Control system, roadside device and control method

Abstract

The invention relates to a control system, a roadside device and a control method. The present invention improves a technology for notifying a pedestrian and a vehicle of information. A control system (1) is provided with a roadside device (20) and a server (30) capable of communicating with the roadside device (20), the roadside device (20) shifts from an operation mode to a sleep mode in which power consumption is lower than that of the operation mode when a predetermined time elapses after the start of operation, and the server (30) transmits a sleep mode release instruction to the roadside device (20) when a first condition is satisfied, and the server (30) transmits a sleep mode release instruction to the roadside device (20) when a second condition is satisfied. The roadside device (20) releases the sleep mode and restores to the operation mode in response to the receipt of the release instruction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control system, a roadside device, and a control method. Background Art

[0002] In the past, there is a known technology for notifying pedestrians and vehicles of information. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a notification system that notifies vehicles and pedestrians other than the autonomous driving vehicle of whether they can pass or provides caution information based on the behavior of the autonomous driving vehicle passing through a predetermined traffic area.

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-50629

[0004] A roadside device that notifies vehicles and pedestrians of information can be installed at any location. Therefore, when the device is portable and driven by an internal battery, it is necessary to reduce power consumption. However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose a technology related to reducing power consumption of a roadside device. Therefore, there is still room for improvement in the technology for notifying pedestrians and vehicles of information. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above situation and aims to improve the technology for notifying pedestrians and vehicles of information.

[0006] A control system involved in one embodiment of the present disclosure is a control system including a roadside device and a server capable of communicating with the roadside device, wherein the roadside device moves from an operating mode to a sleep mode that consumes less power than the operating mode when a specified time has passed after the start of operation, and when a first condition is met, the server sends an instruction to release the sleep mode to the roadside device, and the roadside device releases the sleep mode and returns to the operating mode based on the reception of the release instruction.

[0007] A roadside device involved in one embodiment of the present disclosure is a roadside device including a control unit and a notification unit capable of communicating with a server, wherein the control unit causes the roadside device to move from an operating mode to a sleep mode that consumes less power than the operating mode when a specified time has passed since the start of operation of the roadside device, and when the control unit receives an instruction to release the sleep mode from the server via the notification unit, the control unit releases the sleep mode based on the reception of the release instruction and restores the roadside device to the operating mode, and in the operating mode, when the remaining battery level of the roadside device is less than a first reference value, part of the functions of the roadside device are released, and when the remaining battery level is less than a second reference value, the operation of the roadside device is stopped.

[0008] A control method involved in one embodiment of the present disclosure is a control method executed by a roadside device, wherein the control method includes: when a specified time has passed after the operation of the roadside device starts, causing the roadside device to move from an operation mode to a sleep mode that consumes less power than the operation mode; when a release instruction of the sleep mode is received from a server, releasing the sleep mode according to the reception of the release instruction, and restoring the roadside device to the operation mode; in the operation mode, when the battery remaining level of the roadside device is less than a first reference value, releasing part of the functions of the roadside device; and stopping the roadside device when the battery remaining level is less than a second reference value.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the technology of notifying pedestrians and vehicles of information is improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 This is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration example of a control system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 2 This is a flowchart showing an operation example of the control system.

[0012] Figure 3 This is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the roadside device.

[0013] Figure 4 It is a simplified diagram that illustrates the traffic area.

[0014] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram for explaining the change in the power consumption pattern.

[0015] Description of Reference Numerals

[0016] 1…control system; 2…network; 10…vehicle (autonomous driving vehicle); 11…communication unit; 12…positioning unit; 13…output unit; 14…storage unit; 15…control unit; 20…roadside device; 21…notification unit; 22…shooting unit; 22A…camera; 23…storage unit; 24…control unit; 25…battery; 30…server (administrator’s server); 31…communication unit; 32…storage unit; 33…control unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described.

[0018] (Overview of Embodiments)

[0019] Reference Figure 1, an overview of the control system 1 involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described. The control system 1 includes a vehicle 10, a roadside device 20, and a server 30. The vehicle 10, the roadside device 20, and the server 30 are communicably connected to a network 2 including, for example, the Internet and a mobile communication network.

[0020] The vehicle 10 is, for example, an automobile, but is not limited thereto, and may be any vehicle. The automobile may be a gasoline vehicle, a battery electric vehicle (BEV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), or a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), etc., but is not limited to these. In the present disclosure, the vehicle 10 is described as an autonomous vehicle 10 having an autonomous driving function. However, the vehicle 10 is not limited to the autonomous vehicle 10. The number of autonomous vehicles 10 included in the control system 1 can also be determined arbitrarily. The autonomous vehicle 10 is communicably connected to the roadside device 20 and the server 30 via the network 2.

[0021] The roadside device 20 is an information communication device that notifies a pedestrian when a pedestrian facing the lane is detected from a camera image and also notifies the autonomous vehicle 10 approaching the pedestrian. In addition, the roadside device 20 is a mobile type powered by an internal battery, and in order to save power consumption, it can switch between an operation mode and a sleep mode with lower power consumption than during operation. Also, the roadside device 20 can disable some functions during operation. The roadside device 20 is communicably connected to the autonomous vehicle 10 and the server 30 via the network 2.

[0022] The server 30 is a computer possessed by the manager (management center) of the roadside device 20. The server 30 is communicably connected to the autonomous vehicle 10 and the roadside device 20 via the network 2.

[0023] First, an overview of the present embodiment will be described. For details, they will be described later. The control system 1 includes a roadside device 20 and a server 30 capable of communicating with the roadside device 20. After the start of operation, the roadside device 20 moves from the operation mode to a sleep mode with lower power consumption than the operation mode after a specified time. When the first condition is satisfied, the server 30 sends an instruction to release the sleep mode to the roadside device 20, and the roadside device 20 releases the sleep mode and returns to the operation mode according to the reception of the release instruction.

[0024] Thus, according to this embodiment, when the first condition is satisfied, the sleep mode of the roadside device 20 is released. Therefore, the sleep mode is released only under specific conditions. For example, when the autonomous vehicle 10 approaches the roadside device 20 to a certain extent, the sleep mode of the roadside device 20 is released, and so on. In other conditions, it moves to the sleep mode, thereby reducing the power consumption of the roadside device 20. Therefore, in terms of the increased possibility of reducing the power consumption of the roadside device 20, the technology for notifying information to pedestrians and vehicles is improved.

[0025] Next, each structure of the control system 1 will be described in detail.

[0026] (Structure of the vehicle)

[0027] As Figure 1 shown, the vehicle 10 (autonomous vehicle 10) includes a communication unit 11, a positioning unit 12, an output unit 13, a storage unit 14, and a control unit 15.

[0028] The communication unit 11 includes one or more communication interfaces connected to the network 2. This communication interface corresponds to, for example, mobile communication standards such as 4G (4th Generation) or 5G (5th Generation), or in-vehicle networks (for example, CAN (Controller Area Network)), but is not limited to these. In this embodiment, the autonomous vehicle 10 communicates with the roadside device 20 and the server 30 via the communication unit 11 and the network 2.

[0029] The positioning unit 12 includes one or more devices that obtain the position information of the autonomous vehicle 10. Specifically, the positioning unit 12 includes, for example, a receiver corresponding to GPS, but is not limited thereto, and may also include a receiver corresponding to any satellite positioning system. The position information is information on the latitude and longitude of the location that is the object.

[0030] The output unit 13 is configured to include at least one sound output interface capable of outputting sound, and at least one display interface capable of displaying text or images. The sound output interface is, for example, a speaker that outputs, in sound, the information indicating the presence of a pedestrian received from the roadside device 20. The display interface is, for example, a display such as an LCD or an organic EL display that outputs, in text or images, the information indicating the presence of a pedestrian received from the roadside device 20. However, the sound output interface and the display interface are not limited to these.

[0031] The storage unit 14 includes one or more memories. The memories are, for example, semiconductor memories, magnetic memories, optical memories, etc., but are not limited to these. Each memory included in the storage unit 14 can also function as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache. The storage unit 14 stores any information for the operation of the autonomous driving vehicle 10. For example, the storage unit 14 can also store system programs, application programs, embedded software, and map information, etc. The information stored in the storage unit 14 can also be updated, for example, with the information obtained from the network 2 via the communication unit 11.

[0032] The control unit 15 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination of these. The processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or a dedicated processor dedicated to specific processing, but is not limited to these. The programmable circuit is, for example, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), but is not limited to this. The dedicated circuit is, for example, an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), but is not limited to this. The control unit 15 controls the overall operation of the autonomous driving vehicle 10.

[0033] (Structure of the roadside device)

[0034] As Figure 1 shown, the roadside device 20 includes a notification unit 21, a photographing unit 22, a storage unit 23, a control unit 24, and a battery 25.

[0035] The notification unit 21 includes one or more communication interfaces connected to the network 2. This communication interface corresponds to, for example, a mobile body communication standard, a wired LAN (Local Area Network) standard, or a wireless LAN standard, but is not limited to these and can also correspond to any communication standard. In the present embodiment, the roadside device 20 communicates with the autonomous driving vehicle 10 and the server 30 via the notification unit 21 and the network 2.

[0036] Moreover, the notification unit 21 includes at least one of (i) a speaker that notifies pedestrians of the approach of the autonomous driving vehicle 10 by sound, (ii) a display that notifies pedestrians of the approach of the autonomous driving vehicle 10 by text or image, and (iii) a signal lamp that notifies pedestrians of the approach of the autonomous driving vehicle 10 by the flashing of light, but the method of notifying information is not limited to these.

[0037] The imaging unit 22 includes a camera 22A and captures a moving image or a still image of a pedestrian facing the lane.

[0038] The storage unit 23 includes one or more memories. Each memory included in the storage unit 23 can also function as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache. The storage unit 23 stores any information for the operation of the roadside device 20. For example, the storage unit 23 can also store a system program, an application program, a database, and images captured by the imaging unit 22, etc. The information stored in the storage unit 23 can also be updated, for example, with information obtained from the network 2 via the notification unit 21.

[0039] The control unit 24 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The control unit 24 controls the overall operation of the roadside device 20.

[0040] The battery 25 supplies power to the notification unit 21, the imaging unit 22, the storage unit 23, and the control unit 24. The battery 25 is a rechargeable battery powered by an external power source, or a rechargeable battery that can be detached from the roadside device 20, etc., but is not limited to these.

[0041] (Structure of the server)

[0042] As Figure 1 shown, the server 30 includes a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a control unit 33.

[0043] The communication unit 31 includes one or more communication interfaces connected to the network 2. This communication interface corresponds to, for example, a mobile communication standard, a wired LAN (Local Area Network) standard, or a wireless LAN standard, but is not limited to these and can also correspond to any communication standard. In this embodiment, the server 30 communicates with the autonomous driving vehicle 10 and the roadside device 20 via the communication unit 31 and the network 2.

[0044] The storage unit 32 includes one or more memories. Each memory included in the storage unit 32 can also function as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache. The storage unit 32 stores any information for the operation of the server 30. For example, the storage unit 32 can also store a system program, an application program, a database, and information related to the managed roadside device 20, etc. The information stored in the storage unit 32 can also be updated, for example, with information obtained from the network 2 via the communication unit 31.

[0045] The control unit 33 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The control unit 33 controls the overall operation of the server 30.

[0046] (Operation process of control system 1)

[0047] Refer to Figure 2 , and the operation of the control system 1 involved in this embodiment will be described. This operation is related to the reduction of the power consumption of the roadside device 20.

[0048] Figure 3 It is a flowchart showing an operation example of the roadside device 20. Figure 3 The flowchart of Figure 2 is common to a part of the flowchart of Figure 2 . Therefore, the operation example of the control system 1 shown in Figure 3 will be described below, and the description of the operation example of the roadside device 20 shown in Figure 3 will be omitted. In addition, the corresponding step numbers in Figure 2 are shown in parentheses on the right side of the step numbers marked in Figure 3 . That is, S201 in Figure 2 corresponds to S102 in

[0049] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the traffic area. As Figure 4 shown, the autonomous vehicle 10 travels in lane 3, and the pedestrian 4 crosses lane 3 at the crosswalk 5, etc. The roadside device 20 is a mobile type powered by an internal battery and can be set at any location. In the example shown in Figure 4 , the roadside device 20 is set, for example, on the roadside strip 6 of lane 3 near the crosswalk 5.

[0050] S101: The control unit 33 of the server 30 obtains specified information from the autonomous vehicle 10 via the communication unit 31 and the network 2.

[0051] The specified information is information such as the position L1(x1, y1) of the autonomous vehicle 10, the vehicle speed S of the autonomous vehicle 10, the predetermined time to pass through the location where the roadside device 20 is set, and the operation date of the autonomous vehicle 10, but is not limited to these. In addition, the server 30 pre-stores the position L2(x2, y2) of the location where the roadside device 20 is set, and the position L3(x3, y3) that the autonomous vehicle 10 should reach after passing through the position L2 in order for the pedestrian 4 to safely cross lane 3.

[0052] S102: The control unit 24 of the roadside device 20 determines whether a specified time T1 has elapsed after the start of operation of the roadside device 20. If the specified time T1 has elapsed, it proceeds to S103; if the specified time T1 has not elapsed, it returns to S102.

[0053] In order to minimize the power consumption of the roadside device 20 as much as possible, it is preferable that the specified time T1 be set to a short time such as 5 seconds, 10 seconds, or 30 seconds, etc., but it is not limited to these. Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram for explaining the change of the power consumption mode. As Figure 5 shown, the roadside device 20 operates in the operation mode from the start of operation until the specified time T1 has elapsed. The power consumption P of the roadside device 20 during this period is P1.

[0054] S103: The control unit 24 of the roadside device 20 causes the roadside device 20 to shift from the operation mode to the sleep mode with lower power consumption than the operation mode.

[0055] In the present disclosure, the sleep mode refers to a state in which the operation of the roadside device 20 is temporarily stopped in order to reduce the power consumption P of the roadside device 20. In the sleep mode, the control unit 24 of the roadside device 20 can receive notifications from the server 30 via the notification unit 21 and the network 2. The roadside device 20 remains in a state where it can communicate and can resume to the operation mode, and becomes a power-saving state.

[0056] When the control unit 24 of the roadside device 20 has elapsed the specified time T1 after the start of operation of the roadside device 20, it causes the roadside device 20 to shift from the operation mode to the sleep mode with lower power consumption than the operation mode, thereby reducing the power consumption of the roadside device 20. As Figure 5 shown, at the moment t1 when the roadside device 20 shifts from the operation mode to the sleep mode, the power consumption P of the roadside device 20 decreases from P1 to P3.

[0057] S104: The control unit 33 of the server 30 determines whether the first condition is satisfied. If the first condition is satisfied, it proceeds to S105; if the first condition is not satisfied, it returns to S101.

[0058] The first condition is at least one of (i) the first time distance Td1 from the autonomous driving vehicle 10 approaching the roadside device 20 to the roadside device 20 is less than the threshold value α, (ii) the time is before the specified time T2 before the predetermined time when the autonomous driving vehicle 10 passes by the roadside device 20, and (iii) it is a running day of the autonomous driving vehicle 10.

[0059] Time distance is the distance from one place to another expressed in terms of the time required to move, rather than in terms of the spatial distance in kilometers. Figure 4 As shown, for example, the first time distance Td1 is the time required for the autonomous driving vehicle 10 to move from the position of the vehicle to the position of the installation location of the roadside device 20. For the first condition (i), if the position of the autonomous driving vehicle 10 at the time of determination is set to L1 (x1, y1), and the position of the installation location of the roadside device 20 is set to L2 (x2, y2), the distance D1 between the position of the autonomous driving vehicle 10 and the position of the installation location of the roadside device 20 is calculated according to the following formula (1), and the first time distance Td1 is calculated based on formula (2). S is the vehicle speed of the autonomous driving vehicle 10.

[0060] D1 2 =(x1-x2) 2 +(y1-y2) 2 (1)

[0061] Td1=D1 / S (2)

[0062] The control unit 33 of the server 30 determines whether or not the first condition (i) is satisfied based on the following equation (3).

[0063] Td1<α (3)

[0064] S105 : If the first condition is satisfied, the control unit 33 of the server 30 transmits a sleep mode cancellation instruction to the roadside device 20 via the communication unit 31 and the network 2 .

[0065] If the control unit 33 of the server 30 determines that the first time distance Td1 is less than the threshold value α, the control unit 33 of the server 30 sends a sleep mode release instruction to the roadside device 20. In addition, if the control unit 33 of the server 30 determines that the determination time is a predetermined time T2 before the scheduled time when the autonomous driving vehicle 10 passes the roadside device 20, the control unit 33 of the server 30 sends a sleep mode release instruction to the roadside device 20.

[0066] The server 30 may also send the second time distance Td2 at the same time as sending the instruction to release the sleep mode to the roadside device 20. The second time distance Td2 is the time required for the autonomous driving vehicle 10 to reach the position L3 (x3, y3) where the pedestrian 4 can safely cross the lane 3 after passing the position L2 where the roadside device 20 is installed from the position L1 (x1, y1) of the vehicle. The distance D2 from the position L1 of the vehicle to the position L3 is calculated according to the following formula (4), and the second time distance Td2 is calculated according to formula (5). S is the speed of the autonomous driving vehicle 10.

[0067] D22 =(x1 - x3) 2 +(y1 - y3) 2 (4)

[0068] Td2 = D2 / S (5)

[0069] S106 - S107: The control unit 24 of the roadside device 20 releases the sleep mode of the roadside device 20 and resumes to the operating mode according to the reception of the release instruction of the sleep mode.

[0070] As Figure 5 shown, at the moment t2 when the roadside device 20 resumes from the sleep mode to the operating mode, the power consumption P rises from P3 to P1.

[0071] S108: The control unit 24 of the roadside device 20 determines whether the battery level of the roadside device 20 is less than the first reference value. If the battery level is less than the first reference value, it proceeds to S109; if the battery level is equal to or greater than the first reference value, it proceeds to S110.

[0072] S109: The control unit 24 of the roadside device 20 releases a part of the functions of the roadside device 20.

[0073] Regarding the first reference value, the battery level (%) is, for example, 30% of the fully charged capacity, but the first reference value is not limited to 30%. When the battery level is less than the first reference value, for example, the control unit 24 of the roadside device 20 can also limit a part of the functions of the notification unit 21. Specifically, the control unit 24 of the roadside device 20 can also perform restrictions on any one of (i) the speaker that notifies pedestrians 4 of the approach of the autonomous vehicle 10 by sound, (ii) the display that notifies by text or image, and (iii) the signal lamp that notifies by light flashing of the notification unit 21. Thus, as Figure 5 shown, at the moment t3 when a part of the functions of the roadside device 20 is released, the power consumption of the roadside device 20 is reduced from P1 to P2. In addition, when a visually impaired pedestrian 4 is detected from the camera image, the control unit 24 can also turn on the speaker and turn off the display and the signal lamp, etc., to take corresponding actions according to the ability of the pedestrian 4.

[0074] S110: The control unit 24 of the roadside device 20 determines whether the second condition is satisfied. If this condition is satisfied, it returns to S103; if this condition is not satisfied, it returns to S108.

[0075] The second condition is that the roadside device 20 receives the instruction to release the sleep mode and a time equal to or longer than the second time distance Td2 has elapsed since the time when the roadside device 20 returns to the operating mode. As described above, the control unit 24 of the roadside device 20 receives the second time distance Td2 when receiving the instruction to release the sleep mode. Figure 4 As shown, the autonomous driving vehicle 10 approaching the roadside device 20 passes the location where the roadside device 20 is installed and goes to the location L3 where the pedestrian 4 can safely cross the lane 3. Figure 5 To explain, when the time T3 equivalent to the second time distance Td2 has passed since the time t2 when the roadside device 20 is restored to the operating mode, the control unit 24 of the roadside device 20 determines that the safety of the pedestrian 4 crossing the lane 3 is ensured at the time t4, and the operating mode is changed to the sleep mode. Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 1 , at time t4 when the roadside device 20 is shifted to the sleep mode again, the power consumption P is reduced from P2 to P3. However, thereafter, the roadside device 20 receives the sleep mode release instruction from the server 30 again in S107, and according to the reception of the release instruction, the sleep mode is released and restored to the operation mode. In this case, the power consumption P of the roadside device 20 increases from P3 to P2 at the time t5 of restoration.

[0076] S111: The control unit 24 of the roadside device 20 determines whether the remaining battery level of the roadside device 20 is less than the second reference value. If the remaining battery level is greater than the second reference value, the process returns to S110, and if the remaining battery level is less than the second reference value, the process proceeds to S112.

[0077] S112 : The control unit 24 of the roadside device 20 notifies the server 30 of the remaining battery level via the notification unit 21 and the network 2 , stops the operation of the roadside device 20 , and ends the information processing performed by the roadside device 20 .

[0078] For the second reference value, the remaining battery level (%) of the roadside device 20 is, for example, 10% of the fully charged capacity, but the second reference value is not limited thereto. For the control unit 24 of the roadside device 20, if the remaining battery level is less than the second reference value, the battery 25 needs to be replaced or charged, so the operation of the roadside device 20 is stopped. Figure 5 As shown, at time t6 when the roadside device 20 stops operating, the power consumption P decreases from P2 to 0 (zero).

[0079] S113-S114: The control unit 33 of the server 30 receives the remaining battery level of the roadside device 20 sent from the roadside device 20 via the communication unit 31 and the network 2, and determines whether the remaining battery level of the roadside device 20 is less than the second threshold value. If the remaining battery level is greater than the second reference value, the process returns to S101, and if it is less than the second reference value, the information processing performed by the server 30 ends.

[0080] As long as the remaining battery level of the roadside device 20 is greater than or equal to the second threshold, the control unit 33 of the server 30 returns to S101 and continues information processing. On the other hand, when the remaining battery level of the roadside device 20 is less than the second threshold, it is necessary to replace or charge the battery 25 of the roadside device 20. Therefore, the server 30 ends information processing until the replacement or charging of the battery 25 of the roadside device 20 is completed and the roadside device 20 is operated again.

[0081] like Figure 5 As shown in the change diagram of the power consumption pattern, according to the present embodiment, compared with the case where the roadside device 20 is always operated in the running mode, the power consumption of the roadside device 20 can be reduced by introducing the sleep mode and disabling some functions of the roadside device 20.

[0082] As described above, the control system 1 involved in the present embodiment includes a roadside device 20 and a server 30 capable of communicating with the roadside device 20. When a specified time has passed after the start of operation, the roadside device 20 moves from an operating mode to a sleep mode in which power consumption is less than that of the operating mode. When the first condition is met, the server 30 sends a sleep mode release instruction to the roadside device 20. Based on the reception of the release instruction, the roadside device 20 releases the sleep mode and returns to the operating mode.

[0083] According to this configuration, when the first condition is satisfied, the sleep mode of the roadside device 20 is released. Therefore, the sleep mode is released only in specific situations, such as when the autonomous driving vehicle 10 approaches the roadside device 20 to a certain extent, and the sleep mode of the roadside device 20 is released, and in other situations, the roadside device 20 is shifted to the sleep mode, thereby reducing the power consumption of the roadside device 20. Therefore, the technology of notifying pedestrians and vehicles of information is improved in that the possibility of reducing the power consumption of the roadside device 20 is improved.

[0084] The present disclosure is described based on the drawings and embodiments, but please note that those skilled in the art may also make various modifications and changes based on the present disclosure. Therefore, please note that these modifications and changes are included in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the functions included in each structural part or each step can be reconfigured in a logically non-contradictory manner, and multiple structural parts or steps can be combined into one, or the structural parts or steps can be divided.

[0085] In addition, for example, there may also be an embodiment in which a general-purpose computer functions as the roadside device 20 according to the above-described embodiment. Specifically, a program describing the processing contents for implementing the respective functions of the roadside device 20 according to the above-described embodiment is stored in the memory of a general-purpose computer, and the processor reads and executes this program. Therefore, the present disclosure can also be implemented as a program executable by a processor or as a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing the program.

Claims

1. A control system comprising a roadside device and a server capable of communicating with the roadside device, wherein: The roadside device shifts from the operation mode to the sleep mode which consumes less power than the operation mode when a predetermined time has passed since the start of the operation. When the first condition is satisfied, the server sends a termination instruction of the sleep mode to the roadside device. The roadside device cancels the sleep mode and returns to the operating mode in response to receipt of the cancel instruction.

2. The control system according to claim 1, wherein: The first condition is at least one of a first time distance from the autonomous driving vehicle approaching the roadside device to the roadside device being less than a threshold, a time before a specified time that is scheduled for the autonomous driving vehicle to pass through the roadside device, and an operating day of the autonomous driving vehicle.

3. A roadside device comprising a control unit and a notification unit capable of communicating with a server, wherein: The control unit causes the roadside device to shift from an operation mode to a sleep mode in which power consumption is reduced compared to the operation mode when a predetermined time has passed since the start of the operation of the roadside device. When the control unit receives an instruction to release the sleep mode from the server via the notification unit, the control unit releases the sleep mode based on the reception of the release instruction and restores the roadside device to the operating mode. In the operating mode, when the battery remaining level of the roadside device is less than a first reference value, part of the functions of the roadside device are released, and when the battery remaining level is less than a second reference value, the operation of the roadside device is stopped.

4. The roadside device according to claim 3, wherein: After the roadside device is restored to the operating mode in response to reception of a cancellation instruction of the sleep mode, the control unit causes the roadside device to shift from the operating mode to the sleep mode again when a second condition is satisfied.

5. A control method is a control method executed by a roadside device, wherein: The control method comprises: When a predetermined time has passed since the start of the operation of the roadside device, the roadside device is shifted from an operation mode to a sleep mode that consumes less power than the operation mode; When receiving a release instruction of the sleep mode from the server, releasing the sleep mode according to the reception of the release instruction, and restoring the roadside device to the operating mode; In the operation mode, when the remaining battery level of the roadside device is less than a first reference value, partially disabling the functions of the roadside device; and When the remaining battery level is less than a second reference value, the operation of the roadside device is stopped.

Images