Design supporting method, design supporting system, and program

Abstract

To provide a design supporting system capable of designing an ODD (Operational Design Domain) for suppressing development cost increase of automatic driving services and enhancing an important performance evaluation index of an entrepreneur.SOLUTION: A design support system comprises: an automatic driving control function database; an area environment data generation unit; an automatic driving ODD automatic definition unit for generating and outputting an operational design domain to be an environment constraint condition; an ODD adjustment unit which changes the operational design domain based on an evaluation result of an automatic driving control function specification; an automatic driving control system evaluation unit which evaluates the operational design domain on the basis of a client request; and a KPI evaluation unit which generates a client request evaluation expression for evaluating an important performance evaluation index of a client and outputs the operational design domain and the important performance evaluation index of the client. The ODD adjustment unit adds a change to the operational design domain so as to improve it more than a value of the client request evaluation expression, and the KPI evaluation unit outputs an enhanced value of the important performance evaluation index of the client on the basis of the changed operational design domain.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a design support method, a design support system, and a program for the operational design domain (ODD) of a control system for automatically driving a transport robot, an automobile, or other work vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, control systems have been developed to realize automated driving of automobiles and automated driving of various industrial vehicles such as transport robots and construction machines. The automation of industrial vehicles is expected to reduce costs by unmanning the site and improve work efficiency by standardizing work efficiency. In addition, automated driving of automobiles is expected to improve traffic congestion and reduce accidents.

[0003] The configuration and specifications of control systems to achieve automation vary widely depending on the target vehicle and the environment in which it operates, and designing them requires know-how such as adjusting the vehicle's control characteristics and its performance to suit the environment, which requires a significant amount of labor.

[0004] In particular, to align the vehicle's control characteristics with its environmental performance, it is necessary to define the ODD, which is the environmental condition that guarantees the operation of the autonomous driving control system. However, it is also costly for development engineers to investigate the environment in which the autonomous vehicle will be introduced and confirm its compatibility with the specifications of the autonomous driving control system.

[0005] A design support system described in Patent Document 1 is known as a method for defining and updating an ODD. Patent Document 1 describes a technology for creating a data set from an environmental map and defining an ODD for a condition space through a safety evaluation of an autonomous driving control system. In addition, the defined ODD can be updated when additional data is received. This type of design support system can automatically define an ODD from an environmental map without relying on individual know-how, thereby reducing the number of people required for development and development costs. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] WO2021147301A1 publication Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] According to the design support system described in Patent Document 1, which defines ODD based on reliability evaluation (such as availability) from environmental data sets, the ODD that matches the environment in which the autonomous driving service is provided requires an autonomous driving control system with high functionality, which may not satisfy the key performance indicators indicated by the operator of the autonomous driving service. For example, this may result in increased development costs or reduced availability.

[0008] For this reason, the present invention aims to provide a design support method, design support system, and program that can design an ODD that suppresses increases in development costs for autonomous driving services and improves business owner key performance indicators. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In view of the above, in the present invention, "a design support system that receives environmental data from an environmental measurement device that measures the environment of a service provision area managed by a customer and customer requests and outputs an improvement value of the customer's key performance indicator, comprising: an automatic driving control function database that stores a program for automatic driving control of a vehicle traveling in the service provision area; an area environmental data generation unit that has an area digital map generation unit that generates a digital map of the service provision area using the environmental data; an automatic driving ODD automatic definition unit that generates and outputs a driving design area that is an environmental constraint condition for operating an automatic driving service from information on the digital map; and an automatic driving control program that generates and outputs an automatic driving design area that is an environmental constraint condition for operating an automatic driving service from information on the digital map. The design support system is characterized in that it comprises an ODD adjustment unit that evaluates the fulfillment of the operation control function specifications and changes the operation design domain based on the evaluation results, an automatic driving control system evaluation unit that evaluates the operation design domain based on customer requirements, and a KPI evaluation unit that generates a customer requirement evaluation formula that evaluates a customer's key performance indicator based on the customer requirements, calculates the customer requirement evaluation formula based on the value output from the automatic driving control system evaluation unit, and outputs the operation design domain and the customer's key performance indicator, wherein the ODD adjustment unit makes changes to the operation design domain so as to improve it over the previous value of the customer requirement evaluation formula based on the value of the customer requirement evaluation formula calculated and output by the KPI evaluation unit, and the KPI evaluation unit outputs an improved value of the customer's key performance indicator based on the changed operation design domain.

[0010] In addition, in the present invention, "a design support method for obtaining environmental data from an environmental measurement device that measures the environment of a service provision area managed by a customer and a customer request, and outputting an improvement value of the customer's key performance indicator using a computer device, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing an automatic driving control function database that stores an automatic driving control program for automatic driving control of a vehicle traveling in the service provision area; (b) using the environmental data, a calculation unit of the computer device generates a digital map of the service provision area, and generates an operation design area that is an environmental constraint condition for operating an automatic driving service from the information of the digital map, and applies the automatic driving control program to the operation design area; a design support method for evaluating the fulfillment of automatic driving control function specifications stored in pairs, modifying an operation design domain based on the evaluation results, evaluating the operation design domain based on customer requirements, generating a customer requirements evaluation formula for evaluating the customer's key performance indicators based on the customer requirements, calculating the customer requirements evaluation formula based on values ​​output from the automatic driving control system evaluation unit, obtaining the operation design domain and the customer's key performance indicators, modifying the operation design domain so as to improve the value of the customer requirements evaluation formula based on the value of the customer requirements evaluation formula, and obtaining an improved value of the customer's key performance indicator based on the modified operation design domain.

[0011] Furthermore, in the present invention, "a design support program for outputting an improvement value of a key performance indicator of a customer by receiving environmental data from an environmental measurement device that measures the environment of a service provision area managed by a customer and customer requests, the design support program including an automatic driving control function program that is an automatic driving control program for automatic driving control of a vehicle traveling in the service provision area; an area environmental data generation program having an area digital map generation unit that generates a digital map of the service provision area using the environmental data; an automatic driving ODD automatic definition program that generates and outputs a driving design area that is an environmental constraint condition for operating an automatic driving service from information on the digital map; and an automatic driving control function specification that evaluates the satisfaction of the automatic driving control function specification stored in the automatic driving control program in pairs with respect to the driving design area and outputs an evaluation result. a KPI evaluation program that generates a customer requirement evaluation formula for evaluating a customer's key performance indicators based on the customer requirements, calculates the customer requirement evaluation formula based on the value output from the automatic driving control system evaluation program, and outputs the operation design area and the customer's key performance indicators, wherein the ODD adjustment program modifies the operation design area so as to improve it over the previous value of the customer requirement evaluation formula based on the value of the customer requirement evaluation formula calculated and output by the KPI evaluation program, and the KPI evaluation program outputs an improved value of the customer's key performance indicators based on the modified operation design area. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, a design support system can be provided that can automatically design an ODD that can improve the key performance indicators of the business operator, whereas conventionally, automated driving was only provided under an ODD based on the environment in which the automated driving service is provided. This makes it possible to provide an automated driving service that improves the key performance indicators of the business operator. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a design support system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an automated transport area providing cargo transport services. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a shape digital map. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of an automatic driving control function database. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a traceability table showing the relationship between autonomous driving control function data, ODD items, and KPI values. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a design support method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 shows an example of how the output of the design support system 1 is used. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a work site providing freight transportation services. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a work site after an environment change. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a public highway environment in which freight transportation services are provided. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a traceability table. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the design support method, the design support system, and the program according to the embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to a design example of an automatic cargo transport service in a logistics warehouse using an automatic transport vehicle.

[0015] The present invention can be applied to the design of general services related to machines capable of autonomous driving in a specific environment, and the application of the present invention is not limited to automated guided vehicle services.

[0016] In the following, in Example 1, a design support method and a basic configuration of a design support system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described, in Example 2, a case where the service area is a work site will be described, in Example 3, a case where the service area is a general public road will be described, and in Example 4, a program for the design support system will be described. EXAMPLES

[0017] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a design support system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment 1, a design support system 1 applied to the construction of an automatic transport service for cargo in a logistics warehouse (area) 10 using an automatic transport vehicle will be described.

[0018] The design support system 1 in Figure 1 includes an area environmental data generation unit 3, an autonomous driving control function database DB, an autonomous driving control system evaluation unit 5, a customer information input unit 6, an autonomous driving ODD automatic definition unit 7, an ODD adjustment unit 8, and a KPI evaluation unit 9, and provides design support by importing the output of an environmental measurement device 2 from an external logistics warehouse (area) 10 and customer requirements.

[0019] The design support system 1, which is composed of a computer device, holds a design support program for automatically designing an ODD for an autonomous vehicle in an internal ROM, and the design support method is realized by executing processing according to the program in a CPU. The program will be described in Example 5.

[0020] The configuration shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail below. Since there are parts of the present invention shown in thick lines and parts of the existing technology shown in thin lines, the parts of the existing technology shown in thin lines will be described first.

[0021] The design support system 1 is connected to the environmental measuring device 2 via a signal line, and acquires environmental information D1 of the area 10 for which the design support system 1 provides services. The area 10 for which the services are provided is, for example, an automated transport area for which a cargo transport service is provided as shown in FIG. 2. Trucks 18 enter and leave the automated transport area 10 from the outside, and cargo is carried in and out between the trucks 18 and a cargo storage area 16 by a forklift 17. Furthermore, the cargo in the cargo storage area 16 is moved by an automated transport vehicle 11 along a route that avoids obstacles such as shelves 12 within the automated transport service provision area 15, and the cargo is transported to an appropriate storage location as instructed.

[0022] The automated guided vehicle 11 is equipped with a camera or LiDAR as an environmental measurement device 2B, and cameras or LiDARs are placed as fixed environmental measurement devices 2A at appropriate locations within the area 10, and these are used to grasp the environment within the area. Environmental information D1 measured by these environmental measurement devices 2A and 2B is transmitted to the design support system 1.

[0023] In this way, the environmental measuring device 2 may acquire environmental information of the automatic transport area 10 by having the automatic transport vehicle 11 travel along a route specified by the area data collection unit 3a described later, or the environmental measuring device 2 may be installed at any location within the automatic transport area 10 to collect environmental information of the automatic transport area 10.

[0024] Here, the environmental information D1 refers to the road surface and the positions and shapes of structures on which the automated guided vehicle 11 travels, the brightness of lighting in the travel area, and the availability of infrastructure such as WiFi. Therefore, the environmental measuring device 2 is not limited to a camera or LiDAR, but also includes devices for measuring radio waves and the brightness of lighting. In addition, the environmental measuring device 2 may be installed on either the vehicle or the equipment side, and the signal line between the environmental measuring device 2 and the design support system 1 may be connected by wire or wirelessly.

[0025] The environmental information D1 measured by the environmental measuring device 2 is input to the area environmental data generating unit 3. The area environmental data generating unit 3 is composed of an area data collecting unit 3a, an area digital map generating unit 3b, and a service provision area specifying unit 3c. The service provision area specifying unit 3c, which is involved in the present invention, will be described later.

[0026] Of these, the area data collection unit 3a collects environmental information D1 of the automatic transport area 10 from an environmental measurement device 2B mounted on an automatic transport vehicle 11 traveling within an automatic transport area 10 that provides a cargo transport service, for example, as shown in Fig. 2. The environmental measurement device 2B may acquire the environmental information D1 of the automatic transport area 10 by having the automatic transport vehicle 11 travel along a route specified by the area data collection unit 3a, or the environmental measurement device 2 may be installed at an arbitrary location within the automatic transport area 10 to collect the environmental information D1 of the automatic transport area 10. Note that Fig. 2 also shows on-site reference coordinates 19 for defining the position within the area.

[0027] The area digital map generation unit 3b aggregates the environmental information D1 collected by the area data collection unit 3a and constructs a shape digital map in which obstacles such as shelves 12 installed in the automatic transport area 10 are represented, for example, as a collection of three-dimensional points.

[0028] As an example of a shape digital map, Fig. 3 shows shape data of a shelf 12 generated based on an image acquired by an image sensor or the like mounted on an automated guided vehicle 11. This is data in which an outline 13 is extracted based on the image of the shelf 12, and data such as the external dimensions of the shelf 12 and data 20 of the aisle width are treated as the shape digital map.

[0029] Regarding environmental information related to radio waves such as WiFi in the automatic transport area 10, it is preferable to store and manage the information acquired by the environmental measuring device 2 in a digital map, for example, by managing each area according to whether or not wireless infrastructure is available. For example, a WiFi antenna 21 is installed in the shooting area in Fig. 3, and it is preferable to manage environmental information related to radio waves in this location as well.

[0030] The automatic driving control function database DB in Fig. 1 stores automatic driving control function data D2. As shown in Fig. 4 as an example of the automatic driving control function data D2, the automatic driving control function ID (D21), function name D22, function specification D23, automatic driving control program D24 of the function, sensors D25 required to realize the function, KPIs (D26, D27), etc. are stored in a form like a relational database. The automatic driving control function is, for example, a function to acquire the position of the vehicle in the automatic transport area 10, control of the automatic transport vehicle 11 to acquire luggage from the shelf 12, etc.

[0031] The automatic driving control system evaluation unit 5 in Fig. 1 includes an operation evaluation unit 5a, and has a function of evaluating the automatic driving performance in the automatic transport area 10 when some of the automatic driving control functions as automatic driving control programs registered in the automatic driving control function database DB are installed in an automatic transport vehicle 11. The operation evaluation unit 5a may be configured, for example, as a vehicle motion simulator capable of simulation on a computer, or may be a computing unit that performs evaluation based on the functional specifications of the automatic driving control functions registered in the automatic driving control function database DB.

[0032] The above configuration indicated by thin lines is the part related to the existing technology. Based on this premise, the part of the present invention will be described in detail below. First, the customer information input unit 6 sets key performance indicators (hereinafter, KPIs) as variables based on request input from the customer to whom the service is provided. Examples of KPIs include the introduction cost and running cost of the service, safety, operation rate, and the number of cargo shipments per unit time. The customer information input unit 6 also defines a calculation formula for calculating the KPIs.

[0033] Furthermore, the customer information input unit 6 identifies the area in which the service is provided based on the input request for the service, and outputs information on the area to the service provision area identification unit 3c. For example, the customer information input unit 6 may be provided with a system for identifying the area using a graphical user interface (GUI), such as by designating a rectangle on a map. In this case, the area 10 in FIG. 2 is identified as the area in which the service is provided.

[0034] 2 is set as the service provision area, the customer may specify the automatic transport service provision area 15 and the cargo yard 16 using the GUI. At this time, the forklift 17 is specified to only enter the cargo yard 16 within the automatic transport service provision area 15. Furthermore, the customer can specify that the forklift 17 is to be manually operated and that the forklift 17 will transport cargo from the cargo yard 16 to the truck 18.

[0035] As a result, the service provision area specification unit 3c in Fig. 1 receives information on the provision area 10 and specifies the area. For example, the area is specified by specifying a certain area based on the position and size of the area using latitude and longitude from a position on a map specified by the GUI provided in the customer information input unit 6, or by specifying a route by specifying the latitude and longitude of multiple points. In Fig. 2, as an example, site reference coordinates 19 are provided in the automatic transport service provision area 15, and the coordinates of the four corners of the automatic transport service provision area 15 are specified by the site reference coordinates 19.

[0036] The specified area information is provided to the area data collection unit 3a, which collects environmental information within the area. The area information is also provided to the area digital map generation unit 3b, and the area digital map generation unit 3b specifies the range for generating a digital map.

[0037] As a result, the area environmental data generation unit 3 organizes, for example, the current area configuration (area digital map, obstacles, etc.) and in-area environmental information of the area 10 for which the service is provided, as well as what (where) and how the driving environment is required to be changed from this state based on customer requests, along with the required items, and passes them on to the automatic driving ODD definition unit 7 for the next stage of processing.

[0038] The automatic definition unit 7 of the automatic driving ODD in Fig. 1 includes an operating environment characteristic extraction unit 7a and an operating environment change unit 7b. The operating environment characteristic extraction unit 7a defines the ODD based on the digital map generated by the area digital map generation unit 3b and the environmental information D1. Items of the ODD include, for example, the minimum width 20 of the passageway through which the automatic guided vehicle 11 in Fig. 3 passes, the presence or absence of infrastructure facilities such as a WiFi antenna 21 required for the automatic guided vehicle 11 to use WiFi, the presence or absence of workers in the automatic guided vehicle service provision area 15 in Fig. 2, and the maximum vehicle speed defined by the safety rules of the automatic guided vehicle area 10.

[0039] The operation environment change unit 7b has a function of outputting a change related to an ODD item to the operation environment characteristic extraction unit 7a when there is a change in the automatic transport area 10 related to the ODD item. For example, when there is a change in the layout of the shelves 12 in the automatic transport area 10 and the minimum value of the aisle width 20 in FIG. 3 is changed, the minimum value is output. Also, when a change is made to the automatic transport area 10, such as when a fixed monitoring camera 2A is installed in the automatic transport area 10 in FIG. 2, the change is extracted. The installation of the fixed monitoring camera 2A means that the ODD item of infrastructure sensor support, that is, the automatic driving of the automatic transport vehicle 11 can use infrastructure sensor support, and this change is defined as the presence or absence of support by infrastructure sensors for the ODD item through the operation environment characteristic extraction unit 7a.

[0040] Furthermore, the operation environment change unit 7b also has a function of calculating, based on the digital map, candidates for installing infrastructure sensors such as the surveillance camera 2A that provides infrastructure sensor support in the automatic transport area 10. For example, based on the digital map, if there is an area within the automatic transport service provision area 15 where multiple automatic transport vehicles 11 have difficulty detecting each other due to blind spots caused by shelves 12, the operation environment change unit 7b outputs, as candidates, the types and installation positions of sensors to be installed such as the surveillance camera 2A so as to eliminate the blind spots. The types of sensors that can be used for infrastructure sensor support and their use are stored in the automatic driving control function database DB.

[0041] 1 has a function of adjusting and determining the ODD items D3 of the automated guided vehicles 11 in the service to be provided and the automated driving control function data D2 of the automated driving control function installed in the automated guided vehicles 11, based on the ODD items D3 from the driving environment characteristics extraction unit 7a and the automated driving control function data D2 from the automated driving control function database DB. The adjustment is made so as to improve the customer KPI evaluation value from the KPI evaluation unit 9, which will be described later.

[0042] The adjustment method is, for example, based on the processing shown in traceability tables 23a and 23b which show the relationship between the automatic driving control function data D2, the ODD item D3, and the KPI values ​​D26 and D27 shown in FIG.

[0043] Traceability table 23a lists multiple autonomous driving control functions (IDs 1, 2, 3) referenced from the autonomous driving control function database DB on the vertical axis, and lists the ID (D21) of the autonomous driving control function data D2, function name D22, and KPI values ​​D26, D27 on the horizontal axis. The KPI value for each autonomous driving control function, D27, is the KPI value that will be generated by installing that function. For example, KPI1 of D26 is the cost of installing the function (k yen), and KPI2 of D27 is the impact on power consumption and service operation time (h), etc.

[0044] In the example shown, whether the ID (D21) of the autonomous driving control function data D2 is 1, 2, or 3, the impact KPI2 on power consumption and service operating time (h) is 0, and the impact KPI on the cost of installing the function (k￥) is -4, -3, or -8.

[0045] Traceability table 23a also shows a list of ODD items D3 (ODD items 1, 2, 3) for multiple automatic driving control functions (IDs 1, 2, 3) on the horizontal axis, and shows the correspondence between the presence or absence of an ODD item and the impact of the numerical value on the automatic driving control function on the vertical axis for the ODD items. This example shows a case where ODD items 1 and 3 are applied to automatic driving control functions 1 and 2, and ODD item 2 is applied to automatic driving control function 3.

[0046] Furthermore, the traceability table 23a includes, for ODD item D3, a KPI value (customer KPI evaluation value 13) that will arise with a change to ODD item D3. In this example, the KPI of the impact on the cost of installing the function (k￥) after the change to ODD item D3 is 0 for all of ODD items 1, 2, and 3, which means that there will be no increase in cost due to the change. In contrast, the KPI2 of the impact on the power consumption and service operating time (h) after the change to ODD item D3 is +12, +4, and +12 for ODD items 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

[0047] According to the KPI value (customer KPI evaluation value 13) after applying the ODD items in the traceability table 23a in FIG. 5, the improvement effect of ODD item 2 is not so large, but the improvement effects of ODD items 1 and 3 are remarkable. Finally, in response to this evaluation result, the traceability table 23b shows that the application of ODD item 2 to the autonomous driving control function 2 has been excluded. The new applied KPI value at this time is shown as the customer KPI evaluation value 17.

[0048] The KPIs for each item in the traceability table 23a are set by transmitting the KPIs set in the customer information input unit 6 to the ODD adjustment unit 8 via the KPI evaluation unit 9 and the automatic driving control function database DB.

[0049] Flowchart 24 in Figure 6 shows an example of a process performed by the ODD adjustment unit 8, the autonomous driving control system evaluation unit 5, and the KPI evaluation unit 9 to determine a combination of ODD items and autonomous driving control functions to improve the customer KPI evaluation value.

[0050] The flowchart 24 is made up of steps S100 to S107, and steps S100, S101, S102, S105, S106, and S107 are processed by the ODD adjustment unit 8. Step S103 is a process in the automatic driving control system evaluation unit 5, and step S104 is a process in the KPI evaluation unit 9.

[0051] This series of processes starts from step S100, and in step S101, a temporary storage variable Ep for KPI evaluation value is initialized to 0. In step S102, the combination of autonomous driving control functions and ODD items on the vertical and horizontal axes of traceability table 23 is changed. In step S103, the autonomous driving control system evaluation unit 5 evaluates the selected ODD item D3 and autonomous driving control function D2. In step S104, the KPI evaluation unit 9 calculates a customer KPI evaluation value from the evaluation result of the autonomous driving control system evaluation unit 5 and assigns it to the variable E. An example of the formula for calculating the customer KPI evaluation value E is as follows: [Number 1] E = Σwi Ki (i ∈ 1…L) (1) Here, Ki is each KPI value, and wi is a weight for each KPI calculated by the customer information input unit 6 based on the information entered by the customer in the customer information input unit 6, and is set based on, for example, the importance or priority of the customer. The weight wi may also be used as a parameter for normalizing KPI values ​​having different units. L is the number of KPIs.

[0052] In step S105, it is determined whether the customer KPI evaluation value has been improved and has sufficiently converged, and if the condition is true, it is determined that the customer KPI has been improved to the maximum extent, and the combination of ODD item D3 and automatic driving control function D2 at that time is output, and the process ends in step S108. If the conditional expression in step S105 is false, the process proceeds to step S107, the calculated customer KPI evaluation value E is substituted for the temporary storage variable Ep, and the process returns to step S102, and a combination that will improve the customer KPI evaluation value D2 is searched for again.

[0053] In the above explanation, the combination of both the ODD item D2 and the automatic driving control function D3 is adjusted, but the customer KPI evaluation value E may be improved by changing only the ODD item D2.

[0054] Returning to Fig. 1, the flow of Fig. 6 will be described in more detail. The automatic driving control system evaluation unit 5 shown in Fig. 1 includes an operation scenario generation unit 5b, which automatically creates a test scenario for evaluation by the operation evaluation unit 5a based on the ODD item D2 received from the ODD adjustment unit 8, and transmits the test scenario to the operation evaluation unit 5a.

[0055] For example, the number of vehicles in operation in the test scenario is set according to the number of vehicles in operation of the ODD. In addition, in the case of an ODD defined as a case where a worker may be present in the automated transport service provision area 15, the test scenario describes and evaluates whether the automated transport vehicle 11 can be safely controlled when the worker is walking in various places.

[0056] The KPI evaluation unit 9 collects the results of the operation evaluation unit 5a, calculates each KPI value, and calculates the customer KPI evaluation value E using, for example, formula (1). In addition, when the ODD adjustment unit 8 determines that the customer KPI evaluation value E has been sufficiently improved, the KPI evaluation unit 9 outputs the ODD, the automatic driving control function, and the customer KPI evaluation value as the calculation results of the design support system 1.

[0057] The ODD, autonomous driving control function, and customer KPI evaluation value finally obtained in this way are shown in traceability table 23b in Figure 5, which presents another case as the final proposal, excluding the application of ODD item 2 to autonomous driving control function 2.

[0058] The effect of the present invention employing the above-mentioned series of processes will be described. As a specific example of the effect, it is assumed here that an automatic transport vehicle 11 is newly introduced to the work site shown in FIG. 2, and an automatic cargo transport service is provided within the automatic transport area 10. In this assumed example, since it is unclear whether the automatic transport area 10 has environmental conditions that sufficiently satisfy the driving performance of the automatic transport vehicle 11, there is a problem that the introduction requires man-hours and costs increase. Even if an automatic cargo transport service is introduced at such an introduction cost, it is unclear whether the performance will be able to satisfy the KPI value desired by the customer until it is introduced and operated, and adjustments to improve the KPI value also incur costs.

[0059] However, in this embodiment, by using the design support system 1 shown in Figure 1, it is possible to determine whether the environmental conditions of the automatic transport area 10 are sufficient to satisfy the driving performance of the automatic transport vehicle 11 before introducing the automatic transport vehicle 11 into the automatic transport area 10, and to estimate the performance of the automatic cargo transport service that maximizes the KPI values ​​required by the customer, thereby reducing the labor and costs that would be incurred in adjustments after introduction.

[0060] In the design support system 1, first, the customer inputs KPIs and services they want to introduce into the customer information input unit 6, and the area environment data generation unit 3 collects and analyzes the environment information in advance. Based on the environment information, the ODD can be automatically defined in the ODD automatic definition unit 7. The performance satisfaction relationship between the ODD defined in the ODD adjustment unit 8 and the functions that can be installed in the automatic guided vehicle 11 stored in the automatic driving control function database DB is evaluated, and based on the customer KPI evaluation value estimated through the automatic driving control system evaluation unit 5 and the KPI evaluation unit 9, a combination of the ODD and the automatic driving control function that maximizes the satisfaction of the customer KPI evaluation value can be automatically designed.

[0061] An example of calculating a combination that improves the customer KPI evaluation value is shown using the traceability tables 23a and 23b in FIG. 5. Three types of autonomous driving control functions (ID: 1, 2, 3) are listed on the vertical axis of the traceability table 23a. For each autonomous driving control function, the KPI values ​​for the KPIs indicated by the customer, namely, installation cost (KPI1) and service provision time (KPI2), are set. On the horizontal axis, ODD items 1 to 3 and KPI values ​​determined by whether or not each ODD item is considered, are set. The orthogonal table of the vertical and horizontal axes shows the correspondence. In formula (1), if the customer KPI evaluation value of the traceability table 23a is calculated with all weights set to 1, the value becomes 13.

[0062] Based on this customer KPI evaluation value, by improving the customer KPI evaluation value according to the flowchart 24 in Fig. 6, a combination like that shown in the traceability table 23b can be calculated. In the traceability table 23b, as an example, attention is focused on ODD item 2. When comparing the KPI2 value related to ODD item 2 with the KPI1 value of the automatic driving control function CCC required to deal with ODD item 2, it can be seen that the value for improving the customer KPI evaluation value is negative.

[0063] Therefore, according to the flowchart 24 in FIG. 6, by not equipping the automated guided vehicle 11 with the automated driving control function CCC as an automated cargo transport service that does not take into account ODD item 2 as shown in the traceability table 23b in FIG. 5, the service provision time of KPI2 will decrease, but if the customer KPI evaluation value of the traceability table 23b is calculated by setting all weights to 1 in equation (1), the result is 17, and a design solution that is an improved value compared to the traceability table 23a can be obtained.

[0064] In this way, by launching an automated cargo transport service based on a combination of ODD and automated driving control functions, which are the output of the design support system 1, the customer can minimize the post-implementation adjustments that have occurred up until now, and can quickly launch a service that maximizes the satisfaction of the customer's KPIs. For example, if the KPI is cost, a design solution can be obtained before actual operation that alleviates ODD by excluding pedestrians within the automated transport area 10 from the area using rules, while minimizing the development of additional functions and performance improvements to the automated driving control function.

[0065] 1, various types of improvement information related to area environment improvement are presented from the design support system 1. Of these, the improvement information provided by the KPI evaluation unit 9 is improvement information D4 related to the autonomous driving control function, improvement information D5 related to ODD, and customer KPI (D6), while the improvement information provided by the autonomous driving control system evaluation unit 5 is infrastructure sensor information D7 related to sensor placement and sensor type.

[0066] 7 is a diagram showing an example of use of the output of the design support system 1. Improvement information D4 related to the autonomous driving control function in the upper part of FIG.

[0067] The autonomous driving control function D4 includes control software and the sensor specifications required for it, and the autonomous driving control function D4 from the design support system 1 is newly installed in the autonomous driving vehicle 11. The control software is implemented in a computing device 11a (controller, etc.) of the autonomous driving vehicle 11, and a sensor 11b is installed in the autonomous driving vehicle 11 in accordance with the sensor specifications.

[0068] In response to this, the autonomous vehicle 11 has its calculation device 11a calculate a control command value for controlling the autonomous driving of the vehicle, send the control command value to the control device 11a, and transmit a control signal to the actuator (not shown) to drive the actuator (tire rotation speed and steering angle).

[0069] In the case of indirect use via the control system 30, the arithmetic device 31 and the control device 11a may be provided in separate devices. For example, the arithmetic device 31 may be provided in the control system 30, which is a device provided in a location separate from the autonomous vehicle 11. The control system 30 and the autonomous vehicle 11 can exchange signals via wireless communication or the like.

[0070] In this case, the control software for the autonomous driving control function D4 is implemented in the arithmetic device 31 of the control system 30, and a sensor is installed in the autonomous driving vehicle 11 based on the sensor specifications. A control command value for autonomous driving control calculated by the arithmetic device 31 of the control system 30 is transmitted to the autonomous driving vehicle 11 via wireless communication, and the control device 11a of the autonomous driving vehicle 11 transmits a control signal for driving the actuator of the host vehicle based on the control command value to the actuator. The sensor signal is transmitted to the arithmetic device 31 of the control system 30 via wireless communication and is used for calculations for autonomous driving control.

[0071] The second row from the top of Figure 7 shows an example of the use of improvement information D5 regarding ODD, in which the information is provided directly to the autonomous vehicle 11, or indirectly to the autonomous vehicle 11 via the control system 30.

[0072] In the case of indirect use, the ODD improvement information D5 is used in the control system 30, and the ODD deviation judgment unit 32 provided in the control system 30 judges, based on the ODD improvement information D5 and various environmental information, whether the environment (service provision area) in which the autonomous vehicle 11 is traveling satisfies the driving environmental conditions defined in the ODD improvement information D5.

[0073] The control system 30 can exchange signals with the control device 11a of the autonomous vehicle 11 via wireless communication, and the ODD deviation judgment unit 32 does not send any signals to the control device when the driving conditions are met, but on the other hand, when the driving conditions are not met (when the vehicle deviates from the ODD), it sends an ODD deviation signal to the control device 11a of the autonomous vehicle 11.

[0074] When the control device 11a of the autonomous vehicle 11 receives the ODD deviation signal, for example, it notifies the driver who is present to cancel the autonomous driving state that the driving will be switched to manual driving, or it transitions from the autonomous driving state to an emergency stop state, generates a control signal to automatically stop the vehicle safely, and transmits it to the actuator. The ODD deviation determination unit may be mounted on the autonomous vehicle. The various environmental information includes weather, time, GNSS radio wave conditions, road shape and condition, and the presence or absence of unintended pedestrians.

[0075] The third row from the top of Fig. 7 shows a use case of the customer KPI (D6). The customer KPI evaluation D6 (e.g., numerical value of the evaluation result) is used to notify the customer of the customer KPI evaluation result via the display device 40. If the customer accepts the evaluation result notified by the display device, the customer issues an instruction to start downstream processes of the automatic excavation control function, ODD, and infrastructure sensor, for example. If the customer does not accept the evaluation result, the customer request in Fig. 1 is changed, and the design support system 1 is executed again.

[0076] The third row from the top of Fig. 7 shows a usage example of infrastructure sensor information D7. Based on the infrastructure sensor information D7, a design company or the like performs detailed design 50 (design of the pillars on which the sensors are attached, etc.) for installing infrastructure sensors in the service provision area, which is the subsequent process, and creates detailed drawings 51. After that, a construction company installs 52 the infrastructure sensors in the service provision area based on the detailed drawings 51.

[0077] In the first embodiment, the ODD conditions are set according to the customer's wishes, but this may be a proposal to change the service conditions. If the ODD is exceeded during implementation, it is preferable to stop the vehicle or stop automatic driving and hand over driving authority to the driver.

[0078] According to the present invention described above, it is possible to provide a design support system that can automatically design an ODD, which is an operation design domain adjusted to simultaneously maximize the key performance indicators of the business operator and ensure reliability. This makes it possible to provide an automated driving service that improves the key performance indicators of the business operator. EXAMPLES

[0079] In the second embodiment, Fig. 8 is assumed as a service provision location. At a work site 25 as shown in Fig. 8, an excavator 27 excavates earth and sand 26 every day, and the earth and sand is loaded onto a dump truck 28 for transport, so that environmental information changes frequently. When the excavator 27 and the dump truck 28 are automated, the design support system 1 supports design before implementation as a service related to automated driving, but it is desired to redefine the ODD and maintain or improve the customer KPI evaluation value even in response to environmental changes after the start of operation.

[0080] In order to solve the above problems, differences from the first embodiment and the configuration will be described with reference to Figures 1, 8 and 9. First, in the second embodiment, an environmental change detection unit 3d is newly provided in the area data collection unit 3a in Figure 1. The environmental change detection unit 3d means that when a change occurs in the environment of the area where the service is provided, the area data collection unit 3a collects data again, the area digital map generation unit 3b generates a digital map again, and the design support system 1 is provided with a function of re-executing a series of processes.

[0081] According to this, when an automatically operated shovel 27 digs up soil 26 at a work site 25 in Fig. 8, an area in Fig. 9 where the soil 26 disappears and there is residual soil on the road surface occurs. Therefore, the road surface in area 29 may be more uneven than other areas. By redefining a state where such an uneven road surface exists within an area where an autonomous driving service is provided as ODD, it is necessary to consider whether an autonomous dump truck 28 can normally travel in area 29, and to promptly verify whether the function of the dump truck 28 needs to be improved in order to travel, or whether area 29 should be leveled to the same level as other areas to alleviate ODD.

[0082] Therefore, for example, when the environmental change detection unit 3d of the design support system 1 detects that the area 29 at the work site 25 has changed based on the environmental information D2 from the environmental measuring device 2 mounted on the dump truck 28, the area environmental data generation unit 3, the ODD automatic definition unit 7, the ODD adjustment unit 8, the automatic driving control system evaluation unit 5, and the KPI evaluation unit 9 are executed again, and the ODD and automatic driving control function that maintains or improves the customer KPI evaluation value are redesigned and output.

[0083] This allows design policies to be obtained in response to daily changes in the environment, such as leveling area 29 to the same level as other areas to mitigate ODD, and customer KPIs such as costs can be maintained at a satisfactory level. EXAMPLES

[0084] In the third embodiment, the service provision location is assumed to be as shown in Fig. 10. In a general public road environment 30 as shown in Fig. 10, an autonomous vehicle 31 must travel in accordance with various traffic rules including traffic lights 32. Similar to the travel environment, the traffic rules are defined as ODDs, and the autonomous vehicle 31 must be equipped with an autonomous driving control function that satisfies the ODDs provided in the general public road environment 30.

[0085] In order to run an autonomous vehicle 31 in such a general public road environment 30, it is necessary to deal with not only a wide variety of traffic rules but also many ODD items such as weather and pedestrians, and therefore the number of autonomous driving control functions to be installed increases. When considering the autonomous driving control functions to be installed in the autonomous vehicle 31, design consideration is required, such as whether to develop a new one or adopt an autonomous driving control function that has already been developed, but in the design support system 1 of the first embodiment, only functions registered in the autonomous driving control function database DB can be considered, so that when providing an autonomous vehicle 31 for a general public road environment 30 in which there is no design experience, the design support system 1 does not output an appropriate design, and there is a problem that a design solution that satisfies the customer KPI cannot be obtained.

[0086] In order to solve the above problems, differences and configurations from the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. In the third embodiment, the KPI evaluation unit 9 in Fig. 1 of the first embodiment has a function of adding an automatic driving control program with modified function specifications or an automatic driving control program with a newly added function to the automatic driving control function database DB.

[0087] 10 includes a traffic light 32, and is therefore defined as an environment with traffic lights by the ODD. Therefore, an autonomous vehicle 31 is required to have a function for recognizing the signs of the traffic lights 32.

[0088] Recognizing traffic light 32 signs using an onboard camera of an autonomous vehicle 31 may be a costly function depending on other ODD items such as weather and lighting. Therefore, an environment for recognition support using infrastructure equipment 33 is constructed, and an ODD that can use infrastructure support is provided.

[0089] When ODD item 4 shown in the traceability table 34 shown in FIG. 11 is an ODD indicating infrastructure support capable of information sharing with traffic lights 32, it is necessary to install an automatic driving control function DDD35 corresponding to ODD item 4 in an automatic driving automobile 31. At this time, as a result of improving the customer KPI evaluation value according to the flowchart 24 in FIG. 6, the traceability table 34 in FIG. 11 is assumed to be a design solution. When the automatic driving control function DDD35 is a newly added function, the KPI evaluation unit 9 in FIG. 1 registers the automatic driving control function DDD35 in the automatic driving control function database DB. As a result, when another automatic driving service is provided in an environment similar to the general public road environment 30, when the design support system 1 is used, it becomes possible to select the use of the automatic driving control function DDD35, so that a design solution that satisfies the customer KPI can be quickly obtained from the design support system 1 that provides the automatic driving automobile 31 without incurring new function development costs.

[0090] In the above embodiments, examples have been described in which the present invention is applied to automated guided vehicles, construction vehicles, and automated driving automobiles, but the present invention can also be applied to other automated driving vehicles, such as agricultural vehicles and autonomous work robots. EXAMPLES

[0091] In the fourth embodiment, the program of the design support system will be described. The program of the design support system is stored in the ROM of the computer device, and some of these programs execute the processes of the ODD adjustment unit 8, the automatic driving control system evaluation unit 5, and the KPI evaluation unit 9 shown in Fig. 6. As for the other programs, although not shown, it is preferable to configure the programs in units of the calculation functions of the units in Fig. 1.

[0092] For example, it is preferable to form a program that treats the area environment data generating unit 3 as one unit, and realize the functions of the area data collecting unit 3a, the area digital map generating unit 3b, and the service provision area specifying unit 3c as subprograms within the program. This concept is also preferable to apply to the calculation functions of each of the other units.

[0093] Specifically, for example, it is preferable to provide an autonomous driving control function program, which is a program for controlling the autonomous driving of vehicles traveling in a service provision area; an area environmental data generation program having an area digital map generation unit that generates a digital map of the service provision area using environmental data; an autonomous driving ODD automatic definition program that generates and outputs an operation design area that serves as an environmental constraint for operating an autonomous driving service from information on the digital map; an ODD adjustment program that evaluates the satisfaction of the autonomous driving control function specifications stored in the autonomous driving control program in pairs for the operation design area and changes the operation design area based on the evaluation results; an autonomous driving control system evaluation program that evaluates the operation design area based on customer requirements; and a KPI evaluation program that generates a customer requirements evaluation formula that evaluates customer key performance indicators based on customer requirements, calculates the customer requirements evaluation formula based on values ​​output from the autonomous driving control system evaluation program, and outputs the operation design area and the customer's key performance indicators. [Explanation of symbols]

[0094] 1: Design support system 2: Environmental measurement equipment 3: Area environment data generation section 3a: Area data collection section 3b: Area digital map generation section 3c: Service area identification section 3d: Environmental change detection section 4:Autonomous driving control function database 5: Autonomous Driving Control System Evaluation Department 5a: Operation evaluation section 5b: Operation scenario generation section 6: Customer information input section 7:ODD automatic definition part 8: ODD adjustment section 9: KPI evaluation section 10: Automatic transport area 11:Automatic guided vehicle 12: Shelf 13: Visible lines 15:Automatic transport service area 16: Cargo storage area 17: Forklift 18: Truck 19: Site reference coordinates 20: Passage width 21: WiFi antenna 22: Surveillance camera 23a, 23b: Traceability table 24: Flowchart 25:Worksite 26: Earth and sand 27: Shovel 28: Dump truck 29: Area 30:General public road environment 31: Self-driving cars 32: Traffic lights 33: Infrastructure facilities 34: Traceability table 35: Automatic driving control function DDD S100~S108: Step

Claims

1. A design support system that receives environmental data from an environmental measurement device that measures the environment of a service provision area managed by a customer and customer requirements and outputs an improvement value of a customer's key performance indicator, an automatic driving control function database storing an automatic driving control program for automatically controlling the driving of a vehicle traveling in the service provision area; an area environmental data generating unit including an area digital map generating unit that generates a digital map of the service provision area using the environmental data; An automatic definition unit for automatic driving ODD that generates and outputs a driving design area that is an environmental constraint condition for operating an automatic driving service from the information of the digital map; An ODD adjustment unit that evaluates the fulfillment of the automatic driving control function specifications stored in the automatic driving control program in pairs for the operation design domain output from the automatic driving ODD automatic definition unit and changes the operation design domain based on the evaluation result; an automatic driving control system evaluation unit that evaluates the operation design domain based on the customer requirements; a KPI evaluation unit that generates a customer requirement evaluation formula for evaluating a customer's key performance indicator based on the customer requirement, calculates the customer requirement evaluation formula based on a value output from the automatic driving control system evaluation unit, and outputs the operation design domain and the customer's key performance indicator; The ODD adjustment unit makes a change to the operation design domain so as to improve the value of the customer request evaluation formula based on the value of the customer request evaluation formula calculated and output by the KPI evaluation unit, A design support system characterized in that the KPI evaluation unit outputs an improvement value of a customer's key performance indicator based on the changed operation design area.

2. The design support system according to claim 1, A design support system characterized in that the autonomous driving ODD automatic definition unit generates and outputs an autonomous driving control function of the vehicle, the autonomous driving control system evaluation unit evaluates the autonomous driving control function of the vehicle based on the customer requirements, and the KPI evaluation unit outputs the autonomous driving control function and a customer's key performance indicators.

3. The design support system according to claim 1, A design support system characterized in that the autonomous driving control system evaluation unit presents environmental improvements in the service provision area.

4. The design support system according to claim 1, The ODD adjustment unit makes changes to the operation design area and the automatic driving control program based on the value of the customer request evaluation formula calculated and output by the KPI evaluation unit so as to improve the value of the customer request evaluation formula from the previous value, A design support system characterized in that the KPI evaluation unit outputs improvement values ​​of the customer's key performance indicators based on the changed operation design area and the automatic driving control program.

5. The design support system according to claim 1, A design support system characterized in that the autonomous driving control system evaluation unit uses the autonomous driving control program stored in the autonomous driving control function database and the generated digital map to perform autonomous driving in a virtual environment based on the operation design domain, the autonomous driving control program, and the digital map to evaluate the autonomous driving control system and the operation design domain.

6. The design support system according to claim 1, A design support system characterized in that the automatic driving control system evaluation unit includes an operation scenario generation unit that generates an operation scenario to be evaluated from the operation design domain output from the ODD adjustment unit.

7. The design support system according to claim 1, A design support system characterized in that the autonomous driving ODD automatic definition unit is provided with an operating environment change unit that outputs design information for at least one infrastructure sensor that is installed in the environment to collect environmental information from the digital map information and the autonomous driving control program.

8. The design support system according to claim 7, The design support system is characterized by comprising an infrastructure sensor system that aggregates information collected by all of the infrastructure sensors and shares the information with the vehicle.

9. The design support system according to claim 1, said area environmental data generation unit collects data again when a change occurs in the environment of the area in which the service is provided, said area digital map generation unit generates a new digital map, and said design support system further comprises an environmental change detection unit which re-executes a series of processes.

10. The design support system according to claim 1, A design support system characterized in that the KPI evaluation unit has a function of adding the modified autonomous driving control program to the autonomous driving control function database.

11. A design support method for obtaining environmental data from an environmental measurement device that measures the environment of a service provision area managed by a customer and customer requirements, and outputting an improvement value of a key performance indicator of the customer using a computer device, comprising: an automatic driving control function database storing an automatic driving control program for automatically controlling the driving of a vehicle traveling in the service provision area; The calculation unit of the computer device uses the environmental data to generate a digital map of the service provision area, generates an operation design domain that is an environmental constraint condition for operating an autonomous driving service from information on the digital map, evaluates the satisfaction of the autonomous driving control function specifications stored in the autonomous driving control program in pairs for the operation design domain, changes the operation design domain based on the evaluation results, evaluates the operation design domain based on the customer requirements, generates a customer requirement evaluation formula that evaluates key performance indicators of the customer based on the customer requirements, calculates the customer requirement evaluation formula based on the evaluation value of the autonomous driving control system, obtains the operation design domain and the customer's key performance indicators, and A design support method characterized by modifying the operation design area based on the value of the customer requirement evaluation formula so as to improve the value of the customer requirement evaluation formula from a previous value, and obtaining an improved value of the customer's key performance indicator based on the modified operation design area.

12. A design support program for obtaining environmental data from an environmental measurement device that measures the environment of a service provision area managed by a customer and customer requirements, and outputting an improvement value of a customer's key performance indicators, An automatic driving control function program which is an automatic driving control program for automatically controlling the driving of a vehicle traveling in the service provision area; an area environmental data generating program including an area digital map generating unit that generates a digital map of the service provision area using the environmental data; An automatic definition program for an autonomous driving ODD that generates and outputs a driving design area that is an environmental constraint condition for operating an autonomous driving service from the information of the digital map; An ODD adjustment program that evaluates the fulfillment of the automatic driving control function specifications stored in the automatic driving control program in pairs for the operation design domain and changes the operation design domain based on the evaluation result; an automatic driving control system evaluation program for evaluating the operation design domain based on the customer requirements; a KPI evaluation program that generates a customer requirement evaluation formula for evaluating a customer's key performance indicator based on the customer requirement, calculates the customer requirement evaluation formula based on a value output from the automatic driving control system evaluation program, and outputs the operation design domain and the customer's key performance indicator; The ODD adjustment program modifies the operation design domain so as to improve the value of the customer requirement evaluation formula based on the value of the customer requirement evaluation formula calculated and output by the KPI evaluation program, The KPI evaluation program is a design support program characterized by outputting an improvement value of a customer's key performance indicator based on the changed operation design area.

Images