Driving assistance control device and driving assistance control method

Abstract

Driving assistance control device (10), comprising: a surrounding vehicle detection unit (11) configured to detect a position of a surrounding vehicle (2) that is a non-subject vehicle located around a subject vehicle (1); a surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit (12) configured to acquire surrounding vehicle control information including information on whether or not the surrounding vehicle (2) performs driving control using a high-resolution map, the high-resolution map including road data for each lane; a surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit (13) configured to determine a driving reliability, which is the reliability of driving the surrounding vehicle (2), based on the surrounding vehicle control information; and a driving assistance plan creation unit (14) configured to, based on the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle (2) to create a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle (1) is controlled so that it drives as closely as possible with the surrounding vehicle (2) with a high driving reliability, or to create a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle (1) is controlled so that it does not drive as closely as possible with the surrounding vehicle (2) with a low driving reliability, and to control a driving assistance device (24) of the subject vehicle (1) according to the driving assistance plan.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a driving assistance control device that controls a driving assistance device for a vehicle. STATE OF THE ART

[0002] In recent years, the development of a high-resolution map including road data for each lane has been advanced, and a driving assistance device such as an automatic drive device and an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) control device that performs driving control using a high-resolution map has been developed. For example, JP 2019-135643 A discloses a technique for improving the safety and reliability of a driving assistance device by using a high-resolution map. SUMMARY PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0003] The technology of JP 2019-135643 A is a technology for improving the driving safety and reliability of a vehicle equipped with a driver assistance device and using a high-resolution map. The improvement of the driving safety and reliability of other vehicles not equipped with a high-resolution driver assistance device is not considered. Furthermore, WO 2020 / 002964 A1 discloses a driver assistance system for automatically tracking a leading vehicle, wherein the reliability of the leading vehicle is determined.

[0004] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problems and aims to improve the driving safety and reliability of other vehicles that are not equipped with a driving assistance device that uses a high-resolution map. MEANS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM

[0005] According to the invention, the problem is solved by the subject matter of the independent claims. The dependent claims relate to further preferred embodiments, and this description explains how the invention can be carried out.

[0006] According to the present disclosure, a driving assistance control device includes a surrounding vehicle recognition unit configured to recognize a position of a surrounding vehicle, which is a non-subject vehicle, present around a subject vehicle, a surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit configured to acquire surrounding vehicle control information including information on whether or not the surrounding vehicle is performing driving control using a high-resolution map including road data for each lane, a surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit configured to determine driving reliability, which is a reliability of driving the surrounding vehicle, based on the surrounding vehicle control information, and a driving assistance plan creation unit configured to create a driving assistance plan.in which the subject vehicle is controlled to travel with the surrounding vehicle with the driving reliability as high as possible, or a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle is controlled not to travel with the surrounding vehicle with the driving reliability as low as possible, based on the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle, and control a driving assistance device of the subject vehicle according to the driving assistance plan. EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0007] According to the present disclosure, the driving safety and reliability of a subject vehicle are improved by having surrounding vehicles perform driving control using a high-resolution map. That is, the improvement of the driving safety and reliability of another vehicle that is not equipped with a driving assistance device that uses a high-resolution map is ensured.

[0008] The objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [ Fig. 1] A diagram illustrating the configuration of a driving assistance control device according to a first embodiment. [ Fig. 2] A diagram showing an example of driving positions of a subject vehicle and surrounding vehicles. [ Fig. 3] A diagram showing an example of a driver assistance plan. [ Fig. 4] A flowchart illustrating the operation of a driving assistance control device according to a first embodiment. [ Fig. 5] A diagram showing a display example using HUD as a driving assistance device. [ Fig. 6] A flowchart illustrating the operation of a driving assistance control device according to a modification of the first embodiment. [ Fig. 7] A flowchart illustrating the operation of a driving assistance control device according to a second embodiment. [ Fig. 8] A table showing an example of driving reliability in the second embodiment. [ Fig. 9] A table showing an example of driving reliability in the second embodiment. [ Fig. 10] A flowchart illustrating the operation of a surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit in a modification of the second embodiment. [ Fig. 11] A table showing an example of driving reliability in a modification of the second embodiment. [ Fig. 12] A table showing an example of driving reliability in a modification of the second embodiment. [ Fig. 13] A diagram showing an example of the driving positions of a subject vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. [ Fig. 14] A diagram to explain the driving risk of the subject vehicle. [ Fig. 15] A diagram showing an example of a recommended position for returning to the original lane after a lane change. [ Fig. 16] A diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the driving assistance control device. [ Fig. 17] A diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the driving assistance control device. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S)<Erste Ausführungsform>

[0009] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a driving assistance control device 10 according to a first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the driving assistance control device 10 is assumed to be installed in a vehicle 1, and the vehicle 1 equipped with the driving assistance control device 10 is hereinafter referred to as a "subject vehicle." However, the driving assistance control device 10 does not have to be permanently installed in the subject vehicle 1, but may also be implemented on a portable device such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, or a portable navigation device (PND). Furthermore, some functions of the driving assistance control device 10 may be implemented on a server installed outside the subject vehicle 1 and capable of communicating with the driving assistance control device 10.

[0010] As in Fig. 1, the driving assistance control device 10 is connected to a current position calculation unit 21, an environmental sensor 22, an off-vehicle communication device 23, and a driving assistance device 24 provided in the subject vehicle 1.

[0011] The current position calculation unit 21 is a means for calculating the current position of the subject vehicle 1 and consists, for example, of a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver. The current position calculation unit 21 may have the function of correcting the position of the subject vehicle 1 calculated by GNSS by map matching using map information.

[0012] The surrounding sensor 22 is a means for detecting objects present around the subject vehicle 1. The surrounding sensor 22 includes, for example, a camera (image processing sensor), a millimeter-wave sensor, a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor, and the like, and can detect at least a position of a non-subject vehicle 2 located near the subject vehicle 1. Hereinafter, the non-subject vehicle 2 located in the vicinity of the subject vehicle 1 is referred to as a “surrounding vehicle.” Although in Fig. 1 only one surrounding vehicle 2 is shown, there can be a plurality of surrounding vehicles 2.

[0013] The off-vehicle communication device 23 is a means for performing communication for the driving assistance control device 10 to acquire driving control information related to the driving control of the surrounding vehicle 2. The off-vehicle communication device 23 may be a communication device dedicated to the driving assistance control device 10 or a general communication device such as a mobile phone or a smartphone. Here, it is assumed that the off-vehicle communication device 23 acquires the driving control information from the surrounding vehicle 2 through vehicle-to-vehicle communication with the surrounding vehicle 2. However, any method may be adopted to obtain the control information for driving.For example, the driving control information of the surrounding vehicle 2 may be obtained from an infrastructure such as a roadside device or from a dedicated server.

[0014] Here, the position of the subject vehicle 1 calculated by the current position calculation unit 21 is an absolute position (latitude, longitude, etc.). Meanwhile, the position of the surrounding vehicle 2 detected by the surrounding sensor 22 is the relative position with respect to the subject vehicle 1, and is information indicating the distance and direction from the subject vehicle 1 to the surrounding vehicle 2. When the driving assistance control device 10 does not require the information of the absolute position of the subject vehicle 1 and only requires the information of the relative position of the subject vehicle 1 with respect to the surrounding vehicles 2, the current position calculation unit 21 can be omitted (when the driving assistance control device 10 uses map information, the current position calculation unit 21 is normally required).If the vehicle-external communication device 23 can acquire not only the driving control information of the surrounding vehicle 2 but also position information of the surrounding vehicle 2, the surrounding sensor 22 may also be omitted.

[0015] The driving assistance device 24 is a device that assists the driving of the subject vehicle 1. The driving assistance device 24 includes not only a device such as an autonomous driving device that controls the driving of the subject vehicle 1, but also a notification device that informs the driver of information for assisting the driving of the subject vehicle 1 using images and sounds (e.g., an image display device, an audio output device, etc.). The driving assistance device 24 is operated upon an instruction from the driver of the subject vehicle 1, and the operation is controlled by the driving assistance control device 10.

[0016] As in Fig. 1, the driving assistance control device 10 includes a surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11, a surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit 12, a surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13, and a driving assistance plan creation unit 14.

[0017] The surrounding vehicle detection unit 11 detects the position of the surrounding vehicle 2 based on the absolute position of the subject vehicle 1 calculated by the current position calculation unit 21 and the relative position of the surrounding vehicle 2 with respect to the subject vehicle 1 detected by the surrounding sensor 22. However, depending on the content of the driving assistance provided by the driving assistance control device 10, the surrounding vehicle detection unit 11 only needs to detect the relative position of the surrounding vehicle 2 with respect to the subject vehicle 1. The surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit 12 acquires, via the vehicle-external communication device 23, surrounding vehicle control information including information on whether or not the surrounding vehicle 2 is performing cruise control using a high-resolution map.

[0018] Any method can be adopted to link the surrounding vehicle 2 detected by the surrounding vehicle detection unit 11 with the surrounding vehicle control information acquired by the surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit 12. For example, a method of comparing the profile (vehicle type, license plate number, etc.) of the surrounding vehicle 2 detected by the surrounding vehicle sensor 22 with profile information of the surrounding vehicle 2 acquired by the off-vehicle communication device 23, a method of comparing the position of the surrounding vehicle 2 detected by the surrounding vehicle sensor 22 with the information about the position of the surrounding vehicle 2 acquired by the off-vehicle communication device 23, and the like can be adopted.

[0019] If the surrounding vehicle detection unit 11 can acquire the surrounding vehicle control information of the surrounding vehicle 2 using the surrounding vehicle sensor 22, the vehicle-external communication device 23 can be omitted. For example, if it is legally required to display on the outside of the vehicle whether or not travel control is being performed using a high-resolution map, it is assumed that the surrounding vehicle control information can be acquired from the image of the surrounding vehicle 2 captured by the camera as the surrounding vehicle sensor 22.

[0020] The surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines the driving reliability, that is, the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2, based on the surrounding vehicle control information acquired by the surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit 12. The surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines that the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that performs driving control using the high-resolution map is higher than the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that does not perform driving control using the high-resolution map.In the first embodiment, two levels of "high" and "low" of the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 are set, and the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines that the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 moving using the high-resolution map is "high" and the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 not moving using the high-resolution map is "low".

[0021] Based on the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 determined by the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13, the driving assistance plan creation unit 14 creates a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle 1 is controlled to travel with (or follow) the surrounding vehicle 2 with high driving reliability, or a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle 1 is controlled to avoid traveling with the surrounding vehicle 2 with low driving reliability. Furthermore, the driving assistance plan creation unit 14 controls the driving assistance device 24 according to the created driving assistance plan.

[0022] For example, at time t1 a situation is assumed as in Fig. 2, in which the subject vehicle is in a driving state at a position P[t1] by autonomous driving, and a surrounding vehicle 2-1 that performs driving control using the high-resolution map and a surrounding vehicle 2-2 that does not perform driving control using the high-resolution map are driving in front of the subject vehicle 1. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) provides six levels of autonomous driving, from level 0 indicating full manual driving to level 5 maintaining full autonomous driving. Here, it is assumed that the subject vehicle 1 is set to level 3 of autonomous driving and is in a state where any type of driving control, including constant-speed driving, following, lane keeping, and autonomous lane changing, can be performed.However, the autonomous driving level of subject vehicle 1 can be set to any value from 0 to 5.

[0023] In a situation where no other vehicle is in the vicinity of Subject Vehicle 1, Subject Vehicle 1 performs constant speed driving and lane-keeping driving with autonomous driving level 3. As in Fig. As shown in FIG. 2, in the surrounding vehicle control device 10, the detection unit 11 detects a position Q1[t1] of the surrounding vehicle 2-1 and a position Q2[t1] of the surrounding vehicle 2-2 when the subject vehicle 1 approaches the preceding surrounding vehicles 2-1 and 2-2, and the surrounding vehicle control information detection unit 12 detects the surrounding vehicle control information of the surrounding vehicles 2-1 and 2-2. The surrounding vehicle control information includes information about whether the surrounding vehicle 2-1 and the surrounding vehicle 2-2 are moving or not using the high-resolution map, and the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines the reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2-1 and the reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2-2 based on the surrounding vehicle control information.That is, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines that the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2-1 that performs the driving control using the high-resolution map is “high” and the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2-2 that does not perform the driving control using the high-resolution map is “low”.

[0024] In this case, the driving assistance plan creation unit 14 creates a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle 1 is controlled to travel as closely as possible with the surrounding vehicle 2-1. For example, as shown in Fig. 3, a driving assistance plan is created such that at time t2, the subject vehicle 1 is caused to change to the same lane as the surrounding vehicle 2-1 by autonomous lane changing, and at time t3, the subject vehicle 1 is caused to follow the surrounding vehicle 2-1. The driving assistance plan creation unit 14 controls the driving assistance device 24 according to the created driving assistance plan. Accordingly, the subject vehicle 1 moves as shown in Fig. 3 and begins to follow the surrounding vehicle 2-1. By causing the subject vehicle 1 to follow the surrounding vehicle 2-1 with high driving reliability, the safety and reliability of driving of the subject vehicle 1 is increased.

[0025] As described above, according to the driving assistance control device 10 according to the first embodiment, the driving safety and reliability of the subject vehicle 1 are improved by utilizing the high reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that performs driving control using the high-resolution map. That is, the improvement of the driving safety and reliability of another vehicle (the subject vehicle 1) that is not equipped with a driving assistance device that uses a high-resolution map (the surrounding vehicle 2) is ensured.

[0026] Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the driving assistance control device 10 according to the first embodiment. The operation of the driving assistance control device 10 will be described below with reference to Fig. 4. In the following description, a driving assistance system from the related prior art in which the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 is not taken into account is referred to as “regular driving assistance.”

[0027] When the driving assistance control device 10 is activated, the driving assistance control device 10 causes the driving assistance device 24 to start regular driving assistance according to the autonomous level of the subject vehicle 1 set by the driver (step S101).

[0028] Next, the surrounding vehicle detection unit 11 confirms whether the surrounding vehicle 2 exists around the subject vehicle 1 based on the detection result of the surrounding vehicle sensor 22 (step S102). If there is no surrounding vehicle 2 around the subject vehicle 1 (NO in step S102), the driving assistance control device 10 causes the driving assistance device 24 to perform (continue) regular driving assistance (step S103).

[0029] On the other hand, if a surrounding vehicle 2 is located around the subject vehicle 1 (YES in step S102), the surrounding vehicle detection unit 11 detects the position of the surrounding vehicle 2 based on the absolute position of the subject vehicle 1 calculated by the current position calculation unit 21 and the relative position of the surrounding vehicle 2 with respect to the subject vehicle 1 detected by the surrounding sensor 22 (step S104). Furthermore, the surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit 12 acquires, via the vehicle-external communication device 23, surrounding vehicle control information including information on whether or not the surrounding vehicle 2 is performing cruise control using a high-resolution map (step S105).

[0030] Then, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 based on the surrounding vehicle control information. In the present embodiment, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines that the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that performs the driving control using the high-resolution map is "high" (step S106), and that the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that does not perform the driving control using the high-resolution map is "low" (step S107).

[0031] Note that the surrounding vehicle 2 from which the surrounding vehicle control information could not be acquired can be regarded as not performing the cruise control using the high-resolution map, and its driving reliability can be determined as "low." The surrounding vehicle 2 from which the surrounding vehicle control information could not be acquired but for which the information that it has the high-resolution map was acquired can be regarded as performing the cruise control using the high-resolution map, and its driving reliability can be determined as "high." Also, the driving reliability of a surrounding vehicle 2 that has no relationship with the driving assistance of the subject vehicle 1, such as the surrounding vehicle 2 located behind the subject vehicle 1, does not need to be determined.

[0032] Then, based on the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 determined by the surrounding vehicle reliability determining unit 13, the driving assistance plan creation unit 14 creates a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle 1 is controlled to travel with the surrounding vehicle 2 having high driving reliability as much as possible, or a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle 1 is controlled to avoid traveling with the surrounding vehicle 2 having low driving reliability as much as possible (step S108), and controls the driving assistance device 24 according to the driving assistance plan (step S109).

[0033] If the driving of the subject vehicle 1 continues (NO in step S110), the process returns to step S102, and the driving assistance control device 10 repeats the operations of steps S102 to S109. If the driving of the subject vehicle 1 ends (YES in step S110), the operation of the driving assistance control device 10 also ends. [Modification]

[0034] The driving assistance that the driving assistance control device 10 initiates through the driving assistance device 24 does not have to be the driving control as described in Fig. 3, but may be to notify the driver of information to assist the driving of the subject vehicle 1. For example, the driving assistance control device 10 may control a notification device serving as the driving assistance device 24 to display the positions of the surrounding vehicles 2 to the driver of the subject vehicle 1 with high reliability during driving. Fig. 5 shows an example of the fact that in the Fig. 2, the driving assistance control device 10 controls the head-up display (HUD) serving as the driving assistance device 24 to display, on a windshield 30 of the subject vehicle 1, a display object 31 (star symbol) representing the position of the surrounding vehicle 2-1 with the driving reliability of "high." By checking the display object 31, the driver can judge which of the surrounding vehicles 2 has high driving reliability, and even during manual driving, the subject vehicle 1, which is controlled to move with the surrounding vehicle 2 with high driving reliability, can improve the safety and reliability of driving of the subject vehicle 1.

[0035] In addition, when the driver presses a follow-up start button (not shown) with the display, the subject vehicle 1 can be switched to autonomous driving and as shown in Fig. 5, i.e. start following and follow the surrounding vehicle 2-1.

[0036] The display object 31 in Fig. 5 is merely an example of a driving assistance display object. Any driving assistance display object can be adopted, e.g., an image of an arrow that guides the driver to move one lane to the same lane as the surrounding vehicle 2 with high driving reliability, or something similar.

[0037] The display device serving as the driving assistance device 24 is not limited to a HUD, but may be, for example, a liquid crystal display device. For example, an image (e.g., a bird's-eye view image as shown in Fig. 2) showing the positions of the subject vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles 2 as well as the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles 2 are displayed on the liquid crystal display device.

[0038] Although in the first embodiment, an example is shown in which the subject vehicle 1 is controlled to follow the surrounding vehicle 2 with high driving reliability, the application of the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 is not limited to this, and the driving reliability can be applied to various types of driving control.

[0039] For example, in a situation where the subject vehicle 1 follows the surrounding vehicle 2, when a speed VB of the surrounding vehicle 2, which is the preceding vehicle, becomes lower than a set speed VA of the subject vehicle 1 for constant speed traveling, and the difference between VA and VB is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold Vth (ie, VA-VB≥Vth), the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 can be applied to the autonomous overtaking control that causes the subject vehicle 1 to overtake the preceding vehicle. Specifically, Vth=Vth1, which represents the threshold when the driving reliability of the preceding vehicle is "high", and Vth=Vth2, which represents the threshold when the driving reliability of the preceding vehicle is "low", are set to different values, and Vth1>Vth2 can be set.That is, when the driving reliability of the preceding vehicle is "high," the allowable range of VA-VB is made wider than when the driving reliability of the preceding vehicle is "low." Accordingly, the subject vehicle 1 can be expected to follow the preceding vehicle with the "high" driving reliability for a longer time, which contributes to improving the safety and reliability of the driving of the subject vehicle 1.

[0040] It is assumed that the surrounding vehicle 2 with high driving reliability is less likely to brake suddenly. When the driving reliability of the preceding vehicle is "high," the distance between the subject vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle may be shorter than when the driving reliability of the preceding vehicle is "low."

[0041] When the surrounding vehicle 2 traveling in a lane adjacent to the subject vehicle 1 exists, driving control is preferably performed to avoid side-by-side driving and maintain a vehicle distance between the surrounding vehicle 2 in the adjacent lane and the subject vehicle 1 (vehicle distance along the traveling direction therebetween). In this case, when the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 in the adjacent lane is "high," it may be set to allow a shorter distance between the subject vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicle 2 than when the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 in the adjacent lane is "low."

[0042] Additionally, in the control for selecting a lane in which the subject vehicle 1 is to move from a plurality of lanes, it may be set to select a lane in which the surrounding vehicle 2 with "high" driving reliability is moving ahead rather than a lane in which the surrounding vehicle 2 with "low" driving reliability is moving. It may also be set to select a lane in which no surrounding vehicle 2 exists within a certain distance (e.g., 200 m).

[0043] Although two levels of "high" and "low" are set for the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 in the first embodiment, three or more levels may be set. For example, three levels may be set: "high" for the reliability of a surrounding vehicle 2 that performs driving control using a high-resolution map including road data for each lane, "medium" for the reliability of a surrounding vehicle 2 that performs driving control using a regular-resolution map that does not include road data for each lane, and "low" for the reliability of a surrounding vehicle 2 that does not perform driving control using a map. In this case, however, it is necessary to include information about whether or not the surrounding vehicle 2 performs driving control using the regular-resolution map in the surrounding vehicle control information.

[0044] Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the driving assistance control device 10 with the driving reliability at the above-mentioned three levels. Fig. 6 is a flow in which step S107 of the flow of Fig. 4 is replaced by steps S111 and S112. In the sequence of Fig. 6, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines the driving reliability of a surrounding vehicle 2 traveling using the high-resolution map for driving control as "high," the driving reliability of a surrounding vehicle 2 traveling using the regular-resolution map for driving control as "medium," and the reliability of a surrounding vehicle 2 not traveling using a map for driving control as "low." The other steps are the same as those of the flow of Fig. 4; therefore, the description of it is omitted here.

[0045] Furthermore, high-resolution maps differ in the representation and accuracy of road shapes depending on specifications such as suppliers and versions. Therefore, it is desirable that the specifications of the high-resolution map used by the subject vehicle 1 for driving control and the high-resolution map used by the surrounding vehicle 2 for driving control be closer to each other. Therefore, with the information about the specifications of the high-resolution map used by the surrounding vehicles included in the surrounding vehicle control information, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 can determine that the surrounding vehicle 2 using a high-resolution map with a specification closer to the specification of the high-resolution map of the subject vehicle 1 has higher driving reliability.It can also determine that the surrounding vehicle 2, which uses a latest version of the high-resolution map, has higher driving reliability.

[0046] If the driving reliability has multiple levels of three or more levels, the display mode of the Fig. 5 can be changed according to the level of driving reliability. The display mode of the display object 31 can also be changed so that the surrounding vehicle 2 with the highest driving reliability and the surrounding vehicle 2 with the lowest driving reliability can be identified. Furthermore, the display object 31 can also be set to be added to the surrounding vehicle 2 whose driving reliability is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold. <Zweite Ausführungsform>

[0047] In the second embodiment, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 of the driving assistance control device 10 determines the reliability of the moving surrounding vehicle 2 by adding an autonomous level of the surrounding vehicle 2. A configuration of the driving assistance control device 10 according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment ( Fig. 1). However, the surrounding vehicle control information to be acquired by the surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit 12 includes, in addition to the information about whether or not the surrounding vehicle 2 performs driving control using a high-resolution map, information about the autonomous driving level at which the surrounding vehicle 2 performs driving control.

[0048] Fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the driving assistance control device 10 according to the second embodiment. Fig. 7 is a flow in which steps S106 and S107 of the flow of Fig. 4 can be replaced by step S120. In step S120, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 based on the execution situation of the driving control using the high-resolution map in the surrounding vehicle 2 and the autonomous driving level on which the surrounding vehicle 2 is traveling. The other steps are the same as those of the flow of Fig. 4; therefore, the description of it is omitted here.

[0049] Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 illustrates an example of a relationship between the execution situations of the driving control and the autonomous driving levels of the surrounding vehicle 2 and the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 determined by the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13.

[0050] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 8, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines that the surrounding vehicle 2 with a higher autonomous driving level has higher driving reliability, and at the same autonomous driving levels, the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that performs driving control using the high-resolution map is higher than that of the surrounding vehicle 2 that does not perform driving control using the high-resolution map. Furthermore, in the case where the driving control using the high-resolution map is added to the driving reliability determination, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines, as shown in Fig. 9 shows that the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that performs the driving control using the high-resolution map is lower than the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that performs the driving control using the high-resolution map and is higher than the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 that does not perform driving control using a map. [Modification]

[0051] The surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 may calculate a first reliability item of the surrounding vehicle 2 calculated based on whether or not driving control is performed using the high-resolution map and a second reliability item of the surrounding vehicle 2 calculated based on the autonomous driving level, and determine the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 based on the calculated first reliability item and second reliability item.

[0052] In this case, in step S120 of the process of Fig. 7 the process of Fig. 10 by the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13. That is, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines the first reliability item of the surrounding vehicle 2 based on whether or not the driving control is performed using the high-resolution map (step S121) and determines the second reliability item of the surrounding vehicle 2 based on the autonomous driving level (step S122). Then, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 determines the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 based on the first reliability item calculated in step S121 and the second reliability item calculated in step S122 (step S123).

[0053] Fig. 11 and Fig. 12 illustrates an example of a relationship between the execution situation of the driving control and the level of autonomous driving of the surrounding vehicle 2 and the first reliability item, the second reliability item and the driving reliability.

[0054] In the example of Fig. 11, the first reliability element (R1) takes a value of 0.5 when the surrounding vehicle 2 performs driving control using the high-resolution map, and takes a value of 0 when it does not. That is, the first reliability element depends on whether the surrounding vehicle 2 performs driving control using the high-resolution map or not. On the other hand, the second reliability element (R2) takes a larger value when the autonomous driving level of the surrounding vehicle 2 is higher. In other words, the second reliability element is a function of the autonomous driving level of the surrounding vehicle 2. The driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 is defined as the sum (R1+R2) of the first reliability element and the second reliability element.

[0055] In the example of Fig. 12, the first reliability element (R1) takes a higher value when the autonomous driving level is higher when the surrounding vehicle 2 performs driving control using the high-resolution map, and takes a value of 0 when not. That is, the first reliability element is a function of whether or not the surrounding vehicle 2 uses driving control using the high-resolution map and the autonomous driving level. On the other hand, the higher the autonomous driving level of the surrounding vehicle 2, the larger the value of the second reliability element (R2). In other words, the second reliability element is a function of the autonomous driving level of the surrounding vehicle 2. The driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle 2 is defined as the sum (R1+R2) of the first reliability element and the second reliability element.

[0056] In Fig. 11 and Fig. 12, it is set that the difference between the first reliability element and the second reliability element is greater, the higher the level of autonomous driving is. In addition, in Fig. 12, it is set that the second reliability element changes significantly between levels of autonomous driving 2 and 3 and between levels of autonomous driving 3 and 4, whereby the quality of automated driving changes.

[0057] Fig. 11 and Fig. 12 are merely examples, and other methods are acceptable as long as the driving reliability is higher because the surrounding vehicle 2 has a higher autonomous driving level, and in the same driving levels, the surrounding vehicle 2 that performs the driving control using the high-resolution map has higher driving reliability than the surrounding vehicle 2 that does not perform the driving control using the high-resolution map.

[0058] In the second embodiment, the surrounding vehicle control information acquired by the surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit 12 includes the information about the autonomous driving control level of the surrounding vehicle 2; therefore, as shown in Fig. 5, when the reliability of the driving control of the surrounding vehicle 2 is to be displayed on a display device such as a HUD, a display object indicating the level of autonomous driving control of the surrounding vehicle 2 may also be displayed. <Dritte Ausführungsform>

[0059] In the first and second embodiments, the "surroundings" area of the subject vehicle 1 corresponds to the detection range of the surroundings sensor 22. In the third embodiment, the "surroundings" area is expanded, and, for example, an area of several kilometers around the subject vehicle 1 is regarded as the "surroundings." In other words, a vehicle located within a range of several kilometers around the subject vehicle 1 is a surroundings vehicle 2. However, a vehicle located outside the detection range of the surroundings sensor 22 cannot be detected by the surroundings sensor 22. Therefore, the surroundings vehicle detection unit 11 uses the off-vehicle communication device 23 to detect a position of the surroundings vehicle 2 that is outside the detection range of the surroundings sensor 22.Alternatively, the surrounding vehicle detection unit 11 may detect the positions of all surrounding vehicles 2 using the vehicle-external communication device 23, in which case the surrounding sensor 22 may be omitted.

[0060] The size of the "surroundings" can be determined depending on the content of the control performed by the driving assistance control device 10. In addition, the range of the "surroundings" of the subject vehicle 1 does not have to be a circle centered on the subject vehicle 1. For example, an area within 500 m in front of the subject vehicle 1 and within 50 m behind the subject vehicle 1 can be defined as the "surroundings" of the subject vehicle 1.

[0061] For example, it is assumed that as a result of the surrounding vehicle detection unit 11 detecting the positions of the surrounding vehicles 2 within a range of 500 m in front of and 50 m behind the subject vehicle 1 and the determination of the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicles 2 by the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 at time t1, the distribution of the surrounding vehicles 2 (2-1 to 2-9) and the driving reliability as shown in Fig. 13.

[0062] For convenience of explanation, as in the first embodiment, two levels of driving reliability, "high" and "low," are set. In addition, it is assumed that the speeds of all surrounding vehicles 2 are the same, and the positional relationship of the surrounding vehicles 2 does not change over time. In addition, it is assumed that the subject vehicle 1 has a certain driving risk when a surrounding vehicle 2 with "low" reliability (i.e., a surrounding vehicle 2 that does not perform driving control using the high-resolution map) is in front of, behind, or next to the subject vehicle. The terms "in front of," "behind," and "beside" used here mean "in front of," "behind," and "beside," respectively, within a certain distance from the subject vehicle 1.

[0063] For example, if the subject vehicle 1 moves from the state of Fig. 13 to the Fig. 14, when the subject vehicle 1 is located at a position P[t1], the driving risk at this point is 3 points because the surrounding vehicles 2 (2-1 to 2-3) with "low" driving reliability are moving in three directions, that is, in front of, behind, and to the right of the subject vehicle 1. When the subject vehicle 1 is located at a position P[t2], the driving risk at this point is 2 points because the surrounding vehicles 2 (2-2 and 2-3) with "low" driving reliability are moving in the two directions behind and to the left of the subject vehicle 1. Furthermore, when the subject vehicle 1 is located at a position P[t8], the driving risk at this point is 0 points because there is no surrounding vehicle 2 with "low" reliability in any direction (the surrounding vehicle 2-7 is sufficiently far away from the subject vehicle 1).

[0064] The driving risk value of the surrounding vehicle 2 with "low" driving reliability may change depending on the positional relationship between the surrounding vehicle 2 and the subject vehicle 1. For example, it may be provided that the surrounding vehicle 2 driving in front of the subject vehicle 1 is rated with 1.5 points, the surrounding vehicle 2 driving behind the subject vehicle 1 is rated with 1 point, and the surrounding vehicle 2 driving to the side of the subject vehicle 1 is rated with 1.5 points. Alternatively, the closer the distance between the subject vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicle 2, the higher the driving risk of the surrounding vehicle 2.

[0065] The driving assistance plan creation unit 14 of the third embodiment calculates the driving risk of the subject vehicle 1 at each position based on the positional relationship between the subject vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles 2 with the "low" driving reliability. Then, the driving assistance plan creation unit 14 creates a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle 1 is controlled to move to the position where the driving risk is minimized (the position P[t8] in Fig. 13), that is, the position where the number of surrounding vehicles 2 near the subject vehicle 1 with low driving safety is small. And the driving assistance device 24 of the subject vehicle 1 is controlled according to the established driving assistance plan. In practice, there are differences in speed between each surrounding vehicle 2, so the calculation of the driving risk and the establishment of the driving assistance plan are also performed taking into account the change in the positional relationship between the surrounding vehicles 2.

[0066] According to the driving assistance control device 10 of the third embodiment, a driving assistance plan is created to minimize the number of surrounding vehicles 2 with low reliability present around the subject vehicle 1, and driving assistance is performed according to the plan; therefore, the driving risk of the subject vehicle 1 can be reduced and the safety and reliability of the driving of the subject vehicle 1 can be improved. [Modification]

[0067] Although the third embodiment distinguishes lanes in which surrounding vehicles 2 are traveling, the traveling risk can be calculated solely from the positional relationship between the subject vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles 2 in the traveling direction without distinguishing the lanes. That is, it can also be set so that there is no difference between the traveling risk of the surrounding vehicle 2 located in the same lane as the subject vehicle 1 and the traveling risk of the surrounding vehicle 2 in the adjacent lane.

[0068] Although Fig. 14 illustrates an example in which the subject vehicle 1 overtakes to move to a position where there are fewer surrounding vehicles 2 with the "low" driving reliability, the overtaking does not necessarily have to be implemented, and only the selection of the lane in which the subject vehicle 1 moves may be implemented. That is, the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit 13 calculates the number and density of the surrounding vehicles 2 with the "high" driving reliability and the number and density of the surrounding vehicles 2 with the "low" driving reliability for each lane, and determines which lane has a low risk for the subject vehicle 1 to be moved, to create a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle 1 is controlled to travel in a lane with a low driving risk.A lane with low driving risk is a lane with many surrounding vehicles 2 with “high” driving reliability or a lane with few surrounding vehicles 2 with “low” driving reliability.

[0069] Furthermore, when the subject vehicle 1 changes lanes to the overtaking lane and returns to the original lane, the driving assistance control device 10 can control the position at which the subject vehicle 1 returns to the original lane, taking into account the number and density of the surrounding vehicles 2 with the "high" driving safety and the surrounding vehicles 2 with the "low" driving safety. For example, in the Fig. 15 (the right lane is the passing lane), an area 32 in which there is no surrounding vehicle 2 with the “low” driving reliability nearby is a recommended position for the subject vehicle 1 to return to the original lane (left lane).

[0070] Although in the third embodiment, the driving control is performed as driving assistance by the driving assistance device 24, the driving assistance may consist of notifying the driver of information that supports the driving of the subject vehicle 1. For example, the driver may be presented with an image depicting the distribution of the surrounding vehicles 2, as shown in Fig. 13, an image showing a recommended route as shown in Fig. 14, an image showing a recommended position for returning to the original lane after an overtaking maneuver, as in Fig. 15, and the like. <hardwarekonfiguration>

[0071] Fig. 16 and Fig. 17 are diagrams each showing examples of the hardware configuration of the driving assistance control device 10. Each function of the Fig. 1 shown components of the driver assistance control device 10 is, for example, by a Fig. 16 is implemented. That is, the driving assistance control device 10 includes the processing circuit 50 configured to detect the position of the surrounding vehicle, which is a non-subject vehicle, located near the subject vehicle; acquire control information about the surrounding vehicle, including information about whether or not the surrounding vehicle is performing driving control using the high-resolution map containing road data for each lane; determine the driving reliability, which is the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle, based on the surrounding vehicle control information; create a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle is controlled to travel with the surrounding vehicle with high driving reliability as much as possible; or create a driving assistance plan.by controlling the subject vehicle to avoid driving with the surrounding vehicle with low driving reliability as much as possible, based on the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle, and controlling the driving assistance device of the subject vehicle according to the driving assistance plan. The processing circuit 50 may be dedicated hardware or a processor (also referred to as a central processing unit (CPU), processing unit, arithmetic unit, microprocessor, microcomputer, or digital signal processor (DSP) that executes a program stored in a memory).

[0072] When the dedicated hardware is applied to the processing circuit 50, the processing circuit 50 corresponds, for example, to a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a combination thereof. In the driving assistance device 10, each function of the components may be implemented by individual processing circuits, or these functions may be implemented collectively by one processing circuit.

[0073] Fig. 17 illustrates an example of the hardware configuration of the driving assistance control device 10 when the processing circuit 50 is configured using a processor 51 that executes programs. In this case, the function of each component of the driving assistance device 10 is implemented by software (in combination with software, firmware, or in combination with software and firmware), etc. The software, etc., is written as a program and stored in a memory 52. The processor 51 reads and executes the program stored in the memory 52, thereby implementing the function of each section. That is, the driving assistance control device 10 includes the memory 52 for storing the program, which ultimately executes a process of detecting the position of the surrounding vehicle, which is a non-subject vehicle present near the subject vehicle.a process of acquiring surrounding vehicle control information including information on whether or not the surrounding vehicle is performing driving control using the high-resolution map containing road data for each lane; a process of determining driving reliability, which is the reliability of driving the surrounding vehicle, based on the surrounding vehicle control information; creating a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle is controlled to drive as much as possible with the surrounding vehicle with high driving reliability or a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle is controlled to avoid driving as much as possible with the surrounding vehicle with low driving reliability, based on the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle, to control the driving assistance device of the subject vehicle according to the driving assistance plan;when executed by the processor 51. In other words, the program causes the computer to execute procedures and operating methods of the components of the driving assistance control device 10.

[0074] The memory 52 here may be, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or the like, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a digital versatile disc (DVD) and a drive therefor, or the like, or any data storage medium that may be used in the future.

[0075] The configuration in which the function of each component of the driving assistance control device 10 is implemented by either hardware or software has been described above. However, the configuration is not limited to this; a configuration in which some components of the driving assistance control device 10 are implemented by dedicated hardware and some other components are implemented by software or the like may be adopted. For example, for some components, the functions are implemented by the processing circuit 50 as dedicated hardware, and for some other components, the functions are implemented by the processing circuit 50 as the processor 51 that reads and executes the program stored in the memory 52.

[0076] Accordingly, the driving assistance control device 10 may implement any of the above functions through hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

[0077] The embodiments may be combined, modified as appropriate, or omitted without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[0078] The foregoing description is in all respects illustrative and not restrictive, and it is therefore understood that numerous modifications may be developed. EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0079] 1 object vehicle, 2 surrounding vehicle, 10 driving assistance control device, 11 surrounding vehicle detection unit, 12 surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit, 13 surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit, 14 driving assistance plan creation unit, 21 current position control unit, 22 surrounding sensor, 23 vehicle-external communication device, 24 driving assistance device, 30 windshield, 31 display object, 50 processing circuit, 51 processor, 52 memory.< / hardwarekonfiguration>

Claims

[1] Driving assistance control device (10), comprising: a surrounding vehicle detection unit (11) configured to detect a position of a surrounding vehicle (2) that is a non-subject vehicle located around a subject vehicle (1); a surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit (12) configured to acquire surrounding vehicle control information including information on whether or not the surrounding vehicle (2) performs driving control using a high-resolution map, the high-resolution map including road data for each lane; a surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit (13) configured to determine a driving reliability, which is the reliability of driving the surrounding vehicle (2), based on the surrounding vehicle control information; and a driving assistance plan creation unit (14) configured to, based on the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle (2) to create a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle (1) is controlled so that it drives as closely as possible with the surrounding vehicle (2) with a high driving reliability, or to create a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle (1) is controlled so that it does not drive as closely as possible with the surrounding vehicle (2) with a low driving reliability, and to control a driving assistance device (24) of the subject vehicle (1) according to the driving assistance plan. [2] The driving assistance control device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit (13) is configured to determine that the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle (2) that performs driving control using the high-resolution map is higher than the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle (2) that does not perform driving control using the high-resolution map. [3] Driving assistance control device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the surrounding vehicle control information further comprises information about an autonomous driving level on which the surrounding vehicle (2) performs driving control, and the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit (13) is configured to determine the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle (2) with the autonomous driving level. [4] Driving assistance control device (10) according to claim 3, wherein the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit (13) is configured to determine the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle (2) based on a first reliability element (R1) of the surrounding vehicle (2) and a second reliability element (R2) of the surrounding vehicle (2), the first reliability element (R1) is calculated based on whether or not driving control is performed using the high-resolution map, and the second reliability element (R2) is calculated based on the autonomous driving level. [5] The driving assistance control device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the driving assistance plan creation unit (14) is configured to create the driving assistance plan to make the subject vehicle (1) drive to follow the surrounding vehicle (2) whose driving reliability is high as much as possible. [6] The driving assistance control device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the driving assistance plan creation unit (14) is configured to create the driving assistance plan in which a number of surrounding vehicles (2) with low driving reliability that exist in the vicinity of the subject vehicle (1) is as small as possible. [7] The driving assistance control device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the driving assistance plan creation unit (14) is configured to create the driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle (1) is controlled to move as far as possible in a lane with many surrounding vehicles (2) with high reliability, or the driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle (1) is controlled to move as far as possible in a lane with few surrounding vehicles (2) with low reliability. [8] The driving assistance control device (10) according to claim 7, wherein when the subject vehicle (1) changes a lane and overtakes a non-subject vehicle, the driving assistance plan creation unit (14) is configured to determine a position to return the subject vehicle (1) to an original lane after overtaking based on the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle (2). [9] The driving assistance control device (10) according to claim 1, wherein a driving method for controlling the subject vehicle (1) to move according to the driving assistance plan is notified to a driver of the subject vehicle (1). [10] The driving assistance control device (10) according to claim 9, wherein the notification of the control method, on a display device, comprises displaying a driving position in which the subject vehicle (1) is controlled to travel as closely as possible with the surrounding vehicle (2) with high driving reliability, or a driving position in which the subject vehicle is controlled to avoid traveling as closely as possible with the surrounding vehicle (2) with low driving reliability. [11] Driving assistance control device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the surrounding vehicle control information further comprises information about a specification of the high-resolution map used by the surrounding vehicle (2), and the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit (13) is configured to determine that the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle (2) using the high-resolution map with a specification closer to a specification of the high-resolution map of the subject vehicle (1) is higher. [12] Driving assistance control device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the surrounding vehicle control information further includes information on whether or not the surrounding vehicle (2) performs driving control using a regular-resolution map that does not use road data for each lane, and the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit (13) is configured to determine that the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle (2) moving using the regular-resolution map is lower than the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle (2) moving using the high-resolution map and is higher than the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle (2) not moving using a map. [13] Driving assistance control device (10) according to claim 12, wherein the surrounding vehicle control information further comprises information about a level of autonomous driving control at which the surrounding vehicle (2) performs driving control, and the surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit (13) is configured to determine the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle (2) with the autonomous driving level. [14] Driver assistance control procedure comprising the steps: Detecting a position of a surrounding vehicle (2) which is a non-subject vehicle present around a subject vehicle (1), wherein the detection is performed by a surrounding vehicle detection unit (11) of a driving assistance control device (10); Acquiring surrounding vehicle control information including information on whether or not the surrounding vehicle (2) is performing driving control using a high-resolution map, the high-resolution map including road data for each lane, the acquisition being performed by a surrounding vehicle control information acquisition unit (12) of the driving assistance control device (10); Determining a driving reliability, which is the reliability of the driving of the surrounding vehicle (2), based on the surrounding vehicle control information, wherein the determination is performed by a surrounding vehicle reliability determination unit (13) of the driving assistance control device (10); and Generating a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle (1) is controlled so as to travel as closely as possible with the surrounding vehicle (2) with a high driving reliability, or a driving assistance plan in which the subject vehicle (1) is controlled so as not to travel as closely as possible with the surrounding vehicle (2) with a low driving reliability, based on the driving reliability of the surrounding vehicle (2); and Controlling a driving assistance device (24) of the subject vehicle (1) according to the driving assistance plan, wherein the generation and control is performed by a driving assistance plan generation unit (14) of the driving assistance control device (10).

Images