicle, i.e., surrounding vehicles; a process of obtaining surrounding vehicle control information, the surrounding vehicle control information including information on whether the surrounding vehicles have implemented driving control using a high-precision map including road data for each lane; a process of determining the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles, i.e., driving reliability, based on the surrounding vehicle control information; and a process of formulating a driving assistance plan for making the vehicle travel with surrounding vehicles with higher driving reliability as much as possible, or formulating a driving assistance plan for making the vehicle travel with surrounding vehicles with lower driving reliability as little as possible, and controlling the driving assistance device of the vehicle according to the driving assistance plan. In other words, the program can also be said to be a program for causing a computer to execute the steps and methods of the actions of the structural elements of the driving assistance control device 10.

[0103] Here, the memory 52 can be, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), as well as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a magnetic disk, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a mini disk, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) and its drive device, or all storage media used in the future.

[0104] In the above, the structure in which the functions of the components of the driving assistance control device 10 are implemented by either hardware or software is described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a structure in which a part of the components of the driving assistance control device 10 is implemented by dedicated hardware and another part of the components is implemented by software may be adopted. For example, the functions of a part of the components may be implemented by the processing circuit 50 as dedicated hardware, and the functions of another part of the components may be implemented by the processing circuit 50 as the processor 51 reading and executing the program stored in the memory 52.

[0105] As described above, the driving assistance control device 10 can realize the above-mentioned functions through hardware, software, etc., or a combination of these.

[0106] In addition, the various embodiments can be freely combined, or the various embodiments can be appropriately modified or omitted.

[0107] It will be understood that the above description is exemplary in all aspects and that numerous variations not shown are conceivable.

[0108] Description of symbols

[0109] 1 vehicle,

[0110] 2 Surrounding vehicles,

[0111] 10 Driving assistance control device,

[0112] 11 Surrounding vehicle identification department,

[0113] 12 Surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit,

[0114] 13 Surrounding vehicle reliability judgment unit,

[0115] 14Driving Assistance Planning Department,

[0116] 21Current position calculation device,

[0117] 22 peripheral sensors,

[0118] 23External vehicle communication device,

[0119] 24 Driving assistance devices,

[0120] 30 Windshield,

[0121] 31 Display objects,

[0122] 50 processing circuits,

[0123] 51 processors,

[0124] 52 memories.

Claims

1. A driving assistance control device, characterized in that: include: a surrounding vehicle recognition unit for recognizing positions of other vehicles, namely surrounding vehicles, that exist around the vehicle; a surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding vehicle control information, the surrounding vehicle control information including information on whether the surrounding vehicles have implemented driving control using a high-precision map including road data for each lane; a surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit configured to determine the reliability of the travel of the surrounding vehicle, that is, the travel reliability, based on the surrounding vehicle control information; as well as A driving assistance plan formulation unit, which formulates a driving assistance plan for making the host vehicle travel together with the surrounding vehicles with higher driving reliability as much as possible, or formulates a driving assistance plan for making the host vehicle avoid traveling together with the surrounding vehicles with lower driving reliability as much as possible, based on the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles, and controls the driving assistance device of the host vehicle according to the driving assistance plan.

2. The driving assistance control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit determines that the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle that has implemented driving control using the high-precision map is higher than the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle that has not implemented driving control using the high-precision map.

3. The driving assistance control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surrounding vehicle control information also includes information on the level of autonomous driving being implemented by the surrounding vehicles. The surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles in consideration of the automatic driving level.

4. The driving assistance control device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The surrounding vehicle reliability judgment unit calculates a first reliability factor of the surrounding vehicles based on whether driving control using the high-precision map is implemented, and a second reliability factor of the surrounding vehicles calculated based on the automatic driving level, and judges the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles based on the first reliability factor and the second reliability factor.

5. The driving assistance control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving assistance plan formulation unit formulates the driving assistance plan for causing the host vehicle to follow the surrounding vehicle having a high driving reliability as much as possible.

6. The driving assistance control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving assistance plan formulation unit formulates the driving assistance plan so as to reduce as much as possible the number of surrounding vehicles with low driving reliability that exist around the host vehicle.

7. The driving assistance control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving assistance plan formulation unit formulates the driving assistance plan for causing the host vehicle to travel as much as possible in the lane with high driving reliability and many surrounding vehicles, or for causing the host vehicle to travel as much as possible in the lane with low driving reliability and few surrounding vehicles.

8. The driving assistance control device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The driving assistance plan formulation unit determines a position to return to the original lane after overtaking based on the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles when the host vehicle changes lanes to overtake another vehicle.

9. The driving assistance control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A driving method for causing the host vehicle to travel in accordance with the driving assistance plan is notified to a driver of the host vehicle.

10. The driving assistance control device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The notification of the driving method includes displaying on a display device a driving position for causing the host vehicle to travel as closely as possible with the surrounding vehicles having higher driving reliability, or a driving position for causing the host vehicle to avoid traveling as closely as possible with the surrounding vehicles having lower driving reliability.

11. The driving assistance control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surrounding vehicle control information further includes information on the specifications of the high-precision map used by the surrounding vehicles. The surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit determines that the driving reliability is higher if the surrounding vehicle uses the high-precision map having a specification close to that of the high-precision map of the own vehicle.

12. The driving assistance control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surrounding vehicle control information further includes information on whether the surrounding vehicle has implemented driving control using a normal accuracy map that does not include road data for each lane. The surrounding vehicle reliability judgment unit judges that the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles that implement driving control using the normal precision map is lower than the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles that implement driving control using the high precision map, and is higher than the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles that do not implement driving control using the map.

13. The driving assistance control device according to claim 12, characterized in that: The surrounding vehicle control information also includes information on the level of autonomous driving being implemented by the surrounding vehicles. The surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles in consideration of the automatic driving level.

14. A driving assistance control method, characterized in that: The surrounding vehicle recognition unit of the driving assistance control device recognizes the positions of other vehicles existing around the host vehicle, namely, surrounding vehicles. The surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit of the driving assistance control device acquires surrounding vehicle control information including information on whether the surrounding vehicle has implemented driving control using a high-precision map including road data for each lane. The surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit of the driving assistance control device determines the reliability of the driving of the surrounding vehicle, that is, the driving reliability, based on the surrounding vehicle control information. The driving assistance plan formulation unit of the driving assistance control device formulates a driving assistance plan for making the host vehicle travel together with the surrounding vehicles with higher driving reliability as much as possible, or formulates a driving assistance plan for making the host vehicle avoid traveling together with the surrounding vehicles with lower driving reliability as much as possible, based on the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles, and controls the driving assistance device of the host vehicle according to the driving assistance plan.

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