Travel support device, travel support method and program for travel support

Abstract

To provide a travel support device capable of contributing to movement with an allowance by allowing prediction of a situation in front in advance to some extent.SOLUTION: In a terminal SS which is mounted on a vehicle C and can exchange information by wireless communication with other vehicle C, vehicle information including direction indicator information and position information is acquired, respectively from the other vehicle, and a situation of a position included in an established front area in front of a travel direction of the vehicle on which the terminal SS is mounted is predicted based on the acquired direction indicator information and position information. Then, travel support regarding travel of the vehicle C on which the terminal SS is mounted is performed based on the predicted situation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical fields of a mobility assistance device, a mobility assistance method, and a mobility assistance program, and more specifically, to a mobility assistance device and a mobility assistance method that assist the movement of a vehicle, and a program for the mobility assistance device. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, communication between two or more vehicles within a communication distance has been considered to improve the accuracy of warnings for safe driving, for example. In the following description, communication between two or more vehicles within a communication distance is simply referred to as "vehicle-to-vehicle communication." An example of a document disclosing a conventional technique for such vehicle-to-vehicle communication is Patent Document 1 below. In the conventional technique described in Patent Document 1, when a driver changes lanes, turn signal information and position information of vehicles located in the vicinity are collected, and road conditions after the lane change are predicted based on the collected information and information about the driver's own vehicle, and if there is a risk of contact with another vehicle due to the lane change, a necessary warning is issued to the driver. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-168827 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the conventional technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the road conditions are predicted and the risk of contact is determined after the driver receiving the warning operates the turn signal to change lanes. This means that the driver is only warned when the lane change operation is performed, and furthermore, the timing is too late.

[0005] In addition, since the system only uses information from other vehicles traveling around the vehicle, it is unable to predict locations further ahead.

[0006] Therefore, the present application has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and one example of the objective thereof is to provide a mobility assistance device and a mobility assistance method, as well as a program for the mobility assistance device, that can contribute to relaxed mobility by making it possible to predict the situation ahead to a certain extent in advance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 1 provides a mobility assistance device that is used in a moving body such as a vehicle and is capable of transmitting and receiving information via wireless communication with other moving bodies, the device comprising: an acquisition means such as an interface that acquires, from the other moving bodies, mobile body information including direction indication information indicating the usage status of a direction indication unit in the other moving body and position information indicating the position of the other moving body; a prediction means such as a prediction unit that predicts the situation of a position included in a predetermined forward area in the direction of travel of the moving body in which the mobility assistance device is used, based on the acquired direction indication information and position information; and an assistance means such as an assistance unit that provides mobility assistance regarding the movement of the moving body in which the mobility assistance device is used, based on the predicted situation.

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 6 is a mobility assistance method executed in a mobility assistance device used in a moving body such as a vehicle and capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from other moving bodies via wireless communication, the method comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring, from each of the other moving bodies, mobile body information including direction indication information indicating the usage status of a direction indication unit in the other moving body and position information indicating the position of the other moving body; a prediction step of predicting the status of a position included in a predetermined forward area in the traveling direction of the moving body for which the mobility assistance device is used, based on each of the acquired direction indication information and position information; and an assistance step of providing mobility assistance regarding the movement of the moving body for which the mobility assistance device is used, based on the predicted status.

[0009] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 7 causes a computer included in a mobility assistance device that is used in a moving body such as a vehicle and is capable of sending and receiving information via wireless communication with other moving bodies to function as: an acquisition means that acquires, from the other moving bodies, mobile body information including direction indication information that indicates the usage status of the direction indication unit in the other moving bodies and position information that indicates the position of the other moving bodies; a prediction means that predicts the situation of a position included in a predetermined forward area in the traveling direction of the moving body in which the mobility assistance device is used, based on each of the acquired direction indication information and position information; and an assistance means that provides mobility assistance regarding the movement of the moving body in which the mobility assistance device is used, based on the predicted situation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a travel support device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an inter-vehicle communication system according to an embodiment; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing a driving support process according to an embodiment. [Diagram 5]1A and 1B are conceptual diagrams (I) illustrating driving support processing according to an embodiment, where (a) is a diagram showing a first example, and (b) is a diagram showing a second example. [Figure 6] 11A and 11B are conceptual diagrams (II) illustrating driving support processing according to an embodiment, where (a) is a diagram showing a third example, and (b) is a diagram showing a fourth example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a travel support device according to an embodiment.

[0012] 1, the mobility support device S according to the embodiment is a mobility support device that is used in a moving body and is capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from other moving bodies via wireless communication, and includes an acquisition means 1, a prediction means 2, and a support means 3. In this case, the term "mobile body" includes not only vehicles as a means of transportation such as automobiles, motorcycles, and bicycles, but also people who move around carrying the mobility support device S according to the embodiment.

[0013] In this configuration, the acquisition means 1 acquires, from each of the other moving bodies, moving body information including direction indication information indicating the usage status of the direction indication unit in the other moving body and location information indicating the location of the other moving body.

[0014] The prediction means 2 predicts the situation of a position included in a preset forward area in the traveling direction of the moving body in which the travel support device S is used, based on the direction indication information and position information acquired by the acquisition means 1.

[0015] As a result, the support means 3 performs movement support regarding the movement of the moving object in which the movement support device S is used, based on the situation predicted by the prediction means 2.

[0016] As described above, according to the operation of the mobility support device S of the embodiment, the mobility support device S predicts the situation of a position included in the forward area of ​​the moving body used based on the direction indication information and position information included in the moving body information acquired from other moving bodies, and performs mobility support based on the situation. Therefore, mobility support is performed based on the situation of the forward area predicted using the direction indication information and position information included in the moving body information acquired from other moving bodies, and since the situation ahead is predicted to some extent in advance, it is possible to contribute to a relaxed movement. EXAMPLES

[0017] Next, specific examples corresponding to the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2 to Fig. 6. The examples described below are examples in which the embodiment is applied to a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system that supports the traveling of a vehicle, which is an example of a moving body according to the embodiment, by a terminal device mounted on the vehicle.

[0018] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an inter-vehicle communication system according to an embodiment, Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment, Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing a driving support process according to an embodiment, and Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 are conceptual diagrams illustrating the driving support process. In Fig. 3, the same component numbers as those of the respective components in the driving support device S according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 are used for the respective components in the embodiment.

[0019] 2, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication system CS according to the embodiment is composed of terminal devices SS mounted on vehicles C, each of which is capable of transmitting and receiving various data by interconnection through direct wireless communication via an antenna AT. Here, the terminal devices SS constituting the vehicle-to-vehicle communication system CS themselves store map data for guidance, and are capable of performing guidance processing for the vehicle C using the map data.

[0020] Next, the configuration and general operation of the terminal device SS according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0021] 3, the terminal device SS according to the embodiment is composed of an interface 1 connected to an antenna AT, a processing unit 10 consisting of a CPU, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., a recording unit 11 having a volatile area and a non-volatile area in which map data for the above-mentioned guidance is recorded, an operation unit 12 consisting of an operation button or a touch panel, etc., a sensor unit 13 consisting of various sensors for detecting the current position, traveling direction, speed, and travel distance of a vehicle C equipped with the terminal device SS, and a display 14 consisting of a liquid crystal display or the like for displaying guidance images, map images, etc. required for guidance processing by the terminal device SS. In this case, the interface 1 corresponds to an example of an acquisition means 1 according to the embodiment.

[0022] The processing unit 10 is also configured with a prediction unit 2 corresponding to an example of the prediction means 2 according to the embodiment, an example of the "determination means" according to the present application, and an example of the "calculation means" according to the present application, and a support unit 3 corresponding to an example of the support means 3 according to the embodiment. In this case, the prediction unit 2 and the support unit 3 may each be realized by a hardware logic circuit constituting the processing unit 10, or may be executed in a software manner by the processing unit 10 reading and executing a program for driving support processing, which will be described later. Furthermore, the interface 1 and the prediction unit 2 and support unit 3 of the processing unit 10 configure an example of the travel support device S according to the embodiment (see the dashed line in FIG. 3).

[0023] In the above configuration, the interface 1 controls data transmission and reception with other terminal devices SS under the control of the processing unit 10. The recording unit 11 temporarily stores data necessary for the processing unit 10 to execute the driving support processing according to the embodiment, records the map data, and reads them out as necessary. The sensor unit 13 detects the current position of the terminal device SS, for example, autonomously or by receiving navigation radio waves from a GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation satellite, and outputs current position data indicating the current position to the processing unit 10. The sensor unit 13 also autonomously detects the speed, traveling direction, and travel distance of the vehicle C, and outputs speed data indicating the speed to the processing unit 10. The operation unit 12 outputs an operation signal corresponding to the operation to the processing unit 10 by performing an operation to specify an operation as the terminal device SS (operation of the driving support processing or operation of the guidance processing according to the embodiment, etc.). As a result, the processing unit 10 executes the guidance processing and the driving support processing according to the embodiment while displaying necessary information or a map image on the display 14. At this time, the prediction unit 2 and the support unit 3 of the processing unit 10 take the lead in executing the driving support process.

[0024] Next, the driving support process according to the embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to Figs. 3 to 6. The driving support process according to the embodiment is started, for example, when a start operation is performed on the operation unit 12. In the following description, the vehicle C on which the terminal device SS on which the driving support process shown in Figs. 3 to 6 is executed is referred to as "own vehicle C0". Furthermore, the other vehicles C described below other than the own vehicle C0 are referred to as vehicle C1, vehicle C2, vehicle C3, ..., vehicle Cn (n is a natural number). In addition, when describing matters common to the own vehicles C0 to Cn, they are simply referred to as "vehicle C".

[0025] That is, in the driving support process according to the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, when the above-mentioned start operation is performed, the processing unit 10 first acquires data necessary for the driving support process by direct wireless communication (vehicle-to-vehicle communication) with the terminal device SS of the other vehicle Cn via the interface 1 and the antenna AT (step S1). The data acquired from the other terminal device SS in step S1 includes, for example, source identification data, destination identification data, current position data, type data, shape data, intersection data, trajectory data, distance data, turn signal data, and hazard data. At this time, the source identification data is data for identifying the vehicle C on which the other terminal device SS is mounted from the other vehicles C. The destination identification data is data for identifying the vehicle C0 on which the terminal device SS, which is the transmission destination (destination), is mounted from the other vehicles Cn. The current position data is data indicating the current position of the vehicle Cn on which the other terminal device SS is mounted. The type data is data indicating the type of road on which the vehicle Cn is currently traveling (for example, whether the vehicle Cn is traveling on a general road or a highway). Furthermore, the shape data is data that indicates the shape of the road on which the vehicle Cn is currently traveling, for example, by so-called link data and node data. The intersection data is data that indicates the position of the intersection immediately in the traveling direction on the road on which the vehicle Cn is currently traveling, the distance and direction to the intersection, the shape of the intersection, and the presence or absence of a traffic light at the intersection. The trajectory data is data that indicates the traveling history (traveling trajectory) of the vehicle Cn. Furthermore, the distance data is data that indicates the distance between the vehicles C on which the terminal device SS is mounted (for example, the distance between the vehicle C0 and another vehicle Cn when the vehicle C0 and the other vehicle Cn are traveling on the same road in the same direction). The above-mentioned type data, shape data, and intersection data are transmitted because the vehicle Cn on which the terminal device SS is mounted records map data for guidance processing. Finally, the turn signal data and hazard data are data that indicate whether the turn signal switch and hazard switch of the other vehicle Cn are turned on or off, respectively. At this time, the turn signal data also includes data that indicates whether the turn signal is being turned on to the left or right of the vehicle Cn.

[0026] When reception of various data is started in step S1, the prediction unit 2 of the processing unit 10 next determines whether or not another vehicle Cn, which is the source of the various data, is present in a preset range ahead of the vehicle C0 in the traveling direction (hereinafter, this area is referred to as the "forward area") (step S2). If it is determined in step S2 that another vehicle Cn is not present in the forward area (step S2; NO), the prediction unit 2 proceeds to step S8, which will be described later.

[0027] Here, the determination in step S2 is performed by, for example, comparing the current position data transmitted from the other vehicle Cn with the current position data of the vehicle C0 output from the sensor unit 13. The forward area in this case is specifically, for example, a fan-shaped forward area having a central angle of 90° (180° in total) on the left and right sides with the current position of the vehicle C0 as its center and the traveling direction of the vehicle C0 as its central axis (axis of symmetry), and a radius of, for example, 250 meters. Furthermore, the processing unit 10 determines whether or not another vehicle Cn exists for each divided area obtained by dividing the fan-shaped forward area every 20 meters along the road on which the vehicle C0 is traveling. In the following description, the divided area is referred to as a "count area". Each count area according to the embodiment is set by the processing unit 10 not starting from the current position of the vehicle C0, but starting from, for example, an intersection, a branch point, an entrance point, or a node as map data ahead of the road on which the vehicle C0 is traveling.

[0028] Here, the forward area and count area according to the embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 5(a). In FIG. 5(a), for example, when the vehicle C0 is traveling on a road R0, the count area A1 and count area A2 are set by the processing unit 10 of the vehicle C0 as shown in the figure. In the following description, when matters common to the count area A1 and count area A2 are described, they are simply referred to as "count area A". The width (length in the left-right direction in FIG. 5) of one count area A is, for example, 20 meters in the forward area described above. Also, as illustrated in FIG. 5(a), when there is a road R1 adjacent to the road R0 on which the vehicle C0 is traveling, the vehicles C1 to C6 that are traveling on the road R1 and are within each count area A are determined to be present in the forward area of ​​the vehicle C0 in the determination in the above step S2 (step S2; YES). As shown in Figure 5(b), if there is an intersection CR (more specifically, a branching point or merging point) within the forward area set for the vehicle C0, the count area A is set to a total of 20 meters before and after the intersection CR (see count area A2 in Figure 5(b)).

[0029] If any vehicle Cn is present in the forward area in the judgment of step S2 (step S2; YES), the prediction unit 2 then counts the number of vehicles Cn that are emitting their turn signals among the present vehicles Cn, and detects the direction of the turn signals relative to the traveling direction of the vehicles Cn that are emitting their turn signals (step S3). The judgment of step S3 is performed, for example, based on the turn signal data transmitted from the other vehicles Cn. In the detection of step S3, the prediction unit 2 counts, for example, as shown in FIG. 6(a), for each count area A, the vehicles C2, C4, C5, and C6 that are emitting turn signals W among the vehicles Cn present therein. At this time, in the case of the example shown in FIG. 6(a), the prediction unit 2 counts "one vehicle C emitting a turn signal to the right" for the count area A1. Also, for the count area A2 that is farther away than the count area A1 as viewed from the vehicle C0, the prediction unit 2 counts "three vehicles C emitting a turn signal to the right". Then, for example, when three or more vehicles Cn are emitting their blinkers W in the same direction, the processing unit 10 recognizes that the three vehicles are emitting their blinkers W because they are approaching a specific point (for example, an entrance point or an intersection CR, etc.). If it is determined in step S3 that no vehicle Cn is emitting a blinker W (step S3; NO), the processing unit 10 proceeds to step S8, which will be described later.

[0030] On the other hand, in the judgment of step S3, if the vehicle Cn that is emitting the blinker W exists and the method of emitting the blinker W is detected (step S3; YES), the prediction unit 2 next judges whether or not there is another road connected ahead to the road on which the vehicle C0 is traveling, for example, based on the map data recorded in the recording unit 11 (step S4). Here, the other road is connected to the road on which the vehicle C0 is traveling, for example, through an intersection CR, a branch point, or an entry point. In the following description, the other connected road is referred to as a unit "connecting road". In the judgment of step S4, if there is no connecting road ahead (step S4; NO), the support unit 3 of the processing unit 10 judges that the vehicle Cn that is emitting the blinker W in the counting of the above step S3 is emitting the blinker W to avoid an obstacle such as a fallen object on the road on which the vehicle C0 is traveling, and executes a guidance process such as a warning to that effect, for example, using the display 14 (step S9). In this case, the support unit 3 displays a warning such as "There may be something falling ahead. Please be careful" on the display 14. After that, the processing unit 10 proceeds to step S8, which will be described later.

[0031] On the other hand, in the judgment of step S4, if a connecting road is ahead (step S4; YES), the prediction unit 2 judges whether or not the current position of the vehicle C0 is near a branch point related to the connecting road, for example, based on the current position data from the sensor unit 13 (step S5). At this time, the prediction unit 2 judges that the current position of the vehicle C0 is near a branch point (intersection CR) when there are vehicles C2 to C5 that are emitting blinkers W in both the count area A2 including the intersection CR ahead and the count area A1 adjacent to the count area A2, for example, as illustrated in Fig. 6(b). In the judgment of step S5, if the current position of the vehicle C0 is near the branch point (step S5; YES), the support unit 3 proceeds to step S8 described later without executing any guidance processing. On the other hand, if the current position of the vehicle C0 is not near a branch point in the judgment of step S5 (step S5; NO), the prediction unit 2 next judges whether or not the connecting road whose existence was judged in the judgment of step S4 is a connecting road that flows into the road on which the vehicle C0 is traveling with the intersection CR ahead as an entry point (step S6). The judgment of this step S6 is performed by the same method as the method for judging whether or not it is near a branch point in the above step S5. In addition, in the judgment of step S6, the prediction unit 2 judges whether or not there is a vehicle Cn that is turning on a turn signal W on the opposite side to the direction in which the connecting road is connected, in addition to whether or not there is a connecting road that flows in ahead. That is, for example, when there is a connecting road that connects from the left in the traveling direction, the prediction unit 2 also judges whether or not there is a vehicle Cn that is present in the forward area at that time that is turning on a turn signal W in the right direction.

[0032] If it is determined in step S6 that there is an incoming connecting road (step S6; YES), the support unit 3 executes merging guidance to the effect that there is a connecting road in accordance with the direction that the connecting road is coming in from (step S10). In this step S10, if there is a connecting road coming in from the left ahead (see step S6; YES), for example, the support unit 3 displays a warning message such as "There is a merging road coming in from the left. Move to the right lane" on the display 14 together with, for example, a symbol mark indicating the connecting road coming in from the left.

[0033] On the other hand, if there is no incoming connecting road in the judgment of step S6 (step S6; NO), the prediction unit 2 next judges whether the point where the turn signal W is turned on in the vehicle Cn ahead is within the junction ahead or before the junction (step S7). If the judgment of step S7 is that the point where the turn signal W is turned on in the vehicle Cn ahead is within the junction ahead or before the junction (step S7; YES), the support unit 3 executes the junction guidance similar to the above step S10. On the other hand, if the judgment of step S7 is that the point where the turn signal W is turned on in the vehicle Cn ahead is neither within the junction ahead nor before the junction (step S7; NO), the prediction unit 2 next judges whether or not to end the driving support processing according to the embodiment due to, for example, the power supply of the terminal device SS being turned off (step S8). If the judgment of step S8 is to continue the driving support processing (step S8; NO), the prediction unit 2 returns to the above step S1. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S8 that the driving support process according to the embodiment is to be ended (step S8; YES), the prediction unit 2 ends the driving support process as it is.

[0034] To summarize the driving support process according to the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4, when it is determined that the current position of the vehicle C0 is near a branch point ahead in the forward area set for the vehicle C0 (see step S5 in Fig. 4; YES), even if it is determined that the turn signal W is on in another vehicle Cn (see step S3 in Fig. 4; YES), the support unit 3 does not perform merging guidance corresponding to that. In contrast, when it is determined that the turn signal W is on in a vehicle Cn on a connecting road ahead that is merging into the vehicle C0 (see step S6 in Fig. 4; YES), the support unit 3 executes the necessary guidance process (see step S10 in Fig. 4).

[0035] On the other hand, even if there is no connecting road ahead (see FIG. 4, step S6; NO), if it is determined that the turn signal W is on in the vehicle Cn on the road before the merging point (see FIG. 4, step S7; YES), the support unit 3 executes the necessary guidance process (see FIG. 4, step S10). On the other hand, if there is no connecting road ahead and it is determined that the turn signal W is on in the vehicle Cn on the road that is not before the merging point (ahead of the merging point) (see FIG. 4, step S7; NO), the support unit 3 does not perform the corresponding merging guidance, etc.

[0036] Furthermore, if there is no intersection CR or branch point ahead and it is determined that a nearby vehicle Cn has its turn signal W on (see step S4 in Figure 4; NO), the support unit 3 determines that there is a fallen object or lane restriction and executes a guidance process to that effect (see step S9 in Figure 4).

[0037] As described above, according to the operation of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication system CS of the embodiment, the situation in the area ahead of the vehicle C0 is predicted based on the turn signal data and current position data (hereinafter simply referred to as "turn signal data, etc.") acquired from other vehicles Cn, and necessary guidance processing is performed based on that situation (see steps S9 and S10 in Figure 4).Since guidance processing is performed based on the situation in the forward area predicted using turn signal data, etc. acquired from other vehicles Cn present in the forward area, the situation ahead is predicted to a certain extent in advance, allowing the vehicle C0 to travel with ease.

[0038] In addition, since turn signal data, etc. are acquired for each count area A along the traveling direction of the host vehicle C0 and the situation ahead is predicted, the situation ahead can be predicted in more detail for each count area A.

[0039] Furthermore, when it is determined that guidance processing regarding the predicted situation is necessary, the guidance processing is performed for the driver of the vehicle C0, etc., thereby making it possible to provide guidance regarding the predicted situation ahead while reducing the inconvenience to the driver, etc. caused by unnecessary guidance processing.

[0040] Furthermore, the number of other vehicles Cn approaching a point ahead in the direction of travel is calculated based on turn signal data, etc., obtained from other vehicles Cn ahead in the direction of travel, and the situation ahead is predicted based on the calculated number and data from each vehicle Cn, so that necessary guidance processing can be performed in advance for the point ahead where vehicles will approach.

[0041] In addition, since it is predicted based on the turn signal data and the like whether or not there will be a need to change lanes ahead in the traveling direction, the driver, etc. can recognize the need to change lanes in advance.

[0042] In the above-described embodiment, the forward area according to the embodiment may be narrowed down to an area that can be traced from the current position of the vehicle C0 on the road on which the vehicle C0 is traveling.

[0043] Also, the vehicle may be configured to receive the hazard data in addition to the turn signal data from other vehicles Cn, and perform guidance processing for traffic congestion ahead of the vehicle C0. In this case, for example, by determining whether the vehicle Cn that received the hazard data is only one vehicle Cn or whether the hazard data is received from multiple vehicles Cn, it is determined whether there is a traffic congestion (when hazard data is received from multiple vehicles Cn) or whether the hazard is accidentally used due to a breakdown or other reasons (when hazard data is received from only one vehicle Cn), and guidance processing is performed according to the determination result.

[0044] Furthermore, the system can be configured to switch between providing guidance using voice (when the vehicle is close) and providing guidance using an alarm sound (when the vehicle is far) depending on whether the distance to the vehicle Cn ahead about to change lanes is close or far.

[0045] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the case where the present application is applied to the vehicle-to-vehicle communication system CS using vehicle-to-vehicle communication has been described, but in addition to this, the present application can also be applied to a communication system that transmits and receives data between vehicles C via a network such as the Internet (i.e., via a predetermined server device). In this case, data is transmitted and received while each terminal device SS identifies the other using the above-mentioned source identification data, etc.

[0046] Furthermore, the map data and the like recorded in the recording unit 11 in the embodiment may be configured to be obtained whenever necessary via a network such as the Internet, instead of being recorded within the recording unit 11 itself.

[0047] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the present application is applied to the vehicle-to-vehicle communication system CS using vehicle-to-vehicle communication has been described, but in addition to this, for example, the present application can be applied to a system that supports the movement of a person carrying a portable information terminal device (including a so-called smartphone) as an example of a moving body according to the embodiment while communicating between the portable information terminal devices. In this case, the portable information terminal devices will exchange necessary data while identifying each other using identification data that identifies each other.

[0048] Furthermore, a driving assistance program corresponding to the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 can be recorded on a recording medium such as an optical disk or a hard disk, or obtained via a network such as the Internet, and then read out and executed by a general-purpose microcomputer or the like, thereby causing the microcomputer to function as the processing unit 10 according to the embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1. Acquisition method (interface) 2 Prediction means (prediction part) 3 Support means (Support Department) 10 Processing section SS terminal equipment CS Inter-Vehicle Communication System C0 Vehicle C, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6 vehicles CR intersection R0, R1 Road W Winker

Claims

[Claim 1] A mobility support device that is used in a mobile body and is capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from other mobile bodies via wireless communication, an acquisition means for acquiring, from each of the other moving bodies, moving body information including direction indication information indicating a usage status of a direction indication unit in the other moving body and location information indicating a location of the other moving body; a prediction means for predicting a situation of a position included in a preset forward area in a traveling direction of the moving body in which the travel support device is used, based on each of the acquired direction indication information and position information; an assistance means for providing assistance with respect to the movement of the moving body in which the movement assistance device is used, based on the predicted situation; A mobility support device comprising:

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