Driving assistance device, driving assistance method, program product, and storage medium

Abstract

The invention provides a driving assistance device, a driving assistance method, a program product, and a storage medium. A driving assistance device is provided with: a storage unit that stores risk position information indicating a risk position at which a host vehicle is likely to collide with another vehicle; an acquisition unit that acquires surrounding vehicle information from surrounding vehicles; a prediction unit that predicts the possibility of collision on the basis of the information; and a reporting unit that reports to the occupant of the vehicle on the basis of the prediction result of the prediction means. When the risk position is not included within a predetermined distance in the direction of travel of the host vehicle, the prediction unit determines a predicted trajectory of the host vehicle on the basis of the host vehicle information, determines a predicted trajectory of the peripheral vehicle on the basis of the peripheral vehicle information, and determines the risk position on the basis of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle and the predicted trajectory of the peripheral vehicle. An evaluation distance for evaluating the approaching state of the vehicle and the surrounding vehicle is determined, and if the evaluation distance is not included in a predetermined range, the possibility of no collision is predicted.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving assistance device, a driving assistance method, a program product, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, research has been continuously developing to provide access to a sustainable transportation system for people in a vulnerable position among traffic participants. To achieve this goal, research and development efforts are being made to further improve traffic safety and convenience through the research and development of preventive safety technologies. There is known a device for driving assistance that performs driving assistance for preventing collisions with other vehicles (surrounding vehicles) without using map information. In Japanese Patent No. 7054636, a driving assistance device is disclosed that registers the position information of an intersection where the travel trajectory of the own vehicle and the travel trajectory of other vehicles intersect in a storage unit, and performs driving assistance for the own vehicle when passing through the intersection again. In the driving assistance device, based on the travel trajectory of the own vehicle and the travel trajectory of other vehicles, a risk position where there is a possibility of collision between the own vehicle and other vehicles is determined, and this risk position is used for driving assistance. However, even when there is actually an intersection in the traveling direction of the own vehicle, if the intersection is not determined as a risk position, driving assistance using the risk position cannot be executed. Summary of the Invention

[0003] One aspect of the present invention provides a technology that facilitates appropriate driving assistance for the present vehicle. Moreover, the present invention further contributes to the development of a sustainable transportation system. According to some embodiments, a driving assistance device is provided, the driving assistance device comprising: a storage mechanism that stores risk position information indicating a risk position where there is a possibility of collision between the present vehicle on which the driving assistance device is mounted and other vehicles; an acquisition mechanism that acquires, through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, information of surrounding vehicles existing around the present vehicle, the information of surrounding vehicles indicating the vehicle speed, position, travel trajectory, and yaw rate of the surrounding vehicles; a prediction mechanism that predicts the possibility of collision between the present vehicle and the surrounding vehicles based on the information of the present vehicle indicating the vehicle speed, position, travel trajectory, and yaw rate of the present vehicle and the information of the surrounding vehicles; and a reporting mechanism that reports to the occupants of the present vehicle based on the prediction result of the prediction mechanism. When the risk position is not included within a predetermined distance in the traveling direction of the present vehicle, the prediction mechanism determines the predicted trajectory of the present vehicle based on the information of the present vehicle, determines the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles based on the information of the surrounding vehicles, the prediction mechanism determines an evaluation distance for evaluating the proximity state between the present vehicle and the surrounding vehicles based on the predicted trajectory of the present vehicle and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles, and when the evaluation distance is not included within a predetermined range, the prediction mechanism predicts that there is no possibility of collision between the present vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. According to another embodiment, a driving assistance method is provided, the driving assistance method comprising: a storage step in which a storage mechanism stores risk position information indicating a risk position where there is a possibility of collision between the present vehicle and other vehicles; an acquisition step in which an acquisition mechanism acquires, through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, information of surrounding vehicles existing around the present vehicle, the information of surrounding vehicles indicating the vehicle speed, position, travel trajectory, and yaw rate of the surrounding vehicles; a prediction step in which a prediction mechanism predicts the possibility of collision between the present vehicle and the surrounding vehicles based on the information of the present vehicle indicating the vehicle speed, position, travel trajectory, and yaw rate of the present vehicle and the information of the surrounding vehicles; and a reporting step in which a reporting mechanism reports to the occupants of the present vehicle based on the prediction result of the prediction mechanism. In the prediction step, when the risk position is not included within a predetermined distance in the traveling direction of the present vehicle, the predicted trajectory of the present vehicle is determined based on the information of the present vehicle, the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles is determined based on the information of the surrounding vehicles, an evaluation distance for evaluating the proximity state between the present vehicle and the surrounding vehicles is determined based on the predicted trajectory of the present vehicle and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles, and when the evaluation distance is not included within a predetermined range, it is predicted that there is no possibility of collision between the present vehicle and the surrounding vehicles.According to another embodiment, a program product is provided that causes a computer to perform the following steps: a storage step in which risk position information representing a risk position where there is a possibility of a collision between the present vehicle and other vehicles is stored; an acquisition step in which, through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, surrounding vehicle information representing the vehicle speed, position, travel trajectory, and yaw rate of surrounding vehicles existing around the present vehicle is acquired; a prediction step in which, based on the present vehicle information representing the vehicle speed, position, travel trajectory, and yaw rate of the present vehicle and the surrounding vehicle information, the possibility of a collision between the present vehicle and the surrounding vehicles is predicted; and a reporting step in which, based on the prediction result in the prediction step, a report is made to the occupants of the present vehicle. In the prediction step, when the risk position is not included within a predetermined distance in the traveling direction of the present vehicle, the predicted trajectory of the present vehicle is determined based on the present vehicle information, the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles is determined based on the surrounding vehicle information, an evaluation distance for evaluating the proximity state between the present vehicle and the surrounding vehicles is determined based on the predicted trajectory of the present vehicle and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles, and when the evaluation distance is not included within a predetermined range, it is predicted that there is no possibility of a collision between the present vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. According to another embodiment, a storage medium is provided that stores a program for causing a computer to perform the following steps: a storage step in which risk position information representing a risk position where there is a possibility of a collision between the present vehicle and other vehicles is stored; an acquisition step in which, through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, surrounding vehicle information representing the vehicle speed, position, travel trajectory, and yaw rate of surrounding vehicles existing around the present vehicle is acquired; a prediction step in which, based on the present vehicle information representing the vehicle speed, position, travel trajectory, and yaw rate of the present vehicle and the surrounding vehicle information, the possibility of a collision between the present vehicle and the surrounding vehicles is predicted; and a reporting step in which, based on the prediction result in the prediction step, a report is made to the occupants of the present vehicle. In the prediction step, when the risk position is not included within a predetermined distance in the traveling direction of the present vehicle, the predicted trajectory of the present vehicle is determined based on the present vehicle information, the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles is determined based on the surrounding vehicle information, an evaluation distance for evaluating the proximity state between the present vehicle and the surrounding vehicles is determined based on the predicted trajectory of the present vehicle and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles, and when the evaluation distance is not included within a predetermined range, it is predicted that there is no possibility of a collision between the present vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] Figure 1It is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a vehicle related to some embodiments.

[0005] Figure 2 It is a diagram illustrating an example of risk position information related to some embodiments.

[0006] Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B It is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a trajectory intersection related to some embodiments.

[0007] Figure 4 It is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for registering surrounding vehicles related to some embodiments.

[0008] Figure 5 It is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for determining a risk position related to some embodiments.

[0009] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a range including surrounding vehicles related to some embodiments.

[0010] Figure 7 It is a flowchart illustrating an example of a driving assistance operation related to surrounding vehicles on the side related to some embodiments.

[0011] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a decision operation for an evaluation distance related to surrounding vehicles on the side related to some embodiments.

[0012] Figure 9 It is a diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence table between yaw angular acceleration and reliability related to some embodiments.

[0013] Figures 10A to 10C It is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a decision operation for an evaluation distance related to surrounding vehicles on the side related to some embodiments.

[0014] Figure 11A 、 Figure 11B It is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a driving assistance operation related to surrounding vehicles on the side related to some embodiments.

[0015] Figure 12 It is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a driving assistance operation related to surrounding vehicles on the side related to some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 13 It is a flowchart illustrating an example of a driving assistance operation related to surrounding vehicles in front related to some embodiments.

[0017] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a determination operation of an evaluation distance related to a surrounding vehicle ahead in some embodiments.

[0018] Figures 15A to 15C This is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a determination operation of an evaluation distance related to a surrounding vehicle ahead in some embodiments.

[0019] Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a driving assistance operation related to a surrounding vehicle ahead in some embodiments.

[0020] Figure 17 This is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a method for determining a surrounding vehicle to be determined in some embodiments.

[0021] Figure 18 This is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a reporting method in some embodiments. Detailed Embodiments

[0022] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the following embodiments do not limit the invention related to the technical solution, and not all of the feature combinations described in the embodiments are essential for the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined. In addition, the same or similar components are labeled with the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions are omitted.

[0023] <Example of Vehicle Configuration> Refer to Figure 1 , and an example of the configuration of vehicle 100 in some embodiments will be described. As Figure 1 shown, vehicle 100 may include a sensor group 101, a turn signal lever 102, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) antenna 103, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication antenna 104, a reporting device 105, a braking device 106, a turn signal 107, and a control device 108. Figure 1 The components referred to in the following description are shown, but vehicle 100 may also include other components for the operation of the vehicle, such as a drive device, a transmission, etc. Vehicle 100 may also not include some of the components shown Figure 1 on the basis of or instead of the above components. Vehicle 100 may be a four-wheeled vehicle, a two-wheeled vehicle, or other forms of vehicles. Hereinafter, the driver of vehicle 100 may sometimes be simply referred to as the driver.

[0024] The control device 108 controls the overall operation of the vehicle 100. As will be described later, the control device 108 performs driving assistance for the vehicle 100 on which the control device 108 is mounted. Therefore, the control device 108 may also be referred to as a driving assistance device. The driving assistance provided by the control device 108 may be collision prevention assistance for preventing (reducing) collisions with other vehicles. In some embodiments, the control device 108 may perform collision prevention assistance without using map information. In the following description, for the sake of easy distinction from other vehicles, the vehicle 100 is sometimes referred to as the host vehicle 100. In addition, a vehicle different from the vehicle 100 is sometimes referred to as another vehicle. Among other vehicles, a vehicle currently present in the vicinity of the host vehicle 100 is sometimes referred to as a surrounding vehicle. The surrounding vehicle may also refer to a vehicle that can currently perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication with the host vehicle 100.

[0025] The sensor group 101 includes various sensors for performing driving assistance for the vehicle 100. For example, the sensor group 101 may include a speed sensor that detects the speed of the vehicle 100, an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the vehicle 100, and the like. In addition, the sensor group 101 may also include external detection sensors such as a camera, a millimeter-wave radar, and a lidar (LIDAR: Light Detection and Ranging) that can detect objects around the vehicle 100. The sensor group 101 may also include a sensor for measuring the yaw rate (yaw angle) of the vehicle 100. The sensor group 101 outputs its detection results to the control device 108.

[0026] The turn signal lever 102 is an operating member for receiving an operation for changing the indication state of the turn signal 107 (which may also be referred to as a direction indicator) from the driver. The indication state of the turn signal 107 may include a state indicating the right side of the vehicle 100, a state indicating the left side of the vehicle 100, and a state indicating neither side. The control device 108 switches the indication state of the turn signal 107 according to the operation of the turn signal lever 102 by the driver. The turn signal 107 may be located on both the right and left sides of the vehicle 100. For example, when the driver operates the turn signal lever 102 in a manner to indicate the right side, the control device 108 causes the turn signal 107 located on the right side of the vehicle 100 to blink. When the driver operates the turn signal lever 102 in a manner to indicate the left side, the control device 108 causes the turn signal 107 located on the left side of the vehicle 100 to blink. When the driver operates the turn signal lever 102 in a manner to indicate neither direction, the control device 108 causes the turn signals 107 located on both sides of the vehicle 100 to turn off. The control device 108 may also not change the indication state of the turn signal 107 according to the operation of the turn signal lever 102 by the driver. For example, the control device 108 may also cause the blinking turn signal 107 to turn off according to the completion of the turning of the vehicle 100.

[0027] The GNSS antenna 103 receives radio waves for position determination transmitted from GNSS satellites. For example, the GNSS antenna 103 may be used to obtain information related to the current position and / or travel trajectory (travel history) of the vehicle 100. In addition, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication antenna 104 is an antenna for transmitting and receiving various data to and from surrounding vehicles. For example, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication antenna 104 may be used to obtain information related to the current position, speed, and travel trajectory of surrounding vehicles.

[0028] The reporting device 105 is a device that reports to the occupants (such as the driver) of the vehicle 100. When there is a possibility of a collision between the vehicle 100 and surrounding vehicles, as a driving assistance, the control device 108 can report the possibility of a collision with surrounding vehicles to the occupants of the vehicle 100 through the reporting device 105. The reporting device 105 may include a multi-information display (MID) 105a, a head-up display (HUD) 105b, and a speaker 105c. The MID 105a is a display device for displaying visual information for the occupants. For example, the MID 105a may also display information indicating the possibility of a collision with other vehicles. The HUD 105b is a display device for displaying visual information for the occupants. For example, the HUD 105b may also display information indicating the possibility of a collision with other vehicles. The MID 105a and the HUD 105b may be provided at different positions of the vehicle 100. For example, the MID 105a may be provided on the instrument panel of the vehicle 100, and the HUD 105b may be provided on the windshield of the vehicle 100. The speaker 105c is an audio device for outputting sound information to the occupants. For example, the speaker 105c may output a sound or a notification sound indicating the possibility of a collision with other vehicles.

[0029] The braking device 106 is a device for performing a braking action of the vehicle 100, such as a brake. When there is a possibility of a collision between the vehicle 100 and surrounding vehicles, as a driving assistance, the control device 108 performs deceleration assistance of the vehicle 100 by operating the braking device 106, and can avoid a collision with surrounding vehicles.

[0030] The control device 108 is a device (computer) that controls the vehicle 100 and may be constituted by, for example, an ECU (Electric Control Unit). The control device 108 can perform driving assistance through vehicle-to-vehicle communication with other vehicles and processing within the vehicle 100. For example, the control device 108 can perform driving assistance without using map information. The control device 108 includes a processing unit 110, a storage unit 111, a GNSS module 113, and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 114, which are connected by a bus (not shown).

[0031] The processing unit 110 is a processor represented by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and executes programs stored in the storage unit 111. The storage unit 111 includes, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a hard disk, etc., and stores programs for the processing unit 110 to execute driving assistance processing of the vehicle 100 (driving assistance programs), programs for the processing unit 110 to learn risk positions (learning programs), various data, etc. The storage unit 111 may also store risk position information 112 created based on the intersection of the formal trajectory of the vehicle 100 and the formal trajectories of other vehicles. The risk position information 112 may include multiple risk positions. The risk position may refer to a position where there is a possibility of collision between the vehicle 100 and other vehicles or a position where the possibility is high. The risk position information 112 may also be managed as a database.

[0032] The GNSS module 113 receives the position information of the vehicle 100, etc. from GNSS satellites via the GNSS antenna 103. In addition, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 114 receives various information from other vehicles via the vehicle-to-vehicle communication antenna 104.

[0033] In order to execute driving assistance of the vehicle 100 (collision prevention assistance in some embodiments), the processing unit 110 may include an acquisition unit 110a, a prediction unit 110b, an assistance unit 110c, and an update unit 110d. In addition, the processing unit 110 is not limited to the configuration including the units 110a to 110d. Other units may be added or some units may be omitted according to the type of driving assistance executed in the vehicle 100.

[0034] The acquisition unit 110a acquires information of surrounding vehicles indicating the current position, vehicle speed, driving trajectory, and the indicated state of the turn signal of the surrounding vehicles existing around the vehicle 100 via the vehicle-to-vehicle communication antenna 104 (vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 114). The information of surrounding vehicles can explicitly represent the current position, vehicle speed, driving trajectory, the indicated state of the turn signal, and the yaw rate of the surrounding vehicles, or can implicitly represent the current position, vehicle speed, driving trajectory, the indicated state of the turn signal, and the yaw rate of the surrounding vehicles. For example, the information of surrounding vehicles can directly include the vehicle speed itself, or can include information for calculating the vehicle speed (the current and the previous two geographical positions and their positioning times). In addition, the information of surrounding vehicles can include the yaw rate itself, or can include information for calculating the yaw rate (the traveling directions of the surrounding vehicles at present and before). The acquisition unit 110a can also acquire vehicle information indicating the current position, speed, driving trajectory, and the indicated state of the turn signal 107 of the vehicle 100 via the sensor group 101 and the GNSS antenna 103 (GNSS module 113). The acquisition unit 110a can acquire the indicated state of the turn signal 107 from the turn signal 107, or can store the most recent change command for the turn signal 107 and acquire the indicated state based on the stored change command.

[0035] The prediction unit 110b predicts the possibility of the vehicle 100 colliding with other vehicles based on the vehicle information and the information of surrounding vehicles acquired by the acquisition unit 110a. The prediction unit 110b can also set a determination area and predict the possibility of the vehicle 100 colliding with other vehicles in the determination area. In addition, the prediction unit 110b can also perform driving assistance for the vehicle 100 based on the risk position information 112. For example, it can also be that when at least one of the multiple risk positions included in the risk position information 112 is located near the own vehicle, the prediction unit 110b sets the determination area in a manner that includes the risk position.

[0036] The assistance unit 110c performs driving assistance (collision prevention assistance) for the own vehicle 100 based on the prediction result of the prediction unit 110b. In some embodiments, as driving assistance for the vehicle 100, the assistance unit 110c can perform at least one of reporting to the occupants of the vehicle 100 based on the reporting device 105 and deceleration assistance for the vehicle 100 based on the braking device 106. The deceleration assistance can also include the case of assisting in decelerating the vehicle 100 until it stops, that is, stop assistance. The stop assistance can include not only the deceleration of the vehicle 100, but also the determination of the stop position of the vehicle 100, the path planning towards the stop position, and the automatic steering along the path.

[0037] The update unit 110d determines the intersection points of the driving trajectory of the vehicle 100 and the driving trajectories of surrounding vehicles. Hereinafter, the intersection points of the driving trajectory of the vehicle 100 and the driving trajectories of surrounding vehicles are referred to as trajectory intersection points. There is a possibility that an intersection where a road exists is near the trajectory intersection points. In addition, the update unit 110d updates the risk position information 112 stored in the storage unit 111 based on the determined trajectory intersection points. For example, the update unit 110d can also update the risk position information 112 by adding the trajectory intersection points to the risk position information 112. Instead of or in addition to this, the update unit 110d can also update the risk position information 112 by correcting any risk positions included in the risk position information 112 based on the trajectory intersection points.

[0038] Next, refer to Figure 2 An example of the risk position information 112 will be described. In Figure 2 's example, the risk position information 112 is recorded in a table form, but the risk position information 112 can also be in other forms. The risk position information 112 has a record for each risk position. Figure 2 The columns of the risk position information 112 shown are only one example. The risk position information 112 can include other columns or may not include Figure 2 a part of the columns shown.

[0039] The risk position information 112 can include information related to a risk position ID, a registration date, coordinates, and a passing azimuth for each risk position. The risk position ID is a serial number that uniquely identifies a risk position. The registration date is the date when the risk position is registered in the risk position information 112. The coordinates are data used to determine the risk position, for example, represented by data of latitude and longitude. The coordinates can also include altitude data such as altitude on the basis of the data of latitude and longitude. The passing azimuth is the azimuth (direction, angle) in which the vehicle 100 is facing when passing through the trajectory intersection point used to determine the risk position. The passing azimuth can also be understood as the traveling direction (entry azimuth) of the vehicle 100 when entering the trajectory intersection point. In Figure 2 's example, the passing azimuth of the vehicle 100 is defined such that north is 0°, east is 90°, south is 180°, and west is 270°.

[0040] The crossing angle is the crossing angle between the driving trajectory of the own vehicle 100 and the driving trajectories of other vehicles at the trajectory intersection point used to determine the risk position. The crossing angle can also be the rotation angle of the traveling direction vector of other vehicles at the trajectory intersection point relative to the traveling direction vector of the own vehicle 100 at the trajectory intersection point. In this case, the crossing angle indicates from which direction other vehicles cross the driving trajectory of the own vehicle. The other vehicle trajectory is the driving trajectory of other vehicles passing through the trajectory intersection point used to determine the risk position.

[0041] Next, with reference to Figure 3A and Figure 3B an example of a trajectory intersection will be described. As described above, a trajectory intersection refers to an intersection of the traveling trajectory of vehicle 100 and the traveling trajectories of other vehicles. In this specification, the case where vehicle 100 is located in an area where right-hand traffic is specified will be described. In this case, among the left side and the right side, the side of the road on which traffic is specified in the area where vehicle 100 is located is the right side, and the opposite side is the left side. In addition, the oncoming lane side of vehicle 100 is the left side of vehicle 100. The embodiments described in this specification can also be applied to the case where vehicle 100 is located in an area where left-hand traffic is specified. In this case, the left and right in the following processes (for example, the right turn and left turn of vehicle 100 and other vehicles, and the right side and left side of the indication state of the turn signal) are swapped. Specifically, among the left side and the right side, the side of the road on which traffic is specified in the area where vehicle 100 is located is the left side, and the opposite side is the right side. In addition, the oncoming lane side of vehicle 100 is the right side of vehicle 100.

[0042] In Figure 3A the example shown, the position where the traveling trajectory 301a of the own vehicle 100 going straight north intersects the traveling trajectory 302a of the other vehicle OVa going straight west is the trajectory intersection CPa. In addition, since the timing (moment) at which the own vehicle 100 passes through the trajectory intersection CPa and the timing (moment) at which the other vehicle OVa passes through the trajectory intersection CPa are different from each other, a collision between the own vehicle 100 and the other vehicle OVa does not occur. In addition, the traveling trajectory 301a of the own vehicle 100 is included in the own vehicle information acquired by the acquisition unit 110a via the sensor group 101 and the GNSS antenna 103 (GNSS module 113). The traveling trajectory 302a of the other vehicle OVa is included in the other vehicle information acquired by the acquisition unit 110a via the vehicle-to-vehicle communication antenna 104 (vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 114). Since the other vehicle OVa at the time of acquisition is a surrounding vehicle existing around the own vehicle 100, this other vehicle information can also be understood as surrounding vehicle information.

[0043] In Figure 3BIn the example shown, the position where the travel trajectory 301b of the host vehicle 100 going straight north and turning left intersects with the travel trajectory 302b of another vehicle OVb going straight south is the trajectory intersection point CPb. In addition, since the timing (moment) at which the host vehicle 100 passes through the trajectory intersection point CPb and the timing (moment) at which the other vehicle OVb passes through the trajectory intersection point CPb are different from each other, a collision between the host vehicle 100 and the other vehicle OVb does not occur. Further, similar to the travel trajectory 301a, the travel trajectory 301b of the host vehicle 100 is also included in the host vehicle information acquired by the acquisition unit 110a via the sensor group 101 and the GNSS antenna 103 (GNSS module 113). Similar to the travel trajectory 302a, the travel trajectory 302b of the other vehicle OVb is also included in the other vehicle information (surrounding vehicle information) acquired by the acquisition unit 110a via the vehicle-to-vehicle communication antenna 104 (vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 114).

[0044] The functions of the control device 108 can be implemented by either hardware or software. For example, the functions of the control device 108 can be implemented as described above by the processing unit 110 (CPU) executing a driving assistance program and / or a learning program, or can be implemented by an integrated circuit such as a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Further, in Figure 1 the example, the control device 108 is shown as a single element, but it may be divided into two or more elements as needed.

[0045] <Management Process of Surrounding Vehicles> Refer to Figure 4 to describe an example of a process for managing surrounding vehicles. Figure 4 The process shown in the flowchart of Figure 4 is executed by the processing unit 110 according to the learning program read from the storage unit 111. Figure 4 The process of

[0046] In step S401, the processing unit 110 (for example, its acquisition unit 110a) determines whether there are other vehicles around the own vehicle 100. When the processing unit 110 determines that there are other vehicles around the own vehicle 100, the processing proceeds to step S402, and in other cases, the processing proceeds to step S404. For example, the processing unit 110 may determine that there are other vehicles around the own vehicle 100 when vehicle-to-vehicle communication can be performed via the vehicle-to-vehicle communication antenna 104 (vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 114).

[0047] In step S402, the processing unit 110 (for example, its acquisition unit 110a) registers the other vehicles found in step S401 as surrounding vehicles. For example, the storage unit 111 may store a list of surrounding vehicles, and the processing unit 110 may also append the information of the found surrounding vehicles to the list. As will be described later, the surrounding vehicles become the objects of determination of the collision possibility. In the process of repeatedly performing instead of managing the information of the surrounding vehicles through a list, information can be obtained from all other vehicles capable of performing vehicle-to-vehicle communication at the start of each cycle, and the information obtained in this cycle is discarded at the end of each cycle.

[0048] In step S403, the processing unit 110 (for example, its acquisition unit 110a) starts acquiring the surrounding vehicle information based on the vehicle-to-vehicle communication from the surrounding vehicles. As described above, the surrounding vehicle information may also represent the vehicle speed, position, and driving trajectory of the surrounding vehicles. After the processing unit 110 starts acquiring the surrounding vehicle information in step S403, the surrounding vehicle information is repeatedly acquired regularly (for example, every 100 milliseconds) until vehicle-to-vehicle communication with the surrounding vehicles becomes impossible.

[0049] After starting to acquire the surrounding vehicle information, in step S404, the processing unit 110 (for example, its acquisition unit 110a) determines whether there is a vehicle that cannot perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication among the registered one or more surrounding vehicles. When there is such a vehicle, the processing unit 110 makes the processing proceed to step S405, and in other cases, the processing proceeds to step S401. For example, when the surrounding vehicle deviates from the communication range of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication or the power supply of the surrounding vehicle is turned off, the vehicle 100 cannot perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication with the surrounding vehicle.

[0050] In step S405, the processing unit 110 (for example, its acquisition unit 110a) cancels the registration of the surrounding vehicle that cannot perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication. In other words, the processing unit 110 does not process the vehicle that cannot perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication as a surrounding vehicle. For example, the processing unit 110 deletes the information of the surrounding vehicle that cannot perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication from the list of surrounding vehicles stored in the storage unit 111.

[0051] As described above, the processing unit 110 can periodically obtain the latest surrounding vehicle information from other vehicles (i.e., surrounding vehicles) located around the vehicle 100 by executing Figure 4 the processing of

[0052] <Driving assistance processing> Refer to Figures 6 to 18 the driving assistance processing of some embodiments will be described. As referred to Figure 3A as described, when other vehicles are included within the range on the side of the vehicle 100, if both the vehicle 100 and other vehicles go straight, there is a possibility of collision between these vehicles. On the other hand, as referred to Figure 3B as described, when other vehicles are included within the range in front of the vehicle 100, if the vehicle 100 turns left and other vehicles go straight, there is a possibility of collision between these vehicles. As described above, depending on the position of other vehicles relative to the vehicle 100, the situations where there is a possibility of collision between these vehicles are different. Therefore, in some embodiments, the control device 108 performs different driving assistance according to whether the surrounding vehicle exists within the range in front of or on the side of the vehicle 100.

[0053] Refer to Figure 5 and the operation assistance processing of some embodiments will be described. Figure 5 The driving assistance processing shown in the flowchart of Figure 5 can also be performed in the control device 108 by the processing unit 110 executing the driving assistance program read from the storage unit 111. Figure 5 The processing of

[0054] For example, can also start according to the situation where the setting of driving assistance is turned on. The processing of

[0055] Figure 5 can also be repeatedly executed until the setting of driving assistance is turned off, or until the ignition of the vehicle 100 is turned off.

[0054] In step S501, the processing unit 110 (for example, its auxiliary unit 110c) determines whether there is a risk position within a predetermined distance (for example, 100 m) in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 by referring to the risk position information 112 stored in the storage unit 111. For example, the processing unit 110 can determine whether there is a risk position within the predetermined distance by comparing the current position of the vehicle 100 obtained by the acquisition unit 110a via the GNSS antenna 103 (GNSS module 113) with the coordinates (latitude, longitude) of each risk position included in the risk position information 112.

[0055] When there is a risk position within a predetermined distance (e.g., 100 m) in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100, the processing unit 110 causes the processing to proceed to step S502, and when there is no risk position within the predetermined distance, the processing unit 110 causes the processing to proceed to step S503. In step S502, the processing unit 110 determines whether to use the risk position included within the predetermined distance for driving assistance. Details of this processing will be described later. In step S503, the processing unit 110 determines whether to perform driving assistance without using the risk position. Details of this processing will be described later.

[0056] Refer to Figure 6 , a range of methods for selecting driving assistance when there is no risk position within a predetermined distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 will be described. The range 600 is located in front of the vehicle 100. The front of the vehicle 100 may refer to a range including the front of the vehicle 100. As Figure 6 shown, the range 600 may be a fan-shaped range or may have other shapes. The fan-shaped range can be defined by a predetermined distance and a predetermined angle. The predetermined distance can be, for example, 800 m or more and 1000 m or less, for example, 900 m. The same applies to the predetermined distance for the following fan-shaped ranges. The range 600 may be symmetric with respect to the direction of the front of the vehicle 100. The central angle of the range 600 can be, for example, about 100 degrees to 110 degrees.

[0057] The range 601 is located on the side of the vehicle 100. The side of the vehicle 100 may refer to a range including the obliquely front of the vehicle 100. The range 601 may include the direction of the right side of the vehicle 100. As Figure 6 shown, the range 601 may be a fan-shaped range or may have other shapes. The fan-shaped range can be defined by a predetermined distance and a predetermined angle. In Figure 6 the example, the ranges 601 are located on the right side and the left side of the vehicle 100, respectively. The central angle of the range 601 can be, for example, about 80 degrees to 90 degrees.

[0058] In Figure 6 the example, a part of the range 600 overlaps with a part of the range 601. The central angle of this overlapping part can be, for example, about 10 degrees to 20 degrees. When a surrounding vehicle exists in this overlapping part, the surrounding vehicle becomes the object of both driving assistance in the case of Figure 3A and driving assistance in the case of Figure 3B . Instead of Figure 6In the example, range 600 and range 601 can either be in contact with each other or separated from each other. Range 600, range 601 located on the right side of vehicle 100, and range 601 located on the left side of vehicle 100 can all be of the same size, or at least partially of different sizes.

[0059] When the surrounding vehicle is included in range 601, as Figure 3A shown, the own vehicle 100 will collide with other vehicles when going straight. Therefore, the control device 108 predicts the possibility of a collision caused by the own vehicle 100 going straight. For this operation, reference will be made to Figures 7 to 12 which will be described later. On the other hand, when the surrounding vehicle is included in range 600, as Figure 3B shown, the own vehicle 100 will collide with other vehicles when turning left. Therefore, the control device 108 predicts the possibility of a collision caused by the own vehicle 100 turning left. For this operation, reference will be made to Figures 13 to 16 which will be described later. The positions of range 600 and range 601 relative to the own vehicle 100 can be preset (for example, at the time of manufacturing vehicle 100 or when updating the software) and stored in the storage unit 111.

[0060] Figure 7 In, an example of the process for performing driving assistance when, in step S503 (that is, when there is no risk position within a predetermined distance in the traveling direction of the own vehicle 100), the surrounding vehicle RV ( Figure 10A ) exists within range 601 on the side of the own vehicle 100 will be described. Figure 7 The process shown in the flowchart is executed by the processing unit 110 according to the driving assistance program read from the storage unit 111. Figure 7 The process can also be executed for the surrounding vehicle RV, for example, during the period when the setting of driving assistance is turned on, each time a new surrounding vehicle RV is registered in Figure 7 step S702. In Figure 7 the process, multiple other vehicles can be registered as surrounding vehicles. Figure 7 The process is executed for each of these multiple surrounding vehicles.

[0061] In step S701, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) determines whether the surrounding vehicle RV exists within range 601 on the side of the own vehicle 100. When the processing unit 110 determines that the vehicle RV exists within range 601 on the side of the own vehicle 100, it causes the process to proceed to step S702, and in other cases, repeats step S701. This determination can also be made based on the current position of the surrounding vehicle RV included in the latest surrounding vehicle information obtained from the surrounding vehicle RV. In Figure 11AIn the example shown, the surrounding vehicle RV exists within the range 601.

[0062] In step S702, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) determines whether the predicted travel route of the host vehicle 100 intersects with the predicted travel route of the surrounding vehicle RV. When the processing unit 110 determines that the travel routes of these two predicted vehicles intersect, the process proceeds to step S703, and in other cases, step S702 is repeated. When the processing unit 110 determines that the predicted travel route of the host vehicle 100 intersects with the predicted travel route of the surrounding vehicle RV, it determines the coordinates of the predicted intersection point.

[0063] Refer to Figure 8 to illustrate a specific example of the process of step S702. In step S801, the processing unit 110 determines the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100 and the prediction accuracy of this predicted trajectory. Then, the processing unit 110 determines whether the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100 is equal to or higher than the threshold accuracy. When the processing unit 110 determines that the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100 is equal to or higher than the threshold accuracy, the process proceeds to step S802, and when the processing unit 110 determines that the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100 is less than the threshold accuracy, the process proceeds to step S805.

[0064] The processing unit 110 may also determine the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100 based on the host vehicle information. For example, the processing unit 110 may calculate the radius of curvature at the current time based on the yaw rate included in the host vehicle information, and determine an arc with this radius of curvature as the predicted trajectory.

[0065] The processing unit 110 may also determine the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100 based on the current vehicle speed of the host vehicle 100 and the current yaw rate of the host vehicle 100. For example, the processing unit 110 may determine that the smaller the yaw angular acceleration of the host vehicle 100, the higher the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory. The processing unit 110 may calculate the yaw angular acceleration by taking the time derivative of the yaw rate. For example, the processing unit 110 may determine the prediction reliability of the predicted trajectory by referring to Figure 9 the corresponding table 900 shown. The corresponding table 900 represents the correspondence between the yaw angular acceleration and the reliability. The corresponding table 900 may be set and stored in the storage unit 111 in advance (for example, at the time of manufacturing the vehicle 100 or when updating the software). In the corresponding table 900, the prediction reliability of the predicted trajectory is classified into eleven levels, and the higher the reliability, the higher the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory. For example, when the yaw angular acceleration is 1.5° / s 2 or more and less than 2° / s 2 , the prediction reliability of the predicted trajectory is determined to be 70%.

[0066] Generally, at low vehicle speeds, the measurement accuracy of the radius of curvature of the host vehicle 100 is low. Therefore, the processing unit 110 may also determine that the higher the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 100, the higher the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory. For example, the processing unit 110 may also classify the prediction reliability of the predicted trajectory into two levels. The processing unit 110 may determine that the reliability is high when the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 100 is equal to or higher than a threshold vehicle speed (for example, 20 km / h), and determine that the reliability is low when the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 100 is less than the threshold vehicle speed.

[0067] The processing unit 110 may also combine the determination based on the yaw angular acceleration and the determination based on the vehicle speed. For example, it may be that when the reliability determined based on the yaw angular acceleration is equal to or higher than a threshold reliability (for example, 70%) and the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a threshold vehicle speed (for example, 20 km / h), the processing unit 110 determines that the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100 is equal to or higher than a threshold accuracy, and in other cases, the processing unit 110 determines that the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100 is less than the threshold accuracy.

[0068] In step S802, the processing unit 110 determines the current radius of curvature of the host vehicle 100. Then, the processing unit 110 determines whether the radius of curvature of the host vehicle 100 is equal to or greater than a threshold radius (for example, 3000 m). When the processing unit 110 determines that the radius of curvature of the host vehicle 100 is equal to or greater than the threshold radius, the process proceeds to step S803, and when the processing unit 110 determines that the radius of curvature of the host vehicle 100 is less than the threshold radius, the process proceeds to step S804.

[0069] In step S803, the processing unit 110 determines the intersection point of the straight - line trajectory of the host vehicle 100 and the straight - line trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV as the predicted intersection point. The straight - line trajectory refers to the trajectory when it is assumed that the host vehicle 100 travels straight. When it is determined that the radius of curvature of the host vehicle 100 is equal to or greater than a threshold radius (for example, 3000 m), the process of step S803 is executed. In this case, it is considered that the occupant of the host vehicle 100 intends to make the host vehicle 100 travel straight. Therefore, the processing unit 110 uses the straight - line trajectory of the host vehicle 100 to determine the predicted intersection point. Refer to Figure 10A , an example of the predicted intersection point in step S803 is described. In this example, the intersection point of the straight - line trajectory 1000 of the host vehicle 100 and the straight - line trajectory 1001 of the surrounding vehicle RV is determined as the predicted intersection point 1002.

[0070] In step S804, the processing unit 110 determines the intersection point of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100 and the straight-ahead trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV as the predicted intersection point. The processing unit 110 may also use the predicted trajectory determined in step S801. When it is determined that the radius of curvature of the host vehicle 100 is less than the threshold radius (for example, 3000 m), the processing of step S804 is executed. In this case, it is considered that the occupant of the host vehicle 100 intends to turn the host vehicle 100. Therefore, the processing unit 110 uses the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100 to determine the predicted intersection point. Refer to Figure 10B , an example of the predicted intersection point in step S804 will be described. In this example, the intersection point of the predicted trajectory 1010 of the host vehicle 100 and the straight-ahead trajectory 1011 of the surrounding vehicle RV is determined as the predicted intersection point 1012. The predicted trajectory 1010 may be an arc having the determined radius of curvature.

[0071] In step S805, the processing unit 110 determines the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV and the prediction accuracy of this predicted trajectory. Then, the processing unit 110 determines whether the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV is equal to or higher than the threshold accuracy. When the processing unit 110 determines that the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV is equal to or higher than the threshold accuracy, the process proceeds to step S806. When the processing unit 110 determines that the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV is less than the threshold accuracy, the process proceeds to step S809.

[0072] The processing unit 110 may also determine the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV based on the surrounding vehicle information. For example, the processing unit 110 may calculate the radius of curvature at the current time based on the yaw rate included in the surrounding vehicle information, and determine an arc having this radius of curvature as the predicted trajectory.

[0073] The processing unit 110 may also determine the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV based on the current vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicle RV and the current yaw rate of the surrounding vehicle RV. The method for determining the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV may be the same as the method for determining the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100 described above, and thus the repeated description is omitted.

[0074] In step S806, the processing unit 110 determines the current radius of curvature of the surrounding vehicle RV. Then, the processing unit 110 determines whether the radius of curvature of the surrounding vehicle RV is equal to or higher than the threshold radius. When the processing unit 110 determines that the radius of curvature of the surrounding vehicle RV is equal to or higher than the threshold radius (for example, 3000 m), the process proceeds to step S807. When the processing unit 110 determines that the radius of curvature of the surrounding vehicle RV is less than the threshold radius, the process proceeds to step S808.

[0075] In step S807, the processing unit 110 determines the intersection point of the straight - line trajectory of the own vehicle 100 and the straight - line trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV as the predicted intersection point. The method for determining the predicted intersection point in step S807 may be the same as the method for determining the predicted intersection point in step S803, so the repeated description is omitted.

[0076] In step S808, the processing unit 110 determines the intersection point of the straight - line trajectory of the own vehicle 100 and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV as the predicted intersection point. The processing unit 110 may also use the predicted trajectory determined in step S805. When it is determined that the radius of curvature of the surrounding vehicle RV is less than the threshold radius (for example, 3000 m), the process of step S808 is executed. In this case, it is considered that the occupant of the surrounding vehicle RV intends to turn the surrounding vehicle RV. Therefore, the processing unit 110 uses the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV to determine the predicted intersection point. Refer to Figure 10C , an example of the predicted intersection point in step S808 is described. In this example, the intersection point of the straight - line trajectory 1020 of the own vehicle 100 and the predicted trajectory 1021 of the surrounding vehicle RV is determined as the predicted intersection point 1022. The predicted trajectory 1021 may be an arc with the determined radius of curvature.

[0077] After determining the predicted intersection point in step S803, step S804, step S807, or step S808, the processing unit 110 determines an evaluation distance in step S809 based on the predicted intersection point and the current position of the own vehicle 100. The evaluation distance may also refer to the distance used to evaluate the proximity of the own vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV. In this way, according to Figure 8 this method, the processing unit 110 determines an evaluation distance for evaluating the proximity of the own vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV based on the predicted trajectory of the own vehicle 100 and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV. In addition, the processing unit 110 selects a method for determining the evaluation distance from among candidates of multiple determination methods based on the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the own vehicle 100, the radius of curvature of the predicted trajectory of the own vehicle 100, the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV, and the radius of curvature of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV.

[0078] Referring again to Figures 10A to 10C , the evaluation distance is described. As Figure 10A shown, when the predicted intersection point 1002 is located on the straight - line trajectory 1000 of the own vehicle 100, the processing unit 110 may also determine the distance 1003 between the own vehicle 100 and the predicted intersection point 1002 as the evaluation distance. Similarly, for Figure 10C , the processing unit 110 may also determine the distance 1023 between the own vehicle 100 and the predicted intersection point 1022 as the evaluation distance.

[0079] As Figure 10BAs shown, when it is determined that the predicted intersection 1012 does not exist on the straight - line trajectory of the own vehicle 100, the processing unit 110 may also determine the distance 1013 between the own vehicle 100 and the predicted intersection 1012 as the evaluation distance. Instead of this, the processing unit 110 may also determine the straight - line distance between the plane passing through a part (e.g., the center) of the own vehicle 100 with the traveling direction as the normal line and the predicted intersection 1012 as the evaluation distance. Instead of this, the processing unit 110 may also determine the distance on the predicted trajectory 1010 between the own vehicle 100 and the predicted intersection 1012 as the evaluation distance.

[0080] In step S810, the processing unit 110 determines whether the evaluation distance determined in step S809 is included within a predetermined range (e.g., 100 m). When the processing unit 110 determines that the evaluation distance is included within the predetermined range (e.g., 100 m), the process proceeds to step S811. When the processing unit 110 determines that the evaluation distance is not included within the predetermined range, the process proceeds to step S812.

[0081] In step S811, the processing unit 110 determines that there is no possibility of collision. After executing step S811, the processing unit 110 Figure 8 after the processing of Figure 7 proceeds to step S707 of Figure 8 In step S812, the processing unit 110 determines that there is a possibility of collision. After executing step S812, the processing unit 110 Figure 7 after the processing of Figure 7 proceeds to step S703 of

[0082] It may also be that when it is determined that the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the own vehicle 100 is less than the threshold accuracy and the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV is less than the threshold accuracy, in step S811, the processing unit 110 predicts that there is no possibility of collision between the own vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV. When the prediction accuracies of the predicted trajectories of the own vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV are respectively low, even if the two vehicles are not in a situation of approaching each other, it is possible to perform driving assistance (e.g., reporting to the occupant). Therefore, in such a case, by predicting that there is no possibility of collision, driving assistance (e.g., reporting to the occupant) is suppressed, and the situation where the occupant feels cumbersome can be suppressed.

[0083] In the above - mentioned Figures 10A to 10CIn the method, in steps S803 and S804, the processing unit 110 uses the straight - running trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV to determine the predicted intersection. Instead of this, in steps S803 and S804, the processing unit 110 may also use the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV to determine the predicted intersection when it is determined that the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV is equal to or higher than the threshold accuracy and the radius of curvature of the surrounding vehicle RV is smaller than the threshold radius.

[0084] Return to Figure 7 Regarding the description of , in step S703, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) sets a determination area with the predicted intersection determined by the method of Figure 8 as the reference position and stores the determination area in the storage unit 111. The determination area may also refer to an area for predicting the possibility of a collision. Refer to Figure 11A for an example of the determination area 1103 set with the predicted intersection 1102 as the reference position. Similarly to Figure 10A in the example shown in Figure 11A the intersection of the straight - running trajectory 1100 of the own vehicle 100 and the straight - running trajectory 1101 of the surrounding vehicle RV is determined as the predicted intersection 1102. Instead of this, Figure 11A the description of is also applicable to Figure 10B or Figure 10C the case of

[0085] It may also be that the determination area 1103 includes the predicted intersection 1102 and is a rectangle including sides parallel to the straight - running trajectory 1100 of the own vehicle 100. Instead of this, the determination area 1103 may have other shapes. The position and shape of the determination area 1103 relative to the predicted intersection 1102 may also be set in advance (for example, at the time of manufacturing the vehicle 100 or when updating the software) and stored in the storage unit 111. It may also be that when there is a risk position near the determination area 1103, the processing unit 110 expands the determination area 1103 to include the risk position.

[0086] It may also be that the processing unit 110 is in a situation where the surrounding vehicle RV is located on the right side of the own vehicle 100 (that is, on the side opposite to the oncoming - lane side) as shown in Figure 11A and in a situation as shown in Figure 11BWhen the surrounding vehicle RV is located on the left side (i.e., the oncoming lane side) of the host vehicle 100 as shown, determination regions 1103 with different shapes (sizes) are set. It is also possible that, regardless of whether the surrounding vehicle RV is on the right or left side of the host vehicle 100, the vehicle width direction length 1104 of the determination region 1103 is the same length (for example, a length equivalent to one lane, i.e., 3 m to 4 m). It is also possible that the vehicle length direction length 1105 of the determination region 1103 when the surrounding vehicle RV is on the right side of the host vehicle 100 is longer than the vehicle length direction length 1105 of the determination region 1103 when the surrounding vehicle RV is on the left side of the host vehicle 100. It is also possible that the vehicle length direction length 1105 of the determination region 1103 when the surrounding vehicle RV is on the right side of the host vehicle 100 is, for example, a length equivalent to three lanes, i.e., 9 m to 11 m. It is also possible that the vehicle length direction length 1105 of the determination region 1103 when the surrounding vehicle RV is on the left side of the host vehicle 100 is, for example, a length equivalent to two lanes, i.e., 6 m to 8 m.

[0087] It is also possible that, regardless of whether the surrounding vehicle RV is on the right or left side of the host vehicle 100, the distance between the edge of the determination region 1103 far from the host vehicle 100 and the predicted intersection point 1102 is the same (for example, about 1.5 m equivalent to half a lane). As a result, the length 1106 of the portion of the determination region 1103 on the host vehicle 100 side relative to the predicted intersection point 1102 when the surrounding vehicle RV is on the right side of the host vehicle 100 is greater than the length 1106 of the portion of the determination region 1103 on the host vehicle 100 side relative to the predicted intersection point 1102 when the surrounding vehicle RV is on the left side of the host vehicle 100. When the surrounding vehicle RV is on the right side of the host vehicle 100, there may be an oncoming lane of the lane in which the surrounding vehicle RV is traveling between the predicted intersection point 1102 and the host vehicle 100. Therefore, by extending the determination region 1103 to the side of the host vehicle 100, collisions with other vehicles (which may not have vehicle-to-vehicle communication functions) traveling in the oncoming lane can be suppressed.

[0088] In step S704, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) predicts the possibility of a collision between the host vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV in the determination region 1103. When the processing unit 110 predicts that there is a possibility of a collision between the host vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV, the process proceeds to step S705, and in other cases, the process proceeds to step S707.

[0089] The possibility of collision can also be determined based on the predicted time until the surrounding vehicle RV reaches the predicted intersection 1102 (hereinafter simply referred to as "arrival time"). This arrival time can be calculated, for example, based on the latest surrounding vehicle information obtained from the surrounding vehicle RV. For example, the processing unit 110 can predict the predicted time for the surrounding vehicle RV to reach the predicted intersection 1102 by dividing the distance between the surrounding vehicle RV and the predicted intersection 1102 by the speed of the surrounding vehicle RV.

[0090] Alternatively, when the arrival time is below the time threshold, the processing unit 110 predicts a possibility of collision, and when the arrival time is greater than the time threshold, it is determined that there is no possibility of collision. The time threshold can also be set by the occupant of the host vehicle 100.

[0091] The processing unit 110 can also change the time threshold according to the speed of the surrounding vehicle RV. Figure 12 is a graph showing the relationship between the speed of the surrounding vehicle RV and the stopping time of the surrounding vehicle RV. The stopping time of the surrounding vehicle RV is the time until the surrounding vehicle RV stops when decelerating (e.g., at 0.4G) by a general braking operation. In Figure 12 shows the specified range (speed upper limit value, speed lower limit value) for the speed of the surrounding vehicle RV, the time upper limit value and the time lower limit value for the collision margin time (TTC). The specified range is the speed range of the surrounding vehicle RV for which driving assistance of the host vehicle 100 is performed. The time upper limit value is the upper limit value of the collision margin time arbitrarily set by the driver or the like, and the time lower limit value is the lower limit value of the collision margin time set according to the measurement position accuracy of the GNSS.

[0092] The processing unit 110 is based on the Figure 12The "relationship between the speed and stop time of the surrounding vehicle RV" indicated by line 1200 sets the stop time corresponding to the speed of the surrounding vehicle RV as the time threshold. Line 1200 represents the boundary between normal braking operations (i.e., operations normally used to decelerate the vehicle) and emergency braking operations (i.e., operations used to suddenly stop the vehicle). For example, since the deceleration of normal braking operations is 0.4G or less, line 1200 may have an inclination corresponding to 0.4G. In the area 1201 above line 1200, the arrival time is longer than the stop time. If the driver of the surrounding vehicle RV performs a normal braking operation, the surrounding vehicle RV can be stopped before reaching the predicted intersection 1102. Therefore, when the arrival time is longer than the time threshold (stop time), the driving assistance of the host vehicle SV can be suppressed. On the other hand, in the area 1202 below line 1200, the arrival time is shorter than the stop time. Even if the driver of the surrounding vehicle RV performs a normal braking operation (e.g., deceleration is 0.4G), it will reach the predicted intersection 1102 before the surrounding vehicle RV stops. Therefore, when the arrival time is at or below the time threshold (stop time), the driving assistance of the host vehicle SV can be executed. In addition, the processing unit 110 can continuously change the time threshold according to the speed of the surrounding vehicle RV, or can change the time threshold step by step.

[0093] Alternatively, instead of or in addition to the arrival time until the surrounding vehicle RV reaches the predicted intersection 1102, the collision possibility can be determined based on the situation where the host vehicle 100 enters the determination area 1103. For example, it can be that the processing unit 110 predicts a collision possibility when the host vehicle 100 enters the determination area 1103, and determines that there is no collision possibility when the host vehicle 100 does not enter the determination area 1103.

[0094] Furthermore, the collision possibility can be determined based on the difference between the predicted time until the surrounding vehicle RV reaches the predicted intersection 1102 and the predicted time until the host vehicle 100 reaches the predicted intersection 1102 (hereinafter, referred to as "arrival time difference"). It can be that the processing unit 110 predicts a collision possibility when the arrival time difference is at or below the time threshold, and determines that there is no collision possibility when the arrival time difference is greater than the time threshold. The time threshold can also be set by the occupant of the host vehicle 100.

[0095] It is also possible to arbitrarily combine the above three conditions (i.e., the case where the arrival time is below the time threshold, the case where the own vehicle 100 enters the determination area 1103, and the case where the arrival time difference is below another time threshold) to determine the collision possibility. For example, it may also be that the processing unit 110 determines that there is a collision possibility when all of the above three conditions are satisfied, and determines that there is no collision possibility in other cases. Instead of this, it may also be that the processing unit 110 determines that there is a collision possibility when at least one of the above three conditions is satisfied, and determines that there is no collision possibility in other cases. Instead of this, it may also be that the processing unit 110 determines that there is a collision possibility when at least one of the two preset conditions among the above three conditions is satisfied, and determines that there is no collision possibility in other cases. Specifically, it may also be that when the predicted time until the surrounding vehicle RV reaches the predicted intersection 1102 is less than the first time threshold, if the arrival time difference is less than the second time threshold, the processing unit 110 predicts that there is a collision possibility, and if the arrival time difference is greater than the second time threshold, the processing unit 110 predicts that there is no collision possibility.

[0096] In step S705, the processing unit 110 (for example, its auxiliary unit 110c) determines whether the auxiliary condition is satisfied. When the processing unit 110 determines that the auxiliary condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S706, and in other cases, the process proceeds to step S707. The auxiliary condition may also refer to a condition that should be satisfied in order to perform driving assistance. For example, the auxiliary condition may also be based on whether the speed of the surrounding vehicle RV is within a specified range. The specified range can be preset according to the speed lower limit value and the speed upper limit value related to the speed of the surrounding vehicle RV. When the speed of the surrounding vehicle RV is below the speed lower limit value of the specified range, it is highly likely that the driver of the surrounding vehicle RV notices the own vehicle 100 and decelerates the surrounding vehicle RV without colliding with the own vehicle 100. That is, the speed lower limit value of the specified range related to the speed of the surrounding vehicle RV can be set to a value that can decelerate the surrounding vehicle RV without colliding with the own vehicle 100. In addition, when the speed of the surrounding vehicle RV is above the upper limit value of the specified range, it is highly likely that the surrounding vehicle RV is not a vehicle traveling on the road where the own vehicle 100 enters, such as traveling on a highway near the road where the own vehicle 100 enters. That is, the speed upper limit value of the specified range related to the speed of the surrounding vehicle RV can be set to a value that can distinguish whether it is a vehicle traveling on the road where the own vehicle 100 enters or a vehicle traveling on a highway near that road. As described above, by performing / suppressing driving assistance according to whether the speed of the surrounding vehicle RV is within the specified range, it is possible to reduce the situation where the driver of the own vehicle 100 feels that the driving assistance is cumbersome.

[0097] In step S706, the processing unit 110 (for example, its auxiliary unit 110c) performs driving assistance for the own vehicle 100. As driving assistance for the own vehicle 100, the processing unit 110 can report the possibility of a collision to the occupants of the own vehicle 100 through the reporting device 105, or perform a braking operation of the own vehicle 100 through the braking device 106.

[0098] In step S708, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) deletes from the storage unit 111 the determination area (the determination area stored in step S703) that has become unnecessary due to the execution of driving assistance. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the situation where the capacity of the storage unit 111 is consumed by unnecessary information.

[0099] When it is determined in step S704 that there is no possibility of a collision, or when it is determined in step S705 that the assistance condition is not satisfied, step S707 is executed. In step S707, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) determines Figure 7 whether the surrounding vehicle RV that is the processing object of the Figure 4 method has been deregistered in step S405 of

[0100] the method. When the processing unit 110 determines that the registration of the surrounding vehicle RV has been deregistered, the process proceeds to step S708, and in other cases, the process proceeds to step S702. When the registration of the surrounding vehicle RV has been deregistered, it is considered that the surrounding vehicle RV does not exist around the own vehicle 100. Therefore, the processing unit 110 ends the process without performing driving assistance for a collision with the surrounding vehicle RV. In this case, in step S708, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) also deletes the unnecessary determination area from the storage unit 111.

[0100] When it is determined in step S707 that the registration of the surrounding vehicle RV has not been deregistered, the process returns to step S702. In this case, when the predicted travel route of the own vehicle 100 and the predicted travel route of the surrounding vehicle RV still intersect, in step S703, a determination area is set with the predicted intersection point 1102 as the reference position. When a vehicle (the own vehicle 100 or the surrounding vehicle RV) changes its position within a lane or changes lanes, the position of the predicted intersection point 1102 can change. Since the surrounding vehicle information is repeatedly acquired, the processing unit 110 can detect such a change in the position of the predicted intersection point 1102. Therefore, in step S703, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) re-sets the reference position based on the newly acquired surrounding vehicle information, and at the same time, updates the determination area stored in the storage unit 111. Thereby, the determination in step S704 is performed based on the updated determination area. In step S703, when the predicted intersection point 1102 cannot be determined, the most recently determined reference position and determination area can also be maintained.

[0101] As described above, the processing unit 110 repeatedly determines the predicted intersection point at a predetermined time interval. Alternatively, when the amount of change in the position of the predicted intersection point is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold amount of change, the processing unit 110 increases the time threshold used for comparison with the above arrival time. When the amount of change in the position of the predicted intersection point is large, it is considered that the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100 or the surrounding vehicle RV has changed. Therefore, by increasing the time threshold, it is easy to predict the possibility of collision, and thus the safety is improved.

[0102] According to Figure 7 the method, when there are a plurality of surrounding vehicles within the range 601 on the side of the host vehicle 100, a separate reference position is used for each of the plurality of surrounding vehicles. Specifically, Figure 7 the method is separately executed for each of the plurality of surrounding vehicles. As a result, the predicted intersection point between the predicted traveling route of the host vehicle 100 and the predicted traveling routes of the surrounding vehicles is also determined for each of the plurality of surrounding vehicles. As a result, for each of the plurality of surrounding vehicles, a separate determination area is set based on a separate reference position. Thereby, it is possible to appropriately predict the possibility of collision with each of the plurality of surrounding vehicles.

[0103] Figure 13 In, an example of the process for performing driving assistance when the surrounding vehicle RV ( Figure 16 ) exists within the range 600 in front of the host vehicle 100 in step S503 (that is, when there is no risk position within a predetermined distance in the traveling direction of the host vehicle 100) is described. Figure 13 The process shown in the flowchart of is executed by the processing unit 110 according to the learning program read from the storage unit 111. Figure 13 The process of can also start, for example, when the setting of driving assistance is turned on. The process of Figure 13 can be repeatedly executed until the setting of driving assistance is turned off, or until the ignition of the vehicle 100 is turned off.

[0104] In step S1301, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) determines whether the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 100 is within a threshold range. When the processing unit 110 determines that the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 100 is within the threshold range, the processing proceeds to step S1302, and in other cases, the processing proceeds to step S1303. This determination may also be made based on the vehicle speed and acceleration of the host vehicle 100 included in the latest host vehicle information. Alternatively, the upper limit of the threshold used in step S1301 may be a value lower than the vehicle speed after the vehicle 100 decelerates for steering (for example, turning left or right), for example, 20 km / h. Alternatively, the lower limit of the threshold used in step S1301 may be a value lower than the vehicle speed when the vehicle 100 is in a stopped state or a substantially stopped state, for example, 2 km / h. The position where it is determined that the host vehicle 100 is within the threshold range is represented as the steering preparation position 1601 ( Figure 16 ). In addition, the host vehicle 100 may be within the threshold range even when not steering. Even in this case, the processing unit 110 detects the steering preparation position 1601 and executes the processing after step S1302.

[0105] In step S1302, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) sets a determination area with the steering preparation position 1601 as the reference position, and stores the reference position and the determination area in the storage unit 111. The determination area may also refer to an area for predicting the possibility of a collision. Refer to Figure 16 , an example of the determination area 1602 set with the steering preparation position 1601 as the reference position will be described. Alternatively, the determination area 1602 may be a rectangle centered on the position in the front left of the steering preparation position 1601 and including sides parallel to the longitudinal direction of the host vehicle 100. The length of the determination area 1602 in the vehicle width direction of the host vehicle 100 may also be, for example, the length equivalent to one lane, i.e., 3 m to 4 m. The length of the determination area 1602 in the longitudinal direction of the host vehicle 100 may also be, for example, the length equivalent to three lanes, i.e., 9 m to 11 m. The lower right corner of the determination area 1602 may also overlap with the steering preparation position 1601. Instead of this, the determination area 1602 may have other shapes. Alternatively, the position of the determination area 1602 relative to the reference position may be set in advance (for example, at the time of manufacturing the vehicle 100 or updating the software) and stored in the storage unit 111. Alternatively, when there is a risk position near the determination area 1602, the processing unit 110 expands the determination area 1602 so as to include the windward position. The processing unit 110 includes the steering preparation position 1601 (i.e., the reference position), and in a direction orthogonal to the predicted travel route of the host vehicle 100, relative to the host vehicle 100, toward the oncoming lane side ( Figure 16Set the determination area 1602 in a manner that is offset to the left (in the example) from this. Thereby, it is possible to appropriately predict the possibility of a collision occurring due to the left turn of the own vehicle 100.

[0106] The processing after step S1303 is executed using the reference position and the determination area set in step S1302. As described above, since Figure 13 the method is repeatedly executed, steps S1301 and S1302 are also repeatedly executed. Therefore, during the period when the vehicle speed of the own vehicle 100 is within the threshold range (for example, more than 2 km / h and less than 20 km / h), the reference position and the determination area are continuously updated, and the processing after step S1303 is executed using the latest reference position and determination area. When the vehicle speed of the own vehicle 100 becomes outside the threshold range (for example, less than 2 km / h or 20 km / h or more), the update of the reference position and the determination area is stopped, and the processing after step S1303 is executed using the reference position and the determination area at the time when the update is stopped. When the reference position and the determination area are not set at the execution time of step S1303, the processing unit 110 may also omit steps S1303 to S1310 and return the processing to step S1301.

[0107] In step S1303, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) determines the predicted turning trajectory 1604 of the own vehicle 100. The predicted turning trajectory 1604 may also refer to the turning trajectory predicted when the own vehicle 100 turns to the oncoming lane side (for example, makes a left turn). The predicted turning trajectory 1604 may also be set and stored in the storage unit 111 in advance (for example, at the time of manufacturing the vehicle 100 or updating the software). The predicted turning trajectory 1604 set in this way in advance may also be referred to as the default predicted turning trajectory 1604.

[0108] Alternatively, a plurality of candidates for the predicted turning trajectory 1604 are stored in the storage unit 111. The processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) may also select one predicted turning trajectory 1604 from the plurality of candidates for the predicted turning trajectory 1604 based on the steering angle of the own vehicle 100 in the steering preparation position 1601 for subsequent processing. For example, when the steering angle of the own vehicle 100 is small, the processing unit 110 considers that the own vehicle 100 intends to make a left turn at a small intersection, and thus may select a predicted turning trajectory 1604 with a small radius of curvature. On the other hand, when the steering angle of the own vehicle 100 is large, the processing unit 110 considers that the own vehicle 100 intends to make a left turn at a large intersection, and thus may select a predicted turning trajectory 1604 with a large radius of curvature.

[0109] In step S1304, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) determines the surrounding vehicle RV within the range 600 in front of the own vehicle 100 as the target vehicle for subsequent processing. If there is no surrounding vehicle RV within the range 600, no target vehicle is determined. If there are multiple surrounding vehicles RV within the range 600, these multiple surrounding vehicles RV are all determined as target vehicles. This determination can also be made based on the current position of the surrounding vehicle RV included in the latest surrounding vehicle information obtained from the surrounding vehicle RV. In Figure 16 In the example shown, one surrounding vehicle RV exists within the range 600.

[0110] In step S1305, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) predicts the possibility of collision between the own vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV in the determination area 1602. When the processing unit 110 determines that there is a possibility of collision between the own vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV, the processing proceeds to step S1306, and in other cases, the processing proceeds to step S1308.

[0111] It is also possible to determine the collision possibility based on the case where the intersection point 1605 of the predicted turning trajectory 1604 determined in step S1303 and the predicted travel route 1603 of the surrounding vehicle RV is included in the determination area 1602. For example, it may be that the processing unit 110 determines that there is a possibility of collision when the intersection point 1605 is included in the determination area 1602, and determines that there is no possibility of collision when the intersection point 1605 is not included in the determination area 1602.

[0112] Furthermore, it is also possible to make the determination based on the evaluation distance determined according to the predicted trajectory of the own vehicle 100 and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV. As described above, the evaluation distance refers to the distance used to evaluate the approach state between the own vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV.

[0113] Refer to Figure 14 , and a specific example of the method for determining the collision possibility based on the evaluation distance will be described. Steps S1401 and S1402 may also be the same as Figure 8 steps S801 and S802, so repeated descriptions are omitted.

[0114] In step S1403, the processing unit 110 determines the distance between the straight - line trajectory of the host vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV as the evaluation distance. The straight - line trajectory refers to the trajectory assuming that the host vehicle 100 travels straight. When it is determined that the radius of curvature of the host vehicle 100 is equal to or greater than a threshold radius (for example, 3000 m), the processing of step S1403 is executed. In this case, it is considered that the occupant of the host vehicle 100 intends to make the host vehicle 100 travel straight. Therefore, the processing unit 110 uses the straight - line trajectory of the host vehicle 100 to determine the evaluation distance. Refer to Figure 15A , an example of the evaluation distance in step S1403 will be described. In this example, the distance 1501 between the straight - line trajectory 1500 of the host vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV is determined as the evaluation distance. In Figures 15A to 15C the description, the distance between the trajectory and the vehicle may also refer to the shortest distance between the trajectory and the center of the vehicle. Instead of this, other parts of the vehicle may also be used to determine the distance.

[0115] In step S1404, the processing unit 110 determines the distance between the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV as the evaluation distance. The processing unit 110 may also use the predicted trajectory determined in step S1401. When it is determined that the radius of curvature of the host vehicle 100 is less than the threshold radius (for example, 3000 m), the processing of step S1404 is executed. In this case, it is considered that the occupant of the host vehicle 100 intends to make the host vehicle 100 turn. Therefore, the processing unit 110 uses the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100 to determine the evaluation distance. Refer to Figure 15B , an example of the evaluation distance in step S1404 will be described. In this example, the distance 1511 between the predicted trajectory 1510 of the host vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV is determined as the evaluation distance. The predicted trajectory 1510 may also be an arc having the determined radius of curvature.

[0116] Steps S1405 and S1406 may also be the same as Figure 8 steps S805 and S806, so the repeated description is omitted. In step S1407, the processing unit 110 determines the distance between the straight - line trajectory of the host vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV as the evaluation distance. The method for determining the evaluation distance in step S1407 may also be the same as the method for determining the evaluation distance in step S1403, so the repeated description is omitted.

[0117] In step S1408, the processing unit 110 determines the distance between the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV and the host vehicle 100 as the evaluation distance. The processing unit 110 may also use the predicted trajectory determined in step S1405. When it is determined that the radius of curvature of the surrounding vehicle RV is less than the threshold radius (for example, 3000 m), the process of step S1408 is executed. In this case, it is considered that the occupant of the surrounding vehicle RV intends to turn the surrounding vehicle RV. Therefore, the processing unit 110 uses the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV to determine the evaluation distance. Refer to Figure 15C , an example of the evaluation distance in step S1408 will be described. In this example, the distance 1521 between the predicted trajectory 1520 of the surrounding vehicle RV and the host vehicle 100 is determined as the evaluation distance. The predicted trajectory 1520 may also be an arc having the determined radius of curvature.

[0118] In step S1409, the processing unit 110 determines whether the evaluation distance determined in step S1403, step S1404, step S1407, or step S1408 is included in a predetermined range (for example, a length corresponding to one lane, i.e., 3 m to 4 m). When the processing unit 110 determines that the evaluation distance is not included in the predetermined range, the process proceeds to step S1410, and when it determines that the evaluation distance is included in the predetermined range, the process proceeds to step S1411.

[0119] In step S1410, the processing unit 110 determines that there is no possibility of collision. In step S1411, the processing unit 110 determines that there is a possibility of collision. This determination result is used in step S1306.

[0120] Alternatively, when it is determined that the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100 is less than the threshold accuracy and the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV is less than the threshold accuracy, in step S1410, the processing unit 110 predicts that there is no possibility of collision between the host vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV. When the prediction accuracies of the predicted trajectories of the host vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV are respectively low, even if the two vehicles are not in a close situation, it may be possible to perform driving assistance (for example, reporting to the occupant). Therefore, in such a case, by predicting that there is no possibility of collision, driving assistance (for example, reporting to the occupant) is suppressed, and the situation where the occupant feels cumbersome can be suppressed.

[0121] As described above, according to Figure 14In the method, the processing unit 110 determines an evaluation distance for evaluating the proximity situation between the host vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV based on the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100 and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV. In addition, the processing unit 110 selects a determination method for the evaluation distance from among candidates for a plurality of determination methods based on the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100, the radius of curvature of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle 100, the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV, and the radius of curvature of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV.

[0122] Return to Figure 13 Regarding the description in, in step S1306, the processing unit 110 (for example, its auxiliary unit 110c) determines whether the auxiliary condition is satisfied. When the processing unit 110 determines that the auxiliary condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S1307, and in other cases, the process proceeds to step S1308. Step S1306 may be the same as step S705, and thus duplicate descriptions are omitted.

[0123] In step S1307, the processing unit 110 (for example, its auxiliary unit 110c) performs driving assistance for the host vehicle 100. As driving assistance for the host vehicle 100, the processing unit 110 may report the possibility of collision to the occupants of the host vehicle 100 through the reporting device 105, or perform a braking operation on the host vehicle 100 through the braking device 150.

[0124] In step S1310, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) deletes the reference position and determination area (the reference position and determination area stored in step S703) that have become unnecessary due to the execution of driving assistance from the storage unit 111. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the situation where the capacity of the storage unit 111 is consumed by unnecessary information.

[0125] When it is determined in step S1305 that there is no possibility of collision, or when it is determined in step S1306 that the auxiliary conditions are not satisfied, step S1308 is executed. In step S1308, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) determines whether the host vehicle 100 has left a predetermined distance (for example, 30 m) or more from the reference position stored in step S1302. When the processing unit 110 determines that the host vehicle 100 has left the reference position by more than the predetermined distance, the process proceeds to step S1310, and in other cases, the process proceeds to step S1309. When the host vehicle 100 has left the reference position by more than the predetermined distance, it is considered that there is no possibility of collision between the host vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV at this location. Therefore, the processing unit 110 ends the process without performing driving assistance for collision with the surrounding vehicle RV. In this case, in step S1311, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) deletes the unnecessary reference position and determination area from the storage unit 111.

[0126] When it is determined in step S1308 that the host vehicle 100 has not left the reference position by more than the predetermined distance, step S1309 is executed. In step S1309, the processing unit 110 (for example, its prediction unit 110b) may update the predicted turning trajectory 1604 based on the change in the steering angle of the vehicle 100. For example, when the host vehicle 100 turns left at a steering angle larger than the steering angle assumed in the predicted turning trajectory 1604, the processing unit 110 updates the predicted turning trajectory 1604 in such a way as to reduce the radius of curvature. On the other hand, when the host vehicle 100 turns left at a steering angle smaller than the steering angle assumed in the predicted turning trajectory 1604, the processing unit 110 updates the predicted turning trajectory 1604 in such a way as to increase the radius of curvature. The predicted turning trajectory 1604 may be updated when the current steering angle of the host vehicle 100 becomes equal to or greater than the steering angle of the default predicted turning trajectory 1604. After that, the processing unit 110 causes the process to proceed to step S1304, and determines the surrounding vehicle RV newly included within the range 600 as the target vehicle for subsequent processing. In addition, the possibility of collision in step S1305 is determined based on the updated predicted turning trajectory 1604.

[0127] According to Figure 13 the method, when there are a plurality of surrounding vehicles within the range 600 in front of the host vehicle 100, a common reference position (that is, the steering preparation position 1601) is used for the plurality of surrounding vehicles. As a result, a common determination area is set for the plurality of surrounding vehicles based on the common reference position. Thereby, it is possible to appropriately estimate the possibility of collision when the host vehicle 100 turns toward the oncoming lane side (for example, when turning left).

[0128] According to the above-described embodiments, it is possible to appropriately predict the collision possibility based on the positions of surrounding vehicles. As a result, it is possible to appropriately perform the driving assistance of the own vehicle 100. In addition, even in a situation where the driving assistance based on the surrounding vehicle information acquired from the surrounding vehicles through vehicle-to-vehicle communication is not executed, the driving assistance based on other criteria (for example, the detection results based on a camera and a radar) can be executed.

[0129] In the above-described driving assistance method, based on the situation where the surrounding vehicle RV is located within Figure 6 the range 600 or the range 601, the surrounding vehicle RV is set as an object for predicting the collision possibility. The processing unit 110 may also determine whether to set the surrounding vehicle RV as an object for predicting the collision possibility based on other information. Refer to Figure 17 for an example of a method for determining the surrounding vehicle RV that is an object for predicting the collision possibility.

[0130] Furthermore, the processing unit 110 may determine whether to set the surrounding vehicle RV as an object for predicting the collision possibility based on the rotation angle 1703 of the travel route vector 1702 of the surrounding vehicle RV with respect to the travel route vector 1701 of the own vehicle 100. The travel route vector 1701 may also be a unit vector in the traveling direction of the vehicle. For illustration, the rotation angle 1703 is set to be positive in the clockwise direction and negative in the counterclockwise direction. The processing unit 110 can determine the approaching direction of the surrounding vehicle RV based on the direction of the surrounding vehicle RV with respect to the own vehicle 100 and the rotation angle 1703 of the travel route vector 1702 of the surrounding vehicle RV with respect to the travel route vector 1701 of the own vehicle 100.

[0131] Even if the surrounding vehicle RV is included within the range 600 in front of the own vehicle 100, when the surrounding vehicle RV travels in the same direction as the own vehicle 100, or travels to the right or left with respect to the own vehicle 100, it can be considered that there is no possibility of collision between the own vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV. Therefore, when the surrounding vehicle RV is located within the range 600 in front of the own vehicle 100 and the rotation angle 1703 is included within a predetermined range (for example, 160° to 200°), the processing unit 110 may also set the surrounding vehicle RV as an object for determining the collision possibility in the Figure 7 and Figure 13 processing.

[0132] Even if the surrounding vehicle RV is included in the range 601 on the right side of the host vehicle 100, when the surrounding vehicle RV travels in the same direction as or in the opposite direction to the host vehicle 100, or travels to the right with respect to the host vehicle 100, it can be considered that there is no possibility of collision between the host vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV. Therefore, when the surrounding vehicle RV is located within the range 601 existing on the right side of the host vehicle 100 and the rotation angle 1703 is included within a predetermined range (for example, -110° to -70°), the processing unit 110 can also regard the surrounding vehicle RV as an object for determining the possibility of collision in the Figure 7 and Figure 13 processing of.

[0133] Even if the surrounding vehicle RV is included in the range 601 on the left side of the host vehicle 100, when the surrounding vehicle RV travels in the same direction as or in the opposite direction to the host vehicle 100, or travels to the left with respect to the host vehicle 100, it can be considered that there is no possibility of collision between the host vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV. Therefore, when the surrounding vehicle RV is located within the range 601 existing on the left side of the host vehicle 100 and the rotation angle 1703 is included within a predetermined range (for example, 70° to 110°), the processing unit 110 can also regard the surrounding vehicle RV as an object for determining the possibility of collision in the Figure 7 and Figure 13 processing of.

[0134] Next, in Figure 5 step S502, the process for determining whether to use the risk positions within a predetermined distance for driving assistance is described. The processing unit 110 can also predict the possibility of collision between the host vehicle 100 and the surrounding vehicle RV based on the driving trajectories of other vehicles associated with the risk positions in the risk position information 112 and the surrounding vehicle information. The driving trajectories of other vehicles included in the risk position information 112 can be the driving trajectories that the host vehicle 100 has crossed in the past. For example, in Figure 8 the processing, the processing unit 110 can also use the driving trajectories of other vehicles included in the risk position information 112 instead of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle RV.

[0135] Next, a specific example of the reporting method based on the processing unit 110 (for example, its auxiliary unit 110c) will be described. Alternatively, when the processing unit 110 predicts the possibility of a collision between the own vehicle 100 and a surrounding vehicle RV and the own vehicle 100 has started moving, the processing unit 110 reports to the occupant through the speaker 105c using a predetermined notification sound. Alternatively, the processing unit 110 displays proximity information including a warning to the occupant on the MID 105a. Alternatively, when the processing unit 110 predicts the possibility of a collision between the own vehicle 100 and a surrounding vehicle RV, the processing unit 110 displays the approaching direction of the surrounding vehicle RV on the HUD 105b.

[0136] Refer to Figure 18 , a specific example of the display based on the MID 105a and the HUD 105b will be described. Alternatively, when the processing unit 110 predicts the possibility of a collision between the own vehicle 100 and a surrounding vehicle RV, it displays Figure 18 the icon shown. Specifically, alternatively, when the approaching direction of the surrounding vehicle RV relative to the own vehicle 100 is within the range 600 in front of the own vehicle 100, if the own vehicle 100 turns to the left (for example, makes a left turn), the processing unit 110 displays on the MID 105a that another vehicle is approaching from in front of the own vehicle 100, and displays a warning for the front of the own vehicle 100 on the HUD 105b.

[0137] Alternatively, if the approaching direction of the surrounding vehicle RV relative to the own vehicle 100 is within the range 601 on the right side of the own vehicle 100, the processing unit 110 displays on the MID 105a that another vehicle is approaching from the right side of the own vehicle 100, and displays a warning for the right side of the own vehicle 100 on the HUD 105b. Alternatively, if the approaching direction of the surrounding vehicle RV relative to the own vehicle 100 is within the range 601 on the left side of the own vehicle 100, the processing unit 110 displays on the MID 105a that another vehicle is approaching from the left side of the own vehicle 100, and displays a warning for the left side of the own vehicle 100 on the HUD 105b.

[0138] <Summary of the Embodiment> [Item 1] A driving assistance device, wherein, the driving assistance device (108) includes: a storage mechanism (111) that stores risk position information (112) indicating a risk position where there is a possibility of a collision between the own vehicle (100) equipped with the driving assistance device and another vehicle; An acquisition mechanism (110a) that acquires information of surrounding vehicles (RVs) existing around the host vehicle, which represents the vehicle speed, position, travel trajectory, and yaw rate of the surrounding vehicles, through vehicle-to-vehicle communication; A prediction mechanism (110b) that predicts the possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles based on the host vehicle information representing the vehicle speed, position, travel trajectory, and yaw rate of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle information; and A reporting mechanism (110c) that reports to the occupants of the host vehicle based on the prediction result of the prediction mechanism, In a case where a risk position is not included within a predetermined distance in the traveling direction of the host vehicle, The prediction mechanism determines a predicted trajectory (1010, 1510) of the host vehicle based on the host vehicle information, and determines a predicted trajectory (1021, 1520) of the surrounding vehicle based on the surrounding vehicle information, The prediction mechanism determines an evaluation distance (1003, 1013, 1023, 1501, 1511, 1521) for evaluating the proximity state between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle based on the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle, In a case where the evaluation distance is not included within a predetermined range, the prediction mechanism predicts that there is no possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle.

[0139] According to this item, driving assistance for the host vehicle can be appropriately performed. Specifically, excessive reporting to the occupants can be suppressed.

[0140] [Item 2] The driving assistance device according to Item 1, wherein The prediction mechanism determines the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle and the yaw rate of the host vehicle, The prediction mechanism determines the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle based on the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicle and the yaw rate of the surrounding vehicle, The prediction mechanism selects a determination method for the evaluation distance from candidates of a plurality of determination methods based on the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle, the radius of curvature of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle, the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle, and the radius of curvature of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle.

[0141] According to this item, driving assistance for the host vehicle can be further appropriately performed.

[0142] [Item 3] The driving assistance device according to Item 2, wherein, when the surrounding vehicle exists within a first range (601) in front of the host vehicle and the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is equal to or higher than a threshold accuracy, if the radius of curvature of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is equal to or greater than a threshold radius, the prediction mechanism determines the distance (1501) between the straight-ahead trajectory (1500) of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle as the evaluation distance, if the radius of curvature of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is less than the threshold radius, the prediction mechanism determines the distance (1511) between the predicted trajectory (1510) of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle as the evaluation distance.

[0143] According to this item, driving assistance for the host vehicle can be further appropriately performed.

[0144] [Item 4] The driving assistance device according to Item 3, wherein, when the surrounding vehicle exists within the first range in front of the host vehicle, the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is less than the threshold accuracy, and the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle is equal to or higher than the threshold accuracy, if the radius of curvature of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle is equal to or greater than the threshold radius, the prediction mechanism determines the distance (1501) between the straight-ahead trajectory (1500) of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle as the evaluation distance, if the radius of curvature of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle is less than the threshold radius, the prediction mechanism determines the distance (1521) between the predicted trajectory (1520) of the surrounding vehicle and the host vehicle as the evaluation distance.

[0145] According to this item, driving assistance for the host vehicle can be further appropriately performed.

[0146] [Item 5] The driving assistance device according to Item 4, wherein, when the surrounding vehicle exists within the first range in front of the host vehicle, the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is less than the threshold accuracy, and the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle is less than the threshold accuracy, the prediction mechanism predicts that there is no possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle.

[0147] According to this item, driving assistance for the host vehicle can be further appropriately performed.

[0148] [Item 6] The driving assistance device according to any one of Items 1 to 5, wherein, when the surrounding vehicle is within a second range (600) on the side of the host vehicle, if the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is equal to or higher than a threshold accuracy and the radius of curvature of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is equal to or larger than a threshold radius, the prediction mechanism determines the intersection point (1002) between the straight - ahead trajectory (1000) of the host vehicle and the straight - ahead trajectory of the surrounding vehicle (1001) as the predicted intersection point; if the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is equal to or higher than the threshold accuracy and the radius of curvature of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is less than the threshold radius, the prediction mechanism determines the intersection point (1012) between the predicted trajectory (1010) of the host vehicle and the straight - ahead trajectory of the surrounding vehicle (1011) as the predicted intersection point; if the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is less than the threshold accuracy, the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle is equal to or higher than the threshold accuracy, and the radius of curvature of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle is equal to or larger than the threshold radius, the prediction mechanism determines the intersection point (1002) between the straight - ahead trajectory (1000) of the host vehicle and the straight - ahead trajectory of the surrounding vehicle (1001) as the predicted intersection point; if the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is less than the threshold accuracy, the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle is equal to or higher than the threshold accuracy, and the radius of curvature of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle is less than the threshold radius, the prediction mechanism determines the intersection point (1022) between the straight - ahead trajectory (1020) of the host vehicle and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle (1021) as the predicted intersection point; The prediction mechanism determines the evaluation distance based on the predicted intersection point and the current position of the host vehicle.

[0149] According to this item, driving assistance for the host vehicle can be further appropriately performed.

[0150] [Item 7] The driving assistance device according to Item 6, wherein, when the surrounding vehicle is within the second range on the side of the host vehicle, the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is less than the threshold accuracy, and the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle is less than the threshold accuracy, the prediction mechanism predicts that there is no possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle.

[0151] According to this item, the driving assistance of this vehicle can be further appropriately performed.

[0152] [Item 8] The driving assistance device according to Item 7, wherein when the surrounding vehicle is within the second range on the side of this vehicle, the prediction mechanism determines the arrival time of the surrounding vehicle until it reaches the predicted intersection point based on the surrounding vehicle information, when the arrival time is equal to or less than the first time threshold, the prediction mechanism predicts that there is a possibility of collision between this vehicle and the surrounding vehicle, the first time threshold is determined based on the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicle.

[0153] According to this item, the driving assistance of this vehicle can be further appropriately performed.

[0154] [Item 9] The driving assistance device according to Item 8, wherein the prediction mechanism repeatedly determines the predicted intersection point at a predetermined time interval, when the change amount of the position of the predicted intersection point is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold change amount, the prediction mechanism increases the first time threshold.

[0155] According to this item, the driving assistance of this vehicle can be further appropriately performed.

[0156] [Item 10] The driving assistance device according to any one of Items 1 to 9, wherein the prediction mechanism repeatedly determines whether the surrounding vehicle exists within the first range in front of this vehicle at a predetermined time interval, the prediction mechanism repeatedly determines whether the surrounding vehicle exists within the second range on the side of this vehicle at a predetermined time interval.

[0157] According to this item, the driving assistance of this vehicle can be further appropriately performed.

[0158] [Item 11] The driving assistance device according to any one of Items 1 to 10, wherein the risk position information further includes the driving trajectory of other vehicles associated with the risk position, When the risk position is within the predetermined distance in the traveling direction of the host vehicle, the prediction mechanism predicts the possibility of a collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles based on the traveling trajectories of the other vehicles associated with the risk position and the surrounding vehicle information.

[0159] According to this item, the driving assistance of the host vehicle can be further appropriately performed.

[0160] [Item 12] The driving assistance device according to any one of Items 1 to 11, wherein When it is predicted that there is a possibility of a collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles and the host vehicle has performed a starting action, the reporting mechanism reports to the occupant using a predetermined notification sound. The host vehicle includes a first display mechanism (105a) and a second display mechanism (105b) provided at a position different from the first display mechanism. The reporting mechanism displays proximity information including a reminder for the occupant's attention on the first display mechanism, and displays the approaching direction of the surrounding vehicle on the second display mechanism when it is predicted that there is a possibility of a collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles.

[0161] According to this item, the reporting can be performed in a manner that is easy for the occupant to recognize.

[0162] [Item 13] The driving assistance device according to Item 12, wherein The prediction mechanism determines the approaching direction of the surrounding vehicle based on the direction of the surrounding vehicle relative to the host vehicle and the rotation angle of the traveling route of the surrounding vehicle relative to the traveling route of the host vehicle.

[0163] According to this item, the reporting can be performed in a manner that is easy for the occupant to recognize.

[0164] [Item 14] The driving assistance device according to Item 13, wherein Among the right side and the left side, taking one side of the road where traffic is regulated in the area where the host vehicle is located as the first side and the side opposite to the first side as the second side, when it is predicted that there is a possibility of a collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. If the approaching direction is within the first range in front of the host vehicle and the host vehicle turns to the second side, the reporting mechanism displays the situation that other vehicles are approaching from in front of the host vehicle on the first display mechanism and displays a reminder for attention in front of the host vehicle on the second display mechanism. If the approaching direction is within a second range on the first side of the host vehicle, the reporting mechanism will display on the first display mechanism the situation that another vehicle is approaching from the first side of the host vehicle, and display on the second display mechanism a reminder of attention to the first side of the host vehicle. If the approaching direction is within a second range on the second side of the host vehicle, the reporting mechanism will display on the first display mechanism the situation that another vehicle is approaching from the second side of the host vehicle, and display on the second display mechanism a reminder of attention to the second side of the host vehicle.

[0165] According to this item, reporting can be performed in a manner that is easy for the occupant to recognize.

[0166] [Item 15] A driving assistance method, wherein The driving assistance method has: A storage step in which a storage mechanism (111) stores risk position information (112) representing a risk position where there is a possibility of collision between the host vehicle (100) and another vehicle; An acquisition step in which an acquisition mechanism acquires, through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, information of a surrounding vehicle (RV) existing around the host vehicle, the information of the surrounding vehicle representing the vehicle speed, position, travel trajectory, and yaw rate of the surrounding vehicle; A prediction step in which a prediction mechanism predicts the possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle based on host vehicle information representing the vehicle speed, position, travel trajectory, and yaw rate of the host vehicle and the information of the surrounding vehicle; and A reporting step in which a reporting mechanism reports to the occupant of the host vehicle based on the prediction result of the prediction mechanism. In the prediction step, when the risk position is not included within a predetermined distance in the traveling direction of the host vehicle, Determine a predicted trajectory (1010, 1510) of the host vehicle based on the host vehicle information, and determine a predicted trajectory (1021, 1520) of the surrounding vehicle based on the information of the surrounding vehicle. Based on the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle, determine an evaluation distance (1003, 1013, 1023, 1501, 1511, 1521) for evaluating the approaching situation between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle. When the evaluation distance is not included within a predetermined range, it is predicted that there is no possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle.

[0167] According to this project, the driving assistance of this vehicle can be appropriately performed. Specifically, excessive reporting to the occupant can be suppressed.

[0168] [Item 16] A program, wherein the program is used to cause a computer to execute the following steps: A storage step, in which risk position information (112) representing a risk position where there is a possibility of a collision between this vehicle (100) and other vehicles is stored; An acquisition step, in which, through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, vehicle information of surrounding vehicles (RV) existing around this vehicle is acquired, the vehicle information representing the vehicle speed, position, travel trajectory, and yaw rate of the surrounding vehicles; A prediction step, in which, based on vehicle information of this vehicle representing the vehicle speed, position, travel trajectory, and yaw rate and the vehicle information of the surrounding vehicles, the possibility of a collision between this vehicle and the surrounding vehicles is predicted; and A reporting step, in which, based on the prediction result in the prediction step, a report is made to the occupant of this vehicle, In the prediction step, when the risk position is not included within a predetermined distance in the traveling direction of this vehicle, a predicted trajectory (1010, 1510) of this vehicle is determined based on the vehicle information of this vehicle, and a predicted trajectory (1021, 1520) of the surrounding vehicle is determined based on the vehicle information of the surrounding vehicle, an evaluation distance (1003, 1013, 1023, 1501, 1511, 1521) for evaluating the approaching state between this vehicle and the surrounding vehicle is determined based on the predicted trajectory of this vehicle and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle, When the evaluation distance is not included within a predetermined range, it is predicted that there is no possibility of a collision between this vehicle and the surrounding vehicle.

[0169] According to this project, the driving assistance of this vehicle can be appropriately performed. Specifically, excessive reporting to the occupant can be suppressed.

[0170] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the invention.

Claims

1. A driving assistance device, wherein: The driving assistance device comprises: A storage device for storing risk position information indicating a risk position where a host vehicle equipped with the driving assistance device may collide with another vehicle; an acquisition unit that acquires surrounding vehicle information indicating a vehicle speed, position, travel track, and yaw rate of the surrounding vehicle from surrounding vehicles existing around the host vehicle through inter-vehicle communication; a prediction unit that predicts the possibility of a collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles based on the host vehicle information indicating the vehicle speed, position, driving trajectory, and yaw rate of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle information; and a reporting unit that reports to an occupant of the host vehicle based on the prediction result of the prediction unit, If the risk position is not included within a predetermined distance in the traveling direction of the host vehicle, The prediction unit determines the predicted trajectory of the own vehicle based on the own vehicle information, and determines the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles based on the surrounding vehicle information. The prediction unit determines an evaluation distance for evaluating a proximity condition between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles based on the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles. When the evaluation distance is not included in a predetermined range, the prediction unit predicts that there is no possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle.

2. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein: The prediction unit determines the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle based on the vehicle speed and the yaw rate of the host vehicle. The prediction unit determines the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle based on the vehicle speed of the surrounding vehicle and the yaw rate of the surrounding vehicle. The prediction unit selects a method for determining the evaluation distance from among a plurality of candidate determination methods based on the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the own vehicle, the curvature radius of the predicted trajectory of the own vehicle, the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles, and the curvature radius of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles.

3. The driving assistance device according to claim 2, wherein: When the surrounding vehicle is present in a first range in front of the host vehicle and the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is equal to or greater than a threshold accuracy, If the curvature radius of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is greater than or equal to a threshold radius, the prediction unit determines the distance between the straight trajectory of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as the evaluation distance, If the curvature radius of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is smaller than the threshold radius, the prediction unit determines the distance between the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles as the evaluation distance.

4. The driving assistance device according to claim 3, wherein: When the surrounding vehicle is present in the first range in front of the host vehicle, the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is less than the threshold accuracy, and the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle is greater than or equal to the threshold accuracy, If the curvature radius of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle is greater than or equal to the threshold radius, the prediction unit determines the distance between the straight trajectory of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle as the evaluation distance, If the curvature radius of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle is smaller than the threshold radius, the prediction unit determines the distance between the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicle and the host vehicle as the evaluation distance.

5. The driving assistance device according to claim 4, wherein: When the surrounding vehicles exist within a first range in front of the host vehicle, the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is less than the threshold accuracy, and the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles is less than the threshold accuracy, the prediction mechanism predicts that there is no possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles.

6. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein: When the surrounding vehicle is present in the second range on the side of the host vehicle, If the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is greater than a threshold accuracy and the curvature radius of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is greater than a threshold radius, the prediction unit determines the intersection point of the straight trajectory of the host vehicle and the straight trajectory of the surrounding vehicles as the predicted intersection point, If the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is greater than or equal to the threshold accuracy and the curvature radius of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is less than the threshold radius, the prediction unit determines the intersection point of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle and the straight trajectory of the surrounding vehicle as the predicted intersection point, If the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is less than the threshold accuracy, the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles is greater than the threshold accuracy, and the curvature radius of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles is greater than the threshold radius, the prediction mechanism determines the intersection point of the straight trajectory of the host vehicle and the straight trajectory of the surrounding vehicles as the predicted intersection point, If the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is less than the threshold accuracy, the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles is greater than the threshold accuracy, and the curvature radius of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles is less than the threshold radius, the prediction mechanism determines the intersection point of the straight trajectory of the host vehicle and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles as the predicted intersection point, The prediction unit determines the evaluation distance based on the predicted intersection point and the current position of the host vehicle.

7. The driving assistance device according to claim 6, wherein: When the surrounding vehicles exist within the second range on the side of the host vehicle, the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle is less than the threshold accuracy, and the prediction accuracy of the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles is less than the threshold accuracy, the prediction mechanism predicts that there is no possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles.

8. The driving assistance device according to claim 7, wherein: When the surrounding vehicle is present in the second range on the side of the host vehicle, The prediction unit determines the arrival time of the surrounding vehicles until they arrive at the predicted intersection based on the surrounding vehicle information. When the arrival time is equal to or less than a first time threshold, the prediction unit predicts that there is a possibility of a collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle. The first time threshold is determined based on the vehicle speeds of the surrounding vehicles.

9. The driving assistance device according to claim 8, wherein: The prediction mechanism repeatedly determines the predicted intersection point at predetermined time intervals, The prediction unit increases the first time threshold value when the amount of change in the position of the predicted intersection point is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold amount of change.

10. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein: The prediction unit repeatedly determines whether the surrounding vehicle is present in a first range in front of the host vehicle at a predetermined time interval. The prediction unit repeatedly determines whether the surrounding vehicle is present in a second range on the side of the host vehicle at predetermined time intervals.

11. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein: The risk location information also includes the driving tracks of other vehicles associated with the risk location. When the risk position is included within the predetermined distance in the traveling direction of the host vehicle, the prediction unit predicts the possibility of the host vehicle colliding with the surrounding vehicles based on the travel trajectory of the other vehicle associated with the risk position and the surrounding vehicle information.

12. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein: When it is predicted that the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle are likely to collide and the host vehicle starts to move, the reporting means reports to the occupant using a predetermined notification sound. The vehicle includes a first display mechanism and a second display mechanism disposed at a position different from the first display mechanism. The reporting means displays approach information including a warning to the occupant on the first display means, and when it is predicted that the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle may collide, the reporting means displays the approach direction of the surrounding vehicle on the second display means.

13. The driving assistance device according to claim 12, wherein: The prediction unit determines the approach direction of the surrounding vehicle based on the direction of the surrounding vehicle relative to the host vehicle and a rotation angle of the travel path of the surrounding vehicle relative to the travel path of the host vehicle.

14. The driving assistance device according to claim 13, wherein: Of the right side and the left side, a side of a road specified for passage in the area where the host vehicle is located is defined as a first side, and a side opposite to the first side is defined as a second side. When it is predicted that the host vehicle may collide with the surrounding vehicle, If the approaching direction is within the first range in front of the host vehicle and the host vehicle turns to the second side, the reporting mechanism displays the fact that another vehicle is approaching from the front of the host vehicle on the first display mechanism and displays a warning to pay attention to the front of the host vehicle on the second display mechanism. If the approaching direction is within the second range of the first side of the host vehicle, the reporting mechanism displays on the first display mechanism that another vehicle is approaching from the first side of the host vehicle, and displays on the second display mechanism a reminder to pay attention to the first side of the host vehicle. If the approach direction is within a second range on the second side of the vehicle, the reporting mechanism displays on the first display mechanism that another vehicle is approaching from the second side of the vehicle, and displays on the second display mechanism a reminder to pay attention to the second side of the vehicle.

15. A driving assistance method, wherein: The driving assistance method comprises: A storing step, in which the storage means stores risk position information indicating a risk position where the own vehicle may collide with another vehicle; an acquisition step, in which an acquisition unit acquires surrounding vehicle information indicating a vehicle speed, a position, a driving track, and a yaw rate of the surrounding vehicles from surrounding vehicles existing around the host vehicle through inter-vehicle communication; a prediction step in which a prediction unit predicts the possibility of a collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles based on the host vehicle information indicating the vehicle speed, position, driving trajectory and yaw rate of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle information; and a reporting step, in which the reporting means reports to the occupants of the host vehicle based on the prediction result of the prediction means, In the prediction step, when the risk position is not included within a predetermined distance in the traveling direction of the host vehicle, determining a predicted trajectory of the own vehicle based on the own vehicle information, and determining a predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles based on the surrounding vehicle information, determining an evaluation distance for evaluating a proximity condition between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles based on the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles, When the evaluation distance is not included in the predetermined range, it is predicted that there is no possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle.

16. A program product, wherein The program product is used to make the computer execute the following steps: a storing step of storing risk position information indicating a risk position where the host vehicle may collide with another vehicle; an acquisition step, in which surrounding vehicle information indicating a vehicle speed, a position, a driving track, and a yaw rate of the surrounding vehicles is acquired from the surrounding vehicles existing around the host vehicle through inter-vehicle communication; a prediction step in which the possibility of the host vehicle colliding with the surrounding vehicles is predicted based on the host vehicle information indicating the vehicle speed, position, driving trajectory and yaw rate of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle information; and a reporting step, in which a report is made to an occupant of the host vehicle based on the prediction result in the prediction step, In the prediction step, when the risk position is not included within a predetermined distance in the traveling direction of the host vehicle, determining a predicted trajectory of the own vehicle based on the own vehicle information, and determining a predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles based on the surrounding vehicle information, determining an evaluation distance for evaluating a proximity condition between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles based on the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles, When the evaluation distance is not included in the predetermined range, it is predicted that there is no possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle.

17. A storage medium, wherein: The storage medium stores a program for causing a computer to execute the following steps: a storing step of storing risk position information indicating a risk position where the host vehicle may collide with another vehicle; an acquisition step, in which surrounding vehicle information indicating a vehicle speed, a position, a driving track, and a yaw rate of the surrounding vehicles is acquired from the surrounding vehicles existing around the host vehicle through inter-vehicle communication; a prediction step in which the possibility of the host vehicle colliding with the surrounding vehicles is predicted based on the host vehicle information indicating the vehicle speed, position, driving trajectory and yaw rate of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle information; and a reporting step, in which a report is made to an occupant of the host vehicle based on the prediction result in the prediction step, In the prediction step, when the risk position is not included within a predetermined distance in the traveling direction of the host vehicle, determining a predicted trajectory of the own vehicle based on the own vehicle information, and determining a predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles based on the surrounding vehicle information, determining an evaluation distance for evaluating a proximity condition between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles based on the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle and the predicted trajectory of the surrounding vehicles, When the evaluation distance is not included in the predetermined range, it is predicted that there is no possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicle.

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