System, apparatus and method

Abstract

The present invention accurately estimates at least one of the position and the orientation of a moving body. A system is provided with: a sensor that acquires appearance information including the appearance of a moving body that can be moved by unmanned driving; a process information acquisition unit that acquires process information relating to the progress of a process for manufacturing the moving body; a comparison information acquisition unit that acquires comparison information indicating the appearance of the moving body in accordance with the process information; and an estimation unit that estimates at least one of the position and the orientation of the moving body by comparing the comparison information and the appearance information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a system, an apparatus, and a method for estimating at least one of a position and an orientation of a moving object. Background Art

[0002] There is known a technique for driving a vehicle by remote control in a vehicle manufacturing process (for example, Patent Document 1). Prior art literature Patent Literature

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-538619 Summary of the invention Problems to be solved by the invention

[0004] When a moving object such as a vehicle is moved by remote control, a process of estimating the position and orientation of the moving object is performed. The position and orientation of the moving object can be estimated by comparing the appearance information of the moving object obtained by using a camera, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), etc. with pre-prepared comparison information. However, the appearance of the moving object changes as the manufacturing process proceeds, so when estimating the position and orientation of the moving object during the manufacturing process, it may not be possible to obtain a correct estimation result. Technical means to solve problems

[0005] The present disclosure can be implemented as the following aspects.

[0006] (1) According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a system is provided. The system includes: a sensor that acquires appearance information including the appearance of a mobile body that can be moved by unmanned driving; a process information acquisition unit that acquires process information related to the progress of a manufacturing process of the mobile body; a comparison information acquisition unit that acquires comparison information indicating the appearance of the mobile body corresponding to the process information; and an estimation unit that estimates at least one of a position and an orientation of the mobile body by comparing the comparison information with the appearance information. According to the system of this aspect, at least one of the position and the orientation of the moving object can be accurately estimated. (2) In the system of the above-mentioned manner, the sensor may repeatedly acquire the appearance information, the process information acquisition unit may repeatedly acquire the process information, and when the content of the process information acquired by the process information acquisition unit this time is the same as that acquired last time, the comparison information acquisition unit may not acquire the comparison information corresponding to the process information acquired this time, and the inference unit may compare the comparison information that is the same as that in the last comparison with the appearance information. According to the system of this method, when the content of the process information acquired by the process information acquisition unit this time is the same as the content acquired last time, the comparison information acquisition unit does not acquire the comparison information corresponding to the process information acquired this time, thereby reducing the processing load of the comparison information acquisition unit in acquiring the same comparison information. (3) The system of the above aspect may further include: a defect detection unit that detects assembly failure of a component in the mobile body using a degree of consistency between the appearance of the mobile body indicated by the comparison information and the appearance of the mobile body included in the appearance information. According to the system of this aspect, it is possible to detect an assembly failure of a component in the moving body by the failure detection unit. (4) The system of the above aspect may further include: a failure response unit that, when the failure detection unit detects the assembly failure, executes at least one of a process of stopping the movement of the movable body and a process of notifying that the assembly failure has occurred. According to the system of this aspect, when a component assembly failure occurs in the moving body, it is possible to respond to the assembly failure. (5) The system of the above aspect may further include: a database in which the process information and the comparison information are associated with each other, and the comparison information acquisition unit may acquire the comparison information associated with the process information acquired by the process information acquisition unit in the database. According to the system of this aspect, it is possible to obtain comparison information suitable for accurately estimating at least one of the position and orientation of the moving object using the database. (6) The system of the above aspect may further include a process management device that manages the production of the movable body, and the process information acquisition unit may acquire the process information from the process management device. According to the system of this aspect, process information can be easily acquired. (7) The system of the above-mentioned method may also be provided with: a plurality of the sensors; and a database, which establishes correspondence between the identification information of each of the plurality of sensors and the comparison information, wherein the process information acquisition unit acquires the identification information of the sensor that has acquired the appearance information as the process information, and the comparison information acquisition unit acquires the comparison information in the database that corresponds to the identification information of the sensor that has acquired the appearance information. According to the system of this aspect, it is possible to obtain comparison information suitable for accurately estimating at least one of the position and orientation of the moving object using the database. (8) According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus comprising: an appearance information acquisition unit that acquires appearance information including the appearance of a mobile body that can be moved by unmanned driving from a sensor; a process information acquisition unit that acquires process information related to the progress of a manufacturing process of the mobile body; a comparison information acquisition unit that acquires comparison information indicating the appearance of the mobile body corresponding to the process information; and an estimation unit that estimates at least one of a position and an orientation of the mobile body by comparing the comparison information with the appearance information. According to the device of this aspect, at least one of the position and the orientation of the moving object can be accurately estimated. (9) According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. In the method, appearance information including the appearance of a mobile body that can be moved by unmanned driving is obtained, process information related to the progress of a manufacturing process of the mobile body is obtained, and comparison information indicating the appearance of the mobile body corresponding to the process information is obtained, and at least one of the position and orientation of the mobile body is estimated by comparing the comparison information with the appearance information. According to the method of this aspect, at least one of the position and the orientation of the moving object can be accurately estimated. The present disclosure can also be implemented in various forms other than the system, device, and method. For example, it can be implemented in the form of a computer program, a recording medium recording the computer program, and the like. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Figure 1 It is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the system according to the first embodiment. Figure 2 This is an explanatory diagram showing how a vehicle moves by remote control in a factory. Figure 3 1 is a flowchart showing the content of the travel control process according to the first embodiment. Figure 4 This is a flowchart showing the contents of the vehicle position information acquisition process according to the first embodiment. Figure 5 This is an explanatory diagram showing how comparison information according to the progress of the vehicle manufacturing process is used. Figure 6 It is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the system according to the second embodiment. Figure 7 This is a flowchart showing the contents of vehicle position information acquisition according to the second embodiment. Figure 8 It is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a system according to the third embodiment. Fig. 9: is a flowchart showing the content of the travel control process according to the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0008] A. First Implementation Method: Figure 1 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the system 10 in the first embodiment. The system 10 is used to move a moving body by unmanned driving in a factory that manufactures moving bodies.

[0009] In the present disclosure, "mobile body" means an object that can move, such as a vehicle, an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (so-called flying car). A vehicle may be a vehicle that runs on wheels or a vehicle that runs on tracks, such as a passenger car, a truck, a bus, a two-wheeled vehicle, a four-wheeled vehicle, a tank, an engineering vehicle, etc. Vehicles include electric vehicles (BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle), gasoline vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles. In the case where the mobile body is other than a vehicle, the expressions "vehicle" and "car" in the present disclosure can be appropriately replaced with "mobile body", and the expression "running" can be appropriately replaced with "moving".

[0010] "Unmanned driving" means driving that does not rely on the driving operation of the passengers. Driving operation means an operation related to at least one of "driving", "steering" and "stopping" of the vehicle. Unmanned driving is achieved by automatic or manual remote control using a device located outside the vehicle, or autonomous control of the vehicle. In a vehicle that is driven by unmanned driving, there may also be passengers who do not perform driving operations. Passengers who do not perform driving operations include, for example, people who only sit on the seats of the vehicle, and people who perform operations other than driving operations such as assembly, inspection, and switch operations while riding in the vehicle. In addition, driving based on the driving operations of the passengers is sometimes referred to as "manned driving".

[0011] In the present disclosure, "remote control" includes "full remote control" in which all actions of the vehicle are determined completely from outside the vehicle, and "partial remote control" in which part of the actions of the vehicle are determined from outside the vehicle. In addition, "autonomous control" includes "full autonomous control" in which the vehicle autonomously controls its own actions without receiving any information from a device outside the vehicle, and "partial autonomous control" in which the vehicle autonomously controls its own actions using information received from a device outside the vehicle.

[0012] The system 10 includes a vehicle 100 that can be moved by remote control, a server device 200 that remotely controls the vehicle 100 , an external sensor group 300 installed in a factory, and a process management device 400 that manages the production of the vehicle 100 in the factory.

[0013] The vehicle 100 includes a vehicle control device 110 for controlling each part of the vehicle 100, an actuator group 120 driven under the control of the vehicle control device 110, and a communication device 130 for communicating with the server device 200 through wireless communication. The actuator group 120 includes at least one actuator. In the present embodiment, the actuator group 120 includes an actuator of a driving device for accelerating the vehicle 100, an actuator of a steering device for changing the direction of travel of the vehicle 100, and an actuator of a braking device for decelerating the vehicle 100. The driving device includes a battery, a driving motor driven by the power of the battery, and a driving wheel rotated by the driving motor. The actuator of the driving device includes a driving motor.

[0014] The vehicle control device 110 is constituted by a computer including a processor 111, a memory 112, an input / output interface 113, and an internal bus 114. The processor 111, the memory 112, and the input / output interface 113 are connected to each other for bidirectional communication via the internal bus 114. The input / output interface 113 is connected to the actuator group 120 and the communication device 130.

[0015] The processor 111 functions as a travel control unit 115 by executing a computer program PG1 pre-stored in the memory 112. The travel control unit 115 controls the actuator group 120. When a passenger is on the vehicle 100, the travel control unit 115 can control the actuator group 120 according to the operation of the passenger, thereby causing the vehicle 100 to travel. Regardless of whether a passenger is on the vehicle 100, the travel control unit 115 can control the actuator group 120 according to the travel control signal received from the server device 200, thereby causing the vehicle 100 to travel.

[0016] The server device 200 is composed of a computer including a processor 201, a memory 202, an input / output interface 203, and an internal bus 204. The processor 201, the memory 202, and the input / output interface 203 are connected to each other via the internal bus 204 so as to be able to communicate bidirectionally. The input / output interface 203 is connected to a communication device 205 for communicating with the vehicle 100 by wireless communication. In the present embodiment, the communication device 205 can communicate with the external sensor group 300 and the process management device 400 by wired communication or wireless communication.

[0017] The processor 201 functions as an appearance information acquisition unit 210, a process information acquisition unit 220, a comparison information acquisition unit 230, an estimation unit 240, and a remote control unit 250 by executing a computer program PG2 pre-stored in the memory 202. The appearance information acquisition unit 210 acquires appearance information from the external sensor group 300. The appearance information includes information related to the appearance of the vehicle 100 detected by the external sensor group 300. The process information acquisition unit 220 acquires process information related to the progress of the manufacturing process of the vehicle 100, in other words, to which stage the manufacturing process of the vehicle 100 has progressed. In this embodiment, the process information acquisition unit 220 acquires process information from the process management device 400. The comparison information acquisition unit 230 acquires comparison information CD indicating the appearance of the vehicle 100 corresponding to the process information. In this embodiment, a plurality of comparison information CDs are pre-stored in the memory 202. The comparison information acquisition unit 230 acquires the comparison information CD corresponding to the process information from the plurality of comparison information CDs stored in the memory 202. Each comparison information CD is generated, for example, using CAD data of the vehicle 100. The estimation unit 240 estimates the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 by comparing the appearance information with the comparison information CD. The position of the vehicle 100 in the factory is represented by the position coordinates of X, Y, and Z of the global coordinate system in the factory. The orientation of the vehicle 100 in the factory is represented by the orientation relative to the global coordinate system. The remote control unit 250 remotely controls the vehicle 100 based on the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 estimated by the estimation unit 240.

[0018] The external sensor group 300 is composed of at least one external sensor. The external sensor refers to a sensor installed outside the vehicle 100. In the present embodiment, the external sensor is installed in the factory. The external sensor is a distance measuring device. More specifically, the external sensor is a LiDAR. The external sensor has a communication device (not shown) and can communicate with the server device 200 through wired communication or wireless communication.

[0019] The process management device 400 manages all manufacturing processes of the vehicle 100 in the factory. The process management device 400 is composed of at least one computer. The process management device 400 is provided with a communication device (not shown) and can communicate with the server device 200 and various devices in the factory through wired communication or wireless communication. The process management device 400 collects information from various devices in the factory and generates process information.

[0020] Figure 2 1 is an explanatory diagram showing how the vehicle 100 moves by remote control in the factory KJ. Figure 2 In FIG. 1 , a vehicle 100 is schematically shown. Figure 2, a global coordinate system GA of the factory KJ is shown. In the present embodiment, the factory KJ includes a first location PL1, a second location PL2, and a third location PL3. The first location PL1, the second location PL2, and the third location PL3 are connected by a driving road SR on which the vehicle 100 can travel. A plurality of external sensors 301 are provided around the driving road SR. Each external sensor 301 is included in an external sensor group 300.

[0021] In the present embodiment, the first place PL1, the second place PL2, and the third place PL3 are places where the vehicle 100 is assembled. When the vehicle 100 is assembled in the first place PL1, at least the vehicle control device 110, the actuator group 120, and the communication device 130 are installed. Therefore, when the vehicle 100 is assembled in the first place PL1, it is in a state where it can be driven by remote control, in other words, it can perform the three functions of "driving", "steering", and "stopping" by remote control.

[0022] The vehicle 100 assembled in the first place PL1 is remotely controlled by the server device 200 and moves from the first place PL1 to the second place PL2. In the second place PL2, a part of the body parts, seats, etc. are assembled to the vehicle 100. As a part of the body parts, seats, etc. are assembled to the vehicle 100, the appearance of the vehicle 100 changes. The vehicle 100 assembled in the second place PL2 is remotely controlled by the server device 200 and moves from the second place PL2 to the third place PL3. In the third place PL3, the remaining parts are assembled to the vehicle 100. As the remaining parts are assembled to the vehicle 100, the appearance of the vehicle 100 changes. Thereafter, the vehicle 100 is shipped from the factory KJ after undergoing an inspection process, etc. In the following description, the process of assembling the vehicle 100 implemented in the first place PL1 is referred to as the first assembly process, the process of assembling the vehicle 100 implemented in the second place PL2 is referred to as the second assembly process, and the process of assembling the vehicle 100 implemented in the third place PL3 is referred to as the third assembly process. Alternatively, after the vehicle 100 is shipped from the factory KJ in a state where components other than the vehicle control device 110 , the actuator group 120 , and the communication device 130 are not assembled in the vehicle 100 , the unassembled components may be assembled in the vehicle 100 .

[0023] Figure 3is a flowchart showing the contents of the driving control process. Steps S1 to S4 of the driving control process are executed by the processor 201 of the server device 200, and steps S5 to S6 of the driving control process are executed by the processor 111 of the vehicle control device 110. The driving control process is repeatedly executed in a predetermined cycle until the vehicle 100 that is the object of remote control arrives at the destination. In the following description, the vehicle 100 that is the object of remote control is sometimes referred to as the object vehicle 100. The driving control process starts, for example, when a predetermined start button is operated by an operator of the factory KJ. Before the driving control process starts, the server device 200 obtains the identification number of the object vehicle 100. For example, when a two-dimensional code recording the identification number of the object vehicle 100 is affixed to the object vehicle 100 and the operator of the factory KJ reads the two-dimensional code affixed to the object vehicle 100 through a reading device, the identification number of the object vehicle 100 is sent from the reading device to the server device 200.

[0024] In step S1, the server device 200 obtains the vehicle position information of the vehicle 100 using the detection result output from the external sensor 301 which is a sensor located outside the vehicle 100. The vehicle position information is the position information that becomes the basis for generating the driving control signal. In the present embodiment, the vehicle position information includes the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 in the reference coordinate system of the factory KJ. In the present embodiment, the reference coordinate system of the factory KJ is the global coordinate system, and any position in the factory KJ is represented by the X, Y, and Z coordinates in the global coordinate system. The details of step S1 will be described later.

[0025] In step S2, the server device 200 determines the target position to which the vehicle 100 should go next. In the present embodiment, the target position is represented by the coordinates of X, Y, and Z in the global coordinate system. In the memory 202 of the server device 200, a reference path RR is pre-stored as the path on which the vehicle 100 should travel. The path is represented by a node showing a departure point, a node showing a waypoint, a node showing a destination, and a link connecting each node. The server device 200 uses the vehicle position information and the reference path RR to determine the target position to which the vehicle 100 should go next. The server device 200 determines the target position on the reference path RR that is further ahead than the current position of the vehicle 100.

[0026] In step S3, the server device 200 generates a travel control signal for causing the vehicle 100 to travel toward the determined target position. In the present embodiment, the travel control signal includes the acceleration and steering angle of the vehicle 100 as parameters. In other embodiments, the travel control signal may include the speed of the vehicle 100 as a parameter instead of the acceleration of the vehicle 100, or may include the speed of the vehicle 100 as a parameter in addition to the acceleration of the vehicle 100. The server device 200 calculates the travel speed of the vehicle 100 based on the shift in the position of the vehicle 100, and compares the calculated travel speed with the target speed. In general, the server device 200 determines the acceleration in a manner that accelerates the vehicle 100 when the travel speed is lower than the target speed, and determines the acceleration in a manner that decelerates the vehicle 100 when the travel speed is higher than the target speed. In addition, when the vehicle 100 is on the reference path RR, the server device 200 determines the steering angle and the acceleration in such a manner that the vehicle 100 does not deviate from the reference path RR. When the vehicle 100 is not on the reference path RR, in other words, when the vehicle 100 deviates from the reference path RR, the server device 200 determines the steering angle and the acceleration in such a manner that the vehicle 100 returns to the reference path RR.

[0027] In step S4, the server device 200 transmits the generated travel control signal to the vehicle 100. The server device 200 repeatedly acquires the position of the vehicle 100, determines the target position, generates the travel control signal, transmits the travel control signal, etc. at a predetermined cycle.

[0028] In step S5, the vehicle control device 110 mounted on the vehicle 100 receives the travel control signal transmitted from the server device 200. In step S6, the vehicle control device 110 controls the actuator group 120 using the received travel control signal, thereby causing the vehicle 100 to travel at the acceleration and steering angle indicated by the travel control signal. The vehicle control device 110 repeatedly receives the travel control signal and controls the actuator group 120 at a predetermined cycle.

[0029] Figure 4 1 is a flowchart showing the contents of the vehicle position information acquisition process. Figure 3 During the execution of the driving control process shown, the processor 201 of the server device 200 repeatedly executes. When the vehicle position information acquisition process starts, first, in step S110, the appearance information acquisition unit 210 acquires appearance information from the external sensor 301. In this embodiment, the appearance information is three-dimensional point cloud data. The appearance information includes point cloud data of the target vehicle 100 and point cloud data other than the target vehicle 100, such as various equipment in the factory KJ and the road surface of the driving road SR.

[0030] In step S120, the process information acquisition unit 220 acquires process information from the process management device 400. The process information shows the progress of the manufacturing process of the current target vehicle 100. The process management device 400 has a database in which the identification number of each vehicle 100 in the manufacturing process in the factory KJ is associated with the progress of the manufacturing process of each vehicle 100. The process information acquisition unit 220 uses the identification number of the target vehicle 100 acquired when the travel control process is started, and acquires process information related to the progress of the manufacturing process of the target vehicle 100 from the database of the process management device 400.

[0031] In step S130, the comparison information acquisition unit 230 determines whether the content of the latest process information acquired by the process information acquisition unit 220 is the same as the content of the process information acquired last time. For example, when the progress of the manufacturing process of the target vehicle 100 indicated by the latest process information acquired this time is the stage from the end of the first assembly process to the start of the second assembly process, and the progress of the manufacturing process of the target vehicle 100 indicated by the process information acquired last time is the stage from the end of the first assembly process to the start of the second assembly process, the comparison information acquisition unit 230 determines that the content of the latest process information is the same as the content of the process information acquired last time. If it is not determined in step S130 that the content of the latest process information is the same as the content of the process information acquired last time, the comparison information acquisition unit 230 proceeds to step S140. In addition, when the acquisition of the process information of the target vehicle 100 is the first time, the comparison information acquisition unit 230 skips step S130 and proceeds to step S140.

[0032] In step S140, the comparison information acquisition unit 230 acquires the comparison information CD indicating the appearance of the vehicle 100 corresponding to the progress of the manufacturing process of the target vehicle 100 from the plurality of comparison information CD pre-stored in the memory 202. In the present embodiment, the plurality of comparison information CD includes the first comparison information CD1 and the second comparison information CD2. The first comparison information CD1 indicates the appearance of the vehicle 100 from the first assembly process to the second assembly process. The second comparison information CD2 indicates the appearance of the vehicle 100 from the second assembly process to the third assembly process. In the following description, when the first comparison information CD1 and the second comparison information CD2 are described without being particularly distinguished, they are simply referred to as the comparison information CD. In the present embodiment, the memory 202 pre-stores a database DB in which the progress of the manufacturing process of the vehicle 100 and the comparison information CD to be used for matching in the progress of the manufacturing process are associated. The comparison information acquisition unit 230 acquires the comparison information CD indicating the appearance of the vehicle 100 corresponding to the progress of the manufacturing process of the target vehicle 100 by referring to the database DB. In the present disclosure, the comparison information CD to be used for matching refers to the comparison information CD suitable for accurately estimating the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 through matching.

[0033] In step S150, the estimation unit 240 estimates the position and orientation of the target vehicle 100 by comparing the appearance information and the comparison information CD. The estimation unit 240 acquires the vehicle position information by estimating the position and orientation of the target vehicle 100. In the present embodiment, the appearance information includes point cloud data acquired by the external sensor 301, and the comparison information CD includes point cloud data generated based on CAD data of the target vehicle 100 or the like. The estimation unit 240 detects the point cloud data of the target vehicle 100 from the point cloud data of the appearance information by performing matching between the point cloud data of the appearance information and the point cloud data of the comparison information CD, and estimates the position and orientation of the target vehicle 100 based on the matching result. More specifically, the estimation unit 240 detects the point cloud of the target vehicle 100 from the point cloud acquired by the external sensor 301 by performing matching. The estimation unit 240 can grasp the position and orientation of the target vehicle 100 in the local coordinate system of the external sensor 301 based on the matching result. Since the external sensor 301 is fixed to the factory KJ, the positional relationship between the local coordinate system of the external sensor 301 and the global coordinate system GA of the factory KJ is known. Therefore, the estimation unit 240 can estimate the position and orientation of the target vehicle 100 in the global coordinate system GA of the factory KJ by performing matching. As a matching method, for example, NDT (Normal Distributions Transform) and ICP (Iterative Closest Point) can be used.

[0034] If it is determined in step S130 that the content of the latest process information is the same as the content of the process information acquired last time, the comparison information acquisition unit 230 skips step S140 and proceeds to step S150. That is, if the content of the process information acquired this time by the process information acquisition unit 220 is the same as the content acquired last time, the comparison information acquisition unit 230 does not acquire the comparison information CD corresponding to the process information acquired this time. In this case, the estimation unit 240 compares the comparison information CD that is the same as the comparison in the last comparison with the appearance information acquired this time in step S150. After step S150, the processor 201 ends the vehicle position information acquisition process and proceeds to step S150. Figure 3 Step S2 shown. In addition, the method executed in the vehicle position information acquisition process is sometimes referred to as a vehicle position information acquisition method.

[0035] Figure 5 1 is an explanatory diagram showing how the comparison information CD corresponding to the progress of the manufacturing process of the vehicle 100 is used. The appearance of the vehicle 100 changes as the manufacturing process of the vehicle 100 proceeds. Therefore, if the same comparison information CD is used in estimating the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 regardless of the progress of the manufacturing process, the appearance of the actual vehicle 100 and the appearance of the vehicle 100 indicated by the comparison information CD may deviate. If the appearance of the actual vehicle 100 deviates from the appearance of the vehicle 100 indicated by the comparison information CD, it is difficult to accurately estimate the position and orientation of the vehicle 100. In the present embodiment, the comparison information CD indicating the appearance of the vehicle 100 corresponding to the progress of the manufacturing process of the vehicle 100 is used in estimating the position and orientation of the vehicle 100. For example, between the first assembly process and the second assembly process, the first comparison information CD1 indicating the appearance of the vehicle 100 between the first assembly process and the second assembly process is used, and between the second assembly process and the third assembly process, the second comparison information CD2 indicating the appearance of the vehicle 100 between the second assembly process and the third assembly process is used. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the appearance of the actual vehicle 100 from being different from the appearance of the vehicle 100 indicated by the comparison information CD.

[0036] According to the system 10 in the present embodiment described above, the appearance of the actual vehicle 100 is prevented from deviating from the appearance of the vehicle 100 represented by the comparison information CD, so the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 can be correctly estimated. In particular, when a vehicle 100 in the manufacturing process is driven by remote control, the appearance of the vehicle 100 changes as the manufacturing process of the remotely controlled vehicle 100 progresses. In the present embodiment, the server device 200 switches the comparison information CD used for matching according to the progress of the manufacturing process, so the position and orientation of the remotely controlled vehicle 100 cannot be correctly estimated.

[0037] In addition, in this embodiment, the process information acquisition unit 220 of the server device 200 acquires the process information from the process management device 400. Therefore, the process information can be easily acquired.

[0038] In addition, in the present embodiment, when the content of the process information acquired this time is the same as that acquired last time, the comparison information acquisition unit 230 of the server device 200 does not acquire new comparison information CD, and when the estimation unit 240 does not acquire new comparison information CD, it matches the comparison information CD acquired last time with the appearance information acquired this time. Therefore, the effort of acquiring new comparison information CD can be omitted, so the processing load of acquiring comparison information CD can be reduced.

[0039] In the present embodiment, the comparison information acquisition unit 230 of the server device 200 refers to the database DB pre-stored in the memory 202 and selects the comparison information CD for matching from the plurality of comparison information CDs. Therefore, the comparison information CD suitable for accurately estimating the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 can be selected.

[0040] B. Second Implementation Method: Figure 6 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the system 10b in the second embodiment. The system 10b in this embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the notification device 500 is provided, and the server device 200 is provided with a failure detection unit 260 and a failure response unit 270. The other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment unless otherwise specified.

[0041] In the present embodiment, the processor 201 of the server device 200 functions as the appearance information acquisition unit 210, the process information acquisition unit 220, the comparison information acquisition unit 230, the estimation unit 240, and the remote control unit 250 by executing the computer program PG2 pre-stored in the memory 202, and also functions as the failure detection unit 260 and the failure response unit 270. The failure detection unit 260 detects the occurrence of assembly failure of the components in the vehicle 100. The failure response unit 270 executes the processing of stopping the driving of the vehicle 100 and the processing of notifying the vehicle 100 of the occurrence of the assembly failure through the notification device 500 when the assembly failure is detected by the failure detection unit 260.

[0042] The notification device 500 is a device for notifying the administrator of the system 10b or the operator of the factory KJ that a defective assembly has occurred in the vehicle 100. The notification device 500 is, for example, a warning buzzer installed in the factory KJ or a warning light installed in the factory KJ. The notification device 500 may also be a tablet terminal carried by the administrator of the system 10 or the operator of the factory KJ. In the following description, the administrator of the system 10b or the operator of the factory KJ is referred to as an administrator or the like. The notification device 500 has a communication device (not shown) and can communicate with the server device 200 through wired communication or wireless communication.

[0043] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the contents of the location information acquisition process in this embodiment. Steps S210 to S250 are Figure 4 The steps S110 to S150 in the position information acquisition process of the first embodiment shown in the figure are the same. After step S250, in step S255, the defect detection unit 260 determines whether the degree of consistency between the appearance of the vehicle 100 included in the appearance information and the appearance of the vehicle 100 included in the comparison information CD is less than a specified value. The shorter the total distance obtained by summing the distances between corresponding points in the point cloud data of the appearance information and the point cloud data of the comparison information CD, the higher the degree of consistency in the appearance. Therefore, when the total distance of the distances between corresponding points is greater than a specified distance, the defect detection unit 260 determines that the degree of consistency between the appearance of the vehicle 100 included in the appearance information and the appearance of the vehicle 100 included in the comparison information CD is less than a specified value.

[0044] If it is not determined in step S255 that the degree of coincidence between the appearance of the vehicle 100 included in the appearance information and the appearance of the vehicle 100 included in the comparison information CD is less than the predetermined value, the server device 200 ends the position information acquisition process and proceeds to step S256. Figure 3 Step S2 of the travel control process is shown.

[0045] If it is determined in step S255 that the degree of coincidence between the appearance of the vehicle 100 included in the appearance information and the appearance of the vehicle 100 included in the comparison information CD is less than a predetermined value, the failure response unit 270 stops the vehicle 100 from running in step S270, and notifies the vehicle 100 of the occurrence of assembly failure of the components in step S280. In the present embodiment, the failure response unit 270 generates a travel control signal for stopping the vehicle 100 from running, and sends the travel control signal to the vehicle 100 via the communication device 205, thereby stopping the vehicle 100 from running. The failure response unit 270 generates a notification signal for notifying the assembly failure, and sends the notification signal to the notification device 500 via the communication device 205, thereby notifying the occurrence of the assembly failure. For example, when the notification device 500 is a warning buzzer, the notification signal is a signal for sounding the warning buzzer, and when the notification device 500 is a warning light, the notification signal is a signal for lighting the warning light. When the notification device 500 is a tablet terminal, the notification signal is a signal for causing the tablet terminal to display a message notifying that a component assembly failure has occurred in the vehicle 100. Thereafter, the server device 200 ends the position information acquisition process and terminates the process. Figure 3 The driving control process shown.

[0046] According to the system 10b in the present embodiment described above, it is possible to detect the occurrence of poor assembly of components in the vehicle 100 by the defect detection unit 260. In addition, in the present embodiment, when the occurrence of poor assembly of components in the vehicle 100 is detected by the defect detection unit 260, the defect response unit 270 performs a process of stopping the travel of the vehicle 100. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the situation where the vehicle 100 continues to travel in a state where the assembly failure has occurred. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when the occurrence of poor assembly of components in the vehicle 100 is detected by the defect detection unit 260, the defect response unit 270 performs a process of notifying the occurrence of poor assembly of components in the vehicle 100. Therefore, managers and the like can recognize the occurrence of poor assembly early and can take measures.

[0047] C. Third Implementation Method: Figure 8 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of the system 10c in the third embodiment. The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the system 10c does not include the server device 200 and the vehicle 100 travels by autonomous control rather than by remote control. The other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment unless otherwise specified.

[0048] In the present embodiment, the vehicle 100 is configured to be able to travel by autonomous control. The vehicle 100 can communicate with the external sensor group 300 and the process management device 400 by wireless communication using the communication device 130. In the present embodiment, the processor 111 of the vehicle control device 110 functions as a travel control unit 115c, an appearance information acquisition unit 191, a process information acquisition unit 192, a comparison information acquisition unit 193, and an estimation unit 194 by executing a computer program PG1 pre-stored in the memory 112. In the present embodiment, the travel control unit 115c generates a travel control signal by itself, and controls the actuator group 120 using the generated travel control signal, thereby causing the own vehicle to travel. The appearance information acquisition unit 191 acquires the appearance information of the own vehicle from the external sensor group 300. The process information acquisition unit 192 acquires process information related to the progress of the manufacturing process of the own vehicle. The comparison information acquisition unit 193 acquires comparison information CD indicating the appearance of the own vehicle corresponding to the process information. In this embodiment, a plurality of comparison information CDs are pre-stored in the memory 112, and the comparison information acquisition unit 193 acquires the comparison information CD corresponding to the process information from the plurality of comparison information CDs stored in the memory 112. The estimation unit 194 estimates the position and orientation of the own vehicle by comparing the appearance information with the comparison information CD. The memory 112 pre-stores a database DB and a reference route RR.

[0049] Fig. 9 1 is a flowchart showing the content of the driving control process in the third embodiment. In this embodiment, the driving control process is executed by the processor 111 of the vehicle control device 110. In step S11, the vehicle control device 110 executes Figure 4The vehicle position information acquisition process shown in FIG. 1 is to acquire the vehicle position information of the own vehicle. Specifically, in step S110, the appearance information acquisition unit 191 acquires the appearance information from the external sensor 301, in step S120, the process information acquisition unit 192 acquires the process information related to the progress of the manufacturing process of the own vehicle from the process management device 400, and in step S130, the comparison information acquisition unit 193 determines whether the content of the latest process information acquired by the process information acquisition unit 192 is the same as the content of the process information acquired last time. If it is not determined in step S130 that the content of the latest process information is the same as the content of the process information acquired last time, the comparison information acquisition unit 193 proceeds to step S140. If it is determined in step S130 that the content of the latest process information is the same as the content of the process information acquired last time, the comparison information acquisition unit 193 skips step S140 and proceeds to step S150. In step S140, the comparison information acquisition unit 193 acquires the comparison information CD indicating the appearance of the vehicle 100 corresponding to the progress of the manufacturing process of the own vehicle from among the plurality of comparison information CD pre-stored in the memory 112. In step S150, the estimation unit 194 estimates the position and orientation of the own vehicle by comparing the appearance information with the comparison information CD, thereby acquiring the vehicle position information.

[0050] In step S21, the travel control unit 115c determines the target position to which the vehicle should go next. In step S31, the travel control unit 115c generates a travel control signal for causing the vehicle to travel toward the determined target position. In step S41, the travel control unit 115c controls the actuator group 120 using the generated travel control signal to cause the vehicle to travel according to the parameters indicated by the travel control signal. The travel control unit 115c repeatedly acquires vehicle position information, determines the target position, generates a travel control signal, and controls the actuator group 120 in a predetermined cycle.

[0051] According to the system 10 c in the present embodiment described above, the vehicle 100 can be driven by autonomous control of the vehicle 100 even without remotely controlling the vehicle 100 through the server device 200 .

[0052] D. Other implementation methods: (D1) In the above-mentioned embodiments, the external sensor 301 is a LiDAR, and the estimation unit 240, 194 estimates the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 by performing point cloud matching using point cloud data output from the LiDAR. On the other hand, the external sensor 301 may be a camera. In this case, the estimation unit 240, 194 may estimate the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 by performing image matching using an image output from the camera.

[0053] (D2) In the above-mentioned embodiments, the estimating units 240 and 194 estimate the position and orientation of the vehicle 100. In contrast, the estimating units 240 and 194 may estimate one of the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 without estimating the other. For example, when the vehicle 100 is equipped with a GPS receiver, the position information of the vehicle 100 can be obtained through the GPS receiver, so the estimating units 240 and 194 may estimate the orientation of the vehicle 100 instead of the position of the vehicle 100. For example, when the reference path RR is a straight line, the estimating units 240 and 194 may estimate the position of the vehicle 100 instead of estimating the orientation of the vehicle 100.

[0054] (D3) In the above-mentioned embodiments, the process information acquisition unit 220, 192 acquires the process information from the process management device 400. On the other hand, when the appearance information acquired from the external sensor 301 includes the identification information of the external sensor 301, and the memory 202, 112 pre-stores the database DB in which the identification information of the external sensor 301 and the progress of the manufacturing process of the vehicle 100 are associated, the process information acquisition unit 220, 192 may acquire the progress of the manufacturing process of the vehicle 100 using the identification information of the external sensor 301 acquired by the appearance information acquisition unit 210, 191 and the database DB. Alternatively, when a GPS receiver is mounted on the vehicle 100, and the memory 202, 112 pre-stores the database DB in which the position information and the progress of the manufacturing process of the vehicle 100 are associated, the process information acquisition unit 220, 192 may acquire the progress of the manufacturing process of the vehicle 100 using the position information acquired by the GPS receiver and the database DB.

[0055] (D4) In the above-mentioned embodiments, the memory 202 of the server device 200 and the memory 112 of the vehicle control device 110 store in advance a database DB in which the progress of the manufacturing process of the vehicle 100 and the comparison information CD to be used for matching at the progress of the manufacturing process are associated, and the comparison information acquisition unit 230, 193 acquires the comparison information CD indicating the appearance of the vehicle 100 corresponding to the progress of the manufacturing process of the target vehicle 100 by referring to the database DB. On the other hand, the memory 202 of the server device 200 and the memory 112 of the vehicle control device 110 may store in advance a database DB in which the identification information of the external sensor 301 and the comparison information CD to be used for matching with the appearance information acquired by the external sensor 301. The process information acquisition unit 220, 192 may acquire the identification information of the external sensor 301 that has acquired the appearance information as the process information, and the comparison information acquisition unit 230, 193 acquires the comparison information CD corresponding to the external sensor 301 whose appearance information has been acquired by the appearance information acquisition unit 210, 191 by referring to the database DB. In this case as well, comparison information CD suitable for accurately estimating the position and orientation of vehicle 100 can be selected.

[0056] (D5) In the above-mentioned embodiments, the comparison information acquisition unit 230, 193 determines whether the content of the process information acquired this time is the same as the content acquired last time in step S130, step S230 of the vehicle position information acquisition process, and when it is determined that the content is the same as the content acquired last time, steps S140, step S240 are skipped, so the comparison information CD is not acquired in step S140, step S240. On the other hand, the comparison information acquisition unit 230, 193 may acquire the comparison information CD in step S140, step S240 without determining whether the content of the process information acquired this time is the same as the content acquired last time in step S130, step S230 of the vehicle position information acquisition process.

[0057] (D6) In the third embodiment described above, Figure 6 The failure detection unit 260 and the failure handling unit 270 shown in FIG. 1 may also be provided in the vehicle control device 110. The vehicle control device 110 may be provided in FIG. Fig. 9 In step S11 of the driving control process shown in FIG. Figure 4 The vehicle position information acquisition process shown is executed instead Figure 7 In this case, the occurrence of a component assembly failure in the own vehicle can be detected by the failure detection unit 260. In addition, when the occurrence of a component assembly failure in the own vehicle is detected by the failure detection unit 260, the failure response unit 270 can execute a process of stopping the travel of the own vehicle.

[0058] (D7) In the first and second embodiments described above, the server device 200 performs the processing from the acquisition of the vehicle position information to the generation of the travel control signal. In contrast, at least a part of the processing from the acquisition of the vehicle position information to the generation of the travel control signal may be performed by the vehicle 100. For example, the following methods (1) to (3) may be used.

[0059] (1) The server device 200 may obtain vehicle position information, determine a target position to which the vehicle 100 should go next, and generate a path from the current position of the vehicle 100 indicated by the obtained vehicle position information to the target position. The server device 200 may generate a path to the target position between the current position and the destination, or may generate a path to the destination. The server device 200 may send the generated path to the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 may generate a travel control signal so that the vehicle 100 travels on the path received from the server device 200, and control the actuator group 120 using the generated travel control signal.

[0060] (2) The server device 200 may obtain the vehicle position information and transmit the obtained vehicle position information to the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 may determine the target position to which the vehicle 100 should go next, generate a path from the current position of the vehicle 100 indicated by the received vehicle position information to the target position, generate a travel control signal so that the vehicle 100 travels on the generated path, and control the actuator group 120 using the generated travel control signal.

[0061] (3) In the above-mentioned methods (1) and (2), the vehicle 100 may be equipped with an internal sensor, and the detection result outputted from the internal sensor may be used in at least one of the generation of the route and the generation of the driving control signal. The internal sensor is a sensor mounted on the vehicle 100. The internal sensor may include, for example, a sensor for detecting the motion state of the vehicle 100, a sensor for detecting the action state of each part of the vehicle 100, and a sensor for detecting the environment around the vehicle 100. Specifically, the internal sensor may include, for example, a camera, a LiDAR, a millimeter wave radar, an ultrasonic sensor, a GPS sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope sensor, etc. For example, in the above-mentioned method (1), the server device 200 may obtain the detection result of the internal sensor, and reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the route when generating the route. In the above-mentioned method (1), the vehicle 100 may obtain the detection result of the internal sensor, and reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the driving control signal when generating the driving control signal. In the above-mentioned method (2), the vehicle 100 may obtain the detection result of the internal sensor, and reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the route when generating the route. In the above-mentioned aspect (2), the vehicle 100 may obtain the detection result of the internal sensor and reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the traveling control signal when generating the traveling control signal.

[0062] (D8) In the first and second embodiments described above, the server device 200 automatically generates a travel control signal to be sent to the vehicle 100. In contrast, the server device 200 may generate a travel control signal to be sent to the vehicle 100 in accordance with an operation of an external operator located outside the vehicle 100. For example, the external operator may operate an operating device including a display for displaying point cloud data output from a LiDAR or a captured image output from a camera, a steering wheel for remotely operating the vehicle 100, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, and a communication device for communicating with the server device 200 via wired communication or wireless communication, and the server device 200 may generate a travel control signal in accordance with the operation applied to the operating device.

[0063] (D9) In the first embodiment described above, the vehicle 100 only needs to have a structure capable of moving by unmanned driving, for example, it may be a platform having the structure described below. Specifically, in order to perform the three functions of "driving", "steering" and "stopping" by unmanned driving, the vehicle 100 may at least have a vehicle control device 110 and an actuator group 120. In the case where the vehicle 100 obtains information from the outside for unmanned driving, the vehicle 100 may also have a communication device 130. That is, the vehicle 100 capable of moving by unmanned driving may not be equipped with at least a part of the interior parts such as the driver's seat and the instrument panel, may not be equipped with at least a part of the exterior parts such as the bumper and the fender, and may not be equipped with a body shell. In this case, the remaining parts such as the body shell may be assembled to the vehicle 100 before the vehicle 100 is shipped from the factory KJ, or the remaining parts such as the body shell may be assembled to the vehicle 100 after the vehicle 100 is shipped from the factory KJ in a state where the remaining parts such as the body shell are not assembled to the vehicle 100. Each component can be assembled from any direction such as the upper side, lower side, front side, rear side, right side or left side of the vehicle 100, and can be assembled from the same direction or from different directions. In addition, the position of the stand can also be determined in the same way as the vehicle 100 in the first embodiment.

[0064] (D10) The vehicle 100 can be manufactured by combining a plurality of modules. A module means a unit composed of a plurality of components that are aggregated according to the location and function of the vehicle 100. For example, the rack of the vehicle 100 can be manufactured by combining a front module that constitutes the front portion of the rack, a central module that constitutes the central portion of the rack, and a rear module that constitutes the rear portion of the rack. In addition, the number of modules that constitute the rack is not limited to 3, and may be 2 or less or 4 or more. In addition, in addition to the components that constitute the rack, components that constitute a portion of the vehicle 100 that is different from the rack may also be modularized, or components that constitute a portion of the vehicle 100 that is different from the rack may be modularized instead of the components that constitute the rack. In addition, various modules may also include any exterior components such as a bumper and a grille, and any interior components such as a seat and a console. In addition, not limited to the vehicle 100, any type of mobile body may be manufactured by combining a plurality of modules. Such a module may be manufactured, for example, by joining a plurality of components by welding or a fixing, or may be manufactured by integrally molding at least a portion of the components that constitute the module into one component by casting. The molding method of integrally molding a component, especially a relatively large component, is also called Giga-casting or Mega-casting. For example, the front module, the center module, and the rear module mentioned above can also be manufactured using Giga-casting.

[0065] (D11) Transporting the vehicle 100 by driving the vehicle 100 without human intervention is also referred to as "self-propelled transport". In addition, the configuration for realizing self-propelled transport is also referred to as "vehicle remote-controlled autonomous driving transport system". In addition, the production method for producing the vehicle 100 by self-propelled transport is also referred to as "self-propelled production". In self-propelled production, for example, in the factory KJ that manufactures the vehicle 100, at least a portion of the transport of the vehicle 100 is realized by self-propelled transport.

[0066] (D12) In the first embodiment described above, part or all of the functions and processes implemented by software may also be implemented by hardware. In addition, part or all of the functions and processes implemented by hardware may also be implemented by software. As hardware for implementing the various functions in the above embodiments, various circuits such as integrated circuits and discrete circuits may be used.

[0067] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be implemented in various configurations within the scope of its main purpose. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each method described in the "Contents of the Invention" section can be appropriately replaced or combined in order to solve part or all of the above-mentioned problems, or to achieve part or all of the above-mentioned effects. In addition, as long as the technical feature is not described as a necessary part in this specification, it can be appropriately deleted. Description of Reference Numerals

[0068] 10 to 10c…system, 100…vehicle, 110…vehicle control device, 111…processor, 112…memory, 113…input / output interface, 114…internal bus, 115, 115c…travel control unit, 120…actuator group, 130…communication device, 191…appearance information acquisition unit, 192…process information acquisition unit, 193…comparison information acquisition unit, 194…estimation unit, 200…server device, 201…processor, 202…memory, 203…input / output interface, 204…internal bus, 205…communication device, 210…appearance information acquisition unit, 220…process information acquisition unit, 230…comparison information acquisition unit, 240…estimation unit, 250…remote control unit, 260…fault detection unit, 270…fault response unit, 300…external sensor group, 301…external sensor, 400…process management device, 500…notification device.

Claims

1. A system comprising: A sensor that acquires appearance information including an appearance of a moving object that can move by unmanned driving; a process information acquisition unit that acquires process information related to the progress of the manufacturing process of the movable body; a comparison information acquisition unit that acquires comparison information indicating the appearance of the moving object corresponding to the process information; and An estimating unit estimates at least one of a position and a direction of the moving object by comparing the comparison information with the appearance information.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein: The sensor repeatedly obtains the appearance information. The process information acquisition unit repeatedly acquires the process information. the comparison information acquisition unit does not acquire the comparison information corresponding to the process information acquired this time, when the content of the process information acquired this time by the process information acquisition unit is the same as the content acquired last time, The estimating unit compares the comparison information that is the same as that in the previous comparison with the appearance information.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein: The device further includes a defect detection unit configured to detect an assembly defect of a component in the mobile object by using a degree of coincidence between the appearance of the mobile object indicated by the comparison information and the appearance of the mobile object included in the appearance information.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein: The device further includes a failure response unit that, when the failure detection unit detects the assembly failure, executes at least one of a process of stopping the movement of the movable body and a process of notifying the occurrence of the assembly failure.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein: It also includes: a database that establishes a correspondence between the process information and the comparison information, The comparison information acquisition unit acquires the comparison information associated with the process information acquired by the process information acquisition unit in the database.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein: It also includes: a process management device that manages the manufacturing of the moving body, The process information acquisition unit acquires the process information from the process management device.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein: Also available: a plurality of said sensors; and A database that establishes a correspondence between the identification information of each of the plurality of sensors and the comparison information, The process information acquisition unit acquires identification information of the sensor that acquired the appearance information as the process information, The comparison information acquisition unit acquires the comparison information associated with the identification information of the sensor that acquired the appearance information in the database.

8. A device comprising: an appearance information acquisition unit that acquires the appearance information including the appearance of a moving object that can move unmanned from a sensor that acquires the appearance information; a process information acquisition unit that acquires process information related to the progress of the manufacturing process of the movable body; a comparison information acquisition unit that acquires comparison information indicating the appearance of the moving object corresponding to the process information; and An estimating unit estimates at least one of a position and a direction of the moving object by comparing the comparison information with the appearance information.

9. A method, wherein: Acquiring appearance information including the appearance of a mobile object capable of moving by unmanned driving, obtaining process information related to the progress of the manufacturing process of the movable body, acquiring comparison information indicating the appearance of the moving body corresponding to the process information, At least one of the position and the orientation of the moving object is estimated by comparing the comparison information with the appearance information.

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