Movement amount estimation device

Abstract

A movement amount estimation device (100) is provided with: an external movement amount acquisition unit (114) that acquires an external movement amount (CD) using external information detected by at least one external sensor (224) that is provided on a moving body and is capable of detecting external information relating to a target (OB) outside the moving body; an inner-boundary movement amount acquisition unit (116) that acquires an inner-boundary movement amount using inner-boundary information detected by at least one inner-boundary sensor (222) that is provided on the moving body and is capable of detecting inner-boundary information relating to the movement of the moving body; and a movement amount estimation unit (120) that estimates the amount of movement of the moving body using at least one of the outside movement amount and the inside movement amount. The movement amount estimation unit acquires the difference between the outside movement amount and the inside movement amount, and determines which one of the outside movement amount and the inside movement amount is used to estimate the movement amount on the basis of whether or not the acquired difference is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to a movement amount estimation device. Background Art

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle position estimation device, which includes a wireless position estimation unit that calculates the amount of movement of the vehicle based on the relative positional relationship between a wireless device outside the vehicle and a wireless device on the vehicle side, and a vehicle position estimation unit that calculates the amount of movement of the vehicle using information from a sensor that detects wheel speed, etc. The vehicle position estimation device compares the amount of movement calculated by the wireless position estimation unit with the amount of movement calculated by the vehicle position estimation unit, and corrects the amount of movement of the vehicle so that the difference between the two becomes smaller.

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-182862 Summary of the invention

[0006] In the prior art, in order to correct the movement amount of the vehicle, a wireless device installed outside the vehicle is used. Therefore, it is required to infer the movement amount of the vehicle only by the device equipped in the vehicle. In this case, in order to improve the detection accuracy of the movement amount, it is desired to suppress the influence of noise on the detection result.

[0007] The present application can be implemented as the following aspects.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present application, a movement amount estimation device for estimating the movement amount of a mobile body is provided. The movement amount estimation device comprises: an external movement amount acquisition unit for acquiring an external movement amount as the movement amount of the mobile body using external information detected by at least one external sensor provided on the mobile body and capable of detecting external information related to an object mark outside the mobile body; an internal movement amount acquisition unit for acquiring an internal movement amount as the movement amount of the mobile body using internal information detected by at least one internal sensor provided on the mobile body and capable of detecting internal information related to the movement of the mobile body; and a movement amount estimation unit for estimating the movement amount of the mobile body using at least one of the external movement amount and the internal movement amount. The movement amount estimation unit acquires a difference between the external movement amount and the internal movement amount, and the movement amount estimation unit determines which of the acquired external movement amount and the internal movement amount is used to estimate the movement amount based on whether the acquired difference is less than a predetermined threshold value.

[0009] According to the movement amount estimation device of this mode, it is possible to determine whether a transient error is included in one of the obtained external movement amount and the internal movement amount, based on whether the difference between the external movement amount and the internal movement amount is below a threshold value. Therefore, by using one of the external movement amount and the internal movement amount that does not generate a transient error, the influence of the transient error can be suppressed in the estimation of the movement amount. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 It is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of the movement amount estimation device according to the first embodiment.

[0011] Figure 2 This is a block diagram showing the internal functional structure of the movement amount estimation device.

[0012] Figure 3 It is a graph showing the change in the error of the external movement amount with respect to the movement distance.

[0013] Figure 4 Detailed Description of the Invention This is a flowchart showing a processing routine in the process of estimating the movement amount of the vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] (First Embodiment)

[0015] Figure 1 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of the movement amount estimation device 100 of the first embodiment of the present application. The movement amount estimation device 100 estimates the movement amount of the vehicle 200. The movement amount of the vehicle 200 is, for example, a translational rotational movement amount including a rotation matrix and a parallel movement matrix. In the present embodiment, the movement amount estimation device 100 is an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) mounted on the vehicle 200, and can also perform various controls of the vehicle 200 such as driving control. In addition, the movement amount estimation device 100 can also be provided in the vehicle 200 independently of the ECU, and can also be implemented by an external device of the vehicle 200 such as an external server.

[0016] The inference result of the movement amount of the vehicle 200 estimated by the movement amount estimation device 100 is used for the driving control of the vehicle 200. "Driving control of the vehicle 200" is, for example, automatic driving control for controlling the automatic driving of the vehicle 200, driving assistance control, etc. Driving assistance control is lane keeping control and risk avoidance control for making the vehicle 200 travel along the driving lane. "Risk avoidance control" means performing at least one of steering control and braking control for reducing the risk of collision between the vehicle 200 and an object. In the driving control of the vehicle 200, information related to the position of the vehicle 200 is used. The position of the vehicle 200 is estimated using the movement amount of the vehicle 200 estimated by the movement amount estimation device 100.

[0017] The vehicle 200 is, for example, a passenger car, a truck, a bus, or a construction vehicle. In the present embodiment, the vehicle 200 is an electric vehicle (BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle). The vehicle 200 is not limited to an electric vehicle, and may be, for example, a gasoline vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or a fuel cell vehicle. The vehicle 200 includes an internal sensor 222, an external sensor 224, and a movement amount estimation device 100.

[0018] The inner boundary sensor 222 detects inner boundary information, which is data related to the travel of the vehicle 200. The movement amount of the vehicle 200 can be obtained by the inner boundary information or its analysis. The inner boundary information can be, for example, the movement amount of the vehicle 200, the position of the vehicle 200, or various data related to the travel of the vehicle 200 that can obtain the position of the vehicle 200. The movement amount of the vehicle 200 obtained using the inner boundary information is also called "inner boundary movement amount".

[0019] In this embodiment, the inner limit sensor 222 is a wheel speed sensor provided on the wheel 212, and the inner limit information is the rotation amount of the wheel 212 or the rotation speed of the wheel 212. For example, the movement amount of the vehicle 200 as the inner limit movement amount can be obtained by multiplying the rotation amount obtained by the inner limit sensor 222 by the circumference of the wheel 212. The inner limit sensor 222 is not limited to a wheel speed sensor, and may also be a steering angle sensor, a yaw rate sensor, an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver, or the like, or may be any combination of these. The inner limit movement amount may also be a scalar value indicating the movement distance of the vehicle 200, or a vector value including the movement distance of the vehicle 200 and the turning angle of the vehicle 200.

[0020] exist Figure 1 The inner boundary movement amount SD(n) is conceptually shown in . The inner boundary movement amount SD(n) is the movement amount of the vehicle 200 obtained based on the detection result of the inner boundary sensor 222. The inner boundary movement amount SD(n) can be calculated, for example, based on the history of wheel speed and steering angle detected during the period from the previous processing routine to the current processing routine. When the position of the vehicle 200 at the time of the specified processing routine is set to the vehicle position P(n), and the position of the vehicle 200 at the previous processing routine or the time before it is set to the vehicle position P(n-1), the movement amount from the previous vehicle position P(n-1) to the current vehicle position P(n) is the inner boundary movement amount SD(n) of this time. Figure 1The previous inner boundary movement amount SD(n-1) and the next inner boundary movement amount SD(n+1) are also shown.

[0021] The external sensor 224 detects data related to the object OB outside the vehicle 200, that is, external information. The object OB is, for example, a stationary object such as a white line, a pole, a telephone pole, a sign, a billboard, a building, etc. The movement amount of the vehicle 200 can be obtained by the external information or its analysis. The external information can be the movement amount of the object OB, or the position of the object OB, or various data related to the movement of the object OB that can obtain the position of the object OB. The movement amount of the vehicle 200 obtained using the external information is also called "external movement amount".

[0022] In the present embodiment, the external sensor 224 is a multi-camera including four fisheye cameras disposed at the front, back, left, and right sides of the vehicle 200, and the external information is image data of the object OB, etc. In addition, the fisheye camera is a camera using a fisheye lens. However, the external sensor 224 may include a pinhole camera instead of a fisheye camera, or may be a multi-camera including a fisheye camera and a pinhole camera. By using a pinhole camera, it is possible to detect the object outside the vehicle 200 using the external sensor 224 of a simple structure. The external sensor 224 is not limited to a camera, but may also be a LiDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), a radar device, etc. When the external sensor 224 is a LiDAR, the external information is three-dimensional point group data. The three-dimensional point group data is data indicating the three-dimensional position of the point group, etc. The external movement amount may also be a scalar value indicating the movement distance of the vehicle 200, or a vector value including the movement distance of the vehicle 200 and the turning angle of the vehicle 200, etc.

[0023] exist Figure 1 The external movement amount CD(n) is conceptually shown in . The external movement amount CD(n) is the movement amount of the vehicle 200 obtained based on the detection result of the external sensor 224. The absolute position of the object mark OB in the absolute coordinate system is known. The relative position FP(n) of the object mark OB with respect to the external sensor 224 is calculated based on the detection result of the external sensor 224. The external movement amount CD(n) is, for example, the movement amount from the relative position FP(n-1) calculated in the previous processing routine to the relative position FP(n) calculated in the current processing routine. When the position of the object mark OB at the time of a specified processing routine is set to the relative position FP(n), and the position of the object mark OB at the previous processing routine or before is set to the relative position FP(n-1), the movement amount from the previous relative position FP(n-1) to the current relative position FP(n) is the current external movement amount CD(n). Figure 1 The previous external movement amount CD(n-1) and the next external movement amount CD(n+1) are also shown.

[0024] Figure 2 1 is a block diagram showing the internal functional structure of the movement amount estimation device 100. The movement amount estimation device 100 includes a CPU 110 as a central processing unit, a storage device 130, and an interface circuit 150. The CPU 110, the storage device 130, and the interface circuit 150 are connected via an internal bus so as to be able to communicate in both directions. An actuator group 210 and a sensor group 220 are connected to the interface circuit 150. In the case where the movement amount estimation device 100 is provided outside the vehicle 200, a communication device for communicating with the vehicle 200 via a network or the like may be further connected to the interface circuit 150.

[0025] The storage device 130 is, for example, a HDD (hard disk drive), an SSD (solid state drive), an optical recording medium, a semiconductor memory, etc. In the readable and writable area of ​​the storage device 130, an external movement amount CD, an internal movement amount SD, and a correction value CV are stored. As described later, the correction value CV is used to calculate the movement amount of the vehicle 200. In this embodiment, the correction value CV is corrected in such a way that the internal movement amount SD matches the external movement amount CD. The correction value CV can be obtained, for example, by calculating the difference between the external movement amount CD and the internal movement amount SD.

[0026] The storage device 130 stores a computer program for realizing at least a part of the functions provided in the present embodiment. By executing the computer program stored in the storage device 130, the CPU 110 functions as the travel control unit 112, the external movement amount acquisition unit 114, the internal movement amount acquisition unit 116, the correction value determination unit 118, and the movement amount estimation unit 120. However, part or all of these functions may be configured by hardware circuits.

[0027] The travel control unit 112 performs travel control of the vehicle 200 and driving control of the vehicle 200. The “driving control” is various controls such as adjustment of acceleration, speed, and steering angle for driving the actuator group 210 that performs the functions of “driving”, “turning”, and “stopping” of the vehicle 200. The actuator group 210 includes an actuator of a driving device for accelerating the vehicle 200, an actuator of a braking device for decelerating the vehicle 200, and an actuator of a steering device for changing the traveling direction of the vehicle 200.

[0028] The external movement amount acquisition unit 114 acquires the external movement amount CD using the external information detected by the external sensor 224. The acquired external movement amount CD is stored in the storage device 130. The internal movement amount acquisition unit 116 acquires the internal movement amount SD using the internal information detected by the internal sensor 222. The acquired internal movement amount SD is stored in the storage device 130.

[0029] The correction value determination unit 118 determines the correction value CV. In the present embodiment, the correction value determination unit 118 determines the correction value CV corresponding to the result of the determination of whether the gradual error generated in the inner limit movement amount SD or the instantaneous error generated in the inner limit movement amount SD and the outer limit movement amount CD. The determined correction value CV is stored in the storage device 130.

[0030] There is a case where the inner limit movement amount SD and the outer limit movement amount CD within a specified period are inconsistent with each other. For example, sometimes an error (hereinafter also referred to as "progressive error") is generated in the inner limit movement amount SD due to a deviation or change in the diameter of the wheel 212, a decrease in the air pressure of the wheel 212, etc. The progressive error generally increases with the increase in the travel distance of the vehicle 200. The inner limit movement amount SD obtained is corrected by using the correction value CV so that the detection value of the inner limit movement amount SD matches the outer limit movement amount CD. As a result, the influence of the progressive error can be reduced, and the estimation accuracy of the movement amount of the vehicle 200 can be improved.

[0031] Figure 3 2 is a graph showing the change in the error of the external movement amount relative to the movement distance. The horizontal axis is the movement distance of the vehicle 200, and the vertical axis shows the magnitude of the detection error of the external movement amount. For example, when the external sensor 224 is a camera, there may be a case where the detection error of the feature point of the object mark OB occurs due to the poor field of view outside the vehicle 200. In this case, Figure 3 As shown in the error P1, sometimes a temporary error is generated in the external movement amount CD due to a detection error. The error that is generated temporarily is also called a "transient error". In the inner boundary sensor 222, for example, if the wheel 212 slips during driving, the wheel 212 spins idly, etc., a transient error caused by this may be generated in the inner boundary movement amount SD. If the movement amount of the vehicle 200 is calculated in a state containing a transient error, the estimation accuracy of the movement amount of the vehicle 200 is reduced. Therefore, it is desired to detect whether the obtained external movement amount CD and the inner boundary movement amount SD contain a transient error, and calculate the movement amount of the vehicle 200 using a calculation method or correction value CV corresponding to the detection result.

[0032] Whether the external movement amount CD and the inner movement amount SD contain a transient error is determined by confirming the deviation between the external movement amount CD and the inner movement amount SD. For example, the difference between the external movement amount CD and the inner movement amount SD can be calculated, and the determination is made based on whether the difference exceeds a predetermined threshold value. In the present embodiment, the threshold is set with the correction value CV (also referred to as the "previous correction value") determined in the previous processing routine. Specifically, when the difference between the external movement amount CD and the inner movement amount SD in this processing routine, i.e., the current difference, is greater than the difference between the external movement amount CD and the inner movement amount SD in the previous processing routine, i.e., the previous difference, it is inferred that a transient error has occurred. In addition, the current difference is equal to the correction value CV (also referred to as the "current correction value") determined in the current processing routine, and the previous difference is equal to the correction value CV determined in the previous processing routine. The threshold can also be set with the correction value CV determined before the previous previous time, etc., instead of the previous time. The threshold value may be set as a fixed value, or may be arbitrarily set using past correction values ​​CV, such as an average value of correction values ​​CV before the previous correction values, for example.

[0033] return Figure 2 , the movement amount estimation unit 120 estimates the movement amount of the vehicle 200. The movement amount estimation unit 120 estimates the movement amount using the inner boundary movement amount SD, the outer boundary movement amount CD, and the correction value CV obtained this time, or at least one of the inner boundary movement amount SD, the outer boundary movement amount CD, and the correction value CV stored in the storage device 130. In this embodiment, the movement amount estimation unit 120 estimates the movement amount of the vehicle 200 using different calculation methods according to the determination result of whether an instantaneous error occurs in the inner boundary movement amount SD and the outer boundary movement amount CD, as described later.

[0034] Figure 4 This is a flowchart showing a processing routine in the process of estimating the movement amount of vehicle 200. This process is started, for example, by starting vehicle 200 or movement amount estimation device 100. This process can be repeatedly executed at a predetermined time such as every 1 second or every 0.1 second.

[0035] In step S10, the external movement amount acquisition unit 114 acquires the detection result of the external sensor 224 and calculates the external movement amount of this time. The calculated external movement amount of this time is also referred to as "external movement amount CD(n)". In addition, the external movement amount CD stored in the storage device 130 is also referred to as "previous external movement amount" or "external movement amount CD(n-1)".

[0036] In step S20, the inner boundary movement amount acquisition unit 116 acquires the detection result of the inner boundary sensor 222 and calculates the inner boundary movement amount of this time. The calculated inner boundary movement amount of this time is also referred to as "inner boundary movement amount SD(n)". In addition, the inner boundary movement amount SD stored in the storage device 130 is also referred to as "previous inner boundary movement amount" or "inner boundary movement amount SD(n-1)".

[0037] In step S30, the movement amount estimation unit 120 checks whether the difference between the outer movement amount CD(n) and the inner movement amount SD(n) is less than or equal to the correction value CV serving as a threshold. The correction value CV is the correction value CV stored in the storage device 130. The correction value CV stored in the storage device 130 is also referred to as "previous correction value" or "correction value CV(n-1)".

[0038] In this embodiment, the movement amount estimation unit 120 checks whether the absolute value of the difference between the external movement amount CD(n) and the internal movement amount SD(n) is less than the absolute value of the correction value CV. Specifically, the movement amount estimation unit 120 checks whether the following formula (1) is satisfied. By using formula (1), it can be determined whether an instantaneous error has occurred in either the external movement amount CD(n) or the internal movement amount SD(n).

[0039] |External movement amount CD(n)-internal movement amount SD(n)|≤|correction value CV(n-1)|…Formula (1)

[0040] If the equation (1) is satisfied (S30: Yes), that is, if it is determined that no transient error has occurred, the movement amount estimation unit 120 moves the process to step S40. In step S40, the correction value determination unit 118 determines the correction value CV(n) as the calculated value of "external movement amount CD(n)-internal movement amount SD(n)". The determined correction value CV(n) is stored in the storage device 130 and updated.

[0041] In step S50, the movement amount estimation unit 120 updates the obtained external movement amount CD(n) by overwriting the external movement amount CD in the storage device 130. In step S60, the movement amount estimation unit 120 updates the obtained internal movement amount SD(n) by overwriting the internal movement amount SD in the storage device 130.

[0042] In step S70, the movement amount estimation unit 120 obtains a value obtained by adding the current inner boundary movement amount SD(n) to the correction value CV(n) determined in step S40 as the movement amount of the vehicle 200. The movement amount estimation unit 120 outputs the obtained movement amount of the vehicle 200 to the driving control unit 112 and ends this process.

[0043] In step S30, if the equation (1) is not satisfied (S30: No), the movement amount estimation unit 120 moves the process to step S32. In step S32, the movement amount estimation unit 120 compares the difference between the external movement amount CD(n) and the external movement amount CD(n-1) (hereinafter, also referred to as "external movement amount difference") and the difference between the inner movement amount SD(n) and the inner movement amount SD(n-1) (hereinafter, also referred to as "inner movement amount difference"). Specifically, the movement amount estimation unit 120 confirms whether the following equation (2) is satisfied. By using equation (2), it is possible to determine whether an instantaneous error has occurred in either the inner movement amount SD or the external movement amount CD.

[0044] |External movement amount CD(n)-external movement amount CD(n-1)|≥|Internal movement amount SD(n)-internal movement amount SD(n-1)|…Formula (2)

[0045] When equation (2) is satisfied (S32: Yes), the movement amount estimation unit 120 moves the process to step S100. The case where equation (2) is satisfied is a case where it is determined that a transient error has occurred in the external movement amount CD(n). In step S100, the correction value determination unit 118 determines the previous correction value CV(n-1) stored in the storage device 130 as the current correction value CV(n). That is, the correction value determination unit 118 does not update the correction value CV stored in the storage device 130. Thus, it is possible to prevent the movement amount of the vehicle 200 from being estimated by the correction value calculated using the external movement amount CD(n) that has generated a transient error. In addition, step S100 may be omitted.

[0046] In step S110, the movement amount estimation unit 120 overwrites the external movement amount CD stored in the storage device 130 with the calculated value obtained by adding the inner limit movement amount SD(n) to the correction value CV(n) to update the external movement amount CD. By updating the external movement amount CD with the calculation result using the inner limit movement amount SD, it is possible to prevent the movement amount of the vehicle 200 from being estimated using the external movement amount CD(n) estimated to have a transient error. In step S120, the movement amount estimation unit 120 overwrites the obtained inner limit movement amount SD(n) with the inner limit movement amount SD in the storage device 130 to update the obtained inner limit movement amount SD(n) as in step S60.

[0047] In step S130, the movement amount estimation unit 120 obtains a value obtained by adding the obtained inner boundary movement amount SD(n) of this time to the correction value CV(n) determined in step S100, that is, the correction value CV(n-1), as the movement amount of the vehicle 200. The movement amount estimation unit 120 outputs the obtained movement amount of the vehicle 200 to the driving control unit 112, and ends this process.

[0048] In step S32, when equation (2) is not satisfied (S32: No), the movement amount estimation unit 120 moves the processing to step S200. The case where equation (2) is not satisfied is a case where it is determined that a transient error has occurred in the inner boundary movement amount SD(n). In step S200, the correction value determination unit 118 determines the previous correction value CV(n-1) stored in the storage device 130 as the current correction value CV(n). That is, the correction value determination unit 118 does not update the correction value CV stored in the storage device 130. In this way, it is possible to prevent the movement amount of the vehicle 200 from being estimated by the correction value calculated using the inner boundary movement amount SD(n) that has generated a transient error. In addition, step S200 can also be omitted.

[0049] In step S210, the movement amount estimation unit 120 updates the obtained external movement amount CD(n) by overwriting the external movement amount CD stored in the storage device 130. In step S220, the movement amount estimation unit 120 updates the obtained internal movement amount SD stored in the storage device 130 by overwriting the obtained external movement amount CD(n). By using the external movement amount CD(n) to update the internal movement amount SD, it is possible to prevent the movement amount of the vehicle 200 from being estimated using the internal movement amount SD(n) estimated to have a transient error.

[0050] In step S230, the movement amount estimation unit 120 obtains a value obtained by adding the obtained external movement amount CD(n) of this time to the correction value CV(n) determined in step S200, that is, the correction value CV(n-1), as the movement amount of the vehicle 200. The movement amount estimation unit 120 outputs the obtained movement amount of the vehicle 200 to the driving control unit 112, and ends this process.

[0051] As described above, according to the movement amount estimation device 100 of the present embodiment, the movement amount estimation unit 120 determines which of the obtained external movement amount CD(n) and the inner movement amount SD(n) is used to estimate the movement amount of the vehicle 200 based on whether the difference between the external movement amount CD and the inner movement amount SD is less than a predetermined threshold value. It can be determined whether the instantaneous error is included in one of the obtained external movement amount CD(n) and the inner movement amount SD(n) based on whether the difference between the external movement amount CD and the inner movement amount SD is less than the threshold value. Therefore, by using one of the external movement amount CD(n) and the inner movement amount SD(n) that does not generate an instantaneous error, the influence of the instantaneous error can be suppressed in the subsequent estimation of the movement amount of the vehicle 200.

[0052] According to the movement amount estimation device 100 of the present embodiment, a correction value determination unit 118 is further provided for determining the correction value CV based on whether the difference between the obtained external movement amount CD(n) and the inner movement amount SD(n) is less than or equal to a threshold value. Since the correction value CV is determined based on whether a transient error is included in one of the obtained external movement amount CD(n) and the inner movement amount SD(n), it is possible to prevent the correction value CV from being used in the calculation of the movement amount when a transient error occurs. Therefore, in the estimation of the movement amount of the vehicle 200, the influence of the transient error can be suppressed.

[0053] According to the movement amount estimation device 100 of this embodiment, the threshold value is determined using the previous correction value CV(n-1) determined last time or before. The correction value determination unit 118 determines the correction value CV(n) based on whether the difference between the external movement amount CD(n) obtained this time and the internal movement amount SD(n) obtained this time, that is, the current difference, is less than the previous correction value CV(n-1). By using the correction value determined in the past and having achieved results as the threshold value, the detection probability of the instantaneous error using the threshold value can be increased.

[0054] According to the movement amount estimation device 100 of the present embodiment, when the current difference is less than the previous correction value CV(n-1), the correction value determination unit 118 determines the correction value CV using the current difference as the current correction value CV(n). The movement amount estimation unit 120 estimates the movement amount of the vehicle 200 using the inner boundary movement amount SD(n) obtained this time and the determined correction value CV. When it is estimated that no instantaneous error occurs, the estimation accuracy of the movement amount of the vehicle 200 can be improved by performing correction in a manner that matches the inner boundary movement amount SD(n) with the outer boundary movement amount CD(n).

[0055] According to the movement amount estimation device 100 of the present embodiment, when the current difference is larger than the previous correction value CV(n-1), the correction value determination unit 118 determines the correction value CV using the previous correction value CV(n-1) as the current correction value CV(n). When it is estimated that a transient error has occurred, the correction value is not updated, thereby suppressing the influence of the transient error in the subsequent estimation of the movement amount of the vehicle 200.

[0056] According to the movement amount estimation device 100 of the present embodiment, the movement amount estimation unit 120 obtains the external movement amount difference and the inner movement amount difference when the current difference is larger than the previous correction value CV(n-1). The movement amount estimation unit 120 determines which of the obtained external movement amount CD and the inner movement amount SD to use to estimate the movement amount based on whether the obtained external movement amount difference is greater than the inner movement amount difference. According to whether the external movement amount difference is greater than the inner movement amount difference, it can be determined whether a transient error has occurred in the external movement amount CD(n) and the inner movement amount SD(n). Therefore, by using the one of the obtained external movement amount CD and the inner movement amount SD that does not produce a transient error, the estimation accuracy of the movement amount of the vehicle 200 can be improved.

[0057] According to the movement amount estimation device 100 of the present embodiment, when the external movement amount difference is greater than the internal movement amount difference, the correction value determination unit 118 determines the correction value CV by using the previous correction value CV(n-1) as the current correction value CV(n). The movement amount estimation unit 120 estimates the movement amount of the vehicle 200 using the internal movement amount SD(n) obtained this time and the determined correction value CV. When it is estimated that a transient error has occurred in the external movement amount CD(n), the correction value CV is not updated, but the previous correction value CV(n-1) and the internal movement amount SD(n) are used, thereby reducing the influence of the transient error.

[0058] According to the movement amount estimation device 100 of the present embodiment, when the external movement amount difference is smaller than the internal movement amount difference, the correction value determination unit 118 uses the previous correction value CV(n-1) as the current correction value CV(n) to determine the correction value CV. The movement amount estimation unit 120 uses the external movement amount CD(n) obtained this time to estimate the movement amount of the vehicle 200. When it is estimated that a transient error has occurred in the internal movement amount SD(n), the correction value CV is not updated, but the external movement amount CD(n) is used instead of the internal movement amount SD(n), thereby reducing the influence of the transient error.

[0059] (Other embodiments)

[0060] In the above-mentioned first embodiment, examples in which the vehicle 200 is a passenger car, a truck, a bus, a construction vehicle, and the like are shown. However, the vehicle 200 is not limited thereto, and may also include various automobiles such as two-wheeled vehicles and four-wheeled vehicles, trams, and the like. In addition, various mobile bodies other than the vehicle 200 may also be used. "Mobile body" means an object that can move. Mobile bodies include, for example, electric vertical take-off and landing machines (so-called flying cars), ships, airplanes, robots, maglev trains, and the like. In this case, the expressions "vehicle" and "car" in this application can be appropriately replaced with "mobile body", and the expression "driving" can be appropriately replaced with "moving".

[0061] The control unit and method described in the present application may also be implemented by a dedicated computer as described below, which is provided by a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions embodied by a computer program. Or the control unit and method described in the present application may also be implemented by a dedicated computer as described below, which is provided by a processor composed of one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Or the control unit and method described in the present application may also be implemented by one or more dedicated computers as described below, which are composed of a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions, and a processor composed of one or more hardware logic circuits. In addition, the computer program may also be stored as an instruction executed by a computer in a computer-readable non-transitional tangible recording medium.

[0062] The present application is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be implemented in various configurations without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in order to solve part or all of the above-mentioned technical problems, or to achieve part or all of the above-mentioned effects, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in the various modes recorded in the invention content column can be appropriately replaced or combined. In addition, as long as the technical features are not described as essential items in this specification, they can be appropriately deleted.

Claims

1. A movement amount estimation device for estimating the movement amount of a moving object, characterized in that: have: an external movement amount acquisition unit that acquires an external movement amount as a movement amount of the mobile body using the external information detected by at least one external sensor provided on the mobile body and capable of detecting external information related to an object outside the mobile body; an inner boundary movement amount acquisition unit, which acquires the inner boundary movement amount as the movement amount of the mobile body using the inner boundary information detected by at least one inner boundary sensor provided on the mobile body and capable of detecting the inner boundary information related to the movement of the mobile body; as well as a movement amount estimation unit, which estimates the movement amount of the moving object using at least one of the external movement amount and the internal movement amount, The movement amount estimation unit obtains the difference between the external movement amount and the internal movement amount. The movement amount estimation unit determines whether to use the obtained external movement amount or the internal movement amount to estimate the movement amount based on whether the obtained difference is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value.

2. The movement amount estimation device according to claim 1, wherein: The movement amount estimation device further includes a correction value determination unit that determines a correction value for correcting the movement amount based on whether the obtained difference is equal to or smaller than the threshold value. The movement amount estimation unit estimates the movement amount using the inner boundary movement amount and the determined correction value.

3. The movement amount estimation device according to claim 2, characterized in that The threshold value is set using a previous correction value, and the previous correction value is determined using at least the correction value determined before the previous correction value. The correction value determination unit determines the different correction value based on whether the difference between the outer boundary movement amount obtained this time and the inner boundary movement amount obtained this time, that is, the current difference, is less than or equal to the previous correction value.

4. The movement amount estimation device according to claim 3, wherein: The correction value determination unit determines the current difference as the current correction value when the current difference is less than the previous correction value. The movement amount estimation unit estimates the movement amount using the inner boundary movement amount obtained this time and the determined correction value.

5. The movement amount estimation device according to claim 3, characterized in that The correction value determination unit determines the previous correction value as the current correction value when the current difference is larger than the previous correction value.

6. The movement amount estimation device according to claim 5, characterized in that When the current difference is greater than the previous correction value, the movement amount estimation unit obtains the difference between the external movement amount obtained this time and the external movement amount obtained last time, i.e., the external movement amount difference, and the difference between the internal movement amount obtained this time and the internal movement amount obtained last time, i.e., the internal movement amount difference. The movement amount estimation unit determines which of the obtained external movement amount and the internal movement amount to use to estimate the movement amount based on whether the obtained external movement amount difference is greater than the internal movement amount difference.

7. The movement amount estimation device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The correction value determination unit determines the correction value by using the previous correction value as the current correction value when the obtained external boundary movement difference is greater than the internal boundary movement difference. The movement amount estimation unit estimates the movement amount using the inner boundary movement amount obtained this time and the determined correction value.

8. The movement amount estimation device according to claim 6, characterized in that The correction value determination unit determines the correction value by using the previous correction value as the current correction value when the obtained external movement amount difference is smaller than the internal movement amount difference. The movement amount estimation unit estimates the movement amount using the external movement amount acquired this time.

9. The movement amount estimation device according to claim 1, wherein: The external sensor is a multi-camera including a plurality of fisheye cameras.

10. The movement amount estimation device according to claim 1, wherein: The external sensor is a multi-camera including a plurality of pinhole cameras.

11. The movement amount estimation device according to claim 1, wherein: The inner limit sensor is a wheel speed sensor.

12. The movement amount estimation device according to claim 1, wherein: The estimated movement amount is a scalar value indicating a movement distance of the mobile body, or a vector value including the movement distance of the mobile body and a turning angle of the mobile body.

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