Vehicle control device and vehicle control method

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control device with a function that can appropriately set driving procedures to resume driving after a self vehicle executes an evacuation action.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device includes: an area candidate determination unit 12 for determining a passable area 601, which is a passable area for a self vehicle 2 and an oncoming vehicle 600 around the self vehicle, on a road where there is an area where the self vehicle 2 and the oncoming vehicle 600 cannot pass; an action plan determination unit 13 for determining an action plan indicating a sequence of action steps 602 and 605 for the self vehicle 2; a trajectory generation unit 14 for generating a traveling trajectory of the self vehicle 2 in the passable area; an action plan updating unit 15 capable of updating the action plan based on the position of the oncoming vehicle 600 in the passable area 601 and the traveling trajectory of the self vehicle generated by the trajectory generation unit 14; and a traveling control unit 16 that performs traveling control of the self vehicle 2 according to the action plan.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method, and more particularly to a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method suitable for autonomous driving. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, there has been a demand for technology that enables cooperative driving on narrow roads in order to realize comfortable and safe driving assistance and autonomous driving of vehicles. In particular, technology has been proposed that enables vehicles to cooperatively pass each other on narrow roads by utilizing spaces where they can wait when encountering an oncoming vehicle.

[0003] For example, JP 2018-151177 A (Patent Document 1) discloses a vehicle control device that includes a map generation unit that generates map data around the vehicle and updates the map data in accordance with the movement of the vehicle, and a waiting space detection unit that detects a waiting space where the vehicle can wait based on the map data, and generates waiting space information that is information about the detected waiting space and is used to set a waiting route for the vehicle to wait in order to pass an oncoming vehicle.

[0004] In addition, JP 2019-53646 A (Patent Document 2) discloses a vehicle control device that includes a recognition unit that recognizes the road environment including other vehicles present around the host vehicle and waiting spaces around the host vehicle, a passing vehicle determination unit that determines whether or not there is a specific other vehicle that will pass the host vehicle on a one-lane road among the other vehicles recognized by the recognition unit, and a waiting necessity determination unit that determines whether or not it is necessary for the host vehicle or the specific other vehicle to move to a waiting space based on the road environment, for the specific other vehicle determined to exist by the passing vehicle determination unit. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-151177 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2019-53646 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Incidentally, the vehicle control device described in Patent Document 1 searches for a wide waiting space to pass an oncoming vehicle on a narrow road environment, and uses that space to take turns driving with the oncoming vehicle to pass each other. In addition, the vehicle control device described in Patent Document 2 determines the driving behavior of whether the vehicle or the oncoming vehicle should wait based on the driving speed of the oncoming vehicle and the relative position of the vehicle.

[0007] However, the vehicle control devices in Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not describe a specific method for determining a driving action plan and updating a driving procedure for resuming driving after the host vehicle has performed an evacuation action. Therefore, there is a demand for an appropriate method for updating a driving procedure for resuming driving after the host vehicle has performed an evacuation action.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method that are provided with a function for appropriately setting a driving procedure for resuming driving after the host vehicle has performed an evacuation maneuver. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention relates to an area candidate determination unit that determines a passable area that is an area that the host vehicle and the moving object around the host vehicle can pass through on a road that has an area that the host vehicle and the moving object around the host vehicle cannot pass through; an action plan determination unit that determines an action plan indicating a sequence of action steps of the host vehicle; a trajectory generating unit that generates a travel trajectory of the host vehicle in the passable area; a behavior plan update unit capable of updating a behavior plan based on a position of the moving object within the passable area and the traveling trajectory of the host vehicle generated by the trajectory generation unit; and a driving control unit that controls driving of the vehicle according to the action plan. It is characterized by:

[0010] The present invention also provides a method for producing a semiconductor device comprising the steps of: A vehicle control device that sets a driving behavior of a host vehicle when the host vehicle travels along a narrow road on which the host vehicle and an oncoming vehicle cannot travel in opposite directions at the same time, The vehicle control device includes at least an area candidate determination unit that determines a passable area that exists on a narrow road and is an area where the host vehicle and an oncoming vehicle can pass each other and pass through; an action plan determination unit that sets a driving action of the host vehicle and determines an action plan including a plurality of action steps in which an execution order of the driving action is set; a travel trajectory generation unit that generates a travel trajectory of the host vehicle from the host vehicle to the passable area and beyond the passable area; an action plan update unit that updates the action steps up to the passable area to action steps beyond the passable area when a first condition that an oncoming vehicle is present in the passable area and a second condition that a travel trajectory of the host vehicle beyond the passable area can be generated are satisfied by the execution of the action steps; and a driving control unit that performs driving actions of the vehicle in accordance with the updated action steps. It is characterized by: Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle control device having a function for appropriately setting a driving procedure for resuming driving after the host vehicle has performed an evacuation maneuver. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle system to which the present invention is applied; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the relationship between control functions of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3a]FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a collaborative action plan of an action plan data group. [Figure 3b] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a host vehicle action plan of an action plan data group. [Figure 4a] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example (one location) of a region candidate data group. [Figure 4b] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example (two locations) of a region candidate data group. [Diagram 5] 3 is a flowchart illustrating the processing contents of the action plan update unit shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 6a] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the first half of a behavior plan update process by the behavior plan update unit in a first operation example (general scene). [Figure 6b] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a second half of the behavior plan updating process by the behavior plan updating unit in the first operation example (general scene). [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a behavior plan update process of the behavior plan update unit in a second operation example (unexpected situation). [Figure 8a] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a behavior plan updating process of the behavior plan updating unit in a first scene in which the behavior plan is not updated. [Figure 8b] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a behavior plan updating process of the behavior plan updating unit in a first scene in which the behavior plan is not updated. [Figure 9a] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a behavior plan update process of the behavior plan update unit in a first scene in which a plurality of passable area candidates exist. [Figure 9b] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a second half of the behavior plan updating process of the behavior plan updating section in a second scene in which a plurality of passable area candidates exist. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and various modifications and application examples within the technical concept of the present invention are also included within its scope.

[0014] [Overall system configuration] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle system 1 including a vehicle control device 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] The vehicle system 1 is installed in the vehicle 2, and has the function of providing appropriate driving assistance and driving control after checking the condition of the road around the vehicle 2 and obstacles such as surrounding vehicles.

[0016] 1, the vehicle system 1 includes a vehicle control device 3, an external sensor group 4, a vehicle sensor group 5, a map information management device 6, an actuator group 7, an HMI device group 8, and an external communication device 9. The vehicle control device 3, the external sensor group 4, the vehicle sensor group 5, the map information management device 6, the actuator group 7, the HMI device group 8, and the external communication device 9 are connected to each other via an in-vehicle network N.

[0017] The external sensor group 4, the vehicle sensor group 5, the map information management device 6, the actuator group 7, the HMI device group 8, and the external communication device 9 will be described in detail later. In the following description, the vehicle 2 may be referred to as the "own vehicle" in order to distinguish it from other vehicles.

[0018] The vehicle control device 3 is an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) mounted on the vehicle 2, and generates driving control information for driving assistance or automatic driving of the vehicle 2 based on various input information provided from an external sensor group 4, a vehicle sensor group 5, a map information management device 6, an external communication device 9, etc., and outputs the information to an actuator group 7 and an HMI device group 8. The vehicle control device 3 has a processing unit 10, a storage unit 30, and a communication unit 40.

[0019] The processing unit 10 includes, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), which is a central processing unit. However, in addition to the CPU, the processing unit may include a graphics processing unit (GPU), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or the like, or may be composed of any one of them.

[0020] The processing unit 10 has, as control functions, an information acquisition unit 11, an area candidate determination unit 12, an action plan determination unit 13, a trajectory determination unit 14, an action plan update unit 15, a travel control unit 16, and an information output unit 17. The processing unit 10 can realize these functions by executing a predetermined control program stored in the storage unit 30.

[0021] The information acquisition unit 11 acquires various pieces of information from other devices connected to the vehicle control device 3 via the in-vehicle network N, and stores the information in the storage unit 30.

[0022] For example, information related to the behavior of the vehicle 2, such as the movement and state, detected by the vehicle sensor group 5, etc., is acquired and stored in the storage unit 30 as a vehicle information data group 31. In addition, information related to the road environment on which the vehicle 2 travels is acquired from the map information management device 6, the external communication device 9, etc., and stored in the storage unit 30 as a road environment data group 32. In addition, information related to obstacles around the vehicle 2 detected by the external sensor group 4 and the detection area of ​​the external sensor group 4 is acquired and stored in the storage unit 30 as a sensor recognition data group 33.

[0023] The area candidate determination unit 12 determines a passable area (corresponding to a waiting space) in which the vehicle itself and a moving object (e.g., another vehicle, hereinafter specifically referred to as an oncoming vehicle) can pass by traveling together in opposite directions on a road where an area where passing is impossible exists, based on the sensor recognition data group 33 acquired by the information acquisition unit 11. Note that the moving object is not limited to another vehicle, and various moving objects exist. For example, a bicycle, a cart, etc., are included.

[0024] A passable area is, for example, a road area that is wide enough for at least one vehicle and an oncoming vehicle to pass each other. Since there may be multiple passable areas on an impassable road, the area candidate determination unit 12 can identify multiple passable areas.

[0025] Furthermore, if high-precision map information of the surrounding environment managed by the map information management device 6 includes evacuation information such as passable areas, the information on the passable areas may be obtained by referring to the high-precision map information.

[0026] Furthermore, for example, even on a narrow road where there is no oncoming vehicle, a search for a passable area may be performed and the passable area may be stored in advance assuming that an oncoming vehicle will be detected in the future. Then, when an oncoming vehicle to be passed appears in the future, the information on the passable area stored in advance may be referenced and identified as a candidate for the passable area. In this way, the calculation time can be shortened. The information on the passable area determined by the area candidate determination unit 12 is stored in the storage unit 30 as an area candidate data group 34.

[0027] The behavior plan determination unit 13 determines oncoming vehicles that are to be targets for cooperative behavior around the vehicle based on each of the vehicle information data group 31, the road environment data group 32, the sensor recognition data group 33, and the area candidate data group 35 determined by the area candidate determination unit 12, and determines a driving behavior plan for executing cooperative driving behavior with the oncoming vehicles.

[0028] For example, when an oncoming vehicle faces another vehicle on a narrow road and passing each other is required, the oncoming vehicle is determined as a target vehicle for the cooperative driving action, and the cooperative driving action is planned based on the respective positional relationships between the position of the vehicle itself, the position of the oncoming vehicle, and the position of the passable area included in the area candidate data group 35. The driving action plan may also be determined by referring to a database or the like in which several patterns of the positional relationships between the vehicle itself, the oncoming vehicle, and the passable area are determined in advance. In this way, the "driving action plan" represents the driving action of how the vehicle is to be driven, taking into account the driving of the vehicle itself and the oncoming vehicle.

[0029] Here, a driving behavior plan is composed of a combination of multiple consecutive "action steps." These action steps represent the driving behavior of the vehicle to a specified location, or to a location where a specified event occurs. Therefore, the entire driving behavior plan can be executed by updating and executing these action steps in order.

[0030] By designating an action step, a control program associated with the action step is executed, and driving control is performed so that the vehicle travels along a pre-calculated driving trajectory.

[0031] Moreover, the travel behavior plan is preferably composed of the planned travel behavior of the host vehicle and the predicted travel behavior of the oncoming vehicle. This will be described with reference to FIG. 3. Then, the host vehicle and the oncoming vehicle each execute the planned travel behavior of each other for each action step, thereby making it possible to eliminate events in which a difficult-to-travel situation occurs, such as passing each other on a narrow road. Note that this embodiment relates to a travel behavior plan for the host vehicle, so the following description will be centered on the host vehicle.

[0032] Here, it is particularly necessary for the vehicle to execute the action steps of the travel action plan in order and update the action steps. As an update condition for this action step, an action step end condition indicating the achievement of the action step being executed can be set. For example, a specific location or a specific area that the vehicle needs to reach in order to achieve the action step can be set. In this embodiment, the action step is updated by determining this end condition. In addition, the end condition of each action step of the travel action plan of the oncoming vehicle may be predicted and set.

[0033] In addition, when a plurality of passable areas are stored in the area candidate data group 35, a target passable area can be determined based on the position of the vehicle itself, the position of an oncoming vehicle, and the positions of the plurality of passable areas to formulate a traveling action plan. The traveling action plan formulated by the action plan determination unit 13 is stored in the storage unit 30 as the action plan data group 35.

[0034] The trajectory determination unit 14 generates a driving trajectory for realizing the vehicle's driving behavior plan based on the vehicle information data group 31 acquired by the information acquisition unit 11, the sensor recognition data group 33, the area candidate data group 34 determined by the area candidate determination unit 12, and the behavior plan data group 35 determined by the behavior plan determination unit 13.

[0035] The travel trajectory is a travel trajectory planned so as not to collide with obstacles, for example, based on moving object information included in the sensor recognition data group 33 and surrounding obstacle information expressed by OGM, etc. For example, a trajectory to a destination or the like that achieves the end condition of each action step included in the vehicle's travel action plan may be generated. Therefore, by connecting the travel trajectories in each action step, it is possible to perform autonomous driving by making the vehicle travel along the travel trajectory.

[0036] Here, the trajectory determination unit 14 always generates a travel trajectory for each action step of the travel action plan of the vehicle. For example, as shown in Fig. 3, when the travel action plan of the vehicle is composed of two action steps, the trajectory determination unit 14 generates a travel trajectory from the current position of the vehicle to the point where the end condition of the first action step is satisfied, and a travel trajectory from the current position of the vehicle to the point where the end condition of the second action step is satisfied.

[0037] This is because, when the action step being executed is updated midway, the running trajectory corresponding to the updated action step is selected and the running trajectory is made to follow the running trajectory. The trajectory information generated by the trajectory determination unit 14 is stored in the storage unit 30 as a trajectory data set 36.

[0038] The behavior plan update unit 15 determines whether or not the currently executed behavior step in the vehicle's driving behavior plan should be updated to another next behavior step based on the sensor recognition information data group 33 acquired by the information acquisition unit 11, the area candidate data group 34 determined by the area candidate determination unit 12, the behavior plan data group 35 determined by the behavior plan determination unit 13, and the trajectory data group 36 generated by the trajectory determination unit 14, and updates to the next behavior step if it is determined that the action step should be updated.

[0039] In this embodiment, the determination as to whether or not to update is made based on the respective positional relationship information between the position of the oncoming vehicle and the position of the passable area, and the establishment of the travel trajectory information of the next action step of the host vehicle. (1) There is an oncoming vehicle in the passable area, and (2) The vehicle's driving trajectory corresponding to action steps other than the currently executed action step is generated correctly (without colliding with oncoming vehicles or other obstacles, etc.). If the above condition is satisfied, it is determined that the traveling action plan should be updated so as to execute an action step corresponding to a generating traveling trajectory.

[0040] In addition, since this update judgment does not depend on the action steps planned by the oncoming vehicle as described above, the following explanation will be directed to the action plan of the vehicle itself. However, if the driving intention of the oncoming vehicle can be predicted with high accuracy, for example, if the action steps of the oncoming vehicle are acquired by vehicle-to-vehicle communication, the predicted information can be used to judge whether or not the driving action plan should be updated.

[0041] Furthermore, the updating of the driving behavior plan can be based on the respective positional relationships between oncoming vehicles, the vehicle itself, and the passable areas in addition to the currently executed driving behavior plan of the vehicle, and can also change only the target passable area of ​​the action step without changing the driving behavior plan of the vehicle itself.

[0042] If it is determined that the action plan should be updated, the action step currently being executed by the vehicle is updated to the new action step. The action plan information updated by the action plan update unit 15 is overwritten and stored as the action plan data group 35 already existing in the storage unit 30.

[0043] The cruise control planning unit 16 determines control command values ​​for the actuator group 7 for controlling the traveling of the host vehicle so as to follow the traveling trajectory, based on the action plan data group 35 planned by the action plan determination unit 13 and updated by the action plan update unit 15, and the trajectory data group 36 generated by the trajectory determination unit 14. Information on the planned trajectory determined by the cruise control planning unit 16 and the control command values ​​for the actuator group 7 are stored in the memory unit 30 as the cruise control data group 37.

[0044] The information output unit 17 outputs various information to other devices connected to the vehicle control device 3 via the in-vehicle network N. For example, the information output unit 17 outputs a control command value included in the driving control data group 37 to the actuator group 7 to control the driving of the host vehicle.

[0045] In addition, for example, the sensor recognition data group 33, the action plan data group 35, the planned trajectory included in the trajectory data group 36, etc. are output to the HMI device group 8 and presented to the occupants of the vehicle. This makes it possible to present to the occupants how the vehicle system 1 interprets the surrounding driving environment (display of the sensor recognition data group 33) and what kind of driving is planned (display of the action plan data group 35 and the action plan and trajectory of the trajectory data group 36) in the vehicle during autonomous driving.

[0046] The storage unit 30 includes, for example, a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a flash memory, a read only memory (ROM), and a memory such as a random access memory (RAM). The storage unit 30 stores programs to be processed by the processing unit 10, data groups required for the processing, and the like. The storage unit 30 is also used as a main memory when the processing unit 10 executes a program, for temporarily storing data required for the calculation of the program.

[0047] In this embodiment, as information for realizing the functions of the vehicle control device 3, a vehicle information data group 31, a road environment data group 32, a sensor recognition data group 33, a region candidate data group 34, an action plan data group 35, a trajectory data group 36, a driving control data group 37, etc. are stored in the memory unit 30.

[0048] The vehicle information data group 31 is a collection of data related to the behavior of the vehicle detected by the vehicle sensor group 5, etc. The data related to the behavior of the vehicle is information that indicates the movement, state, etc. of the vehicle, and includes, for example, information on the position, running speed, steering angle, accelerator operation amount, brake operation amount, running route, etc. of the vehicle.

[0049] The road environment data group 32 is a collection of data related to the road environment around the host vehicle. The data related to the road environment is information related to the roads around the host vehicle, including the road on which the host vehicle is traveling.

[0050] This includes, for example, information on the shape and attributes (travel direction, speed limit, driving regulations, etc.) of the lanes constituting the roads around the vehicle, traffic signal information, traffic information on the traffic conditions (average speed, etc.) of each road and lane, statistical knowledge information based on past cases, etc. Static information such as the shape and attributes of roads and lanes is included in map information acquired from, for example, the map information management device 6.

[0051] On the other hand, semi-dynamic or dynamic information such as traffic signal information, traffic information, and statistical knowledge information is acquired via the external communication device 9. The statistical knowledge information includes, for example, information on geographical locations and time periods where accident cases are frequent, and information on the types of those accidents.

[0052] The sensor recognition data group 33 is a collection of data related to detection information or detection state by the external sensor group 4. The detection information is, for example, information related to environmental elements such as obstacles, road markings, signs, and traffic lights around the vehicle 2 that are identified by the external sensor group 4 based on the sensing information, or the sensing information itself around the vehicle by the external sensor group 4 (point cloud information of LiDAR or RADAR, camera images, parallax images of stereo cameras, etc.). The detection state is information indicating the area detected by the sensor and its accuracy, and includes, for example, a grid map such as OGM.

[0053] The area candidate data group 34 is a set of area candidates that are passable by the vehicle and the moving object on the impassable road determined by the area candidate determination unit 12. The area candidates may include, for example, spaces where the vehicle, the oncoming vehicle, or both vehicles can take shelter. The area candidates may be determined based on, for example, the characteristics of the surrounding environment detected by the external sensor group 4, or may be directly obtained from the high-precision map information if it is included therein.

[0054] In order to maintain consistency between the characteristics of the surrounding environment, which are relative information, and the map information, which are geographic coordinates, the information may be stored, for example, in a relative coordinate system with respect to the vehicle itself, or in an absolute coordinate system such as geographic coordinates.

[0055] For example, when passable area candidates are stored in advance and the passable area is determined by inheriting past driving experience information like an experience value map, it is preferable to store the passable area in a geographic coordinate system. The area characteristics include at least the area identifier, position information, depth width, width width, and inclination information. The area characteristics may further include information such as the upper limit of height and the corresponding lane identifier.

[0056] The action plan data group 35 is action plan information including a driving action plan of the vehicle determined by the action plan determination unit 13. The action plan information is, for example, action steps to be executed and the order of the steps to be executed in order to resolve the occurrence of a difficult driving situation, such as the current passing of the vehicle and an oncoming vehicle.

[0057] The vehicle's travel action plan refers to action steps included in the travel action plan that apply only to the vehicle itself. As described above, action steps refer to the travel actions of the vehicle to be executed in sequence, which are included in the travel action plan, the vehicle's action plan, etc. Specific content of the action plan data will be described in FIG. 3.

[0058] The trajectory data group 36 is a collection of data related to driving trajectory information for controlling the driving of the vehicle, which is determined by the trajectory determination unit 14. The trajectory data group includes a plurality of pieces of trajectory information, in which driving trajectories are generated for each action step of the driving action plan of the vehicle.

[0059] The driving control data group 37 is a data group for following the driving trajectory determined by the trajectory determination unit 14 for the action step currently being executed in the driving action plan of the host vehicle, and includes control command values ​​to be output to the actuator group 7 of the host vehicle, etc. This information in the driving control data group 37 is generated and stored by the driving control unit 16.

[0060] The communication unit 40 has a communication function with other devices connected via the in-vehicle network N. When the information acquisition unit 11 acquires various pieces of information from other devices via the in-vehicle network N, or when the information output unit 17 outputs various pieces of information to other devices via the in-vehicle network N, the communication function of the communication unit 40 is utilized.

[0061] The communication unit 40 includes a network card conforming to a communication standard such as IEEE802.3 or CAN (Controller Area Network), etc. The communication unit 40 transmits and receives data between the vehicle control device 3 and other devices in the vehicle system 1 based on various protocols.

[0062] In this embodiment, the communication unit 40 and the processing unit 10 are described separately, but part of the processing of the communication unit 40 may be executed in the processing unit 10. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which a hardware device equivalent in the communication processing exists in the communication unit 40, and other device drivers, communication protocol processing, and the like exist in the processing unit 10.

[0063] The external sensor group 4 is a collection of devices that detect the state around the vehicle. Examples of the external sensor group 4 include a camera device, a millimeter wave radar, a LiDAR, and a sonar. The external sensor group 4 detects environmental elements such as visible obstacles, road markings, signs, and traffic lights within a predetermined range from the vehicle, and outputs the detection results to the vehicle control device 3 via the in-vehicle network N.

[0064] The "obvious obstacle" is, for example, another vehicle other than the vehicle itself, a pedestrian, an object fallen on the road, a road edge, etc. The "road marking" is, for example, a white line, a pedestrian crossing, a stop line, etc. Furthermore, the external sensor group 4 outputs information on the detection state to the vehicle control device 3 via the in-vehicle network N based on its own sensing range and its state.

[0065] The vehicle sensor group 5 is a collection of devices that detect various conditions of the vehicle. Each vehicle sensor detects, for example, the position information, driving speed, steering angle, accelerator operation amount, brake operation amount, etc. of the vehicle 2, and outputs the information to the vehicle control device 3 via the in-vehicle network N.

[0066] The map information management device 6 is a device that manages and provides digital map information of the surroundings of the vehicle. The map information management device 6 is, for example, a navigation device. The map information management device 6 is, for example, provided with digital road map data of a predetermined area including the surroundings of the vehicle, and is configured to identify the current position of the vehicle on the map, i.e., the road and lane on which the vehicle is traveling, based on the vehicle position information output from the vehicle sensor group 5. In addition, the identified current position of the vehicle and map data of the surroundings are output to the vehicle control device 3 via the in-vehicle network N.

[0067] The actuator group 7 is a device group that controls control elements such as steering, braking, and accelerator that determine the movement of the host vehicle. The actuator group 7 controls the movement of the control elements such as steering, braking, and accelerator based on operation information of the steering wheel, brake pedal, accelerator pedal, etc. by the driver and control command values ​​output from the vehicle control device 3, thereby controlling the behavior of the host vehicle and performing automatic driving.

[0068] The HMI device group 8 is a group of devices for inputting information from the driver and passengers to the vehicle system 1 and notifying the driver and passengers of information from the vehicle system 1. The HMI device group 8 includes a display, a speaker, a vibrator, a switch, etc.

[0069] The external communication device 9 is a communication module that performs wireless communication with the outside of the vehicle system 1. The external communication device 9 is configured to be able to communicate with, for example, a center system (not shown) that provides and distributes services to the vehicle system 1 and the Internet.

[0070] [Explanation of vehicle system operation] Next, the operation of the vehicle system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0071] Based on information acquired from the external sensor group 4 etc., the vehicle control device 3 determines the vehicle's driving behavior plan, as well as the passable area and driving trajectory for determining whether to update the behavior steps, and updates the vehicle's current behavior steps as necessary based on the results of the update determination.

[0072] Then, using a travel trajectory for executing the currently executed action step, a control command value for controlling travel of the host vehicle is generated and output to the actuator group 7. The actuator group 7 controls each actuator of the host vehicle according to the control command value output by the vehicle control device 3. In this way, travel control of the host vehicle is realized.

[0073] Furthermore, the vehicle control device 3 generates HMI information as information to be notified to the driver and passengers when controlling the driving of the vehicle, and outputs the information to the HMI device group 8. This makes it possible to present the state of the vehicle system 1 during automatic driving to the driver and passengers.

[0074] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the correlation of functions realized by the vehicle control device 3. The vehicle control device 3 is configured so that, for example, the processes of the information acquisition unit 11, the area candidate determination unit 12, the action plan determination unit 13, the trajectory determination unit 14, the action plan update unit 15, the travel control unit 16, and the information output unit 17 shown in Fig. 1 are executed in the order shown in Fig. 2. A series of processes is executed periodically by time interruption, for example, every 100 ms.

[0075] The information acquisition unit 11 acquires necessary information from other devices via the in-vehicle network N, and stores it in the storage unit 30. Specifically, it acquires information of a vehicle information data group 31 from the vehicle sensor group 5, information of a road environment data group 32 from the map information management device 6 and the external communication device 9, and information of a sensor recognition data group 33 from the external sensor group 4, stores this information in the storage unit 30, and further passes it to the area candidate determination unit 12 at the subsequent stage.

[0076] Based on information from the sensor recognition data group 33 and the road environment data group 32, the area candidate determination unit 12 identifies candidates for passable areas in narrow roads around the vehicle, stores them in the memory unit 30, and further passes the information on the passable areas to the action plan determination unit 15.

[0077] The action plan determination unit 13 performs processing to generate a driving action plan for resolving the current difficult driving situation such as passing each other, based on each of the vehicle information data group 31, the road environment data group 32, the sensor recognition data group 33, and the area candidate data group 35, stores the plan in the memory unit 30, and further passes it to the trajectory determination unit 14 together with the area candidate data group 34.

[0078] The trajectory determination unit 14 performs a process of generating trajectories for multiple action steps that constitute the vehicle's driving action plan based on each of the vehicle information data group 31, the sensor recognition data group 33, the area candidate data group 34, and the action plan data group 35, stores the trajectories in the memory unit 30, and further passes them to the action plan update unit 15 together with the area candidate data group 34 and the action plan data group 35.

[0079] The behavior plan update unit 15 performs a determination process as to whether or not to update the behavior plan of the vehicle based on each of the sensor recognition information data group 33, the area candidate data group 34, the behavior plan data group 35, and the trajectory data group 36, and updates the behavior plan data group 35 already stored in the memory unit 30.

[0080] This update is an update of the currently executed action step and the next action step to be executed, and is a process of canceling the currently executed action step and executing the next action step instead. At this time, the trajectory data for the currently executed action step included in the action plan of the vehicle is passed to the driving control unit.

[0081] The driving control unit 16 generates control command values ​​and the like for following the driving trajectory of the vehicle based on each of the vehicle information data group 31, the road environment data group 32, the sensor recognition data group 33, and the trajectory data group 36. Then, it performs processing to generate driving control data group 37 from the generated driving trajectory of the vehicle and the control command values, stores the data in the storage unit 30, and further passes the driving control data group 37 to the information output unit 17.

[0082] The information output unit 17 outputs a control command value to the actuator group 7 based on the driving control data group 37. Also, based on each of the sensor recognition data group 33, the area candidate data group 34, the action plan data group 35, the trajectory data group 36, and the driving control data group 37, the information output unit 17 outputs presentation information to the HMI device group 8 for presenting information such as the driving environment around the vehicle, the driving action plan being executed, and the driving trajectory to the occupants of the vehicle.

[0083] [Explanation of the action plan data set] Next, an example of the behavior plan data group 34 will be described. Fig. 3a shows an example of the behavior plan data group 34 called a traveling behavior plan, which includes information about the host vehicle and an oncoming vehicle. This traveling behavior plan also includes the traveling behavior plan of an oncoming vehicle, so it is a cooperative traveling behavior plan for the host vehicle and the oncoming vehicle. Fig. 3b shows an example of a traveling behavior plan for the host vehicle, which is a part of the cooperative behavior plan shown in Fig. 3a.

[0084] Incidentally, the overall driving behavior plan shown in FIG. 3a includes the driving behavior of the host vehicle and an oncoming vehicle, but since the processing of this embodiment (particularly the update processing of the behavior plan update unit 15) does not depend on the driving behavior plan for the oncoming vehicle, the following will explain the case where the driving behavior plan of the host vehicle (host vehicle behavior plan) shown in FIG. 3b is used.

[0085] In the action plan data group 34 in Fig. 3a, each line indicates one action step. As described above, an action step is a driving action performed by the vehicle itself or an oncoming vehicle, and the entire driving action plan is composed of a combination of these action steps. Then, by performing all the action steps in order, it becomes possible to eliminate the occurrence of difficult driving situations such as passing each other.

[0086] These action steps and the order in which they are executed may be determined, for example, based on an algorithm that utilizes the positional relationship between the vehicle's position, the oncoming vehicle's position, and the passable area, or may be determined by referring to a database in which several patterns are predefined.

[0087] A driving action plan, for example, as shown in Figure 3a, (1) an overall action sequence 301 (indicated by 1 to 4) of driving actions that a vehicle and an oncoming vehicle should perform in a coordinated manner; (2) Vehicle ID 302 (indicated as 400 (oncoming vehicle) and 2 (own vehicle)) corresponding to each action step; (3) the sequence of driving actions corresponding to each vehicle ID 303 (indicated as 1, 2); (4) Judgment conditions 304 for judging that the execution of each action step has been completed (indicated by the specific driving state of the vehicle); (5) In the case where there are multiple candidate passable areas, an identifier 305 (denoted by A) of the target passable area to be used for the current driving action; (6) A flag 306 for indicating the currently executed action step for each action step (displayed as YES or NO / applies only to action steps for the vehicle; if YES, the associated control program is executed, and if NO, the execution of the associated control program is stopped). It is composed of the following:

[0088] When the coordinated traveling behavior plan shown in FIG. 3a is updated by the behavior plan update unit 15 due to the satisfaction of the judgment condition 304, for example, the value (data indicating the area) of the target passable area 305 and a flag included in the currently executed behavior step 306 are updated to a value indicating another target passable area, and a flag indicating the currently executed behavior step is updated to a flag indicating the next behavior step.

[0089] The vehicle behavior plan shown in Fig. 3b is a driving behavior plan that extracts only the behavior steps that correspond to the vehicle ID 302 of the vehicle itself, which are included in the coordinated driving coordinated behavior plan shown in Fig. 3a. The vehicle behavior plan represents, for example, the overall behavior sequence 301 and the behavior plan data group 34 excluding the vehicle ID 302, and is an expression used in the description of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0090] [Explanation of passable area] 4a and 4b show examples of passable areas included in the area candidate data group 34. Fig. 4a shows an example where one passable area exists in a narrow road, and Fig. 4b shows an example where multiple passable areas exist. Therefore, when there are multiple passable areas as in Fig. 4b, the appropriate area will be selected.

[0091] 4a shows a situation in which the host vehicle 2 is traveling on a narrow road 401, an oncoming vehicle 400 is traveling on a narrow road 403, and the two vehicles encounter each other facing each other. Between the host vehicle 2 and the oncoming vehicle 400, there is a road area 402 that is wide enough for both vehicles to pass. A passable area candidate 404 is set within that area, including a place where the host vehicle 2 can take shelter. Using this passable area candidate 404, the host vehicle 2 and the oncoming vehicle 400 can pass each other on the narrow road and travel as their respective vehicles.

[0092] Fig. 4b shows a situation in which the host vehicle 2 is traveling on a narrow road 405, the oncoming vehicle 400 is traveling on a narrow road 409, and the two vehicles encounter each other facing each other, as in Fig. 4a. However, in Fig. 4b, there are two candidate passable areas 406 and 408 between the host vehicle 2 and the oncoming vehicle 400, each of which is wide enough for both vehicles to pass through, and they are separated by a narrow road area 407.

[0093] Therefore, in this case, a passable area candidate 404A and a passable area candidate 404B are set. Then, using either the passable area candidate 404A or the passable area candidate 404B, the host vehicle 2 and the oncoming vehicle 400 can pass each other on the narrow road and travel.

[0094] 4a and 4b, the passable area is between the host vehicle 2 and the oncoming vehicle 400, but it may be set behind the host vehicle 2 or behind the oncoming vehicle 400. In this case, one of the vehicles can retreat into the passable area behind it, allowing the two vehicles to pass each other on the narrow road.

[0095] [Control flow of the action plan update process] Next, the action step update process executed by the action plan update unit 15 of the vehicle control device 3 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. In this case, the update of the two action steps shown in Fig. 3b is taken as an example, and the action sequence "1" is the first action step, and the action sequence "2" is the second action step.

[0096] <Step S501> In step S501, data necessary for the update process of the action plan update unit 15 is collected. The data necessary for the update process are the sensor recognition information data group 33 acquired by the information acquisition unit 11, the area candidate data group 34 determined by the area candidate determination unit 12, the action plan data group 35 determined by the action plan determination unit 13, and the trajectory data group 36 generated by the trajectory determination unit 14. When the data collection is completed, the process proceeds to step S502.

[0097] <Step S502> In step S502, execution of a first action step of the action plan of the vehicle, which is included in the action plan data group 35, is started. For example, if an end condition is set for the vehicle, such as "stopping within a passable area," the first step of the action plan is for the vehicle to start taking action to achieve this condition, for example, by starting to travel toward a space in the passable area where the vehicle can take shelter. When execution of the first action step is started, the process proceeds to step S503.

[0098] <Step S503> In step S503, it is confirmed using images from a camera or the like whether or not an oncoming vehicle is present in a target passable area included in the action plan data group 35. Here, the presence of an oncoming vehicle in the passable area means that the oncoming vehicle is present in a place wide enough for both the oncoming vehicle and the vehicle to pass each other, and the first condition for the oncoming vehicle and the vehicle to pass each other is satisfied.

[0099] If the oncoming vehicle is not present in the passable area targeted by the travel behavior plan, the process returns to step S503 and the host vehicle continues to monitor the above conditions while executing the current first action step. On the other hand, if the oncoming vehicle is present in the passable area targeted by the travel behavior plan, the process proceeds to step S504.

[0100] <Step S504> In step S504, among the travel trajectory point sequence included in the trajectory data group 36, the generation state of the travel trajectory for the second action step to be executed by the host vehicle following the first action step currently being executed is confirmed.

[0101] Checking the generation state of the travel trajectory for the second action step means checking the travel trajectory for the second action step if the vehicle is executing the first action step, and checking whether the travel trajectory generated from the trajectory data group 36 has been generated without colliding with surrounding obstacles, etc. Obstacles refer to, for example, stationary obstacles such as walls and curbs, and moving objects such as pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles.

[0102] In step S504, if a termination condition such as "passing through the passable area" is set, it is confirmed whether or not the host vehicle can travel to pass through the passable area after the condition in step S503 that an oncoming vehicle exists in the passable area is satisfied. This can be determined by whether or not a travel trajectory can be generated.

[0103] If the robot collides with an obstacle and is unable to satisfy the end condition for the next second action step, the process returns to step S503 and moves to the condition confirmation process again. On the other hand, if the robot does not collide with an obstacle and is able to satisfy the end condition for the next second action step, the process moves to step S505.

[0104] <Step S505> In the final step S505, the action plan is updated so that the host vehicle executes the second action step following the first action step currently being executed. Updating the action plan means updating the information included in the action plan data group 35 shown in Fig. 3b and overwriting and storing it in the storage unit 30. In the case of the control flow shown in Fig. 5, the information to be updated is the flag information of the currently executed action step 306 in Fig. 3b.

[0105] In Fig. 3b, when the first action step is being executed in step S502, the flag information of the first action step is "YES" and the flag information of the second action step is "NO". Meanwhile, in step S505, the flag information of the first action step is updated to "NO" and the flag information of the second action step is updated to "YES". Therefore, the second action step is executed instead of the first action step.

[0106] Also, for example, when the area candidate data group 34 includes multiple passable areas as shown in Figure 4b, information on the target passable area 305 shown in Figure 3b may also be updated in step S505 based on changes in the positional relationship between the host vehicle, the oncoming vehicle, and the passable areas.

[0107] [First operation example: Explanation of updating the action plan in a general situation] Next, the specific operation of the update process of the action plan update unit 15 described in Fig. 5 will be described with reference to Fig. 6. In the example shown in Fig. 6, the driving action plan of the host vehicle is composed of two action steps shown in Fig. 3b, Fig. 6a shows an example of executing a first action step 602, and Fig. 6b shows an example of updating to and executing a second action step 605. In other words, the driving action of the host vehicle passing an oncoming vehicle is shown.

[0108] In Fig. 6a, the host vehicle 2 encounters an oncoming vehicle 600 on a narrow road. In step S501 in Fig. 5, information required to pass another vehicle on the narrow road is collected. In step S502, the host vehicle 2 starts executing a first action step 602 in which the host vehicle 2 aims at the passable area 601 and retreats within the passable area 601. In the second action step 605, the flag information is "NO", and control corresponding to this second action step 605 is not executed.

[0109] Therefore, the first action step 602 is enabled (flag information of YES) as the currently executed action step. Then, the host vehicle 2 retreats within the passable area 601, and a travel trajectory 603 is generated so that the host vehicle 2 leaves a sufficient space for the oncoming vehicle 600.

[0110] The travel trajectory 603 may be generated, for example, by predicting the specific travel behavior and travel intention of the oncoming vehicle 600 so as not to obstruct the passing route of the oncoming vehicle 600. In addition, if included in the map information, the travel trajectory 603 may be generated so as to stop the vehicle in a turning-off area by using turning-off area information present in the passable area.

[0111] FIG. 6b shows a passing driving situation in which the host vehicle 2 executes a first action step 602, reaches a passable area 601 as a target, and waits in this passable area 601 to allow an oncoming vehicle 600 to pass.

[0112] 5, a determination is made as to whether or not an oncoming vehicle 600 is present within the passable area 601, and a determination is made as to whether or not the host vehicle 2 can generate a travel trajectory 604 for satisfying the next second action step 605, based on the determination condition in step S504. The host vehicle 2 performs travel behavior while continuously monitoring these two determination conditions.

[0113] Then, since the two judgment conditions described above are already satisfied in Fig. 6b as a result of the traveling behavior, the process proceeds to step S505 in Fig. 5, where the second action step 605 is enabled and the action plan is updated. In Fig. 6b, the flag information of the first action step 602 is updated from "YES" to "NO", and the flag information of the second action step 605 is updated from "NO" to "YES" (i.e., the flag information of "YES" is transitioned from the action step 602 to the action step 605 as indicated by the arrow 606). Then, as soon as the flag information of the second action step 605 becomes enabled (YES), the host vehicle 2 starts traveling so as to follow the traveling trajectory 604 that satisfies the second action step 605.

[0114] The timing of updating to the second action step 605 may be changed by adding the driving intention prediction information of the oncoming vehicle 600. For example, in the situation shown in Fig. 6a, if it is possible to predict the driving intention of the oncoming vehicle 600 to back up and enter a parking space or the like at the edge of a narrow road, the action plan may be updated so as to update after the oncoming vehicle 600 enters the parking space or the like, rather than the timing shown in Fig. 6b. In this case, blinking information of a turn signal or the like may be used as the driving intention prediction information. The driving intention prediction information may also be acquired by communicating with the oncoming vehicle (vehicle-to-vehicle communication).

[0115] In this way, the vehicle control device 3 can also be equipped with a behavior estimation unit (driving intention prediction information estimation unit) that estimates the behavior (driving intention prediction information) of oncoming vehicles (which may include bicycles, carts, etc.), and the behavior plan update unit 15 can decide whether or not to update the behavior plan depending on the estimation result of the behavior estimation unit.

[0116] Then, as soon as the host vehicle 2 satisfies the termination condition of the second action step 605 (determination that the host vehicle 2 has passed through the passable area), the passing travel with the oncoming vehicle 600 is completed.

[0117] [Second example: Explanation of updating the action plan in an unexpected situation] Next, using Fig. 7, another specific operation of the update process of the action plan update unit 15 described in Fig. 5 will be described. Fig. 7 shows an example of a case where another unexpected situation occurs when performing the update process described in Fig. 6b.

[0118] FIG. 7 shows a situation in which a pedestrian 702 crosses a narrow road behind the host vehicle 2 as an oncoming vehicle 700 is about to pass through the passable area 701 after the host vehicle 2 has parked within the passable area 701.

[0119] When a pedestrian 702 crosses in front of an oncoming vehicle 700, the oncoming vehicle 700 cannot travel through the passable area 701 and transitions to travel behavior after waiting for the pedestrian 702 to cross the narrow road. In contrast, the update process of the travel behavior plan of the host vehicle 2 does not depend on the travel behavior of the oncoming vehicle 700, and therefore whether or not to update is determined based on the judgment conditions in steps S503 and S504 in Fig. 5, so that the behavior steps of the host vehicle 2 can be updated. This allows the host vehicle 2 to continue traveling smoothly.

[0120] In Fig. 7, since the oncoming vehicle 700 is present within the passable area 701, the judgment condition in step S503 in Fig. 5 is satisfied. Furthermore, in Fig. 7, since the host vehicle 2 can generate a travel trajectory 703 for the next second action step 706, the judgment condition in step S504 is also satisfied. Since these two judgment conditions are satisfied, in the update process in step S505, the action step being executed is updated from the first action step 705 to the second action step 706, as indicated by the arrow 704. Note that it is also possible to delay the timing of updating the action step by, for example, acquiring driving intention prediction information of the oncoming vehicle 700 through vehicle-to-vehicle communication or the like.

[0121] 7 illustrates a situation in which the oncoming vehicle 700 cannot pass through the passable area due to the appearance of the pedestrian 702, but the action steps may be updated based on other factors or a prediction of the intention of the factor. For example, if a following vehicle suddenly appears behind the host vehicle 2 instead of the pedestrian 702 and it is determined that the oncoming vehicle 700 cannot pass, the action steps of the host vehicle 2 may be updated or the timing of the update may be determined taking into consideration the driving intention and positional relationship of the following vehicle, etc.

[0122] Specifically, the action steps of the host vehicle 2 may be updated so that the host vehicle 2 and the oncoming vehicle 700 can be stopped in parallel. In this case, the evacuation space for the host vehicle 2 may be determined based on the shape of the passable area.

[0123] [Explanation for cases where the conditions for updating the action plan are not met] Next, using Fig. 8, another specific operation of the update process of the action plan update unit 15 described in Fig. 5 will be described. Fig. 8 shows an example of a case where a situation occurs in which the judgment conditions in steps S503 and S504 in Fig. 5 are not satisfied.

[0124] Fig. 8a shows a situation in which the first action step included in the driving action plan of the vehicle 2 is being executed and the vehicle 2 is evacuated within the passable area 801. In Fig. 8a, an oncoming vehicle 800 is traveling on a narrow road, but is unable to reach the passable area 801 and is not present within the passable area 801. Therefore, the condition of step S503 in Fig. 5 is not satisfied and the action plan is not updated.

[0125] Incidentally, the process of step S504 is not executed, but if it were executed, the condition of step S504 would be satisfied since a travel trajectory for passing through the passable area 801 of the vehicle 2 would be generated. However, in order to update the action plan, the two judgment conditions of step S503 and step S504 must be satisfied, so the action step would not be updated.

[0126] FIG. 8b is a continuation of FIG. 8a, and shows a situation in which an oncoming vehicle 800 is moving through the passable area 801. In this situation, since the oncoming vehicle 800 is present within the passable area 801, the judgment condition of step S503 is satisfied. However, since a travel trajectory 803 for the host vehicle 2 to pass through the passable area 801 interferes with the oncoming vehicle 800, it is not generated correctly, and the judgment condition of step S504 is not satisfied. As a result, since the two conditions are not satisfied at the same time, the action plan is not updated.

[0127] [Explanation of updating the action plan when there are multiple passable area candidates] Next, with reference to Fig. 9, another specific operation of the update process of the action plan update unit 15 described in Fig. 5 will be described. Fig. 9 shows an example in which a plurality of passable areas exist around the vehicle 2, and a target passable area is updated during traveling.

[0128] In FIG. 9a, for example, based on the positional relationship between the host vehicle 2, the oncoming vehicle 900, the passable area 902A, and the passable area 902B, the action plan determination unit 13 determines an action plan for the host vehicle 2 to take shelter within the passable area 902B.

[0129] 5, a travel trajectory 901 for travelling into the passable area 902B is generated by the first action step, and the host vehicle 2 starts travelling by following the travel trajectory 901. However, in this state, the situation shown in FIG. 9b may occur.

[0130] That is, this is the case when the host vehicle 2 and the corresponding vehicle 900 reach the exits of two passable areas 902A and 902B. In this state, there is a risk that they will not be able to pass each other.

[0131] 9b, for example, while the host vehicle 2 is traveling following the travel trajectory 901, it is determined that the oncoming vehicle 900 has passed through the passable area 902B based on the positional relationship between the oncoming vehicle 900 and the passable area 902B. In this case, the target passable area (see FIG. 3b) in the action plan of the host vehicle 2 may be updated from "902B" to "902A".

[0132] This changes the target passable area of ​​the first action step currently being executed by the vehicle 2, and a travel trajectory 903 is generated to satisfy the termination condition of the action step, "stop within the passable area" (see FIG. 3b). In this case, the vehicle 2 may travel backwards to follow the travel trajectory 903, for example, as shown in FIG. 9b.

[0133] Furthermore, in order to satisfy the termination condition of the action step as described above, for example, it is possible to use predicted information of oncoming vehicles, etc., to determine the stopping position and posture of the vehicle so as not to impede the oncoming vehicle, and generate a driving trajectory to achieve that position and posture (e.g., stopping diagonally).

[0134] The above-described embodiment is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited thereto. In other words, the present invention can be applied in various ways, and all embodiments are included in the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the passable area is a road area having a width sufficient for the vehicle and an oncoming vehicle to pass through, so that in some cases, a part of an intersection, a subordinate road, or a sidewalk may be used to determine the passable area.

[0135] For example, in the above embodiment, the end condition of the action step of the host vehicle may be a point indicated in a geographic coordinate system, or may be an area expressed in coordinates relative to the host vehicle.

[0136] For example, in the above embodiment, the passable area may be constantly searched for and stored during normal driving, and when an oncoming vehicle is encountered in the future, the passable area that has been stored in advance may be used to determine whether or not to update the action plan and to generate a trajectory.

[0137] For example, in the above embodiment, the external communication device 9 may be used to communicate with an oncoming vehicle using wireless communication means or the like to understand the driving intention of the oncoming vehicle and notify the oncoming vehicle of the intention of the own vehicle to avoid the oncoming vehicle.

[0138] For example, in the above embodiment, when traveling into or exiting a passable area, the vehicle may communicate its intention to travel to the target oncoming vehicle or nearby oncoming vehicles using visual means such as a turn signal or auditory means such as voice.

[0139] For example, in the above embodiment, in order to convey the driving intention, notices, and the like to the user riding in the vehicle, drawings, characters, and the like may be output via the HMI device group 8 to convey the information.

[0140] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modified examples. The above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described. In addition, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. It is also possible to add, delete, or replace other configurations with respect to the configuration of each embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0141] 1...vehicle system, 2...vehicle, 3...vehicle control device, 4...external sensor group, 5...vehicle sensor group, 6...map information management device, 7...actuator group, 8...HMI device group, 9...external communication device, 10...processing unit, 11...information acquisition unit, 12...area candidate determination unit, 13...action plan determination unit, 14...trajectory determination unit, 15...action plan update unit, 16...driving control unit, 17...information output unit, 30...memory unit, 31...vehicle information data group, 32...road environment data group, 33...sensor recognition data group, 34...area candidate data group, 35...action plan data group, 36...trajectory data group, 37...driving control data group, 40...communication unit, N...in-vehicle network.

Claims

1. an area candidate determination unit that determines a passable area that is an area that the host vehicle and the moving object around the host vehicle can pass through on a road that has an area that the host vehicle and the moving object cannot pass through; an action plan determination unit that determines an action plan indicating a sequence of action steps of the host vehicle; a trajectory generation unit that generates a travel trajectory of the host vehicle in the passable area; a behavior plan update unit that updates the behavior plan based on a position of the moving object within the passable area and the traveling trajectory of the host vehicle generated by the trajectory generation unit; a driving control unit that controls driving of the host vehicle according to the action plan, When the moving object is present within the passable area and the travel trajectory for the host vehicle to exit the passable area can be generated, the action plan update unit updates the action plan using the travel trajectory, and The action plan update unit updates the action plan so that the action step in which the host vehicle travels along the travel trajectory generated by the trajectory generation unit and exits the passable area is set as the action step to be executed next to the action step currently being executed. A vehicle control device comprising:

2. In the vehicle control device according to claim 1, When the region candidate determination unit determines a plurality of passable regions, the action plan update unit determines whether or not to update the action plan by using a passable region among the plurality of passable regions through which the host vehicle and the moving body pass. A vehicle control device comprising:

3. In the vehicle control device described in claim 1, A behavior estimation unit that estimates a behavior of at least one of the moving body and a surrounding object of the host vehicle, The behavior plan update unit determines whether or not to update the behavior plan depending on the estimation result of the behavior estimation unit. A vehicle control device comprising:

4. A vehicle control device that sets a driving behavior when a vehicle travels on a narrow road where the vehicle and an oncoming vehicle cannot travel in opposite directions, comprising: The vehicle control device includes at least an area candidate determination unit that determines a passable area that exists on the narrow road and is an area where the host vehicle and the oncoming vehicle can pass each other; an action plan determination unit that sets the traveling behavior of the host vehicle and determines an action plan including a plurality of action steps in which an execution order of the traveling behavior is set; a travel trajectory generation unit that generates a travel trajectory of the host vehicle from the host vehicle to the passable area and beyond the passable area; an action plan update unit that updates the action steps up to the passable area to the action steps beyond the passable area when a first condition that the oncoming vehicle is present in the passable area and a second condition that the traveling trajectory of the host vehicle beyond the passable area can be generated are satisfied by the execution of the action steps; a driving control unit that performs the driving action of the host vehicle in accordance with the updated action steps. A vehicle control device comprising:

5. A vehicle control method for a vehicle control device that sets a driving behavior of a host vehicle when the host vehicle travels along a narrow road on which the host vehicle and an oncoming vehicle cannot travel in opposite directions, comprising: The vehicle control device includes: determining a passable area that exists on the narrow road and that is an area where the host vehicle and the oncoming vehicle can pass each other; determining a driving action of the host vehicle and determining an action plan including a plurality of action steps in which an execution order of the driving action is set; generating a travel trajectory of the host vehicle from the host vehicle to the passable area and beyond the passable area; updating the action steps up to the passable area to the action steps beyond the passable area when a first condition that the oncoming vehicle is present in the passable area and a second condition that the travel trajectory of the host vehicle beyond the passable area can be generated are satisfied by executing the action steps; and executing the driving action of the host vehicle according to the updated action steps. A vehicle control method for a vehicle control device comprising:

Images