Display control device

Abstract

To provide a display control device capable of enhancing entertainability using point cloud information.SOLUTION: A display control device 1 has a LiDAR 2 configured to acquire point cloud information, and a display control unit 3 configured to change display styles of portions of a point cloud information-based image corresponding to objects according to predetermined attributes of the objects contained in the point cloud information when displaying the point cloud information-based image on a display unit 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a display control device that displays an image on a display unit. [Background technology]

[0002] A technology has been proposed that uses a laser radar to acquire the positions in three-dimensional space of a plurality of points on an object present in a detection area (i.e., an area targeted for object detection) such as in front of a vehicle, and recognizes the object. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that the points whose positions have been acquired are clustered to acquire a cluster point group, and the object corresponding to the cluster point group is identified based on the temporal fluctuation of the measurement amount related to the cluster point group. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-151043 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As mentioned above, laser radar (hereinafter referred to as LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) Laser radar (also referred to as a laser radar) is used to recognize objects existing around a moving vehicle, etc. However, the information acquired by the laser radar (so-called point cloud information) is not used for anything other than recognizing such objects.

[0005] On the other hand, it is expected that the entertainment value of the travel time during autonomous driving will be improved for vehicles equipped with autonomous driving functions in the future. However, the idea of ​​using information obtained by laser radar to improve entertainment value has not existed until now.

[0006] One example of a problem to be solved by the present invention is to improve entertainment value by utilizing so-called point cloud information. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 1 is a display device that is placed on a moving body and displays an image, characterized in that it comprises a point cloud information acquisition unit that acquires point cloud information representing features around the moving body using a plurality of points, a display unit that displays the acquired point cloud information, and a display control unit that processes and displays the point cloud information displayed on the display unit in a display mode determined according to predetermined attributes of the feature, where a portion of the point cloud information corresponding to a specific feature included in the point cloud information is processed. The invention described in claim 2 is a display control device that displays an image on a display unit arranged on a mobile body capable of autonomous driving, and includes a point cloud information acquisition unit that acquires point cloud information representing features surrounding the mobile body using a plurality of points, and a display control unit that, when the mobile body is performing the autonomous driving, displays on the display unit an image in which a portion corresponding to a specific feature included in the point cloud information acquired by the point cloud information acquisition unit is displayed in a display mode determined in accordance with predetermined attributes of the feature, based on the point cloud information acquired by the point cloud information acquisition unit, and is characterized in that the display control unit displays the portion corresponding to the feature as if a color were moving or a figure representing color or light were moving along the direction of travel. The invention described in claim 3 is a display control device that displays an image on a display unit arranged on a moving body, and includes a point cloud information acquisition unit that acquires point cloud information representing features around the moving body using a plurality of points, and a display control unit that displays on the display unit an image in which a portion corresponding to a specific feature included in the point cloud information based on the point cloud information acquired by the point cloud information acquisition unit is displayed in a display mode determined according to predetermined attributes of the feature, and is characterized in that the display control unit displays the portion corresponding to the feature so that the color or contrast changes based on the height and distance of the feature, and displays the portion corresponding to the feature so that the color moves or a figure representing color or light moves along the direction of travel. The invention described in claim 5 is a display control device that displays an image on a display unit arranged on a moving body, and includes a point cloud information acquisition unit that acquires point cloud information representing features around the moving body using a plurality of points, and a display control unit that displays on the display unit an image in which a portion corresponding to a specific feature included in the point cloud information based on the point cloud information acquired by the point cloud information acquisition unit is displayed in a display mode determined according to predetermined attributes of the feature, and is characterized in that the display control unit displays the portion corresponding to the feature so that color moves or a figure representing color or light moves along the height direction of the feature.

[0008] The invention described in claim 7 is a display control method executed by a display control device that displays an image on a display unit arranged on a moving body, and is characterized by including a point cloud information acquisition step of acquiring point cloud information representing features around the moving body using a plurality of points, a display step of displaying the acquired point cloud information, and a display control step of processing a portion of the point cloud information displayed in the display step that corresponds to a specified feature included in the point cloud information into a display mode determined according to predetermined attributes for the feature. The invention described in claim 8 is a display control method executed by a display control device that displays an image on a display unit arranged on a mobile body capable of autonomous driving, and includes a point cloud information acquisition process for acquiring point cloud information representing features around the mobile body by a plurality of points, and a display control process for, when the mobile body is performing the autonomous driving, displaying on the display unit an image in which a portion corresponding to a specific feature included in the point cloud information acquired in the point cloud information acquisition process is displayed in a display mode determined in accordance with predetermined attributes of the feature, based on the point cloud information acquired in the point cloud information acquisition process, and the display control process is characterized in that the portion corresponding to the feature is displayed as if a color is moving or a figure representing color or light is moving along the direction of travel. The invention described in claim 9 is a display control method executed by a display control device that displays an image on a display unit arranged on a moving body, and includes a point cloud information acquisition process for acquiring point cloud information representing features around the moving body using a plurality of points, and a display control process for displaying on the display unit an image in which a portion corresponding to a specific feature included in the point cloud information is displayed in a display mode determined according to predetermined attributes of the feature, based on the point cloud information acquired in the point cloud information acquisition process. The display control process is characterized in that the portion corresponding to the feature is displayed so that the color or contrast is changed based on the height and distance of the feature, and the portion corresponding to the feature is displayed so that the color moves or a figure representing color or light moves along the direction of travel. The invention described in claim 10 is a display control method executed by a display control device that displays an image on a display unit arranged on a moving body, and includes a point cloud information acquisition process for acquiring point cloud information representing features around the moving body by a plurality of points, and a display control process for displaying on the display unit an image in which a portion corresponding to a specific feature included in the point cloud information is displayed in a display mode determined according to predetermined attributes of the feature, based on the point cloud information acquired in the point cloud information acquisition process, and is characterized in that the display control process displays the portion corresponding to the feature so that a color moves or a figure representing color or light moves along the height direction of the feature.

[0009] The invention as recited in claim 11 is characterized in that the display control method as recited in any one of claims 7 to 10 is executed by a computer. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram of a display control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a table showing an example of a structure of feature data stored by the display control device shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2 is a flowchart of a display operation of the display control device shown in FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is an example of a display mode of the display control device shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a system including a display control device and a storage device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a functional configuration diagram of the server device shown in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the display control device shown in FIG. 5. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a display control device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 9 is an example of setting colors for each distance in the display control device shown in FIG. 8. [Figure 10] 9 is an example of setting colors for each height in the display control device shown in FIG. 8. [Figure 11] 8 is a flowchart of a display operation of the display control device shown in FIG. 7. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a modified example of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] A display control device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the display control device according to one embodiment of the present invention, a point cloud information acquisition unit acquires point cloud information that represents features around a moving object using a plurality of points, and when a display control unit causes an image based on the point cloud information to be displayed on the display unit, the display mode of a portion of the image based on the point cloud information that corresponds to the feature based on the feature is changed based on a predetermined attribute of the feature included in the point cloud information. In this way, the display mode can be changed according to the feature included in the point cloud information. Therefore, the entertainment value can be improved by utilizing the point cloud information.

[0012] Furthermore, when the attribute of the feature is that it is provided along a road, the display control unit may display the part corresponding to the feature so that a color or a figure expressing a color or light moves along the traveling direction. In this way, it is possible to display the features provided along the road in a manner that evokes the driving state or a sense of depth.

[0013] Furthermore, features provided along the road may include white lines, guardrails, curbs, etc. In this way, when the display control unit recognizes a white line, a guardrail, or a curb as a feature, it can display the feature in such a manner that the color of the feature or a figure expressing a color or light moves along the traveling direction.

[0014] Furthermore, when the attribute of a feature is a height equal to or greater than a predetermined height, the display control unit may display the portion corresponding to the feature in such a way that the color changes or a figure expressing color, light, or the like moves along the height direction of the feature. In this way, for features such as high-rise buildings that are equal to or greater than a predetermined height, the display mode can take advantage of the height.

[0015] Furthermore, objects having a height equal to or greater than a predetermined level may include buildings, trees, utility poles, etc. In this way, when a building, tree, or utility pole is recognized as a feature on the ground, a display mode can be adopted in which the color of these parts changes along the height direction of the feature, or a figure expressing color, light, or the like is displayed as if it is moving.

[0016] The display control unit may change the display mode depending on whether the attribute of the feature is a static feature or a dynamic feature. In this way, static features such as white lines and buildings can be displayed in different modes from dynamic features such as other vehicles (surrounding vehicles) and people.

[0017] In addition, in a display control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, a point cloud information acquisition step acquires point cloud information that represents features around a moving object using a plurality of points, and when an image based on the point cloud information is displayed on the display unit in a display control step, a display mode of a portion of the image based on the point cloud information that corresponds to a specific feature included in the point cloud information is changed based on a predetermined attribute of the specific feature. In this way, the display mode can be changed according to the feature included in the point cloud information. Therefore, the entertainment value can be improved by utilizing the point cloud information.

[0018] The above-mentioned display control method may be implemented as a display control program executed by a computer. In this way, the display mode can be changed according to the features included in the point cloud information using a computer. Therefore, the entertainment value can be improved by using the point cloud information. EXAMPLES

[0019] A display control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4. As shown in Fig. 1, the display control device 1 includes a LIDAR 2, a display control unit 3, a display unit 4, and a storage unit 5. The display control device 1 shown in Fig. 1 is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile as an example of a moving body. The vehicle described in this embodiment is an autonomous vehicle capable of running autonomously at all times, or a vehicle capable of switching between autonomous driving and manual driving (in this embodiment, these are collectively referred to as autonomous vehicles).

[0020] The LIDAR 2 as a point cloud information acquisition unit is a sensor for recognizing objects existing around the vehicle, and is also written as LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging). The LIDAR 2 is a known sensor that irradiates light such as laser light, measures the distance to an object existing in the external world discretely by the reflected light of the light, and recognizes the position, shape, etc. of the object as a three-dimensional point cloud. Therefore, the point cloud acquired by the LIDAR 2 is information (point cloud information) that represents objects including structures such as buildings and roads existing around the vehicle in a three-dimensional form using a plurality of points. Note that the LIDAR 2 may recognize people and other vehicles existing around the vehicle in addition to objects such as signs on the road on which the vehicle is traveling and buildings and roadside trees existing along the road.

[0021] The display control unit 3 converts the point cloud information acquired by the Rider 2 from a coordinate system (vehicle coordinate system) in which the Rider 2 acquired the point cloud information to a coordinate system (display coordinate system) for displaying the point cloud information on the display unit 4 that displays the point cloud information. The vehicle coordinate system is a coordinate system based on the vehicle (Rider 2). The display coordinate system is a two-dimensional coordinate system defined on the display unit 4. The display control unit 3 converts the three-dimensional vehicle coordinate system in this point cloud information to a two-dimensional display coordinate system. This coordinate conversion can use a well-known coordinate conversion method such as conversion from a so-called view coordinate system to a screen coordinate system.

[0022] Furthermore, the display control unit 3 determines attributes of features included in the image whose coordinate system has been converted, processes the image so that it has a display mode according to the determined attributes of the features, and outputs the processed image to the display unit 4.

[0023] The display unit 4 displays an image based on the point cloud information processed by the display control unit 3. The display unit 4 can be configured, for example, by a monitor screen or a HUD (Head-Up Display) installed in a center console or the like in the vehicle. The display unit 4 is not limited to being installed in the vehicle, and may be displayed on, for example, a mobile terminal owned by a passenger. The display unit 4 may be a glass part of the vehicle, such as a windshield, door glass, or sunroof glass of the vehicle in which the display control device 1 is installed. In this way, the display unit 4 is not limited to a display device fixed in the vehicle or a part that can be displayed by projection or the like, but may be a terminal brought into the vehicle, that is, it may be disposed in the vehicle.

[0024] The storage unit 5 as a storage device stores map data and feature data 5a including detailed information to the extent that a vehicle equipped with the display control device 1 can autonomously travel. An example of the feature data 5a (feature data structure) is shown in FIG.

[0025] In the table shown in FIG. 2, a feature ID 5a1, a position 5a2, a name 5a3, and a display mode 5a4 are set for each feature. The feature ID 5a1 is a unique number set for each feature. The position 5a2 indicates the position of the feature in latitude and longitude. The name 5a3 indicates the unique name or general name of the feature, such as the name of a building, a roadside tree, a utility pole, a white line, a guardrail, a curb, etc. The display mode 5a4 indicates the display mode for each feature. Here, the feature ID 5a1, the position 5a2, and the name 5a3 are attributes of the feature.

[0026] Next, the operation (display control method) of the display control device 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 3. The flowchart shown in Fig. 3 is executed by the display control unit 3. Therefore, by configuring the display control unit 3 with a microcomputer having a CPU or the like, it is possible to make it into a display control program that executes the display control method.

[0027] First, in step S11, it is determined whether or not the vehicle in which the display control device 1 is mounted is in autonomous driving mode. If the vehicle is in autonomous driving mode, the process proceeds to step S12. If the vehicle is not in autonomous driving mode, the process ends. In other words, the process is executed during autonomous driving mode. However, if the display is displayed on a part that does not interfere with driving, such as a display unit provided on a center console, steps S12 and after may be executed even during manual driving mode.

[0028] Next, the display control unit 3 acquires the point cloud information detected by the LIDAR 2 (step S12), and determines attributes of the features included in the point cloud information based on the feature data 5a stored in the storage unit 5 (step S13). The attribute determination is performed, for example, by matching the map data stored in the storage unit 5 with the point cloud information acquired in step S12, and identifying features corresponding to the point cloud information. Then, for the identified feature, the attribute of the feature is determined by comparing the position and name of the feature included in the map data with the position and name of the feature included in the feature data 5a.

[0029] Next, the display control unit 3 determines a display mode according to the attributes of each feature determined in step S13, based on the feature data 5a shown in FIG. 2 (step S14). Then, the display control unit 3 causes the display unit 4 to display the image based on the point cloud information in the display mode determined in step S14 for the features in the image (step S15). That is, based on the attributes predetermined for a specific feature included in the point cloud information, the display mode of the portion of the image based on the point cloud information corresponding to the feature is changed. Also, the display mode 5a4 set in the feature data 5a shown in FIG. 2 is information used when displaying the image based on the point cloud information, and is information indicating the display mode of the portion corresponding to the feature included in the image.

[0030] As is clear from the above description, step S12 is a point cloud information acquisition step, and steps S13 and S14 are display control steps.

[0031] An example of a display mode in the display control device 1 having the above-mentioned configuration will now be described with reference to Fig. 4. The upper part of Fig. 4 is an example of point cloud information acquired by the lidar 2 about the area ahead of the vehicle. In the upper part of Fig. 4, a curb is provided along the lane as feature T1. Also, roadside trees (trees) are provided along the lane as feature T2. Furthermore, there are buildings at the back in the traveling direction as features T3 and T4. It is assumed that these buildings are equal to or higher than a predetermined height.

[0032] The lower part of Fig. 4 shows an example in which the display mode of features detected in the upper part of Fig. 4 has been changed. In the lower part of Fig. 4, the part of feature T1, which is a curb in the upper part of Fig. 4, is displayed in a display mode P1 in which a predetermined color or a figure expressing color and light moves (arrow AR) along the road's travel direction. The part of feature T2, which is a tree, is displayed in a display mode P2 in which a convex shape, rectangular figure, or other figure is arranged in the height direction to deform the tree. The parts of features T3 and T4, which are buildings, are displayed in a display mode P3 in which a color or a figure expressing color and light moves in the height direction at their edges.

[0033] Note that the objects provided along the road are not limited to curbs, but may be guard rails or white lines. The feature data 5a in FIG. 2 may be given the name "objects provided along the road" without making a distinction between curbs and white lines. Objects that are equal to or higher than a predetermined height are not limited to buildings such as buildings, but may be trees or utility poles. Objects that are equal to or higher than a predetermined height may be given the name "objects that are equal to or higher than a predetermined height" without making a distinction between buildings and trees. This predetermined height may be determined as appropriate.

[0034] According to this embodiment, when the rider 2 acquires point cloud information and the display control unit 3 causes the display unit 4 to display an image based on the point cloud information, the display control device 1 changes the display mode of a portion of the image based on the point cloud information that corresponds to the feature based on the feature, based on a predetermined attribute of the feature included in the point cloud information. In this way, the display mode can be changed according to the feature included in the point cloud information. Therefore, the entertainment value can be improved by using the point cloud information.

[0035] Furthermore, when the display control unit 3 determines that the attribute is a curbstone or the like provided along the road, the display mode is such that the part corresponding to the feature is displayed as if the color or a figure expressing color, light, or the like moves along the traveling direction. In this way, it is possible to display the object provided along the road in a mode that evokes the driving state or a sense of depth.

[0036] Furthermore, when the display control unit 3 determines that the attribute has a height equal to or greater than a predetermined height, such as a building, the display mode may be such that the portion corresponding to the feature is displayed in such a way that the color changes or a figure expressing color, light, or the like moves along the height direction of the feature. In this way, for features such as high-rise buildings that have a height equal to or greater than a predetermined height, the display mode can take advantage of the height.

[0037] Furthermore, the feature data 5a includes a display mode 5a4 of a portion corresponding to a feature included in an image when an image based on point cloud information in which features around a vehicle are represented by a plurality of points is displayed. In this way, by referring to the feature data 5a, it is possible to easily determine the display mode of the feature when an image based on point cloud information is displayed. Therefore, it is possible to change the display mode according to the feature included in the point cloud information, and it is possible to improve the entertainment value by utilizing the point cloud information.

[0038] Furthermore, the feature data 5a may further include the name 5a3 of the feature, which makes it possible to determine the display mode based on the name of the feature.

[0039] In the above embodiment, attributes of features have been described using things that are provided along roads (white lines, curbs, guardrails, etc.) and things that are at a certain height or higher (buildings, roadside trees (trees), utility poles), but the present invention is not limited to this. Information on whether the feature is a static feature or a dynamic feature may be set as an attribute. Examples of static features include white lines and buildings. Examples of dynamic features include nearby vehicles and people. Static features and dynamic features can be distinguished by matching map data with point cloud information, and matching features are determined to be static features since they are on the map, and non-matching features are determined to be dynamic features. EXAMPLES

[0040] Next, a display control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 5 to Fig. 7. Note that the same parts as those in the first embodiment described above are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0041] In the first embodiment, the feature data 5a was stored in advance in the storage unit 5 of the display control device 1, but in this embodiment, the feature data is distributed from a server device 10. A schematic configuration diagram of this embodiment is shown in Fig. 5. That is, in this embodiment, the server device 10 functions as a storage device.

[0042] As shown in Fig. 5, the server device 10 as a storage device according to this embodiment is capable of communicating with a display control device 1A as a terminal device mounted on a vehicle C, which is an autonomous driving vehicle, via a network N such as the Internet. The functional configuration of the server device 10 is shown in Fig. 6. The server device 10 includes a control unit 11, a communication unit 12, and a storage unit 13.

[0043] The control unit 11 controls the overall control of the server device 10 through the functioning of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) of the server device 10. In response to a request from the display control device 1A, the control unit 11 reads out feature data of a necessary area from the feature data 13a stored in the storage unit 13, and distributes the data to the display control device 1A via the communication unit 12.

[0044] The communication unit 12 functions as a network interface of the server device 10 and receives request information output by the display control device 1A, and also transmits feature data read by the control unit 11 from the feature data 13a to the display control device 1A.

[0045] The storage unit 13 functions as a storage device such as a hard disk of the server device 10, and stores feature data 13a. Note that the server device 10 is not limited to distributing the feature data 13a, and may have map data used for autonomous driving and distribute the map data to the vehicle.

[0046] Fig. 7 shows a block configuration of a display control device 1A according to this embodiment. The block configuration shown in Fig. 7 differs from Fig. 1 in that a communication unit 6 is added and the display control unit 3 is changed to a display control unit 3A.

[0047] The communication unit 6 transmits the request information and the like output by the display control unit 3A to the server device 10. In addition, the communication unit 6 receives the feature data distributed from the server device 10.

[0048] In the display control unit 3A, the processes of coordinate conversion, attribute determination, processing of the display mode, etc. are the same as those in the first embodiment. In addition to these, the display control unit 3A requests feature data via the communication unit 6 and stores the feature data received by the communication unit 6 in the storage unit 5. The request for feature data may be made based on the current position acquired by a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver (not shown) mounted on the vehicle C, for example.

[0049] According to this embodiment, the server device 10 includes a communication unit 12 that outputs feature data to the display control device 1A provided in the vehicle C. In this manner, the feature data can be distributed to the vehicle C. Therefore, the vehicle C does not need to have the feature data in advance, and the capacity of the storage device of the vehicle C can be reduced. In addition, the feature data 5a can be easily updated. EXAMPLES

[0050] Next, a display control device according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 8 to Fig. 11. Note that the same parts as those in the first embodiment described above are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0051] In this embodiment, the display mode is changed based on the distance and height information of the point cloud detected by the LIDAR 2, regardless of the attributes of the features on the ground. Fig. 8 shows a block diagram of a display control device 1B according to this embodiment. The block diagram shown in Fig. 8 differs from that in Fig. 1 in that the display control unit 3 is changed to a display control unit 3B.

[0052] The display control unit 3B changes the display mode of the point cloud based on the distance information and height information of the point cloud information acquired by the LIDAR 2. Specifically, the color, etc. is changed according to the distance and height of the point cloud acquired by the LIDAR 2. As described above, the LIDAR 2 can measure the distance to an object, but can also acquire the angle (horizontal angle, vertical angle) at which the laser light is irradiated at that time. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the height (above ground height) of the object (point cloud) from the distance and angle.

[0053] An example of color settings for each distance is shown in Figure 9. In the case of Figure 9, the range from 0m to less than 10m from the vehicle is color A, the range from 10m to less than 30m from the vehicle is color B, the range from 30m to less than 50m from the vehicle is color C, and the range 50m or more from the vehicle is color D.

[0054] An example of color settings for each height is shown in Figure 10. In the case of Figure 10, the height range between 0m and 10m above ground is color A, the height range between 10m and 50m above ground is color B, the height range between 50m and 100m above ground is color C, and the height range over 100m above ground is color D.

[0055] The display mode is not limited to changing the color, but may be changing the contrast, or the color or contrast may be changed by combining the distance and the height.

[0056] The display mode is not limited to changing the color or contrast of the point cloud, but may be, for example, a deformation as shown in the lower part of Fig. 4 and then change the color or contrast according to the distance or height. Furthermore, the type of effect may be changed according to the distance or height, rather than the color or contrast.

[0057] Fig. 11 shows the operation (display control method) of the display control device 1B of this embodiment. The flowchart shown in Fig. 11 is executed by the display control unit 3B. Therefore, by configuring the display control unit 3B with a microcomputer having a CPU or the like, it is possible to make it into a display control program that executes the display control method.

[0058] In the flowchart of Fig. 11, steps S11, S12, and S15 are similar to those in the flowchart shown in Fig. 3. In the flowchart of Fig. 11, step S13 shown in Fig. 3 is omitted, and step S14 is changed to step S14A.

[0059] As described above, in step S14A, the display mode of the point cloud is determined based on the distance information and the height information of the point cloud information acquired by the LIDAR 2. That is, step S12 is a point cloud information acquisition step, and step S14A is a display control step.

[0060] According to this embodiment, the display control device 1B acquires point cloud information including distance information to features and height information of the features from the rider 2, and the display control unit 3B changes the display mode of the image based on the point cloud information based on the distance information and the height information. In this way, it is possible to change the display mode based on information such as distance included in the point cloud information. For example, it is possible to change the effect according to the distance. Therefore, it is possible to improve the entertainment value by using the point cloud information.

[0061] The display control unit 3B may also obtain angle information based on the distance information and the height information, and change the display mode of the image based on the point cloud information based on the angle information. In this way, it becomes possible to change the display mode of the effect, etc., based on the angle of the point cloud included in the point cloud information.

[0062] The change in the display mode may include a change in color or contrast, and the display control unit may change the color or contrast of the image based on the point cloud information. In this way, the color or contrast can be changed according to the distance or height.

[0063] In the above three embodiments, the point cloud information acquired by the LIDAR 2 is processed in real time by the display control unit 3, etc. However, as shown in Fig. 12, the point cloud information may be stored in advance in the storage unit 5 as point cloud information 5b, and the display control unit 3C may read out the point cloud information corresponding to the current position estimated by the current position estimation unit 7 from the storage unit 5 and perform a predetermined processing. That is, in the case of Fig. 12, the display control unit 3C functions as the point cloud information acquisition unit. In the case of the configuration of Fig. 12, since the point cloud information is stored in advance, dynamic features such as surrounding vehicles are different from the actual situation, so for example, only static features may be displayed.

[0064] The current position estimation unit 7 estimates the current position of the vehicle in which the display control device 1C is mounted. The current position estimation unit 7 may be configured with, for example, a GPS receiver, and may estimate position information of latitude and longitude that indicates the current position based on radio waves received from a GPS satellite.

[0065] In FIG. 12, the display control device 1C is provided with a memory unit 5, but since such 3D data has a large amount of data, it may be stored in an external server or the like, and a communication device for communicating with the external server may be provided so that the display control device 3C acquires point cloud information via the communication device.

[0066] In addition, the point cloud information acquired by the Lidar 2 includes information indicating objects present around the vehicle, such as information indicating pedestrians and other vehicles that the driver, the user, should be aware of. Therefore, by displaying entertaining images using the point cloud information, the driver can enjoy the images while monitoring objects that require attention. This improves the driver's sense of security.

[0067] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. In other words, a person skilled in the art can implement the present invention by modifying it in various ways in accordance with the conventionally known knowledge without departing from the gist of the present invention. As long as the display control device of the present invention is still provided even after such modification, it is of course included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 1, 1A, 1B, 1C Display control device 2 Lidar (point cloud information acquisition unit) 3, 3A, 3B, 3C display control section 4 Display 5 Storage section 5a Feature Data (Map Data Structure) 10. Server device 13a Feature Data (Map Data Structure)

Claims

[Claim 1] A display control device that displays an image on a display unit disposed on a moving object, a point cloud information acquisition unit that acquires point cloud information representing features around the moving object using a plurality of points; a display control unit that changes a display mode of a portion of the image based on the point cloud information that corresponds to a specific feature included in the point cloud information, based on a predetermined attribute of the specific feature, when the image based on the point cloud information is displayed on the display unit; and A display control device comprising:

Images