Driving assistance control device, driving assistance method, and computer program

Abstract

The present application provides a driving assistance control device, a driving assistance method, and a computer program. The driving assistance control device of a vehicle is configured to, in response to a case where it is determined that a driver of the vehicle is in an abnormal state in which it is difficult to continue driving the vehicle, implement driving assistance including deceleration stop control of decelerating the vehicle and keeping the vehicle in a stopped state, and during implementation of the driving assistance, when there is a region where a vehicle can stop along a road edge on a passenger seat side of the vehicle on a road, stop the vehicle in the region in such a manner that a certain interval is provided in a vehicle width direction between the vehicle and the road edge, and when there is a fellow passenger in the vehicle, expand the interval compared to when there is no fellow passenger.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a driving assistance control device, a driving assistance method, and a computer program. Background Technology

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2021-109559 discloses a conventional vehicle driving control device configured to determine whether the driver is in an abnormal state and, if the driver is in an abnormal state, to implement deceleration and stop control to slow down the vehicle and keep it at a stop. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2021-115967 discloses a conventional vehicle driving control device configured to initiate avoidance driving control and cause the vehicle to reverse to the curb when an abnormal physical condition of the driver is detected. Summary of the Invention

[0003] However, the aforementioned conventional driving control devices do not take passengers into account. Therefore, for example, if the driver is in an abnormal state and the vehicle needs to be reversed to the shoulder and brought to a stop, it may not be possible to ensure sufficient width-direction distance between the vehicle and road edges such as guardrails—that is, sufficient space for passengers to exit from the front passenger side—to stop the vehicle on the shoulder. Consequently, passengers may have to exit from the driver's side (lane side), where there is a risk of contact with other vehicles, and it may not be possible for passengers to safely exit from the front passenger side.

[0004] This invention was made in response to such a problem, and its purpose is to enable passengers to safely disembark when the driver is in an abnormal state.

[0005] To address the aforementioned issues, one embodiment of the present invention provides a vehicle driving assistance control device configured as follows:

[0006] In response to a situation where the driver is determined to be in an abnormal state that makes it difficult to continue driving the vehicle, a driving assistance system is implemented that includes deceleration and stop control to slow down the vehicle and keep it at a stop.

[0007] During the implementation of driver assistance, when there is a parking area along the edge of the road on the passenger side of the vehicle, the vehicle is parked in that area with a certain distance between the vehicle and the road edge in the vehicle width direction.

[0008] When there are passengers in the vehicle, the interval is increased compared to when there are no passengers.

[0009] In addition, in one aspect of the vehicle driving assistance method of the present invention,

[0010] In response to a situation where the driver is determined to be in an abnormal state that makes it difficult to continue driving the vehicle, a driving assistance system is implemented that includes deceleration and stop control to slow down the vehicle and keep it at a stop.

[0011] During the implementation of driver assistance, when there is a parking area along the edge of the road on the passenger side of the vehicle, the vehicle is parked in that area with a certain distance between the vehicle and the road edge in the vehicle width direction.

[0012] When there are passengers in the vehicle, the interval is increased compared to when there are no passengers.

[0013] In addition, a computer program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a computer to perform the following processes:

[0014] In response to a situation where the driver is determined to be in an abnormal state that makes it difficult to continue driving the vehicle, a driving assistance system is implemented that includes deceleration and stop control to slow down the vehicle and keep it at a stop.

[0015] During the implementation of driver assistance, when there is a parking area along the edge of the road on the passenger side of the vehicle, the vehicle is parked in that area with a certain distance between the vehicle and the road edge in the vehicle width direction.

[0016] When there are passengers in the vehicle, the interval is increased compared to when there are no passengers.

[0017] According to these solutions of the present invention, when the driver is in an abnormal state, the passenger can safely get out of the vehicle from the front passenger side. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals denote the same elements, and wherein:

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

[0020] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of driver assistance processing in the event of a driver malfunction, according to one embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0021] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, in the following description, the same reference numerals will be used to denote the same constituent elements.

[0022] Figure 1This is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Vehicle 100 includes peripheral sensors 1, vehicle sensors 2, driver sensors 3, HMI (Human Machine Interface) 4, actuators 5, and control devices 6. Peripheral sensors 1, vehicle sensors 2, driver sensors 3, HMI 4, actuators 5, and control devices 6 are connected in a communicable manner via an in-vehicle network 9 that conforms to a standard controller area network.

[0024] The peripheral sensor 1 is a sensor used to generate peripheral data representing the conditions around the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the vehicle 100 is equipped with one or more external cameras 11 for capturing images of the surroundings of the vehicle 100 as peripheral sensors 1.

[0025] External camera 11 captures images of the area around vehicle 100 at a predetermined frame rate (e.g., 10 Hz to 40 Hz), generating a surrounding image that reflects the area around vehicle 100. Whenever a surrounding image is generated, external camera 11 sends the generated surrounding image as peripheral data to control device 6.

[0026] In addition to the external camera 11, a ranging sensor that measures the distance to objects and ground objects around the vehicle 100 can also be used as the peripheral sensor 1. Examples of ranging sensors include LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), which illuminates radar light and measures distance based on its reflected light, and millimeter-wave radar sensors that illuminate radio waves and measure distance based on their reflected waves.

[0027] Vehicle sensor 2 is a sensor used to acquire vehicle data representing the state of vehicle 100. In this embodiment, vehicle 100 includes a speed sensor 21 that acquires speed data representing the vehicle 100's travel speed, and a position sensor 22 that acquires latitude and longitude data representing the vehicle 100's current position, etc., as vehicle sensor 2. In this embodiment, vehicle 100 includes a steering sensor 23 that acquires steering data related to steering operation, such as steering grip, steering torque, and steering angle, as vehicle sensor 2. In this embodiment, vehicle 100 includes an acceleration sensor 24 that acquires acceleration data related to acceleration operation, such as the amount of accelerator pedal operation, and a brake sensor 25 that acquires braking data related to braking operation, such as the brake pedal operation input, as vehicle sensor 2. In this embodiment, vehicle 100 includes a seatbelt buckle / unbuckle sensor 26 that acquires seatbelt buckle / unbuckle data representing the seatbelt buckle / unbuckle state of vehicle 100, as vehicle sensor 2. However, vehicle sensor 2 is not limited to these sensors. The data acquired by each sensor 21 to 26 is transmitted as vehicle data to control device 6.

[0028] The driver sensor 3 is a sensor used to generate driver data representing the driver's state. In this embodiment, the vehicle 100 includes a driver monitoring camera 31 as the driver sensor 3, used to capture images of the driver's appearance, including the driver's face. The driver monitoring camera 31 captures the driver's appearance at a predetermined frame rate (e.g., 10 Hz to 40 Hz), generating an appearance image reflecting the driver's appearance. Whenever an appearance image of the driver is generated, the driver monitoring camera 31 sends the generated appearance image as driver data to the control device 6.

[0029] HMI4 is a user interface used for exchanging information between vehicle 100 and its occupants. HMI4 includes an output device 41 for notifying vehicle occupants through sensory inputs (e.g., visual, auditory, and tactile sensations) and an input device 42 for input and response operations by vehicle occupants. Output device 41 may be a display (e.g., instrument cluster display, central display, head-up display, etc.) or a speaker. Input device 42 may be a touch panel or a microphone.

[0030] HMI4 notifies the vehicle occupants of information corresponding to the output signals received from the control unit 6 via output device 41, and sends the data input by the vehicle occupants via input device 42 to the control unit 6.

[0031] The HMI4 can be pre-installed in vehicle 100, or it can be a terminal such as a smartphone owned by vehicle occupants (driver and passengers). In the latter case, information can be exchanged, for example, through short-range wireless communication between vehicle 100 and the vehicle occupants' terminals. Alternatively, communication can occur between the vehicle occupants' terminals and an external server (not shown), with information exchanged indirectly through the server.

[0032] Actuator 5 is a device for driving control of vehicle 100. In this embodiment, vehicle 100 includes an acceleration actuator 51 (e.g., at least one of an engine and a motor) for accelerating vehicle 100, which functions as actuator 5. In this embodiment, vehicle 100 includes a brake actuator 52 (e.g., a hydraulic actuator) for braking vehicle 100, and a steering actuator 53 (e.g., a steering motor) for steering vehicle 100.

[0033] The control device 6 is an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that includes a communication unit 61, a storage unit 62, and a processing unit 63.

[0034] The communication unit 61 includes an interface circuit for connecting the control device 6 to the in-vehicle network 9. The communication unit 61 provides various data received from the outside to the processing unit 63. Additionally, the communication unit 61 outputs various signals from the processing unit 63 to the outside.

[0035] The storage unit 62 has storage media such as HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), and semiconductor memory, and stores various computer programs and data used in the processing of the processing unit 63.

[0036] The processing unit 63 has one or more CPUs (Central Processing Units) and their peripheral circuits, and executes various computer programs stored in the storage unit 62. The processing unit 63 is, for example, a processor. The processing unit 63 may also have other arithmetic circuits such as logic operation units, numerical operation units, or graphics processing units. The processing unit 63 functions as an abnormal state determination unit 71, an identification unit 72, and a driving assistance unit 73 by executing processing according to the computer program, and operates as a functional unit (module) that implements predetermined functions. In the following description, when processing is described with each functional unit 71 to 73 as the subject, it indicates that the processing unit 63 executes the program that implements each functional unit 71 to 73.

[0037] The specific processing performed in the control device 6 will be described below. Specifically, the contents of each functional unit 71 to 73, which are implemented by the processing unit 63 according to the computer program, will be explained.

[0038] The abnormal state determination unit 71 determines, for example, whether the driver has fallen into an abnormal state (hereinafter referred to as "abnormal state") that makes it difficult to continue driving due to a sudden change in physical condition. In this embodiment, the abnormal state determination unit 71 determines that the driver has fallen into an abnormal state if the predetermined abnormal presumed state has lasted for a predetermined determination time T1[s].

[0039] An abnormal presumed state is a state that can be considered as the driver being in an abnormal state. Examples of abnormal presumed states include a driver with their eyes closed, a driver with an distorted posture, and, if not during the implementation of driver assistance systems that allow hands-free driving, a state of no steering input. An distorted driver posture includes, for example, a driver slouching or lowering their head due to muscle relaxation caused by loss of consciousness. Other examples include a head tilted back, or a head or upper body tilted laterally or falling forward, or a driver arching backward due to stiffness caused by conditions such as epilepsy.

[0040] Whether the driver's eyes are closed, whether the driver's posture is distorted, or whether the driver is in a state of no steering input can be determined, for example, based on the image from the driver monitoring camera 31 and from the driver's appearance. Furthermore, regarding whether the driver is in a state of no steering input, for example, if steering input-related data is obtained through the steering sensor 23, the determination can be made based on that data, or it can be made based on both that data and the image from the driver monitoring camera 31.

[0041] The recognition unit 72 identifies landmarks and ground objects surrounding the vehicle 100. For example, the recognition unit 72 sequentially inputs surrounding images received from the external camera 11 into the recognizer to identify other vehicles, two-wheeled vehicles, pedestrians, curbs or fences and other similar structures (hereinafter referred to as "zoning objects"), road markings (such as lane markings), and other ground objects within the surrounding images. The recognizer can be configured, for example, as a convolutional neural network (CNN) with multiple convolutional layers connected in series from the input side to the output side. Furthermore, the recognition unit 72 calculates the distance from the vehicle 100 to the landmarks and ground objects using, for example, the standard sizes of the landmarks and ground objects stored in the storage unit 62 according to each type of landmark and ground object, and the sizes of the landmarks and ground objects identified in the surrounding images, and calculates the positions of the landmarks and ground objects. Moreover, the method for recognizing landmarks and ground objects is not limited to this method; any known method can be used for recognition.

[0042] The driver assistance unit 73 controls the actuators 5 based on the landmarks and ground objects identified by the recognition unit 72, and implements driver assistance for controlling the driving of the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the driver assistance unit 73 can implement driver assistance for controlling the driving of the vehicle 100 at a driving control level based on SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) definition Level 3. That is, the driver assistance unit 73 can implement driver assistance for controlling the driving of the vehicle 100 at a driving control level that does not require the driver to operate each actuator 51 to 53 or monitor the surroundings. In addition, the driver assistance unit 73 can implement driver assistance for controlling the driving of the vehicle 100 at a driving control level in which the driver participates in driving the vehicle 100, such as a driving control level based on SAE definition Level 1 or Level 2.

[0043] As one of the driving assistance systems accompanying the driving control of vehicle 100, the driving assistance unit 73 implements a driver abnormality response driving assistance system to address the driver's abnormality when it determines that the driver is in an abnormal state. Specifically, if it is determined that the driver is in an abnormal state, the driving assistance unit 73 first implements notification control, such as notifying the driver via HMI4 of a control warning (alarm). Then, after a predetermined time T2[s] has elapsed from the start of the notification, it implements deceleration and stop control to slow down vehicle 100 and keep vehicle 100 at a stop. That is, the driver abnormality response driving assistance system includes notification control and deceleration and stop control, which includes deceleration control and stop control. In addition, in the driver abnormality response driving assistance system, the driving assistance unit 73 performs measures to notify surrounding vehicles of the driver's abnormality in vehicle 100 (e.g., illuminating hazard lights).

[0044] When implementing deceleration and stopping control, in order to reduce the risk of contact between the vehicle and following vehicles, if there is a parking area along the edge of the road on the passenger side (hereinafter referred to as the "retreat area"), it is preferable not to stop the vehicle in the driving lane, but to move the vehicle to the retreat area and stop it there. The retreat area may be, for example, the shoulder or a roadside strip where parking is not prohibited.

[0045] In this situation, when there are no passengers, considering the risk of contact between the vehicle and following vehicles, it is preferable to park the vehicle in the setback area in a way that minimizes the distance between the vehicle and the road edge in the width direction.

[0046] However, sometimes guardrails, such as barriers, are installed at the edge of the road. Therefore, when there are passengers present, the vehicle may not have sufficient width-to-width clearance between itself and the road edge—that is, the space for passengers to exit from the front passenger side—and may be forced to stop on the shoulder. As a result, passengers may have to exit from the driver's side (lane side), which carries a risk of contact with other vehicles, and it may not be possible for passengers to exit safely from the front passenger side (pedestrian side).

[0047] Therefore, in this embodiment, when parking the vehicle in a setback area, the vehicle-width distance between the vehicle and the road edge is adjusted depending on whether a passenger is present or not. Specifically, when a passenger is present, the vehicle-width distance between the vehicle and the road edge is increased compared to when a passenger is not present, ensuring sufficient space for the passenger to exit from the front passenger side. Thus, when a passenger is present, sufficient space ensures that the passenger can safely exit from the front passenger side (pedestrian crossing side) rather than the driver's side (lane side). On the other hand, when a passenger is not present, the vehicle can be parked as close to the road edge as possible, thus reducing the risk of contact with following vehicles.

[0048] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of driver assistance processing implemented by the driver assistance unit 73 and then by the control device 6 in the event of a driver abnormality.

[0049] In step S1, control device 6 determines whether the driver is in an abnormal state. If the driver is in an abnormal state, control device 6 proceeds to step S2. On the other hand, if the driver is not in an abnormal state, control device 6 terminates the current process.

[0050] In step S2, the control device 6 determines whether a retreat zone exists. In this embodiment, the control device 6 determines the existence of a retreat zone based on the recognition result of the recognition unit 72 on the ground objects (road markings, zoning lines). However, the method for determining whether a retreat zone exists is not particularly limited; for example, map information can be considered in addition to the recognition result of the recognition unit 72 on the ground objects. If the retreat zone exists in front of the vehicle, the control device 6 proceeds to step S3. On the other hand, if the retreat zone does not exist in front of the vehicle, the control device 6 proceeds to step S6.

[0051] In step S3, control device 6 determines whether there is a passenger. In this embodiment, control device 6 determines the presence of a passenger based on seatbelt buckle / unbuckle data, but the method for determining the presence of a passenger is not particularly limited. For example, if there is an in-vehicle camera that captures images of the front passenger seat and rear seat occupants, the determination can be made based on the images captured by the in-vehicle camera; if there is a seating sensor, the determination can be made based on the detection data from the seating sensor. If a passenger is present, control device 6 proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if no passenger is present, control device 6 proceeds to step S5.

[0052] In S4, after receiving a notification, control device 6 moves the vehicle to a reversing zone, adjusts the width-direction gap between the vehicle and the road edge to a predetermined first gap, and keeps the vehicle stationary. The first gap is the gap at which passengers can exit from the front passenger side; it is a gap predetermined for each vehicle based on factors such as the opening method of the front passenger door. The first gap is wider than the second gap (set to allow the vehicle to park as close to the road edge as possible), which will be described later.

[0053] In step S5, after receiving a notification, control device 6 moves the vehicle to a reversing area, adjusts the width-direction gap between the vehicle and the road edge to a predetermined second gap, and keeps the vehicle stationary. The second gap is a predetermined gap designed to bring the vehicle as close to the road edge as possible. Therefore, the second gap is set to be narrower than the first gap, which is set to ensure sufficient space for exiting the vehicle.

[0054] In S6, after receiving a control notification, the control device 6 keeps the vehicle stationary within the lane. For example, if the lane markings are identifiable, the control device 6 decelerates the vehicle 100 along the lane markings and keeps it stationary. Alternatively, if the lane markings are not identifiable, the control device 6 decelerates the vehicle 100 along the trajectory of the vehicle ahead and keeps it stationary. Finally, if neither the lane markings nor the vehicle ahead are identifiable, the control device 6 decelerates the vehicle 100 while proceeding straight and keeps it stationary.

[0055] The vehicle 100 control device 6 (driving assistance control device) of the present embodiment described above is configured to implement driver abnormality response driving assistance (driving assistance) in response to a situation where it is determined that the driver of the vehicle 100 is in an abnormal state that makes it difficult to continue driving the vehicle 100. This includes deceleration and stopping control that slows down the vehicle 100 and keeps the vehicle 100 in a stopped state. The vehicle 100 control device 6 (driving assistance control device) is configured to, during the implementation of driver abnormality response driving assistance, when there is a reversing area on the road along the edge of the road on the passenger side of the vehicle 100 where parking is possible, stop the vehicle 100 in the reversing area with a certain distance between the vehicle 100 and the road edge in the vehicle width direction. When there is a passenger in the vehicle 100, the distance is increased compared to when there is no passenger.

[0056] Specifically, the control device 6 is configured such that when there is a passenger in the vehicle 100, the distance in the vehicle width direction between the vehicle 100 and the edge of the road is such that the passenger can get out of the vehicle from the front passenger side, and when there is no passenger in the vehicle 100, the distance is narrower than the distance where the passenger can get out of the vehicle from the front passenger side.

[0057] Therefore, when there are passengers, it ensures sufficient space for passengers to exit the vehicle, allowing them to safely exit from the front passenger side (pedestrian crossing side) rather than the driver's side (lane side). On the other hand, when there are no passengers, it allows the vehicle 100 to be parked as close to the edge of the road as possible, thus reducing the risk of the vehicle 100 coming into contact with following vehicles.

[0058] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the above embodiments only illustrate a part of the application examples of the present invention and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention to the specific configurations of the above embodiments.

[0059] For example, in the above-described embodiments, the computer program executed in the control device 6 may be provided in the form of a computer-readable portable recording medium such as a semiconductor memory, magnetic recording medium, or optical recording medium, or it may be provided as a computer program product.

Claims

1. A driver assistance control device for a vehicle, The driver assistance control device is configured as follows: In response to a determination that the driver of the vehicle is in an abnormal state where it is difficult to continue driving the vehicle, a driving assistance system is implemented that includes deceleration and stop control to slow down the vehicle and keep the vehicle at a stop. During the implementation of the driving assistance, when there is a parking area along the edge of the road on the passenger side of the vehicle, the vehicle is parked in that area with a certain distance in the vehicle width direction between the vehicle and the road edge. When there are passengers in the vehicle, the interval is increased compared to when there are no passengers.

2. The driving assistance control device according to claim 1, The driving assistance control device is configured such that, when the passenger is present in the vehicle, the interval is set to an interval at which the passenger can exit the vehicle from the front passenger side.

3. The driving assistance control device according to claim 1 or 2, The driver assistance control device is configured such that, when the passenger is not in the vehicle, the distance is narrower than the distance at which the passenger can exit the vehicle from the front passenger side.

4. A driving assistance method for a vehicle, wherein, In response to a determination that the driver of the vehicle is in an abnormal state where it is difficult to continue driving the vehicle, a driving assistance system is implemented that includes deceleration and stop control to slow down the vehicle and keep the vehicle at a stop. During the implementation of the driving assistance, when there is a parking area along the edge of the road on the passenger side of the vehicle, the vehicle is parked in that area with a certain distance in the vehicle width direction between the vehicle and the road edge. When there are passengers in the vehicle, the interval is increased compared to when there are no passengers.

5. A computer program that causes a computer to perform the following processes: In response to a determination that the driver of the vehicle is in an abnormal state where it is difficult to continue driving the vehicle, a driving assistance system is implemented that includes deceleration and stop control to slow down the vehicle and keep the vehicle at a stop. During the implementation of the driving assistance, when there is a parking area along the edge of the road on the passenger side of the vehicle, the vehicle is parked in that area with a certain distance in the vehicle width direction between the vehicle and the road edge. When there are passengers in the vehicle, the interval is increased compared to when there are no passengers.

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