System, server, vehicle and method

Abstract

The system is provided with: a position determination unit that determines whether or not a vehicle is located in a guide region including a guide having an uneven structure provided on a road surface; a contact determination unit that determines whether or not a wheel of the vehicle is in contact with an obstacle; and a control unit that controls the travel of the vehicle on the basis of the determination result of the position determination unit and the determination result of the contact determination unit. When the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is not located in the guide region and the contact determination unit determines that the wheels of the vehicle contact the obstacle, the control unit executes a first control that causes the vehicle to travel so as to follow the target trajectory or causes the vehicle to stop. When the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is located in the guide region and the contact determination unit determines that the wheels of the vehicle contact the obstacle, a second control is executed to cause the vehicle to travel so as to follow the obstacle.

Description

Cross - reference to related applications

[0001] This application is based on Japanese Application No. 2022 - 165367 filed on October 14, 2022, and Japanese Application No. 2023 - 174077 filed on October 6, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a system, a server, a vehicle, and a method. Background art

[0003] Conventionally, as a technical document related to an autonomous driving system, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001 - 265438 is known. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001 - 265438 discloses the following technology: map data including information related to a guiding member guiding section and a driving route is stored in a storage device of a vehicle, and the vehicle is controlled so as not to deviate from the driving route. Prior art documents Patent documents

[0004] Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001 - 265438 Summary of the invention Problems to be solved by the invention

[0005] In the case where map data is stored in a storage device of a vehicle as in the above - mentioned prior art, simplification of information related to a guiding member included in the map data is sometimes required. However, if the information related to the guiding member is simplified, it may be difficult to appropriately perform guiding - member following control for driving the vehicle in a manner following the guiding member.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a technology capable of appropriately performing guiding - member following control. Means for solving the problems

[0007] The present disclosure can be implemented in the following manner.

[0008] (1) According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a system is provided. The system includes: a position determination unit that determines whether a vehicle is located in a guide member area including a guide member having a concavo-convex structure provided on a road surface; a contact determination unit that determines whether a wheel of the vehicle contacts an obstacle using a detection result of an in-vehicle sensor mounted on the vehicle or a detection result of an external sensor located outside the vehicle; and a control unit that controls the travel of the vehicle based on a determination result of the position determination unit and a determination result of the contact determination unit. The control unit executes a first control to cause the vehicle to travel following a target trajectory or to stop the vehicle when the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is not located in the guide member area and the contact determination unit determines that the wheel of the vehicle contacts the obstacle, and executes a second control to cause the vehicle to travel following the obstacle when the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is located in the guide member area and the contact determination unit determines that the wheel of the vehicle contacts the obstacle. The system according to this aspect can cause the vehicle to travel following the guide member. (2) Optionally, the system according to the above aspect further includes a direction determination unit that determines a guide direction of the guide member based on a direction of a load received by a wheel of the vehicle from the guide member, and the control unit causes the vehicle to travel along the guide direction. The system according to this aspect can cause the vehicle to travel along the guide direction of the guide member. (3) Optionally, in the system according to the above aspect, when the guide direction is different from the target trajectory, the control unit corrects the target trajectory along the guide direction. The system according to this aspect can prevent the vehicle from deviating from the guide member and traveling. (4) Optionally, in the system according to the above aspect, the position determination unit determines whether the vehicle is located in the guide member area based on a captured image of a front camera of the vehicle and an identification result of a sign corresponding to the guide member area or a road surface marking corresponding to the guide member area. The system according to this aspect can simply determine whether the vehicle is located in the guide member area. (5) According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a server is provided. The server includes: a position determination unit that determines whether a vehicle is located in a guide member area including a guide member having a concavo-convex structure provided on a road surface; a contact determination unit that determines whether a wheel of the vehicle contacts an obstacle using a detection result of an in-vehicle sensor mounted on the vehicle or a detection result of an external sensor located outside the vehicle; and a remote control unit that remotely controls the travel of the vehicle based on the determination result of the position determination unit and the determination result of the contact determination unit. The remote control unit performs a first control of causing the vehicle to travel following a target trajectory or causing the vehicle to stop when the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is not located in the guide member area and the contact determination unit determines that the wheel of the vehicle contacts the obstacle, and performs a second control of causing the vehicle to travel following the obstacle when the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is located in the guide member area and the contact determination unit determines that the wheel of the vehicle contacts the obstacle. The server according to this aspect can cause the vehicle to travel following the guide member. (6) According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle is provided. The vehicle includes: a position determination unit that determines whether the vehicle is located in a guide member area including a guide member having a concavo-convex structure provided on a road surface; a contact determination unit that determines whether a wheel of the vehicle contacts an obstacle using a detection result of an in-vehicle sensor mounted on the vehicle or a detection result of an external sensor located outside the vehicle; and a travel control unit that controls the travel of the vehicle based on the determination result of the position determination unit and the determination result of the contact determination unit. The travel control unit performs a first control of causing the vehicle to travel following a target trajectory or causing the vehicle to stop when the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is not located in the guide member area and the contact determination unit determines that the wheel of the vehicle contacts the obstacle, and performs a second control of causing the vehicle to travel following the obstacle when the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is located in the guide member area and the contact determination unit determines that the wheel of the vehicle contacts the obstacle. The vehicle according to this aspect can cause the vehicle to travel following the guide member. (7) According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: a position determination step of determining whether a vehicle is located in a guide member area including a guide member having a concavo-convex structure provided on a road surface; a contact determination step of determining whether a wheel of the vehicle contacts an obstacle using a detection result of an in-vehicle sensor mounted on the vehicle or a detection result of an external sensor located outside the vehicle; and a control step of controlling the travel of the vehicle based on the determination result of the position determination step and the determination result of the contact determination step. In the control step, when it is determined in the position determination step that the vehicle is not located in the guide member area and it is determined in the contact determination step that the wheel of the vehicle contacts the obstacle, a first control of causing the vehicle to travel following a target trajectory or causing the vehicle to stop is executed. When it is determined in the position determination step that the vehicle is located in the guide member area and it is determined in the contact determination step that the wheel of the vehicle contacts the obstacle, a second control of causing the vehicle to travel following the obstacle is executed. According to the method of this aspect, the vehicle can travel following the guide member. The present disclosure can also be implemented in various ways other than systems, servers, vehicles, and methods. For example, it can be implemented in the form of a computer program and a recording medium recording the computer program. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of the system of the first embodiment. Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a factory site. Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle of the first embodiment. Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the server of the first embodiment. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the travel control of the vehicle of the first embodiment. Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the position determination. Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the control within the guide member area. Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the control outside the guide member area. Figure 9 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of the system of the second embodiment. Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle of the second embodiment. Figure 11It is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the driving control of the vehicle in the second embodiment. Figure 12 It is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the guiding unit in other embodiments. Detailed Embodiments

[0010] A. First Embodiment: Figure 1 It is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of the system 10 in the first embodiment. Figure 2 It is an explanatory diagram showing the site 90 of the factory FC. Figure 3 It is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle 100. Figure 4 It is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the server 200. As Figure 1 shown, in this embodiment, the system 10 includes a vehicle 100, a server 200, and at least one external sensor 300.

[0011] The vehicle 100 travels using wheels WH. In the present disclosure, the wheels WH include a circular track. The vehicle 100 is, for example, a passenger car, a truck, a bus, a two-wheeled vehicle, a four-wheeled vehicle, a tank, a construction vehicle, or the like. The vehicle 100 is, for example, a gasoline vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a battery electric vehicle (BEV), or a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV).

[0012] The vehicle 100 is configured to be able to travel autonomously. "Autonomous driving" means driving that does not depend on the driving operation of the occupant. The driving operation means an operation related to at least any one of "traveling", "steering", and "stopping" of the vehicle 100. Autonomous driving is achieved by automatic or manual remote control using a device located outside the vehicle 100 or by autonomous control of the vehicle 100. It is also possible to have an occupant who does not perform a driving operation ride in the vehicle 100 that travels autonomously. Occupants who do not perform a driving operation include, for example, a person who just sits on the seat of the vehicle 100 and a person who performs operations different from the driving operation, such as assembly, inspection, and switch operations, while riding in the vehicle 100. In the following description, the autonomous driving achieved by automatic remote control using a device located outside the vehicle 100 and the autonomous driving achieved by autonomous control of the vehicle 100 are referred to as "autopilot". In addition, the driving that depends on the driving operation of the occupant is sometimes referred to as "manned driving".

[0013] In this specification, "remote control" includes "full remote control" that completely determines all the actions of the vehicle 100 from outside the vehicle 100 and "partial remote control" that determines a part of the actions of the vehicle 100 from outside the vehicle 100. In addition, "autonomous control" includes "full autonomous control" in which the vehicle 100 autonomously controls its own actions without receiving any information from a device outside the vehicle 100 and "partial autonomous control" in which the vehicle 100 autonomously controls its own actions using the information received from a device outside the vehicle 100.

[0014] In this embodiment, the system 10 is used in the factory FC that manufactures the vehicle 100. The reference coordinate system of the factory FC is the global coordinate system GC. That is, any position within the factory FC is represented by the coordinates of X, Y, and Z in the global coordinate system GC. The factory FC includes a first place PL1 and a second place PL2. The first place PL1 and the second place PL2 are connected by a road 20 on which the vehicle 100 can travel. A plurality of external sensors 300 are provided along the road 20 in the factory FC. The positions of the respective external sensors 300 in the factory FC are adjusted in advance. The vehicle 100 moves from the first place PL1 to the second place PL2 via the road 20 by autonomous driving.

[0015] The external sensor 300 is a sensor located outside the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the external sensor 300 is a sensor for acquiring the position and orientation of the vehicle 100. Specifically, the external sensor 300 is constituted by a camera. The camera as the external sensor 300 captures the vehicle 100 traveling on the road 20 and outputs the captured image as a detection result. The external sensor 300 includes a communication device (not shown) and can communicate with other devices such as the server 200 by wired communication or wireless communication.

[0016] Figure 2 An example of the site 90 of the factory FC is shown. In the following description, the site 90 of the factory FC is referred to as the factory site 90. In this embodiment, the factory FC is a factory that manufactures the vehicle 100. In addition, the factory FC is not limited to a factory that manufactures the vehicle 100 and may be, for example, a factory that maintains the vehicle 100.

[0017] The vehicle 100 travels on the road 20 within the factory site 90. The road 20 is a driving route on which the vehicle 100 should travel within the factory site 90. The road 20 is demarcated, for example, by white lines formed on the road surface. The vehicle 100 travels along the target trajectory 21 of autonomous driving. The target trajectory 21 is set to extend along the road 20. The target trajectory 21 may be mis-set in a direction deviating from the center of the road 20 or from the road 20 due to sensor anomalies or other influences.

[0018] The factory site 90 includes a guide member area 30. In the present embodiment, the factory site 90 includes a plurality of guide member areas 30. The guide member area 30 is an area within the road 20. A guide portion 40 is provided in the guide member area 30. The guide portion 40 has an uneven structure provided on the road surface of the factory site 90. That is, the guide member area 30 is an area including at least one of a concave portion provided on the road surface and a convex portion provided on the road surface. The guide portion 40 includes a pair of guide rails 41 and guide holes 42. In addition, the guide rail 41 is sometimes simply referred to as a guide member.

[0019] The guide rail 41 is a convex portion formed on the road surface of the factory site 90. The pair of guide rails 41 are arranged in the width direction of the road 20 when viewed from the vertical direction. The guide rail 41 includes an inclined portion 41a inclined with respect to the traveling direction of the road 20 and a parallel portion 41b parallel to the traveling direction when viewed from the vertical direction. The width between the pair of inclined portions 41a gradually decreases as it travels in the traveling direction. The parallel portion 41b is located on the downstream side of the inclined portion 41a in the traveling direction. The guide rail 41 guides the vehicle 100 along the guiding direction D. The guiding direction D is parallel to the extending direction of the guide rail 41 when viewed from the vertical direction.

[0020] The guide hole 42 is a concave portion formed on the road surface of the factory site 90. The guide hole 42 is located on the downstream side of the guide rail 41 in the traveling direction of the road 20. The guide hole 42 extends along the width direction of the road 20 when viewed from the vertical direction. The guide hole 42 reaches the pair of parallel portions 41b.

[0021] A sign 51 or a road surface marking 52 corresponding to the guide member area 30 is provided on the factory site 90. The sign 51 is provided in front of the guide member area 30 in the traveling direction of the road 20. That is, the vehicle 100 passes through the guide member area 30 after passing the sign 51. The sign 51 is provided, for example, on the outside of the road 20. For example, characters or symbols for identifying the guide member area 30 are displayed on the sign 51.

[0022] The road surface marking 52 is provided in front of the guide member area 30 in the traveling direction of the road 20. That is, the vehicle 100 passes through the guide member area 30 after passing the road surface marking 52. The road surface marking 52 is provided, for example, on the surface of the road 20. The road surface marking 52 is, for example, characters or symbols for identifying the guide member area 30.

[0023] As Figure 3As shown, vehicle 100 includes an ECU 110 for controlling various parts of vehicle 100, a communication device 120 for communicating with external devices such as server 200 via wireless communication, an in-vehicle sensor 140, and an actuator group 150 including at least one actuator driven under the control of ECU 110. In this embodiment, actuator group 150 includes a drive actuator 151, a brake actuator 152, and a steering actuator 153.

[0024] In this embodiment, vehicle 100 further includes a front camera 130. Front camera 130 is disposed inside the passenger compartment of vehicle 100. Front camera 130 captures images of the front of vehicle 100. Front camera 130 sends information of the captured images to ECU 110. The information of the captured images is sent from ECU 110 to server 200 via communication device 120. Additionally, vehicle 100 may not include front camera 130.

[0025] In-vehicle sensor 140 is an internal sensor disposed in vehicle 100. In-vehicle sensor 140 detects the driving state of vehicle 100. In-vehicle sensor 140 includes, for example, a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a yaw rate sensor, a sensor for detecting the driving torque of vehicle 100, and a sensor for detecting the steering torque of vehicle 100. In-vehicle sensor 140 detects, for example, the driving torque of vehicle 100 and the steering torque of vehicle 100 as the driving state of vehicle 100. In-vehicle sensor 140 sends information related to the driving state of vehicle 100 to ECU 110. The information related to the driving state of vehicle 100 is sent from ECU 110 to server 200 via communication device 120.

[0026] Drive actuator 151 controls the driving force of vehicle 100 according to a driving control signal from ECU 110. Specifically, drive actuator 151 controls the amount of air supplied to the engine (throttle opening) to control the driving force of vehicle 100. Additionally, in the case where vehicle 100 is a hybrid vehicle, in addition to the amount of air supplied to the engine, a driving control signal from ECU 110 is input to the motor serving as a power source to control the driving force. In the case where vehicle 100 is an electric vehicle, a driving control signal from ECU 110 is input to the motor serving as a power source to control the driving force. In these cases, the motor serving as a power source constitutes drive actuator 151.

[0027] Brake actuator 152 controls the braking force of vehicle 100 according to a driving control signal from ECU 110. Specifically, brake actuator 152 controls the braking system according to a driving control signal from ECU 110 to control the braking force applied to the wheels of vehicle 100. As the braking system, for example, a hydraulic braking system can be used.

[0028] The steering actuator 153 controls the steering torque or steering angle of the vehicle 100 according to the driving control signal from the ECU 110. Specifically, the steering actuator 153 controls the driving of the auxiliary motor that controls the steering torque or steering angle in the electric power steering system according to the driving control signal from the ECU 110.

[0029] The ECU 110 is composed of 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 via the internal bus 114 in a manner that enables two-way communication. Each of the actuators 151 to 153 of the communication device 120, the front camera 130, the in-vehicle sensors 140, and the actuator group 150 is connected to the input / output interface 113. In the present embodiment, the processor 111 functions as a driving control unit 115 by executing a computer program PG1 pre-stored in the memory 112.

[0030] The driving control unit 115 drives the vehicle 100 by controlling the actuator group 150. The driving control unit 115 can drive the vehicle 100 by controlling the actuator group 150 using the driving control signal received from the server 200. The driving control signal is a control signal for driving the vehicle 100. In the present embodiment, the driving control signal includes the acceleration and the steering angle of the vehicle 100 as parameters. In other embodiments, the driving 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 in addition to the acceleration of the vehicle 100 as a parameter.

[0031] As Figure 4 shown, the server 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 via the internal bus 204 in a manner that enables two-way communication. A communication device 205 for communicating with various devices outside the server 200 is connected to the input / output interface 203. The communication device 205 can communicate with the vehicle 100 by wireless communication and can communicate with each external sensor 300 by wired communication or wireless communication. The processor 201 functions as a remote control unit 210, a position determination unit 220, a contact determination unit 230, and a direction determination unit 240 by executing a computer program PG2 pre-stored in the memory 202.

[0032] The remote control unit 210 uses the external sensor 300 to obtain the position information of the vehicle 100, generates a driving control signal for controlling the actuator group 150 of the vehicle 100 based on the position information of the vehicle 100, and sends the driving control signal to the vehicle 100. Thus, the vehicle 100 is driven by remote control. Not only the driving control signal, but also the remote control unit 210 can generate and output, for example, a control signal for controlling an actuator that actuates various auxiliary machines, wipers, electric windows, lights, and other various devices provided in the vehicle 100. That is, the remote control unit 210 can also actuate such various devices and various auxiliary machines by remote control.

[0033] The position determination unit 220 determines whether the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30. "The vehicle is located in the guide member area" means that the vehicle 100 is located within the guide member area 30 or the vehicle 100 is located near the guide member area 30. In the present embodiment, the guide member area information indicating the range of the guide member area 30 is stored in the memory 202 in advance. The position determination unit 220 determines whether the vehicle 100 is located within the range of the guide member area 30 based on the guide member area information and the position information of the vehicle 100 obtained by the remote control unit 210. In addition, the position determination unit 220 can determine that the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30 when the vehicle 100 is located within the range of the guide member area 30 or near the guide member area 30.

[0034] In the mode in which the vehicle 100 is equipped with the front camera 130, the position determination unit 220 can also determine whether the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30 based on the captured image of the front camera 130 of the vehicle 100 according to the recognition result of the sign 51 or the road surface marking 52. Specifically, it can also be that the position determination unit 220 determines that the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30 when the characters, symbols, etc. of the sign 51 or the size of the road surface marking 52 displayed in the captured image captured by the front camera 130 are larger than a specified value. The position determination unit 220 identifies the sign 51 or the road surface marking 52 appearing in the captured image by well-known image processing techniques such as edge extraction, noise removal, pattern matching, and deep learning.

[0035] The contact determination unit 230 determines whether the wheel WH of the vehicle 100 contacts an obstacle based on the detection result of the in-vehicle sensor 140. Specifically, for example, the contact determination unit 230 determines that the wheel WH contacts an obstacle when the difference between, for example, the driving torque of the vehicle 100, the steering torque of the vehicle 100, or the driving torque of the auxiliary motor and the assumed value is greater than a specified value. In the mode where the vehicle 100 is equipped with the front camera 130, the contact determination unit 230 may also determine that the wheel WH contacts an obstacle, for example, when the difference between the orientation of the vehicle 100 in the captured image of the front camera 130 and the assumed value is greater than a specified value. The contact determination unit 230 determines that the wheel WH contacts an obstacle, for example, when the difference between, for example, the vehicle speed, acceleration, or yaw rate of the vehicle 100 and the assumed value is greater than a specified value. Each of the above assumed values may be a preset value. Each of the above assumed values is, for example, a value obtained by successively calculating the torque generated when assuming that the vehicle 100 is traveling on a smooth road surface based on vehicle states such as the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 or the steering angle of the vehicle 100.

[0036] The direction determination unit 240 determines the guiding direction D of the guide rail 41 based on the direction of the load received by the wheel WH from the guide rail 41. The direction determination unit 240 estimates the magnitude and direction of the disturbance torque generated by the load received by the wheel WH from the guide rail 41 based on the current steering angle and the driving torque of the auxiliary motor controlled by the electric power steering system. The direction determination unit 240 determines the guiding direction D based on the magnitude and direction of the disturbance torque.

[0037] In the present embodiment, the remote control unit 210 remotely controls the traveling of the vehicle 100 based on the determination results of the position determination unit 220 and the contact determination unit 230. Specifically, when the position determination unit 220 determines that the vehicle 100 is not located in the guide member area 30 and the contact determination unit 230 determines that the wheel WH contacts an obstacle, the remote control unit 210 performs target trajectory following control. In the target trajectory following control, the remote control unit 210 sets the obstacle as a disturbance and causes the vehicle 100 to travel in a manner of following the target trajectory 21. In the target trajectory following control, the remote control unit 210 causes the vehicle 100 to travel in a manner of crossing the obstacle. In the target trajectory following control, the remote control unit 210 does not perform control of the steering angle for avoiding the obstacle.

[0038] When the remote control unit 210 determines that the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30 by the position determination unit 220 and determines that the wheel WH abuts against an obstacle by the abutment determination unit 230, the remote control unit 210 performs guide member following control. In the guide member following control, the remote control unit 210 sets the obstacle as the guide rail 41 and makes the vehicle 100 travel in a manner following the guide rail 41. In the guide member following control, the remote control unit 210 makes the vehicle 100 travel without crossing the guide rail 41. In the guide member following control, the remote control unit 210 performs control of the steering angle for avoiding the guide rail 41.

[0039] In the guide member following control, the remote control unit 210 makes the vehicle 100 travel along the guiding direction D of the guide rail 41 determined by the direction determination unit 240. The remote control unit 210 changes the steering angle toward the guiding direction D determined by the direction determination unit 240. The remote control unit 210 changes the steering angle in such a manner that the disturbance torque generated by the load received by the wheel WH from the guide rail 41 becomes smaller. The remote control unit 210 continuously changes the steering angle until the disturbance torque becomes equal to or less than a specified value. Thereby, the vehicle 100 travels along the guiding direction D. The vehicle 100 can travel in a state where the wheel WH is in contact with the guide rail 41. In addition, the remote control unit 210 can also temporarily stop the vehicle 100 when the wheel WH abuts against the guide hole 42.

[0040] When the guiding direction D is different from the target trajectory 21, the remote control unit 210 corrects the target trajectory 21 in a manner following the guiding direction D. That the guiding direction D is different from the target trajectory 21 means, for example, that the angle formed by the guiding direction D and the target trajectory 21 is equal to or greater than a specified angle. That the guiding direction D is different from the target trajectory 21 can also mean that the distance between the guide rail 41 in the width direction of the road 20 and the target trajectory 21 is equal to or greater than a specified distance. The specified angle and the specified distance are not particularly limited, and any values can be set in advance. The specified angle and the specified distance can be determined in advance based on, for example, the width of the vehicle 100 and the width of the road 20.

[0041] As Figure 2 shown, the target trajectory 21 sometimes includes a departure area 21a. The departure area 21a is located within the guide member area 30. The departure area 21a is inclined with respect to the traveling direction of the road 20. The departure area 21a is inclined with respect to the guiding direction D. The angle formed by the guiding direction D and the departure area 21a is equal to or greater than a specified angle. The distance between one of the guide rails 41 and the target trajectory 21 is equal to or greater than a specified distance. That is, the departure area 21a is different from the guiding direction D. If the vehicle 100 travels along the departure area 21a, the vehicle 100 may depart from the road 20. The remote control unit 210 corrects the departure area 21a to a correction area 21b. The extending direction of the correction area 21b is substantially the same as the guiding direction D.

[0042] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the driving control of the vehicle 100 in the present embodiment. In Figure 5 the processing flow, the processor 201 of the server 200 functions as the remote control unit 210 by executing the computer program PG2. In addition, the processor 111 of the vehicle 100 functions as the driving control unit 115 by executing the computer program PG1.

[0043] In step S110, the remote control unit 210 acquires the vehicle position information of the vehicle 100 using the detection result output from the external sensor 300. The vehicle position information is the position information that serves as 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 global coordinate system GC of the factory FC. Specifically, in step S110, the remote control unit 210 acquires the vehicle position information using the captured image obtained from the camera as the external sensor 300.

[0044] Specifically, in step S110, the remote control unit 210, for example, detects the outer shape of the vehicle 100 from the captured image, calculates the coordinates of the measurement points of the vehicle 100 in the coordinate system of the captured image, i.e., the local coordinate system, and transforms the calculated coordinates into the coordinates in the global coordinate system GC, thereby acquiring the position of the vehicle 100. The outer shape of the vehicle 100 included in the captured image can be detected, for example, by inputting the captured image to the detection model DM using artificial intelligence. The detection model DM is prepared, for example, inside or outside the system 10 and is pre-stored in the memory 202 of the server 200. As the detection model DM, for example, a learned machine learning model learned in a manner to achieve either semantic segmentation or instance segmentation can be cited. As this machine learning model, for example, a convolutional neural network (hereinafter referred to as CNN) learned by supervised learning using a learning dataset can be used. The learning dataset, for example, has a plurality of training images including the vehicle 100 and labels indicating which of the regions in the training images represent the region of the vehicle 100 and the region outside the vehicle 100. When learning the CNN, preferably, the parameters of the CNN are updated by backpropagation (error backpropagation method) in a manner to reduce the error between the output result of the detection model DM and the label. In addition, the remote control unit 210 can, for example, use the optical flow method to estimate the orientation of the vehicle 100 based on the orientation of the movement vector of the vehicle 100 calculated based on the position change of the feature points of the vehicle 100 between frames of the captured image, thereby acquiring the orientation of the vehicle 100.

[0045] In step S120, the remote control unit 210 determines the target position to which the vehicle 100 should next travel and the target trajectory 21 for the vehicle 100 to move from the current location to the target position. In the present embodiment, the target position is represented by the coordinates of X, Y, and Z in the global coordinate system GC. A reference path RR, which is the path that the vehicle 100 should travel, is pre-stored in the memory 202 of the server 200. The path is represented by nodes indicating the departure point, nodes indicating waypoints, nodes indicating the destination, and links connecting the respective nodes. The remote control unit 210 uses the vehicle position information and the reference path RR to determine the target position to which the vehicle 100 should next travel. The remote control unit 210 determines the target position on the reference path RR ahead of the current location of the vehicle 100.

[0046] In step S130, the remote control unit 210 generates a driving control signal for causing the vehicle 100 to travel toward the determined target position. The remote control unit 210 calculates the traveling speed of the vehicle 100 based on the change in the position of the vehicle 100, and compares the calculated traveling speed with the target speed. When the traveling speed is lower than the target speed, the remote control unit 210 determines the acceleration in such a way as to accelerate the vehicle 100, and when the traveling speed is higher than the target speed, the remote control unit 210 determines the acceleration in such a way as to decelerate the vehicle 100. In addition, when the vehicle 100 is located on the reference path RR, the remote control unit 210 determines the steering angle and the acceleration in such a way that the vehicle 100 does not deviate from the reference path RR, and when the vehicle 100 is not located on the reference path RR, in other words, when the vehicle 100 deviates from the reference path RR, the remote control unit 210 determines the steering angle and the acceleration in such a way that the vehicle 100 returns to the reference path RR.

[0047] In step S140, the remote control unit 210 transmits the generated driving control signal to the vehicle 100. The remote control unit 210 repeatedly acquires the vehicle position information, determines the target position, generates the driving control signal, and transmits the driving control signal at a prescribed cycle.

[0048] In step S150, the driving control unit 115 receives the driving control signal transmitted from the server 200. In step S160, the driving control unit 115 controls the actuator group 150 using the received driving control signal, whereby the vehicle 100 travels with the acceleration and the steering angle indicated by the driving control signal. The driving control unit 115 repeatedly receives the driving control signal and controls the actuator group 150 at a prescribed cycle. According to the system 10 in the present embodiment, the vehicle 100 can be made to travel by remote control, and the vehicle 100 can be moved without using conveying equipment such as a crane or a conveyor.

[0049] Figure 6It is a flowchart showing the processing flow of position determination executed by the processor 201 of the server 200. In step S1, the processor 201 determines whether the vehicle 100 is in autonomous driving. When the processor 201 determines that the vehicle 100 is in autonomous driving (step S1: Yes), it proceeds to step S2. When the processor 201 determines that the vehicle 100 is not in autonomous driving (step S1: No), it ends the current processing. In step S2, the processor 201 determines whether the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30. When the processor 201 determines that the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30 (step S2: Yes), it proceeds to step S3. When the processor 201 determines that the vehicle 100 is not located in the guide member area 30 (step S2: No), it proceeds to step S4. In step S3, the processor 201 executes control within the guide member area. In step S4, the processor 201 executes control outside the guide member area.

[0050] Figure 7 It is a flowchart showing the processing flow of control within the guide member area. In step S31, the processor 201 determines whether the wheel WH of the vehicle 100 is in contact with an obstacle. When the processor 201 determines that the wheel WH is in contact with an obstacle (step S31: Yes), it proceeds to step S32. When the processor 201 determines that the wheel WH is not in contact with an obstacle (step S31: No), it proceeds to step S33. In step S32, the processor 201 executes guide member following control. In step S33, the processor 201 executes target trajectory following control. In addition, sometimes the target trajectory following control is referred to as the first control, and sometimes the guide member following control is referred to as the second control.

[0051] Figure 8 It is a flowchart showing the processing flow of control outside the guide member area. In step S41, the processor 201 determines whether the wheel WH of the vehicle 100 is in contact with an obstacle. When the processor 201 determines that the wheel WH is in contact with an obstacle (step S41: Yes), it proceeds to step S42. When the processor 201 determines that the wheel WH is not in contact with an obstacle (step S41: No), it ends the current processing.

[0052] In step S42, the processor 201 determines whether the load received by the vehicle 100 from the obstacle is below a specified threshold value. The specified threshold value is determined in advance based on the specifications of the vehicle 100 or the shape of the guide rail 41, etc. For example, the greater the degree of unevenness of the guide rail 41, the greater the specified threshold value.

[0053] When the processor 201 determines that the load received by the vehicle 100 from the obstacle is equal to or less than a specified threshold value (step S42: Yes), it proceeds to step S43. When the processor 201 determines that the load received by the vehicle 100 from the obstacle is greater than the specified threshold value (step S42: No), it proceeds to step S44. The processor 201 performs target trajectory following control in step S43. The processor 201 performs obstacle avoidance control in step S44. The obstacle avoidance control is performed by a well-known technique. In addition, sometimes the target trajectory following control is referred to as the first control, and sometimes the obstacle avoidance control is referred to as the third control.

[0054] According to the system 10 in the present embodiment described above, when the position determination unit 220 determines that the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30 and the contact determination unit 230 determines that the wheels WH of the vehicle 100 are in contact with the obstacle, the remote control unit 210 sets the obstacle as the guide rail 41 and performs guide member following control. Thus, in a situation where information related to the guide rail 41 included in the guide member area 30 is simplified (for example, in a situation where there is no detailed information related to the shape of the guide rail 41, etc.), when the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30, the guide member following control can also be performed based on the determination result of whether the wheels WH of the vehicle 100 are in contact with the obstacle. Therefore, according to the system 10, the guide member following control can be appropriately performed. In addition, according to the system 10, the position of the vehicle 100 can be controlled more accurately.

[0055] The system 10 includes a direction determination unit 240 that determines the guiding direction D of the guide rail 41 based on the direction of the load received by the wheels WH of the vehicle 100 from the guide rail 41. The remote control unit 210 drives the vehicle 100 to travel along the guiding direction D. Thus, in a situation where information related to the guide rail 41 included in the guide member area 30 is simplified, the guide member following control can also be appropriately performed.

[0056] When the guiding direction D is different from the target trajectory 21, the remote control unit 210 corrects the target trajectory 21 to travel along the guiding direction D. Thus, the guide member following control can be performed more appropriately.

[0057] The position determination unit 220 may determine whether the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30 based on the captured image of the front camera 130 of the vehicle 100 and according to the recognition result of the sign 51 or the road marking 52. Thus, it is possible to simply determine whether the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30, and the guide member following control can be appropriately performed.

[0058] B. Second Embodiment: Figure 9 It is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of the system 10b in the second embodiment.Figure 10 This is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle 100. The system 10b in the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it does not include the server 200 and the vehicle 100 travels through autonomous control of the vehicle 100. For other configurations, unless otherwise specified, they are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0059] As Figure 10 shown, in the present embodiment, the processor 111 of the ECU 110 functions as a travel control unit 115, a position determination unit 116, a contact determination unit 117, and a direction determination unit 118 by executing the computer program PG1 pre-stored in the memory 112. The travel control unit 115 can obtain the output result of the external sensor 300, generate a travel control signal using the output result, and output the generated travel control signal to cause the actuator group 150 to operate, thereby causing the vehicle 100 to travel through autonomous control. In the present embodiment, in addition to the computer program PG1, a detection model DM and a reference path RR are also pre-stored in the memory 112.

[0060] The functions of the position determination unit 116, the contact determination unit 117, and the direction determination unit 118 are the same as those of Figure 4 the position determination unit 220, the contact determination unit 230, and the direction determination unit 240 shown. That is, the position determination unit 116 determines whether the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30. The contact determination unit 117 determines whether the wheels WH of the vehicle 100 are in contact with an obstacle. The direction determination unit 118 determines the guiding direction D of the guide rail 41 based on the direction of the load received by the wheels WH of the vehicle 100 from the guide rail 41.

[0061] Figure 11 This is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the travel control of the vehicle 100 in the second embodiment. In the Figure 11 processing flow, the processor 111 of the vehicle 100 functions as a travel control unit 115 by executing the computer program PG1. In step S210, the travel control unit 115 obtains vehicle position information using the detection result output from the camera as the external sensor 300. In step S220, the travel control unit 115 determines the target position that the vehicle 100 should go to next. In step S230, the travel control unit 115 generates a travel control signal for causing the vehicle 100 to travel toward the determined target position. In step S240, the travel control unit 115 controls the actuator group 150 using the generated travel control signal, so that the vehicle 100 travels according to the parameters indicated by the travel control signal. The travel control unit 115 repeatedly performs the acquisition of vehicle position information, the determination of the target position, the generation of the travel control signal, and the control of the actuator at a specified cycle.

[0062] In the present embodiment, Figures 6 - 8 the processing shown is executed by the ECU 110 of the vehicle 100. Thus, as Figure 6 shown, when the vehicle 100 is in autonomous driving and the position determination unit 116 determines that the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30, in-guide-member-area control is executed. When the vehicle 100 is in autonomous driving and the position determination unit 116 does not determine that the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30, out-of-guide-member-area control is executed. As Figure 7 shown, in in-guide-member-area control, when the contact determination unit 117 determines that the wheel WH of the vehicle 100 contacts an obstacle, guide-member following control is executed. In in-guide-member-area control, when the contact determination unit 117 does not determine that the wheel WH of the vehicle 100 contacts an obstacle, target trajectory following control is executed. As Figure 8 shown, in out-of-guide-member-area control, when the contact determination unit 117 determines that the wheel WH of the vehicle 100 contacts an obstacle and determines that the load applied to the wheel WH is below the threshold, target trajectory following control is executed. In out-of-guide-member-area control, when the contact determination unit 117 determines that the wheel WH of the vehicle 100 contacts an obstacle and does not determine that the load applied to the wheel WH is below the threshold, obstacle avoidance control is executed.

[0063] According to the system 10b in the present embodiment described above, similar to the first embodiment, the vehicle 100 can be made to travel following the guide rail 41. In particular, in the present embodiment, even without remotely controlling the vehicle 100 using the server 200, the vehicle 100 can be made to travel following the guide rail 41 by autonomous control of the vehicle 100.

[0064] C. Other Embodiments (C1) Figure 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the guide unit 40 in other embodiments. As Figure 12 shown, the guide rail 41 may also be a recess formed on the road surface and extending in the direction in which the vehicle 100 is to be guided. The cross section of the guide rail 41 is, for example, V-shaped. In this case, Figure 4 the remote control unit 210 shown, Figure 10 the travel control unit 115 shown may also control the steering angle so that the reaction force from the road surface estimated based on the steering torque or the lateral acceleration of the vehicle 100 detected by the in-vehicle sensor 140 becomes substantially zero. Thereby, the lateral position of the vehicle 100 with respect to the guide rail 41 can be accurately aligned.

[0065] (C2)In the above-described second embodiment, the function of the guide member following control of the travel control unit 115 may also be turned off when the vehicle 100 is shipped from the factory site 90. Thus, by executing the guide member following control only when the vehicle 100 is within the factory site 90, it is possible to suppress the erroneous execution of the travel control when the vehicle 100 is on a public road.

[0066] (C3)In each of the above-described embodiments, at least one of the sign 51 and the road surface marking 52 may not be provided in the factory site 90.

[0067] (C4)In each of the above-described embodiments, the guide unit 40 may not include the guide hole 42.

[0068] (C5)In the above-described first embodiment, the system 10 may not include the direction determination unit 240, and the remote control unit 210 may not correct the target trajectory 21. In the above-described second embodiment, the system 10b may not include the direction determination unit 118, and the travel control unit 115 may not correct the target trajectory 21.

[0069] (C6)In each of the above-described embodiments, the external sensor 300 is a camera. In contrast, the external sensor 300 may not be a camera. For example, it may be a LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging). In this case, the detection result output by the external sensor 300 may be three-dimensional dot matrix data representing the vehicle 100. In this case, the server 200 and the vehicle 100 may obtain the vehicle position information by using template matching of the three-dimensional dot matrix data as the detection result and the reference dot matrix data prepared in advance.

[0070] (C7) In each of the above-described embodiments, the position determination units 220 and 116 determine whether the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30 by using the vehicle position information obtained by the external sensor 300 and the guide member area information indicating the range of the guide member area 30. In contrast, the position determination units 220 and 116 may also use the front camera 130 mounted on the vehicle 100 to recognize the sign 51 or the road surface marking 52, and determine whether the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30 based on the recognition result. When the vehicle 100 is equipped with a LiDAR, the position determination units 220 and 116 may also use the LiDAR to recognize the sign 51 or the road surface marking 52, and determine whether the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30 based on the recognition result. The position determination units 220 and 116 may also use the captured image output from the camera as the external sensor 300 to determine whether the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30. When the external sensor 300 is a LiDAR, the position determination units 220 and 116 may also use the three-dimensional point cloud data output from the LiDAR as the external sensor 300 to determine whether the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30. When the identification numbers of the external sensors 300 that monitor the guide member area 30 among the multiple external sensors 300 provided in the factory site 90 are pre-stored in the memories 202 and 112, the position determination units 220 and 116 may also determine that the vehicle 100 is located in the guide member area 30 when the vehicle 100 is detected by the external sensor 300 that monitors the guide member area 30.

[0071] (C8) In each of the above-described embodiments, the contact determination units 230 and 117 determine whether the wheels WH of the vehicle 100 are in contact with the guide rail 41 by using the detection results of the in-vehicle sensors 140 mounted on the vehicle 100. In contrast, the contact determination units 230 and 117 may also use the detection results of the external sensor 300 to determine whether the wheels WH of the vehicle 100 are in contact with the guide rail 41. For example, the contact determination units 230 and 117 may also detect the wheels WH and the guide rail 41 from the captured image of the camera as the external sensor 300, and determine whether the wheels WH and the guide rail 41 are in contact based on the positional relationship between the wheels WH and the guide rail 41.

[0072] (C9) In the above-described first embodiment, the server 200 performs the processing from the acquisition of the vehicle position information to the generation of the driving control signal. In contrast, at least a part of the processing from the acquisition of the vehicle position information to the generation of the driving control signal may be performed by the vehicle 100. For example, the following (1) to (3) methods may be adopted.

[0073] (1) It is possible that the server 200 obtains the vehicle position information, determines the target position that the vehicle 100 should go to next, and generates a path from the current position of the vehicle 100 represented by the obtained vehicle position information to the target position. The server 200 can either generate a path to the target position between the current position and the destination or generate a path to the destination. It is possible that the server 200 sends the generated path to the vehicle 100. It is possible that the vehicle 100 generates a driving control signal in such a way that the vehicle 100 travels on the path received from the server 200, and uses the generated driving control signal to control the actuator group 150.

[0074] (2) It is possible that the server 200 obtains the vehicle position information and sends the obtained vehicle position information to the vehicle 100. It is possible that the vehicle 100 determines the target position that the vehicle 100 should go to next, generates a path from the current position of the vehicle 100 represented by the received vehicle position information to the target position, generates a driving control signal in such a way that the vehicle 100 travels on the generated path, and uses the generated driving control signal to control the actuator group 150.

[0075] (3) In the methods (1) and (2) above, it is possible that an internal sensor is mounted on the vehicle 100, and in at least one of the generation of the path and the generation of the driving control signal, the detection result output from the internal sensor is used. The internal sensor is a sensor mounted on the vehicle 100. The internal sensor can include, for example, a sensor for detecting the motion state of the vehicle 100, a sensor for detecting the operation state of each part of the vehicle 100, and a sensor for detecting the surrounding environment of the vehicle 100. Specifically, the internal sensor can include, for example, a camera, LiDAR, millimeter-wave radar, ultrasonic sensor, GPS sensor, acceleration sensor, gyro sensor, etc. For example, in the method (1) above, it is possible that the server 200 obtains the detection result of the internal sensor and reflects the detection result of the internal sensor in the path when generating the path. In the method (1) above, it is also possible that the vehicle 100 obtains the detection result of the internal sensor and reflects the detection result of the internal sensor in the driving control signal when generating the driving control signal. In the method (2) above, it is possible that the vehicle 100 obtains the detection result of the internal sensor and reflects the detection result of the internal sensor in the path when generating the path. In the method (2) above, it is also possible that the vehicle 100 obtains the detection result of the internal sensor and reflects the detection result of the internal sensor in the driving control signal when generating the driving control signal.

[0076] (C10) In the above-described second embodiment, it may be that an internal sensor is mounted on the vehicle 100, and the detection result output from the internal sensor is used in at least one of the generation of the path and the generation of the driving control signal. For example, it may be that the vehicle 100 acquires the detection result of the internal sensor and reflects the detection result of the internal sensor in the path when generating the path. It may be that the vehicle 100 acquires the detection result of the internal sensor and reflects the detection result of the internal sensor in the driving control signal when generating the driving control signal.

[0077] (C11) In the above-described embodiments, the vehicle 100 acquires the vehicle position information using the detection result of the external sensor 300. In contrast, it may be that an internal sensor is mounted on the vehicle 100, the vehicle 100 uses the detection result of the internal sensor to acquire the vehicle position information, determines the target position to which the vehicle 100 should go next, generates a path from the current position of the vehicle 100 indicated by the acquired vehicle position information to the target position, generates a driving control signal for traveling on the generated path, and uses the generated driving control signal to control the actuator group 150. As the internal sensor for acquiring the vehicle position information, for example, a camera or LiDAR can be used. In this case, the vehicle 100 can travel without using the detection result of any external sensor 300. Further, it may be that the vehicle 100 acquires the target arrival time and / or congestion information from outside the vehicle 100 and reflects the target arrival time and / or congestion information in at least one of the path and the driving control signal. Additionally, it may be that all of the functional configurations of the systems 10 and 10b are provided in the vehicle 100. That is, the processing implemented by the systems 10 and 10b in the present disclosure may also be implemented by the vehicle 100 alone.

[0078] (C12) In the above-described first embodiment, the server 200 automatically generates the driving control signal transmitted to the vehicle 100. In contrast, the server 200 may also generate the driving control signal transmitted to the vehicle 100 according to the operation of an external operator located outside the vehicle 100. For example, it may be that the external operator operates a control device including a display for displaying the captured image output from the external sensor 300, a steering wheel for remotely operating the vehicle 100, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, and a communication device for communicating with the server 200 via wired communication or wireless communication, and the server 200 generates a driving control signal corresponding to the operation applied to the control device.

[0079] (C13) In each of the above embodiments, the vehicle 100 only needs to have a configuration that can move through autonomous driving. For example, it can also be in the form of a platform having the configuration described below. Specifically, in order for the vehicle 100 to perform the three functions of "driving", "steering", and "stopping" through autonomous driving, it only needs to have at least an ECU 110 and an actuator group 150. When the vehicle 100 obtains information from the outside for autonomous driving, the vehicle 100 only needs to have a communication device 120. That is, the vehicle 100 that can move through autonomous driving may not be equipped with at least a part of the interior components such as the driver's seat and the instrument panel, may not be equipped with at least a part of the exterior components such as the bumper and the fender, and may not be equipped with the body shell. In this case, the remaining components such as the body shell can be assembled to the vehicle 100 during the period until the vehicle 100 is shipped from the factory FC, or the remaining components such as the body shell can be assembled to the vehicle 100 after the vehicle 100 is shipped from the factory FC in a state where the remaining components 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, the lower side, the front side, the rear side, the right side, or the left side of the vehicle 100, and can be assembled from the same direction or from different directions respectively. In addition, for the form of the platform, the position determination can be performed in the same manner as the vehicle 100 in the first embodiment.

[0080] (C14) The vehicle 100 can also be manufactured by combining multiple modules. A module means a unit composed of multiple components aggregated according to the parts and functions of the vehicle 100. For example, the platform of the vehicle 100 can be manufactured by combining a front module constituting the front part of the platform, a central module constituting the central part of the platform, and a rear module constituting the rear part of the platform. In addition, the number of modules constituting the platform is not limited to 3, and can also be 2 or less or 4 or more. In addition, in addition to the components constituting the platform, the components constituting the parts of the vehicle 100 different from the platform can be modularized, or the components constituting the parts of the vehicle 100 different from the platform can be modularized instead of the components constituting the platform. In addition, various modules can also include any exterior components such as bumpers and grilles, and any interior components such as seats and consoles. In addition, not limited to the vehicle 100, any type of moving body can be manufactured by combining multiple modules. Such a module can be manufactured, for example, by joining multiple components using welding or fasteners, or by integrally molding at least a part of the components constituting the module into one component using casting. The molding method of integrally molding one component, especially a relatively large component, is also called Giga-casting or Mega-casting. For example, the above-mentioned front module, central module, and rear module can also be manufactured using Giga-casting.

[0081] (C15) Conveying the vehicle 100 by using the travel of the vehicle 100 under driverless conditions is also referred to as "self-propelled conveyance". In addition, the configuration for implementing self-propelled conveyance is also referred to as "vehicle remote control autonomous travel conveyance system". Further, the production method of manufacturing the vehicle 100 by using self-propelled conveyance is also referred to as "self-propelled production". In self-propelled production, for example, in the factory FC where the vehicle 100 is manufactured, at least a part of the conveyance of the vehicle 100 is achieved by self-propelled conveyance.

[0082] (C16) In each of the above-described embodiments, 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 the hardware for implementing various functions in each of the above-described embodiments, for example, various circuits such as integrated circuits and discrete circuits may be used.

[0083] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various configurations without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each of the aspects described in the "Summary of the Invention" section may be appropriately replaced and combined in order to solve part or all of the above problems or to achieve part or all of the above effects. In addition, as long as the technical feature is not described as an essential part in this specification, it may be appropriately deleted. Description of Reference Numerals

[0084] 10, 10b... systems, 20... road, 21... target trajectory, 21a... departure area, 21b... correction area, 30... guide member area, 40... guide portion, 41... guide rail, 41a... inclined portion, 41b... parallel portion, 42... guide hole, 51... sign, 52... road surface marking, 90... factory site, 100... vehicle, 111... processor, 112... memory, 113... input / output interface, 114... internal bus, 115... travel control unit, 116... position determination unit, 117... contact determination unit, 118... direction determination unit, 120... communication device, 130... front camera, 140... vehicle-mounted sensor, 150... actuator group, 151... drive actuator, 152... brake actuator, 153... steering actuator, 200... server, 201... processor, 202... memory, 203... input / output interface, 204... internal bus, 205... communication device, 210... remote control unit, 220... position determination unit, 230... contact determination unit, 240... direction determination unit, 300... external sensor.

Claims

1. A system, wherein, the system includes: a position determination unit that determines whether the vehicle is located in a guide member area including a guide member having an uneven structure provided on a road surface; a contact determination unit that determines whether a wheel of the vehicle contacts an obstacle using a detection result of an in-vehicle sensor mounted on the vehicle or a detection result of an external sensor located outside the vehicle; and a control unit that controls the travel of the vehicle based on the determination result of the position determination unit and the determination result of the contact determination unit, wherein, when the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is not located in the guide member area and the contact determination unit determines that the wheel of the vehicle contacts the obstacle, the control unit performs first control to cause the vehicle to travel following a target trajectory or to stop the vehicle; when the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is located in the guide member area and the contact determination unit determines that the wheel of the vehicle contacts the obstacle, the control unit performs second control to cause the vehicle to travel following the obstacle.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein, the system further includes a direction determination unit that determines a guide direction of the guide member based on a direction of a load received by a wheel of the vehicle from the guide member, and the control unit causes the vehicle to travel along the guide direction.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein, when the guide direction is different from the target trajectory, the control unit corrects the target trajectory along the guide direction.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein, the position determination unit determines whether the vehicle is located in the guide member area based on a captured image of a front camera of the vehicle and an identification result of a sign corresponding to the guide member area or a road surface marking corresponding to the guide member area.

5. A server, wherein, the server includes: a position determination unit that determines whether the vehicle is located in a guide member area including a guide member having an uneven structure provided on a road surface; a contact determination unit that determines whether a wheel of the vehicle contacts an obstacle using a detection result of an in-vehicle sensor mounted on the vehicle or a detection result of an external sensor located outside the vehicle; and a remote control unit that remotely controls the travel of the vehicle based on the determination result of the position determination unit and the determination result of the contact determination unit, wherein, when the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is not located in the guide member area and the contact determination unit determines that the wheel of the vehicle contacts the obstacle, the remote control unit performs first control to cause the vehicle to travel following a target trajectory or to stop the vehicle; when the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is located in the guide member area and the contact determination unit determines that the wheel of the vehicle contacts the obstacle, the remote control unit performs second control to cause the vehicle to travel following the obstacle.

6. A vehicle, wherein, the vehicle includes: A position determination unit that determines whether the vehicle is located in a guide member area including a guide member having a concavo-convex structure provided on a road surface; An abutment determination unit that determines whether a wheel of the vehicle abuts on an obstacle using a detection result of an in-vehicle sensor mounted on the vehicle or a detection result of an external sensor located outside the vehicle; and A travel control unit that controls the travel of the vehicle based on the determination result of the position determination unit and the determination result of the abutment determination unit, In a case where the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is not located in the guide member area and the abutment determination unit determines that the wheel of the vehicle abuts on the obstacle, the travel control unit executes first control to cause the vehicle to travel following a target trajectory or to stop the vehicle; In a case where the position determination unit determines that the vehicle is located in the guide member area and the abutment determination unit determines that the wheel of the vehicle abuts on the obstacle, the travel control unit executes second control to cause the vehicle to travel following the obstacle.

7. A method, wherein, the method includes: A position determination step of determining whether the vehicle is located in a guide member area including a guide member having a concavo-convex structure provided on a road surface; An abutment determination step of determining whether a wheel of the vehicle abuts on an obstacle using a detection result of an in-vehicle sensor mounted on the vehicle or a detection result of an external sensor located outside the vehicle; and A control step of controlling the travel of the vehicle based on the determination result of the position determination step and the determination result of the abutment determination step, in the control step, in a case where it is determined in the position determination step that the vehicle is not located in the guide member area and it is determined in the abutment determination step that the wheel of the vehicle abuts on the obstacle, first control to cause the vehicle to travel following a target trajectory or to stop the vehicle is executed; in a case where it is determined in the position determination step that the vehicle is located in the guide member area and it is determined in the abutment determination step that the wheel of the vehicle abuts on the obstacle, second control to cause the vehicle to travel following the obstacle is executed.

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