Potential accident responsibility determination device

Abstract

To provide a travel storage system and a travel recording method that make it possible to confirm the reliability of potential accident responsibility information.SOLUTION: A potential accident responsibility determination device includes: a target vehicle behavior determination unit (141) configured to acquire a sensor value (S) from a sensor (111) indicating behavior of surrounding vehicles present around a host vehicle (1) and sequentially determine a relative behavior (V) of a target vehicle selected, from the surrounding vehicles, with respect to the host vehicle (1), based on the sensor value (S); a rule acquisition unit (142) configured to acquire an accident responsibility rule at a current position of the host vehicle (1); a potential accident responsibility value determination unit (151) configured to sequentially determine potential accident responsibility values (AL), based on the relative behavior (V) of the target vehicle and the accident responsibility rule, each of the potential accident responsibility values (AL) indicating a degree of responsibility of the host vehicle (1) for an accident assumed between the target vehicle and the host vehicle (1); and a potential accident storage unit (152) configured to store the potential accident responsibility value (AL) and responsibility value determination information (R), which is information used for determining the potential accident responsibility value (AL), in association with each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is based on Patent Application No. 2019-130771 filed in Japan on July 15, 2019, and Patent Application No. 2019-131256 filed in Japan on July 16, 2019, and the contents of the original applications are incorporated by reference in their entirety. [Technical field]

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a video recording system, an autonomous driving system, and a video recording method. [Background technology]

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a device that estimates the driving state of a target vehicle and calculates a potential accident responsibility value (hereinafter, potential accident responsibility value) by comparing the state with driving rules. This device stores the calculated potential accident responsibility value and outputs it after an accident.

[0004] Patent Document 2 discloses a technology for capturing and storing images of the vehicle's forward traveling direction when a collision or a high risk of collision is detected, in order to identify the cause of a vehicle accident. In addition, automated driving, which automates the driving operation of a vehicle, is known. There may be multiple levels of automated driving, as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). For example, in a vehicle in which the driving operation is fully automated, it is assumed that the occupants will no longer bear legal responsibilities as a driver, such as the duty to monitor the safety of the surroundings. The contents of the prior art documents are incorporated by reference as explanations of the technical elements in this specification. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2018 / 115963 [Patent Document 2] JP 2009-157554 A Summary of the Invention

[0006] The potential accident responsibility value can be used when determining the responsibility of a vehicle involved in an accident when an accident occurs. In order to use the potential accident responsibility value to determine the responsibility of a vehicle involved in an accident, the reliability of the potential accident responsibility value must be high. However, the potential accident responsibility value is simply a scalar value and may be tampered with. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to confirm the reliability of the potential accident responsibility value. Even if the potential accident responsibility value is not tampered with, if the manufacturer, version, etc. of the device are different, the algorithm for determining the potential accident responsibility value may be different. Then, even in the same situation, the value of the potential accident responsibility value may differ depending on the manufacturer, version, etc. of the device. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to confirm the reliability of the potential accident responsibility value later by another device.

[0007] Furthermore, the potential accident responsibility value is a value determined by a predetermined determination method. However, there are various circumstances in which an actual accident occurs. Therefore, even if the potential accident responsibility value has not been tampered with, when the surrounding circumstances are taken into consideration, the potential accident responsibility value may not properly represent the responsibility of the vehicle that caused the accident. In this respect, it is desirable to be able to confirm whether the potential accident responsibility value is reliable. It is also desirable to be able to confirm whether the presence or absence of responsibility that can be determined from the potential accident responsibility value is reliable. In the following, the concept including the potential accident responsibility value and the presence or absence of responsibility that can be determined from the potential accident responsibility value is referred to as potential accident responsibility information.

[0008] In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 2, when a collision or a high risk of a collision is detected, an image of the area ahead of the vehicle is stored. However, when the vehicle is a vehicle capable of switching the degree of autonomous driving (hereinafter, autonomous driving level), it is difficult to distinguish from the stored image whether the image shows the vehicle being driven autonomously or not autonomously. Therefore, when an accident occurs, it is difficult to prove from the stored image that the autonomous driving of the vehicle is not responsible. Also, when an accident occurs between vehicles nearby the vehicle, it is difficult to prove from the stored image that the autonomous driving of the vehicle is not responsible.

[0009] One objective of this disclosure is to provide a video recording system, an autonomous driving system, and a video recording method that make it easier to prove that autonomous driving is not responsible for the occurrence of an accident.

[0010] The above object is achieved by the combination of features recited in the independent claims, and the subclaims define further advantageous specific examples. The reference characters in parentheses in the claims indicate a correspondence with specific means described in the following embodiment as one aspect, and do not limit the disclosed technical scope.

[0011] One disclosure of a video recording system for achieving the above object is: Used in vehicles that can switch between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving, A video acquisition unit that sequentially acquires accident confirmation video from an on-board camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident that occurs in the vehicle or around the vehicle; A driving identification unit that identifies whether the vehicle is in an autonomous driving state or a non-autonomous driving state; A storage processing unit stores the accident confirmation video in a recording device in a manner that associates the accident confirmation video with information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time when the accident confirmation video identified by the driving identification unit is acquired, or in a manner that allows the accident confirmation video to be associated with the information; The accident confirmation video and the information that can identify the driving state are associated with each other by a matching index, As a recording device, A video recording device that stores an accident confirmation video together with a corresponding index, and a driving state recording device that stores information that can identify a driving state together with the corresponding index, The correspondence index is a timestamp, a time measurement unit that measures a measurement time used for a time stamp; A time correction unit that calculates a time error per unit elapsed time based on a time difference between the measurement time and a reference time based on a time transmitted by a GNSS satellite, In the video recording system, the video recording device and the driving condition recording device record the time error together with the time stamp. One disclosure of a video recording system for achieving the above object is: Used in vehicles that can switch between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving, A video acquisition unit that sequentially acquires accident confirmation video from an on-board camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident that occurs in the vehicle or around the vehicle; A driving identification unit that identifies whether the vehicle is in an autonomous driving state or a non-autonomous driving state; A storage processing unit stores the accident confirmation video in a recording device in a manner that associates the accident confirmation video with information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time when the accident confirmation video identified by the driving identification unit is acquired, or in a manner that allows the accident confirmation video to be associated with the information; The accident confirmation video and the information that can identify the driving state are associated with each other by a matching index, As a recording device, A video recording device that stores an accident confirmation video together with a corresponding index, and a driving state recording device that stores information that can identify a driving state together with the corresponding index, The correspondence index is a timestamp, a time measurement unit that measures a measurement time used for a time stamp; and a time correction unit that calculates a time error per unit elapsed time and a time accuracy that is a standard deviation based on a population of the time error, based on a time difference between the measurement time and a reference time based on a time transmitted by a GNSS satellite. This is a video recording system in which the video recording device and the driving condition recording device record time stamps as well as time accuracy. One disclosure of a video recording system for achieving the above object is: Used in vehicles that can switch between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving, A video acquisition unit that sequentially acquires accident confirmation video from an on-board camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident that occurs in the vehicle or around the vehicle; A driving identification unit that identifies whether the vehicle is in an autonomous driving state or a non-autonomous driving state; A storage processing unit stores the accident confirmation video in a recording device in a manner that associates the accident confirmation video with information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time when the accident confirmation video identified by the driving identification unit is acquired, or in a manner that allows the accident confirmation video to be associated with the information; The accident confirmation video includes footage of the area around the vehicle. The vehicle exterior image acquisition unit is configured to sequentially acquire, as an accident confirmation image, an exterior image of the vehicle, which is an image captured by an exterior camera provided in the vehicle and capturing an image of the surroundings of the vehicle, and further includes: A risk determination unit (1204) that determines whether there is a risk of collision between at least one of the objects between the vehicle and an obstacle around the vehicle and between vehicles around the vehicle; a storage target determination unit that, when triggered by a determination by the risk determination unit that there is a risk of collision between objects, determines to store in a recording device the vehicle outside images sequentially acquired by the vehicle outside image acquisition unit and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time when the vehicle outside images are acquired, which is identified by the driving identification unit; The storage target determination unit is a video recording system that, when the vehicle's driving state switches from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving, stores the outside-vehicle images sequentially acquired by the outside-vehicle image acquisition unit and information that can identify the vehicle's driving state at the time the outside-vehicle images are acquired, as identified by the driving identification unit, even if the risk determination unit has not determined that there is a risk of collision between objects. One disclosure of a video recording system for achieving the above object is: Used in vehicles that can switch between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving, A video acquisition unit that sequentially acquires accident confirmation video from an on-board camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident that occurs in the vehicle or around the vehicle; A driving identification unit that identifies whether the vehicle is in an autonomous driving state or a non-autonomous driving state; A storage processing unit stores the accident confirmation video in a recording device in a manner that associates the accident confirmation video with information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time when the accident confirmation video identified by the driving identification unit is acquired, or in a manner that allows the accident confirmation video to be associated with the information; The accident confirmation video includes footage of the area around the vehicle. The vehicle exterior image acquisition unit is configured to sequentially acquire, as an accident confirmation image, an exterior image of the vehicle, which is an image captured by an exterior camera provided in the vehicle and capturing an image of the surroundings of the vehicle, and further includes: This video recording system is equipped with a storage target determination unit that, when triggered by the vehicle's driving state switching from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving, determines, as storage targets to be stored in a recording device, the outside-vehicle images sequentially acquired by the outside-vehicle image acquisition unit and information that can identify the vehicle's driving state at the time the outside-vehicle images identified by the driving identification unit are acquired.

[0012] One disclosure of a video recording method for achieving the above object is: A video recording method for use in a vehicle that can switch between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving that does not perform autonomous driving, Sequentially acquiring accident confirmation video from an in-vehicle camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident occurring in or around the vehicle; Identifying whether the vehicle is in an autonomous or non-autonomous driving state; The accident confirmation video acquired sequentially is stored in a recording device in a manner that corresponds to or enables correspondence between the accident confirmation video and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the accident confirmation video is acquired, The accident confirmation video and the information that can identify the driving state are associated with each other by a matching index, As a recording device, The system includes a video recording device that stores the accident confirmation video together with a corresponding index, and a driving state recording device that stores information that can identify the driving state together with the corresponding index, The correspondence index is a timestamp, Measure the measurement time used for the timestamp; Based on the time difference between the measurement time and the reference time based on the time transmitted by the GNSS satellites, the time error per unit of elapsed time is calculated. In this video recording method, the video recording device and the driving condition recording device record the time error together with the time stamp. One disclosure of a video recording method for achieving the above object is: A video recording method used in a vehicle capable of switching between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving that does not perform autonomous driving, and executed by a computer, comprising: The computer Sequentially acquiring accident confirmation video from an in-vehicle camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident occurring in or around the vehicle; Identifying whether the vehicle is in an autonomous or non-autonomous driving state; The accident confirmation video acquired sequentially is stored in a recording device in a manner that corresponds to or enables correspondence between the accident confirmation video and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the accident confirmation video is acquired, The accident confirmation video and the information that can identify the driving state are associated with each other by a matching index, As a recording device, The system includes a video recording device that stores the accident confirmation video together with a corresponding index, and a driving state recording device that stores information that can identify the driving state together with the corresponding index, The correspondence index is a timestamp, Measure the measurement time used for the timestamp; Based on the time difference between the measurement time and the reference time based on the time transmitted by the GNSS satellite, the time error per unit of elapsed time and the time accuracy, which is the standard deviation based on the time error as a population, are calculated. This is a video recording method in which the video recording device and the driving condition recording device record the time precision together with the time stamp. One disclosure of a video recording method for achieving the above object is: A video recording method used in a vehicle capable of switching between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving that does not perform autonomous driving, and executed by a computer, comprising: The computer Sequentially acquiring accident confirmation video from an in-vehicle camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident occurring in or around the vehicle; Identifying whether the vehicle is in an autonomous or non-autonomous driving state; The accident confirmation video acquired sequentially is stored in a recording device in a manner that corresponds to or enables correspondence between the accident confirmation video and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the accident confirmation video is acquired, The accident confirmation video includes footage of the area around the vehicle. Sequentially acquiring exterior images of the vehicle, which are images captured by an exterior camera installed in the vehicle and capturing the surroundings of the vehicle, as accident confirmation images; determining whether there is a risk of collision between at least one of the objects between the vehicle and an obstacle around the vehicle and between the vehicles around the vehicle; When it is determined that there is a risk of collision between the objects, the outside image of the vehicle and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time when the outside image of the vehicle is acquired are determined as storage objects to be stored in a recording device; In determining what to store, even if it is not determined that there is a risk of collision between objects, this video recording method stores outside the vehicle and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the outside video is acquired, triggered by the vehicle's driving state switching from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving. One disclosure of a video recording method for achieving the above object is: A video recording method used in a vehicle capable of switching between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving that does not perform autonomous driving, and executed by a computer, comprising: The computer Sequentially acquiring accident confirmation video from an in-vehicle camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident occurring in or around the vehicle; Identifying whether the vehicle is in an autonomous or non-autonomous driving state; The accident confirmation video acquired sequentially is stored in a recording device in a manner that corresponds to or enables correspondence between the accident confirmation video and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the accident confirmation video is acquired, The accident confirmation video includes footage of the area around the vehicle. An exterior image of the vehicle, which is an image captured by an exterior camera (1051) installed in the vehicle and capturing an image of the surroundings of the vehicle, is sequentially acquired as an accident confirmation image; This is a video recording method in which, triggered by the vehicle's driving state switching from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving, the video outside the vehicle and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the video outside the vehicle is acquired are stored in a recording device.

[0013] According to the above-mentioned video recording system and video recording method, the accident confirmation video, which is a video that may allow confirmation of the accident situation when an accident occurs in the vehicle or in the vicinity of the vehicle, is stored in the recording device. Therefore, the cause of the accident can be more easily investigated based on the accident confirmation video. In addition, the accident confirmation video is associated with information that can identify whether the driving state of the vehicle at the time the accident confirmation video is acquired is automatic driving or non-automatic driving. Therefore, it is possible to identify whether the driving state of the vehicle at the time the accident confirmation video is acquired is automatic driving or non-automatic driving. Therefore, when it is possible to confirm that an accident has occurred from the accident confirmation video, it is easy to distinguish whether the accident occurred during automatic driving or non-automatic driving. Therefore, even if it is determined that the vehicle is responsible for the occurrence of the accident from the accident confirmation video, it is possible to prove that the automatic driving of the vehicle is not responsible by distinguishing whether the accident confirmation video was taken during automatic driving or non-automatic driving. As a result, it is possible to easily prove that the automatic driving is not responsible for the occurrence of an accident in a vehicle that can be switched between automatic driving and non-automatic driving that does not perform this automatic driving.

[0014] The automated driving system to achieve the above objectives is as follows: Used in vehicles that can switch between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving, The video recording system; a driving environment recognition unit that recognizes a driving environment of the vehicle using a detection result by a surrounding monitoring sensor that monitors the surroundings of the vehicle; A driving planner that generates a driving plan for driving the vehicle by autonomous driving using the driving environment recognized by the driving environment recognition unit; The autonomous driving system includes an autonomous driving function unit that controls the vehicle's driving in accordance with the driving plan generated by the driving plan unit.

[0015] According to this, since it includes the aforementioned video recording system, it will be easier to prove that the autonomous driving is not responsible for the occurrence of an accident in a vehicle that can switch between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a potential accident responsibility value determining device 100 according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 4 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the potential accident responsibility value determining device 100. [Diagram 3] 11 is a flowchart showing a process of extracting potential accident information ALinfo. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of a potential accident responsibility value determining device 200 according to a second embodiment. [Diagram 5] 4 is a diagram showing a process executed by the potential accident responsibility value determining device 200. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of a potential accident responsibility value determining device 300 according to a third embodiment. [Figure 7] 4 is a diagram showing a process executed by the potential accident responsibility value determining device 300. [Figure 8] 13 is a diagram showing a process executed by the wireless communication unit 360 when other vehicle potential accident information ALinfo(oc) is received. FIG. [Figure 9]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of a potential accident responsibility value determining device 400 according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 10] 4 is a diagram showing the process executed by the potential accident responsibility value determining device 400. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of a potential accident responsibility value determining device 500 according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining related surrounding vehicles. [Figure 13] 13 is a diagram showing an example of processing executed by a peripheral information acquisition unit 570; [Figure 14] 3 is a diagram showing a process performed when the host vehicle 1 and surrounding vehicles perform time synchronization. FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a process executed by a potential accident responsibility value determining device 600 according to the sixth embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a process executed by a responsibility value server Sr in the sixth embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a potential accident responsibility value determining device 700 according to a seventh embodiment. [Figure 18] 13 is a diagram showing the time correction process executed by a time correction unit 744. [Figure 19] 13 is a diagram showing a process executed by a target vehicle behavior determining unit 741. FIG. [Figure 20] 13 is a diagram showing the processing executed by a potential accident responsibility value determining unit 751. [Figure 21] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of a potential accident responsibility value determining device 800 according to an eighth embodiment. [Figure 22] 6 is a flowchart showing a process executed by a potential accident responsibility value determining device 800. [Figure 23] 23 is a flowchart showing detailed processing of S132 in FIG. 22. [Figure 24] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle system 1001 and an automatic driving device 1002. [Diagram 25] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of an exterior camera 1051. [Figure 26] FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a video processing device 1020. [Figure 27] 10 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of video storage-related processing in the video processing device 1020. [Figure 28]FIG. 1 shows an example of a schematic configuration of a video processing device 1020a. [Figure 29] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle system 1101 according to a twenty-first embodiment. [Diagram 30] FIG. 30 shows a configuration of a video processing device 1120 in FIG. 29. [Diagram 31] FIG. 31 is a diagram showing the configuration of a traveling storage system according to a thirty-first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] First Embodiment Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a potential accident responsibility value determination device 100 of the first embodiment. The potential accident responsibility value determination device 100 also functions as a travel storage device and a travel storage system. The potential accident responsibility value determination device 100 is mounted on a vehicle 1. The vehicle 1 is a vehicle in which a certain potential accident responsibility value determination device 100 is mounted, when the potential accident responsibility value determination device 100 is used as a reference.

[0018] There is no particular limitation on the vehicle as long as it is a vehicle that runs on a road. Vehicles include ordinary passenger cars, trucks, buses, etc. The potential accident liability value determination device 100 determines the potential accident liability value AL val The potential liability value AL is determined sequentially. val is a scalar value indicating the degree of responsibility of the host vehicle 1 in the event of an accident occurring between the host vehicle 1 and a target vehicle selected from the surrounding vehicles around the host vehicle 1. Since this is "in the event of an accident occurring," an accident has not yet occurred. Since it is an accident that has not yet occurred, it is a potentially anticipated accident. This potential accident responsibility value AL val By comparing the potential accident liability value AL with a predetermined threshold value for judging the presence or absence of liability, it is possible to determine whether the vehicle 1 is responsible. val is information indicating whether the vehicle 1 is responsible for the accident. val is an example of potential accident liability information indicating whether the vehicle 1 is responsible. The above threshold value is, for example, 0. The potential accident liability value AL valis determined for each of the multiple surrounding vehicles present around the host vehicle 1.

[0019] The potential accident responsibility value determination device 100 is also installed in a vehicle other than the own vehicle 1. The potential accident responsibility value determination device 100 is installed in a plurality of vehicles. Each potential accident responsibility value determination device 100 regards the vehicle in which the potential accident responsibility value determination device 100 is installed as the own vehicle 1 and calculates the potential accident responsibility value AL val are determined sequentially.

[0020] The potential accident responsibility value determining device 100 includes a sensor unit 110 , a map storage unit 120 , a rule DB storage unit 130 , a sensor integration unit 140 , and an accident responsibility determination unit 150 .

[0021] The sensor unit 110 includes a plurality of sensors 111 and 112. The sensor 111 detects the behavior of a surrounding vehicle and outputs a sensor value S indicating the behavior of the surrounding vehicle. The sensor 111 may include a camera. The sensor 111 may also include a millimeter wave radar and a LIDAR. In FIG. 1, sensors 111a and 111b are shown as the sensor 111. When there is no need to distinguish between the sensors 111a and 111b, they are referred to as sensor 111. The sensor 111 may be of one type or of three or more types.

[0022] The sensor 112 is a vehicle behavior sensor that detects the position and behavior of the vehicle 1. If the current position P of the vehicle 1 (hereinafter, vehicle position) can be successively detected, the speed and traveling direction of the vehicle 1, which are the behavior of the vehicle 1, can be determined. Therefore, the sensor 112 may be only a sensor that detects the current vehicle position P. The sensor 112 may also include a GNSS receiver for detecting the position of the vehicle 1. In addition, the sensor 112 may include a vehicle speed sensor, a yaw rate sensor, an acceleration sensor, and the like. Although one sensor 112 is shown in FIG. 1, the sensor 112 may be multiple. In addition, the current vehicle position P can be detected by comparing the shape of the surroundings of the vehicle 1 detected by LIDAR or the like with a high-precision map. In this case, the sensor 111 is also used as the sensor 112. Therefore, the sensor 111 may be used as the sensor 112 without providing a dedicated sensor 112.

[0023] The map storage unit 120 is a storage unit that stores a digital road map. The digital road map may be the high-precision map described above, or may be a normal road map that is not a high-precision map. The high-precision map is a map that shows the positions of road markings such as lanes on the road, the types and positions of road signs, and three-dimensional objects around the road. In this specification, the storage unit includes a tangible storage medium that can be read by a computer. For example, a flash memory can be used as the storage medium. The rule DB storage unit 130 is a storage unit that stores a rule database (hereinafter, rule DB). The rule DB is a database that stores driving rules for each location. The driving rules for each location include traffic directions such as one-way streets, speed limits, and priority / non-priority distinctions.

[0024] The sensor integration unit 140 and the potential accident responsibility value determination unit 151 of the accident responsibility judgment unit 150 can be realized by a configuration having at least one processor. For example, the sensor integration unit 140 and the potential accident responsibility value determination unit 151 can be realized by a computer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O, and a bus line connecting these configurations. The ROM stores a program for making a general-purpose computer function as the sensor integration unit 140 and the potential accident responsibility value determination unit 151. The CPU executes the program stored in the ROM while using the temporary storage function of the RAM, so that the computer functions as the sensor integration unit 140 and the potential accident responsibility value determination unit 151. Execution of these functions means that a method corresponding to the program is executed.

[0025] The sensor integration unit 140 includes a target vehicle behavior determination unit 141 and a rule acquisition unit 142. The target vehicle behavior determination unit 141 acquires a sensor value S from the sensor unit 110. Then, based on the acquired sensor value S, a relative behavior V of the target vehicle is determined. state are determined sequentially.

[0026] The target vehicle is a vehicle selected from the surrounding vehicles existing around the vehicle 1. Whether a vehicle exists around the vehicle 1 can be determined, for example, by whether the vehicle is located in a surrounding area defined based on the vehicle 1. The surrounding area can be a rectangular area with the vehicle 1 at the center and parallel sides in the front-rear and left-right directions of the vehicle. The size of the rectangle in the front direction of the vehicle can be about the stopping distance of the vehicle. The rear of the vehicle may be the same as the front direction of the vehicle, or may be shorter than that. The size of the rectangle in the left-right direction of the vehicle can be the length of one lane. The size of the surrounding area can be set in various ways. The shape of the surrounding area can also be set in various ways. For example, the shape of the surrounding area can be a perfect circle or an ellipse.

[0027] A target vehicle is a vehicle (hereinafter, other vehicle) other than the host vehicle 1 that exists in the surrounding area and that does not have another vehicle between it and the host vehicle 1. In addition, a vehicle that has another vehicle between it and the host vehicle 1 may also be a target vehicle if it exists in the surrounding area.

[0028] Relative Behavior V state Relative position and relative velocity are included. Relative position can be expressed by relative distance and relative direction. Relative behavior V state can also be determined from changes in the position of the vehicle 1 and the position of the target vehicle. The position of the target vehicle may be detected by a sensor 112 mounted on the target vehicle, and the potential accident responsibility value determination device 100 of the vehicle 1 may acquire the position by wireless communication. In this case, the target vehicle behavior determination unit 141 acquires a sensor value S detected by a sensor unit 110 mounted on the target vehicle, and determines the relative behavior V of the target vehicle based on the sensor value S. state This will be determined.

[0029] The rule acquisition unit 142 acquires accident responsibility rules at the current vehicle position P. The accident responsibility rules include traffic rules that differ depending on the position and rules that do not depend on the position. In order to acquire traffic rules that differ depending on the position, the rule acquisition unit 142 identifies the position on the road of the vehicle 1 based on the vehicle position P determined based on the sensor value S and the road map stored in the map storage unit 120. Then, the traffic rules that are determined based on the identified position on the road are acquired from the rule DB storage unit 130. The traffic rules acquired from the rule DB storage unit 130 are traffic rules in the vicinity of the vehicle position P, including the vehicle position P (hereinafter, referred to as surrounding traffic rules R db ).

[0030] Surrounding Traffic Rules R dbThe reason for acquiring the traffic rules is to avoid frequently acquiring traffic rules from the rule DB storage unit 130 every time the vehicle position P changes. An example of a rule that does not depend on the position is a required inter-vehicle distance that is determined according to the speed. The rules that do not depend on the position may also be stored in a predetermined storage area of ​​the rule DB storage unit 130. Hereinafter, the traffic rules for the vehicle position P and its surroundings and the rules that do not depend on the position are collectively referred to as the surrounding traffic rules R. db Let us assume that.

[0031] The accident responsibility determination unit 150 is a part that determines the responsibility of the vehicle 1 for an accident that occurs related to the vehicle 1. The accident responsibility determination unit 150 includes a potential accident responsibility value determination unit 151, a potential accident memory unit 152, and an external I / F unit 153.

[0032] The potential accident responsibility value determining unit 151 is an example of a potential accident responsibility information determining unit, and determines a potential accident responsibility value AL val Determine the potential liability value AL. val is a value indicating the degree of responsibility of the host vehicle 1 in the event of an accident between the target vehicle and the host vehicle 1. The potential accident responsibility value determining unit 151 determines the potential accident responsibility value AL val The relative behavior V of the target vehicle determined by the target vehicle behavior determination unit 141 is state and the accident responsibility rules acquired by the rule acquisition unit 142.

[0033] Relative behavior of the target vehicle V state Therefore, the change in the position of the target vehicle relative to the vehicle 1 can be known. state By comparing the traffic rules included in the accident responsibility rules with the traffic rules included in the accident responsibility rules, it is possible to determine whether the target vehicle is obeying the traffic rules. If the target vehicle is not obeying the traffic rules and an accident occurs between the target vehicle and the vehicle 1, the target vehicle must bear a large part of the responsibility for the accident.

[0034] In addition, the relative behavior of the target vehicle V stateThis makes it possible to know that the target vehicle has suddenly decelerated, suddenly accelerated, or moved closer to the vehicle 1. If an accident occurs between the target vehicle and the vehicle 1 while the target vehicle is performing a behavior such as sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, or moving closer to the vehicle 1, the target vehicle may have to bear a large part of the responsibility for the accident.

[0035] In this way, the relative movement of the target vehicle V state From the accident responsibility rule, the degree of responsibility of the target vehicle in the event of an accident occurring between the target vehicle and the own vehicle 1 can be determined. If the degree of responsibility of the target vehicle in the event of an accident occurring between the target vehicle and the own vehicle 1 is expressed as a numerical value such as α%, the degree of responsibility of the own vehicle 1 in the event of an accident occurring between the target vehicle and the own vehicle 1 can also be expressed as a numerical value such as 100-α(%). This numerical value is the potential accident responsibility value AL val It is.

[0036] In addition, the relative behavior of the target vehicle V state Therefore, the behavior of the own vehicle 1 is not used, and the potential accident liability value AL val However, the relative motion of the target vehicle V state In addition, the behavior of the host vehicle 1 may also be used to determine the potential accident liability value.

[0037] Potential liability value AL val There is no particular limitation on the specific method for determining the relative behavior V state From the accident liability rules, the potential accident liability value AL val The potential accident liability value AL is determined using a map that determines val In addition, a number of functions determined from the accident responsibility rules are prepared, and the current potential accident responsibility value AL val Then, the selected function and the relative behavior V of the target vehicle determined by the target vehicle behavior determination unit 141 are compared. state Therefore, the potential liability value AL val The above map or function may determine the potential liability value AL valThe potential accident liability value determining unit 151 determines the potential accident liability value AL val is stored in the potential accident storage unit 152.

[0038] The potential accident storage unit 152 includes a writable non-volatile storage medium. The potential accident storage unit 152 stores a potential accident responsibility value AL val Along with that, the potential liability value AL val The sensor values ​​S used to determine the potential liability values ​​AL are stored. val The set of sensor values ​​S is the potential accident information AL info The sensor value S is the potential accident liability value AL val The information used to determine the responsibility value is the responsibility determination information R info This is an example of the potential liability value AL val is an example of potential accident liability information, so the liability value determination information R info is an example of information used to determine potential accident liability information, that is, liability determination information.

[0039] The sensor value S is the potential accident liability value AL val The relative motion of the target vehicle V state The potential accident responsibility value determination unit 151 can acquire the sensor value S from the target vehicle behavior determination unit 141, and then store the acquired sensor value S in the potential accident storage unit 152. In addition, the potential accident responsibility value determination unit 151 may instruct the target vehicle behavior determination unit 141 to store the sensor value S in the potential accident storage unit 152.

[0040] The external I / F unit 153 can be connected to an external device outside the potential accident responsibility value determination device 100. The external I / F unit 153 has a signal transmission / reception function. The potential accident information AL stored in the potential accident memory unit 152 is transmitted to the external device connected to the external I / F unit 153. info is output via the external I / F unit 153.

[0041] [Potential accident information AL info Processing until the information is memorized] Next, the potential accident responsibility value determining device 100 calculates the potential accident information AL info The process of storing the above-mentioned information in the potential accident storage unit 152 will be described. The potential accident responsibility value determination device 100 periodically executes the process shown in Fig. 2 while the host vehicle 1 is traveling. Executing the process shown in Fig. 2 corresponds to executing a traveling storage method. The execution period can be 100 ms or less. However, it does not necessarily have to be 100 ms or less, and may be longer than 100 ms.

[0042] In step (hereinafter, step will be omitted) S1, the target vehicle behavior determination unit 141 acquires a sensor value S from the sensor unit 110. S2 and S3 are also executed by the target vehicle behavior determination unit 141. In S2, one target vehicle is selected from the surroundings of the host vehicle 1. The target vehicle selected here may be a vehicle different from the surrounding vehicle selected in the previous process of FIG. 2. However, if a certain surrounding vehicle is in a situation requiring special attention compared to other surrounding vehicles, the surrounding vehicle requiring special attention may be selected as a target vehicle more frequently than the other surrounding vehicles. In S3, the sensor value S is used to determine the relative behavior V of the target vehicle. state Determine.

[0043] S4 and S5 are executed by the rule acquisition unit 142. In S4, the surrounding traffic rule R is acquired based on the vehicle position P included in the sensor value S acquired in S1. db In S5, the vehicle position P and the surrounding traffic rule R obtained in S4 are db Based on the above, the traffic rules for the vehicle's position P are determined. The traffic rules for the vehicle's position P and the position-independent rules are combined to determine the accident responsibility rules to be used in the next step S6.

[0044] S6 and S7 are executed by the potential accident responsibility value determining unit 151. In S6, the relative behavior V state Based on the accident responsibility rule determined in S5, the potential accident responsibility value AL val In S7, the potential accident liability value AL calculated in S6 is calculated. valThe potential accident information AL is generated by combining the sensor value S obtained in S1 with the potential accident information AL info The potential accident information AL is stored in the potential accident storage unit 152. info can include the vehicle position P and the current time.

[0045] [Potential accident information AL info [Removal process] Figure 3 shows the potential accident information AL info 3 shows a process of extracting the potential accident liability value from the potential accident liability value determination device 100. The process shown in Fig. 3 is executed by an external device having a function connectable to the external I / F unit 153. The external device is, for example, a portable information reading device. This information reading device is carried by, for example, a police officer or an employee of an insurance company.

[0046] In the case where the external device executes the process shown in FIG. 3, an accident involving the vehicle 1 occurs, and the potential accident responsibility value AL val The external device may receive the potential accident responsibility value AL submitted by the potential accident responsibility value determination device 100. val In order to verify this, the process shown in Fig. 3 is executed. When the I / F unit of the external device is connected to the external I / F unit 153, the operator of the external device executes a predetermined acquisition start operation, which starts the process shown in Fig. 3. The external device includes a calculation device such as a computer that is capable of executing the process shown in Fig. 3.

[0047] In S11, the external device transmits an acquisition request to the external I / F unit 153. This acquisition request includes the potential accident information AL info The acquisition request is a signal to request the acquisition of the potential accident information AL info Accident information AL info The request may include accident specification information for limiting the number of accidents to a specific location. The accident specification information may be the location and time when the accident occurred. When the external I / F unit 153 receives this request, the external I / F unit 153 retrieves the potential accident information AL info and transmits it to the external device.

[0048] In S12, the potential accident information AL info The potential accident information AL obtained in S12 is acquired. info is the potential liability value AL val The potential accident responsibility value determination device 100 of the first embodiment can determine the potential accident responsibility value. Of course, the external device itself may be the potential accident responsibility value determination device. The potential accident information AL info The potential accident liability value determination device, to which the potential accident information AL is provided, info Using the potential liability value AL val In addition, potential accident information AL info The potential accident liability value determining device provided with the potential accident liability value AL val The process of determining the above will be described in detail in the second embodiment.

[0049] [Summary of the first embodiment] The potential accident responsibility value determination device 100 of the first embodiment stores the potential accident responsibility value AL val The sensor value S is stored in association with the potential accident storage unit 152. By reading out the sensor value S from the potential accident storage unit 152, the potential accident responsibility value AL val The potential liability value AL determined ex post facto can be determined. val The potential accident liability value AL stored in association with the sensor value S val By comparing with the potential accident liability value ALval, the reliability of the stored potential accident liability value ALval can be confirmed later. val You can check whether it has been tampered with.

[0050] In addition, due to differences in the version and manufacturer of the potential accident responsibility value determination device 100, the same sensor value S may produce different potential accident responsibility values ​​AL val However, the potential accident responsibility value determining device 100 of the first embodiment may determine the potential accident information AL info The potential accident information AL infocontains the sensor value S. Therefore, when an accident occurs, the sensor value S is read from each of the multiple vehicles involved in the accident, and the potential accident responsibility values ​​AL of the multiple vehicles involved in the accident are calculated using the same potential accident responsibility value determination method. val can be determined.

[0051] Furthermore, the sensor value S is the potential accident liability value AL val By storing the abnormal sensor value S as a set, the potential accident liability value AL val You can also check whether the value is abnormal.

[0052] <Second embodiment> Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the following description of the second embodiment, elements having the same reference numbers as those used up to that point are the same as those in the previous embodiment unless otherwise specified. In addition, when only a part of the configuration is described, the previously described embodiment can be applied to the other parts of the configuration.

[0053] 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a potential accident responsibility determination device 200 of the second embodiment. The potential accident responsibility determination device 200 is an example of a potential accident responsibility determination device. The potential accident responsibility determination device 200 determines the potential accident responsibility value AL determined by the potential accident responsibility determination device 100 mounted on the vehicle 1 described in the first embodiment. val To this end, the potential accident liability value AL is calculated in the same manner as the potential accident liability value determination device 100. val The potential accident responsibility value determination device 200 is not mounted on the vehicle 1, so in the second embodiment, the vehicle 1 is taken as the responsibility value determination vehicle. The responsibility value determination vehicle corresponds to the responsibility determination vehicle. The potential accident responsibility value determination device 200 is installed outside the responsibility value determination vehicle. The potential accident responsibility value determination device 200 of the second embodiment does not need to be mounted on a vehicle. For example, the potential accident responsibility value determination device 200 can be a fixed type installed in a police station or an insurance company.

[0054] The potential accident responsibility value determination device 200 does not include a sensor unit 110. The sensor integration unit 240 includes a target vehicle behavior determination unit 241 and a rule acquisition unit 242. The processes executed by the target vehicle behavior determination unit 241 and the rule acquisition unit 242 are the same as those executed by the target vehicle behavior determination unit 141 and the rule acquisition unit 142 in the first embodiment.

[0055] The difference between the target vehicle behavior determination unit 241 and the target vehicle behavior determination unit 141 is that the target vehicle behavior determination unit 141 uses the sensor value S, whereas the target vehicle behavior determination unit 241 uses the other vehicle sensor value S. (OC) Another difference between the rule acquisition unit 242 and the rule acquisition unit 142 is that the rule acquisition unit 142 uses the sensor value S, whereas the rule acquisition unit 242 uses the other vehicle sensor value S. (OC) The point is that it uses

[0056] The accident responsibility determination unit 250 includes a potential accident responsibility value determination unit 251, a potential accident storage unit 252, an external I / F unit 253, and a potential accident verification unit 254. Of these, the potential accident storage unit 252 is the same as the potential accident storage unit 152 of the first embodiment.

[0057] The external I / F unit 253 has the same function as the external I / F unit 153 of the first embodiment. info(OC) Other vehicle potential accident information AL info(OC) is the potential accident information AL determined by a device other than the potential accident responsibility value determination device 200, such as the potential accident responsibility value determination device 100 of the first embodiment. info In other words, the external I / F unit 253 receives the other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) Get the.

[0058] Other vehicle potential accident information AL of the second embodiment info(oc) The contents of the information are the potential accident information AL described in the first embodiment. info Therefore, the other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) The sensor value S is included. Potential accident information AL info(oc) As explained in the first embodiment, the sensor value S included ininfo This is an example of the responsibility value determination information R info is an example of responsibility determination information. Therefore, the external I / F unit 253 that acquires the sensor value S is a responsibility determination information acquisition unit. info(oc) The sensor value S and the potential liability value AL contained in val respectively, the other vehicle sensor value S (OC) and other vehicle potential accident liability value AL val(OC) The external I / F unit 253 receives the other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) The other vehicle sensor value S included in (OC) is input to the sensor integration unit 240.

[0059] The target vehicle behavior determination unit 241 of the sensor integration unit 240, like the target vehicle behavior determination unit 141 of the first embodiment, receives the input other vehicle sensor value S (OC) From the relative movement of the target vehicle, V state The rule acquisition unit 242 of the sensor integration unit 240 determines the input other vehicle sensor value S (OC) includes the vehicle position P. Based on the vehicle position P, an accident responsibility rule for the vehicle position P is acquired from the rule DB storage unit 130, similarly to the rule acquisition unit 142 in the first embodiment.

[0060] The process executed by the potential accident responsibility value determination unit 251 is the same as that executed by the potential accident responsibility value determination unit 151. The potential accident responsibility value determination unit 251 is an example of a potential accident responsibility information determination unit. The potential accident responsibility value determination unit 251 determines the potential accident responsibility value based on the accident responsibility rule acquired from the rule acquisition unit 242 and the relative behavior V of the target vehicle acquired from the target vehicle behavior determination unit 241. state From the liability value determination vehicle potential accident liability value AL for the target vehicle val The determined potential liability value AL is determined. val is input to the potential accident verification unit 254.

[0061] The potential accident verification unit 254 receives the potential accident responsibility value AL determined by the potential accident responsibility value determination unit 251. val In addition, the external I / F unit 253 acquires other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc)The other vehicle potential liability value AL included in val(OC) The potential accident verification unit 254 inputs these potential accident responsibility values ​​AL val and other vehicle potential accident liability value AL val(OC) By comparing the other vehicle potential accident liability value AL val(OC) The potential accident verification unit 254 verifies whether the verification result C ret ) is output to an external device via the external I / F unit 253.

[0062] 5 shows a process executed by the potential accident responsibility determination device 200. Executing the process shown in FIG. 5 corresponds to executing a potential accident responsibility determination method. The potential accident responsibility determination device 200 receives other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) When this is input, the process shown in FIG. 5 is executed.

[0063] In S20, the external I / F unit 253 receives the other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) For ease of understanding, this process is shown as S20 in FIG. 5, but S20 can also be thought of as a condition that starts the process of FIG.

[0064] S21 to S23 are executed by the target vehicle behavior determination unit 241. In S21, the other vehicle sensor value S (OC) from the external I / F unit 253. In S22, similar to S2, one target vehicle is selected from the surroundings of the responsibility value determination vehicle. In S23, similar to S3, the other vehicle sensor value S (OC) Using this, the relative movement of the target vehicle V state Determine.

[0065] S24 and S25 are executed by the rule acquisition unit 242. In S24, the other vehicle sensor value S (OC) The vehicle position P included in the table is the position of the responsibility value determination vehicle, and the surrounding traffic rules R db The rule DB storage unit 130 retrieves the responsibility value determination vehicle's position and the surrounding traffic rule R retrieved in S24. dbBased on the above, the traffic rules at the position of the responsibility value determination vehicle are determined. The traffic rules at the position of the responsibility value determination vehicle and the position-independent rules are combined to determine the accident responsibility rules to be used in the next step S26.

[0066] S26 and S27 are executed by the potential accident responsibility value determining unit 251. In S26, the relative behavior V state Based on the accident liability rule determined in S25, the potential accident liability value AL val In S27, the potential accident liability value AL calculated in S26 is calculated. val to the potential accident verification unit 254.

[0067] S28 to S30 are executed by the potential accident verification unit 254. In S28, the other vehicle potential accident responsibility value AL val(OC) Obtain other car potential accident liability value AL val(OC) and the potential accident liability value AL transmitted in S27 val The absolute value of the difference between th Determine whether it is smaller than the threshold C. th is a value to be set in advance.

[0068] The absolute value of the above difference is the threshold C th If it is smaller than the threshold, the result of the determination in S28 becomes YES and the process proceeds to S29. In S29, the verification result C of "no difference" is ret The absolute value of the difference is the threshold value C th If the result is NO in S28, the process proceeds to S30. In S30, the verification result C is "discrepant". ret to the external I / F unit 253. The external I / F unit 253 outputs the verification result to an external device connected to the external I / F unit 253.

[0069] [Summary of the second embodiment] This potential accident responsibility value determining device 200 uses the other vehicle sensor value S (OC) (S21), and other vehicle sensor values ​​S (OC) Based on the potential liability value AL valThen, the determined potential accident liability value AL is determined (S26). val The other vehicle's potential accident responsibility value AL determined by the potential accident responsibility value determination device 100, which is a device different from the potential accident responsibility value determination device 200, is val(OC) As a result, the other vehicle potential accident responsibility value AL determined by the potential accident responsibility value determination device 100 is compared with val(OC) The reliability of the data can be checked later.

[0070] <Third embodiment> 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of a potential accident responsibility value determination device 300 of the third embodiment. The potential accident responsibility value determination device 300 includes the same sensor unit 110, map storage unit 120, rule DB storage unit 130, and sensor integration unit 140 as the potential accident responsibility value determination device 100 of the first embodiment. The potential accident responsibility value determination device 300 includes an accident responsibility determination unit 350. The accident responsibility determination unit 350 includes the same potential accident responsibility value determination unit 151 and external I / F unit 153 as the potential accident responsibility value determination device 100. The accident responsibility determination unit 350 also includes a potential accident storage unit 352. The potential accident responsibility value determination device 300 also includes a wireless communication unit 360.

[0071] The potential accident storage unit 352 includes a writable storage medium. The potential accident storage unit 352 stores a potential accident responsibility value AL val Along with that, the potential liability value AL val The relative motion of the target vehicle V state In the third embodiment, the potential accident responsibility value AL val , the relative behavior of the target vehicle V state ,The set of accident responsibility rules is the potential accident information AL info In addition, the relative movement of the target vehicle V state The accident liability rule is the potential accident liability value AL val The information used to determine the responsibility value is the responsibility determination information R info This is an example.

[0072] The wireless communication unit 360 is configured to include a wireless communication circuit and a control unit that controls the wireless communication circuit. The wireless communication unit 360 is connected to the external I / F unit 153 and the potential accident storage unit 352. Note that, although the wireless communication unit 360 and the potential accident storage unit 352 are directly connected in FIG. 6, the wireless communication unit 360 and the potential accident storage unit 352 may be connected via the external I / F unit 153.

[0073] The wireless communication unit 360 wirelessly communicates with the outside of the vehicle 1. The control unit included in the wireless communication unit 360 also has a function of reading information from the potential accident storage unit 352. The wireless communication unit 360 reads the potential accident information AL info The wireless communication unit 360 also wirelessly transmits the other vehicle potential accident information AL transmitted from outside the host vehicle 1. info(oc) When receiving other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) The potential accident information AL info(oc) The potential accident storage unit 352 that stores the above corresponds to the external information storage unit.

[0074] [Potential accident information AL info Processing until sending Next, the potential accident responsibility value determining device 300 calculates the potential accident information AL info The process from the time when the vehicle 1 is traveling to the time when the vehicle 1 is traveling will be described. The potential accident responsibility value determination device 300 periodically executes the process shown in Fig. 7 while the vehicle 1 is traveling. The execution period can be the same as the process shown in Fig. 2 of the first embodiment.

[0075] In Fig. 7, S1 to S6 are the same as S1 to S6 in Fig. 2. In Fig. 7, S6 is executed, and then S37 is executed. In S37, the potential accident liability value AL val and the relative motion V of the target vehicle determined in S3. state This is combined with the accident responsibility rule determined in S5 and the potential accident information AL info This potential accident information AL infoThe potential accident liability value AL may include the vehicle position P and the current time. It may also include information for identifying the vehicle 1 (for example, a vehicle ID). val , the relative behavior of the target vehicle V state The potential accident responsibility rules are stored in the potential accident memory unit 352 by the potential accident responsibility value determination unit 151, the target vehicle behavior determination unit 141, and the rule acquisition unit 142, which determined them, respectively.

[0076] S38 is executed by the wireless communication unit 360. In S38, the potential accident information AL info The potential accident information AL is transmitted to the outside from the wireless communication unit 360. info There is no particular limit to the destination of the potential accident information AL. The destination may be, for example, the responsibility server Sr (see FIG. 6), a roadside communication device, or a vehicle around the vehicle 1, and the potential accident information AL may be transmitted to one or more of these. In addition, the potential accident information AL may be transmitted to a broadcast method that does not specify a destination. info may be transmitted.

[0077] [Other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) Processing when receiving FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a wireless communication unit 360 receiving other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) 7 is a flowchart showing the process when the potential accident information AL is received. If the potential accident responsibility value determining device 300 is installed in the other vehicle, the potential accident responsibility value determining device 300 installed in the other vehicle executes the process shown in FIG. info are transmitted sequentially.

[0078] When the vehicle 1 is located near another vehicle, the potential accident responsibility value determining device 300 mounted on the vehicle 1 receives potential accident information AL from the other vehicle. info In the third embodiment, the potential accident information AL transmitted by the vehicle 1 is received. info In order to distinguish from the potential accident information AL transmitted by the potential accident responsibility value determining device 300 mounted on the other vehicle, info Other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) Let us assume that.

[0079] In FIG. 8, in S41, the other vehicle potential accident information AL transmitted from the other vehicle is info(oc) In S42, the wireless communication unit 360 receives the other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) is stored in the potential accident storage unit 352.

[0080] [Summary of the third embodiment] The potential accident responsibility value determining device 300 of the third embodiment, like the potential accident responsibility value determining device 100 of the first embodiment, also uses potential accident information AL info However, the potential accident information AL in the third embodiment is stored. info is the responsibility value determination information R info However, the relative behavior of the target vehicle V is not the sensor value S. state and the accident liability rule. The amount of data of the sensor value S is calculated based on the relative behavior of the target vehicle V state The amount of data tends to be larger than the amount of data for accident liability rules. In particular, when the sensor value S is image data, or when the relative behavior obtained from multiple types of sensor values ​​S is fused to obtain the final relative behavior V of the target vehicle, state When determining the relative behavior of the target vehicle, the amount of data of the sensor value S is state This is greater than the amount of data on accident liability rules.

[0081] In other words, as in the third embodiment, the potential accident information AL info The responsibility value determination information R info The relative movement of the target vehicle V state By making this the accident responsibility rule, potential accident information AL info In the third embodiment, the amount of data of the potential accident information AL info Taking advantage of the small amount of data, potential accident information AL is collected sequentially. info The potential accident information AL is wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication unit 360. info Since the amount of data is small, potential accident information AL info from wireless communication unit 360, the degree to which other communications are restricted is reduced.

[0082] And potential accident information AL infoBy wirelessly transmitting the potential accident information AL info The other vehicles that directly or indirectly obtain the potential accident liability value AL of the vehicle 1 are val can be obtained in a state where its authenticity can be verified.

[0083] Potential liability value AL val It can be said that the potential accident information AL info The other vehicle that has obtained the above information can determine whether the vehicle behavior of the own vehicle 1 is likely to cause an accident in a state where the reliability can be verified, and can then carry out driving.

[0084] In addition, potential accident information AL transmitted by other vehicles while traveling info(OC) By sequentially storing the potential accident information in the potential accident storage unit 352, the potential accident information AL info(OC) This can prevent tampering.

[0085] In addition, potential accident information AL transmitted while the vehicle was traveling info(OC) The function of storing the potential accident information AL transmitted by other vehicles while they are traveling may be provided only to a specific device such as the responsibility server Sr. info In other words, some or all of the multiple potential accident responsibility determination devices 300 mounted on multiple vehicles use the potential accident information AL transmitted by the other vehicle while it is traveling. info Potential accident information AL info In this case, the potential accident storage unit 352 included in the potential accident responsibility value determination device 300 may be a volatile storage medium.

[0086] <Fourth embodiment> 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of a potential accident responsibility value determination device 400 of the fourth embodiment. The potential accident responsibility value determination device 400 is configured to include an accident responsibility judgment unit 450 and a wireless communication unit 360. Like the potential accident responsibility value determination device 200, the potential accident responsibility value determination device 400 receives other vehicle potential accident information AL from the outside. info(oc) Obtain other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) The potential liability value AL included in val The potential accident responsibility determination device 400 is also an example of a potential accident responsibility determination device. Like the potential accident responsibility determination device 200, the potential accident responsibility determination device 400 does not need to be mounted on a vehicle. For example, the potential accident responsibility determination device 400 can be a fixed type installed in a police station or an insurance company.

[0087] However, the other vehicle potential accident information AL received by the potential accident responsibility value determining device 400 info(oc) The other vehicle potential accident information AL received by the potential accident responsibility value determining device 400 is the same as that described in the third embodiment. info(oc) The relative movement of the target vehicle V state and accident responsibility rules are included. Therefore, the potential accident responsibility value determining device 400 does not include the target vehicle behavior determining unit 241 and the rule acquiring unit 242 which are the parts that determine these.

[0088] The accident responsibility determination unit 450 includes a potential accident responsibility value determination unit 451, an external I / F unit 453, and a potential accident verification unit 454. The potential accident responsibility value determination unit 451 is the same as the potential accident responsibility value determination unit 251 of the second embodiment, and is an example of a potential accident responsibility information determination unit. The potential accident verification unit 454 is the same as the potential accident verification unit 254 of the second embodiment.

[0089] The external I / F unit 453 is connected to the wireless communication unit 360, and the wireless communication unit 360 receives the other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) Other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) Responsibility value determination information R info Therefore, the external I / F unit 453 is a responsibility determination information acquisition unit.

[0090] Other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) The relative behavior of the target vehicle V state and the accident responsibility rule to the potential accident responsibility value determining unit 451. In addition, the external I / F unit 453 outputs the other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) The other vehicle potential liability value AL included in val(OC) to the potential accident verification unit 454.

[0091] The potential accident responsibility value determination unit 451 determines the relative behavior V state From the accident liability rule, the potential accident liability value AL val The potential accident verification unit 454 determines the potential accident liability value AL val and other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) Then, compare the other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) Verification result C verifying whether the ret The wireless communication unit 360 outputs the verification result C ret is wirelessly transmitted to the outside.

[0092] 10 shows a process executed by the potential accident responsibility value determining device 400. The potential accident responsibility value determining device 400 receives other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) When the wireless communication unit 360 receives the signal, the process shown in FIG. 10 is executed.

[0093] In S50, the wireless communication unit 360 receives the other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) is input to the external I / F unit 453. S51 to S53 are executed by the potential accident responsibility value determination unit 451. In S51, the other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) The relative behavior of the target vehicle V state(OC) In S52, the relative behavior V of the target vehicle obtained in S51 is state(OC) and the potential accident liability value AL based on the accident liability rule. val In S53, the potential accident liability value AL calculated in S52 is calculated. val to the potential accident verification unit 454.

[0094] S54 to S56 are executed by the potential accident verification unit 454. In S54, the other vehicle potential accident responsibility value AL val(OC) Obtain other car potential accident liability value AL val(OC) and the potential accident liability value AL sent in S53 val The absolute value of the difference between th Determine if it is less than.

[0095] The absolute value of the above difference is the threshold C th If it is smaller than the threshold, the result of the determination in S54 becomes YES and the process proceeds to S55. In S55, the verification result C of "no difference" is ret The absolute value of the difference is the threshold value C th If the result is NO in S54, the process proceeds to S56. ret to the external I / F unit 453. The external I / F unit 453 transmits the verification result to the wireless communication unit 360. The wireless communication unit 360 wirelessly transmits the verification result to the outside.

[0096] [Summary of the fourth embodiment] The potential accident responsibility value determining device 400 of the fourth embodiment uses other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) The relative behavior of the target vehicle V state(OC) and accident liability rules are obtained (S51), and the relative behavior of the target vehicles V state Based on the accident liability rule, the potential accident liability value AL val Then, the determined potential accident liability value AL is determined (S52). val Other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) The other vehicle potential liability value AL included in val(OC) This compares the potential accident liability value AL val(OC) The reliability of the data can be confirmed.

[0097] In addition, the other vehicle potential accident information AL received by the potential accident responsibility value determining device 400 info(oc) The responsibility value determination information R info As the relative movement of the target vehicle, V stateand accident liability rules are included. This other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) The amount of data can be reduced compared to the other vehicle potential accident information of the second embodiment. Therefore, the relative behavior V state and other vehicle potential accident information AL, which includes accident responsibility rules info(oc) It is easy to transmit sequentially while driving.

[0098] The potential accident responsibility value determining device 400 receives the other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) Receive other vehicle potential accident information AL info(oc) The other vehicle potential liability value AL included in val(OC) Therefore, the reliability of the potential accident liability value AL is verified at an early stage. val Since the reliability of the other vehicle potential accident liability value AL can be verified, val(OC) It is possible to determine early on whether the device that has been determined is malfunctioning.

[0099] <Fifth embodiment> 11 shows a potential accident responsibility value determining device 500 of the fifth embodiment. The potential accident responsibility value determining device 500 of the fifth embodiment includes the same sensor unit 110, map storage unit 120, and rule DB storage unit 130 as in the first embodiment.

[0100] Further, the potential accident responsibility value determination device 500 includes a sensor integration unit 540, an accident responsibility determination unit 550, a wireless communication unit 560, and a surrounding information acquisition unit 570. For convenience of explanation, the reference symbols are different, but the sensor integration unit 540 and the accident responsibility determination unit 550 are the same as the sensor integration unit 140 of the first embodiment and the accident responsibility determination unit 350 of the third embodiment. Moreover, the wireless communication unit 560 is the same as the wireless communication unit 360 of the third embodiment.

[0101] The sensor integration unit 540 includes a target vehicle behavior determination unit 541 and a rule acquisition unit 542. The target vehicle behavior determination unit 541 and the rule acquisition unit 542 are the same as the target vehicle behavior determination unit 141 and the rule acquisition unit 142 of the first embodiment, respectively, and the target vehicle behavior determination unit 541 is a responsibility determination information acquisition unit. The accident responsibility determination unit 550 includes a potential accident responsibility value determination unit 551, a potential accident memory unit 552, and an external I / F unit 553. The potential accident responsibility value determination unit 551, the potential accident memory unit 552, and the external I / F unit 553 are the same as the potential accident responsibility value determination unit 151, the potential accident memory unit 352, and the external I / F unit 153 of the accident responsibility determination unit 350 of the third embodiment, respectively. The potential accident responsibility value determination unit 551 is an example of a potential accident responsibility information determination unit, like the potential accident responsibility value determination unit 151.

[0102] The surrounding information acquisition unit 570 can be realized by a computer. The surrounding information acquisition unit 570 acquires surrounding responsibility value determination information RS, which is surrounding responsibility determination information, from related surrounding vehicles among surrounding vehicles present around the host vehicle 1. info Obtain the surrounding responsibility value determination information RS info The potential accident memory unit 552 stores the surrounding responsibility value determination information RS info The timing for acquiring the surrounding responsibility value determination information RS may be when the vehicle 1 has an accident. In addition, regardless of whether the vehicle 1 has an accident or not, the surrounding responsibility value determination information RS info may be obtained.

[0103] The relevant surrounding vehicles are surrounding vehicles other than the target vehicle. In the example shown in Fig. 12, when vehicle A is the target vehicle, vehicles B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and I are the relevant surrounding vehicles.

[0104] Peripheral responsibility value determination information RS info is the responsibility value determination information R for the vehicle 1 already described. info The subject of the information is the relevant surrounding vehicles. In other words, the surrounding responsibility value determination information RS infois information used to determine a surrounding potential accident responsibility value that indicates the degree of responsibility of the related surrounding vehicle in the event of an accident between the related surrounding vehicle and a vehicle present around the related surrounding vehicle. The surrounding potential accident responsibility value is an example of surrounding potential accident responsibility information. The vehicles present around the related surrounding vehicle may include the own vehicle 1.

[0105] Peripheral responsibility value determination information RS info Specifically, the potential accident liability value AL of the relevant surrounding vehicles with respect to the target vehicle is val Responsibility value determination information R for determining info Also, the peripheral responsibility value determination information RS info The potential liability value AL for the target vehicle for the relevant surrounding vehicles is val Peripheral responsibility value determination information RS info Also, the peripheral responsibility value determination information RS info As the responsibility value determination information R info and potential liability value AL val It is also possible to use only one of the above.

[0106] Fig. 13 shows an example of processing executed by the surrounding information acquisition unit 570. The processing shown in Fig. 13 starts on the condition that the host vehicle 1 has had an accident. Whether the host vehicle 1 has had an accident can be detected by detecting whether the acceleration generated in the host vehicle 1 exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

[0107] In S61, a time stamp at the time of the accident is acquired. The time stamp at the time of the accident indicates the time when the vehicle 1 caused the accident. The occurrence of the accident can be determined, for example, by the target vehicle behavior determination unit 541 that acquires the sensor value S. Also, a device other than the potential accident responsibility value determination device 500 may detect the occurrence of the accident, and the surrounding information acquisition unit 570 may acquire the time stamp at the time of the accident from the other device.

[0108] In S62, the surrounding responsibility value determination information RS infoThe wireless communication unit 560 transmits a request to acquire the surrounding responsibility value determination information RS. When S62 is executed, the relevant surrounding vehicles are present around the host vehicle 1. Therefore, the surrounding responsibility value determination information RS is transmitted to the surroundings of the host vehicle 1 by short-range wireless communication. info By transmitting an acquisition request to the relevant surrounding vehicles, the acquisition request can be transmitted to the relevant surrounding vehicles. In this case, the communication method can be a broadcast method. However, the communication method is not limited to the broadcast method, and the acquisition request may be transmitted by a unicast method or a multicast method. When transmitting the acquisition request by a unicast method or a multicast method, the acquisition request may be transmitted by wide area communication.

[0109] This acquisition request includes the peripheral responsibility value determination information RS at the time indicated by the time stamp acquired in S61 (i.e., the time when the accident occurred). info The vehicle that receives the request receives the surrounding responsibility value determination information RS info In addition, taking into account the time error, the surrounding responsibility value determination information RS info In step S63, the surrounding responsibility value determination information RS info is acquired via the wireless communication unit 360.

[0110] In S64, the peripheral responsibility value determination information RS obtained in S63 is info Potential accident information AL info At the same time, the potential accident information is stored in the potential accident storage unit 552.

[0111] Fig. 14 shows a process when the host vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicles perform time synchronization. The process shown in Fig. 14 is executed, for example, by the surrounding information acquisition unit 570. The process shown in Fig. 14 is executed periodically at a preset time synchronization period.

[0112] In S71, a synchronization request is transmitted to the unsynchronized vehicle. The vehicle is considered to be synchronized for a certain period of time after the mutual time synchronization is completed by executing the process of FIG. 14. An unsynchronized vehicle is a vehicle that is not synchronized among the surrounding vehicles. If communication with the surrounding vehicles is performed before S71 is executed and it is possible to determine whether each surrounding vehicle is an unsynchronized vehicle or a synchronized vehicle, the unsynchronized vehicle can be identified and a synchronization request can be transmitted. However, the vehicle that receives the synchronization request can also determine whether synchronization is necessary. Therefore, in S71, the synchronization request may be transmitted to the surroundings without identifying the transmission destination.

[0113] The synchronization request includes the time used in the host vehicle 1. This time is the time when the synchronization request was generated. When an unsynchronized vehicle receives a synchronization request, the time used in the surrounding vehicles that received the synchronization request is corrected based on the time included in the synchronization request. The corrected time may be the time included in the synchronization request, or may be the time included in the synchronization request plus the processing time in the host vehicle 1, the propagation time of the synchronization request, and the processing time in the surrounding vehicles. When the processing time in the host vehicle 1 is taken into consideration, the processing time in the host vehicle 1 is included in the synchronization request. The propagation time of the synchronization request is calculated by calculating the distance from the host vehicle to the surrounding vehicles from the position of the host vehicle 1 and the positions of the surrounding vehicles, and the propagation time is calculated based on the distance. The processing time in the surrounding vehicles is preset in a potential accident liability value determination device mounted on the surrounding vehicles.

[0114] The surrounding vehicle that was an unsynchronized vehicle transmits a synchronization reply to vehicle 1 after performing time synchronization. The synchronization reply includes information that time synchronization has been performed, the ID of the surrounding vehicle, and the time the synchronization reply was generated after time synchronization. In S72, the synchronization reply transmitted by the unsynchronized vehicle is received. In S73, it is determined whether the time difference between the synchronization reply generation time included in the synchronization reply and the time of vehicle 1 when the synchronization reply was received is equal to or less than a threshold value.

[0115] If the determination result in S73 is NO, time synchronization has not been achieved with the surrounding vehicle that transmitted the synchronization reply. Therefore, if the determination result in S73 is NO, the process returns to S71. On the other hand, if the determination result in S73 is YES, the process proceeds to S74. In S74, synchronization is completed with the surrounding vehicle that transmitted the synchronization reply. If synchronization is completed, the surrounding vehicle that transmitted the synchronization reply is considered to be a synchronized vehicle. In addition, a message that the surrounding vehicle has been synchronized may be transmitted to the synchronized surrounding vehicle.

[0116] [Summary of the fifth embodiment] In the potential accident responsibility value determination device 500 of the fifth embodiment described above, the surrounding information acquisition unit 570 acquires surrounding responsibility value determination information RS info (S63). Then, the peripheral responsibility value determination information RS info Potential accident information AL info At the same time, the potential accident information is stored in the potential accident storage unit 552.

[0117] This allows for potential accident information AL info Along with peripheral responsibility value determination information RS info This analysis makes it possible to directly determine whether the situation was such that a large part of the cause of the accident could be determined to be due to the behavior of the surrounding vehicles, even if the behavior of the vehicle 1, which is the vehicle for which responsibility is determined, was the cause of the accident.

[0118] For example, in the situation shown in Fig. 12, it is assumed that the host vehicle 1 moves leftward and collides with the vehicle B. In this case, the potential accident liability value AL of the host vehicle 1 with respect to the vehicle B is val However, suppose that at the time of the accident, vehicle H traveling in the opposite lane crossed the center line and entered the lane in which vehicle 1 was traveling. Furthermore, suppose that vehicle 1 was in a situation where it would collide with vehicle H if it continued traveling in this manner. Therefore, vehicle 1 changed lanes to avoid colliding with vehicle H, and ended up colliding with vehicle B. This situation is known as potential accident information AL info However, the peripheral responsibility value determination information RS infoThis can be easily revealed by analyzing

[0119] The above is just one example, and there may be other vehicles responsible for the accident besides the one that caused the accident. info is obtained by wireless communication. Therefore, the surrounding responsibility value determination information RS info By analyzing the above, it is possible to analyze the behavior of surrounding vehicles that cannot be directly seen from the vehicle 1, and determine the cause of the accident.

[0120] Sixth embodiment As shown in Fig. 11, the hardware configuration of the potential accident responsibility value determination device 600 of the sixth embodiment is the same as that of the potential accident responsibility value determination device 500 of the fifth embodiment. Like the potential accident responsibility value determination device 300 of the third embodiment, the potential accident responsibility value determination device 600 executes the process shown in Fig. 7 to periodically obtain the potential accident information AL info The destinations are the surrounding vehicles and the responsibility value server Sr.

[0121] The potential accident responsibility value determining device 600 also executes the process shown in Fig. 15. The process shown in Fig. 15 is executed by the wireless communication unit 560. In S81, it is detected that communication from the accident vehicle has been interrupted. Potential accident information AL of the vehicle (i.e., the surrounding vehicle) from the surrounding vehicle, which has been periodically transmitted from the surrounding vehicle, is info When the vehicle is no longer able to receive the signal, the potential accident information AL info The vehicle that was transmitting the signal is considered to be the accident vehicle.

[0122] In S82, the potential accident information AL of the accident vehicle last received from the accident vehicle is info The potential accident storage unit 552 stores the potential accident information AL of the accident vehicle transmitted by the accident vehicle. In step S83, the responsibility value server Sr is notified that it has information on the accident vehicle. info It is.

[0123] The responsibility server Sr periodically executes the process shown in Fig. 16. In S91, it is detected that communication from the accident vehicle has been interrupted. In S92, the potential accident information AL of the accident vehicle last received from the accident vehicle is info This potential accident information AL info In S93, the potential accident information AL info The location of the accident vehicle included in AL, and potential accident information of other vehicles that is being transmitted sequentially from other vehicles info From this, we identify the surrounding vehicles that were in the vicinity of the accident vehicle. Potential accident information of other vehicles AL info contains the positions of other vehicles, and the positions of other vehicles and the potential accident information AL stored in S92 info From the position of the accident vehicle included in the map, it is possible to identify the surrounding vehicles that were in the vicinity of the accident vehicle.

[0124] In S94, the potential accident information AL of the accident vehicle is transmitted to the surrounding vehicles identified in S93. info The vehicle in the vicinity requests the vehicle to transmit the potential accident information AL of the accident vehicle. info is stored in the accident information storage unit.

[0125] The responsibility value server Sr that performs the above process includes a responsibility determination information acquisition unit. The responsibility value server Sr also includes a potential accident responsibility value determination unit. The potential accident responsibility value determination unit of the responsibility value server Sr acquires the potential accident information AL of the accident vehicle, info Using this, the potential accident liability value AL of the accident vehicle is calculated instead of the accident vehicle. val Determine.

[0126] [Summary of the sixth embodiment] In the sixth embodiment, when communication from the accident vehicle is interrupted (S61), the responsibility value server Sr receives the potential accident information AL of the accident vehicle last received from the accident vehicle. info The potential accident information AL transmitted from the accident vehicle is also stored in the storage unit 10 (S92). infoIn this way, the potential accident information AL of the accident vehicle is obtained from the accident vehicle after the accident. info Even if the vehicle cannot be detected, the liability server Sr can obtain the potential liability value AL val can be determined.

[0127] Seventh embodiment FIG. 17 shows a latent accident responsibility value determination device 700 of the seventh embodiment. The latent accident responsibility value determination device 700 has a function as a driving record system. The latent accident responsibility value determination device 700 of the seventh embodiment has the same sensor unit 110, map storage unit 120, and rule DB storage unit 130 as the first embodiment. Furthermore, the latent accident responsibility value determination device 700 has a sensor integration unit 740 and an accident responsibility judgment unit 750.

[0128] The vehicle 1 on which the potential accident responsibility determination device 700 is mounted also includes an in-vehicle LAN 11 and a reference clock 12. The in-vehicle LAN 11 is a communication network constructed inside the vehicle 1, and is configured to include a plurality of network lines. Various elements included in the potential accident responsibility determination device 700 can transmit and receive signals with other devices mounted in the vehicle 1 via the in-vehicle LAN 11. Furthermore, transmission and reception of signals between elements included in the potential accident responsibility determination device 700 may be performed by the in-vehicle LAN 11.

[0129] The reference clock 12 measures a reference time (hereinafter, reference time). If the vehicle 1 is equipped with a GNSS receiver, the clock built into the GNSS receiver can be used as the reference clock 12. The clock built into the GNSS receiver is successively corrected based on the time transmitted by the GNSS artificial satellite. However, the reference clock 12 may be a clock that does not have a function for correction based on the time obtained from outside the vehicle 1. The reference clock 12 is connected to the in-vehicle LAN 11, and can transmit a signal indicating the reference time to other devices mounted on the vehicle 1 via the in-vehicle LAN 11.

[0130] [Explanation of the sensor integration unit 740] The sensor integration unit 740 includes a target vehicle behavior determination unit 741 , the same rule acquisition unit 142 as in the first embodiment, a timer unit 743 , a time correction unit 744 , and a responsibility determination information storage unit 745 .

[0131] The clock unit 743 measures the current time. Hereinafter, the time measured by the clock unit 743 will be referred to as the measured time. As a method for the clock unit 743 to measure the time, various methods can be adopted, such as a method of measuring the time based on the counter value of a timer, a method of having a clock generator and measuring the number of clocks to measure the time, etc.

[0132] The time correction unit 744 can be realized as a function of a computer. The time correction unit 744 obtains the reference time from the reference clock 12, and corrects the measurement time measured by the timing unit 743 to the reference time obtained from the reference clock 12. The cycle for correcting the time can be a fixed cycle set in advance. The time correction unit 744 may also correct the time when a predetermined event occurs that occurs irregularly, such as when the sensor integration unit 740 is started. The time point for correcting the measurement time may also be determined by combining the fixed cycle and the occurrence of an irregular event.

[0133] FIG. 18 shows the time correction process executed by the time correction unit 744. In S101, the reference time is obtained from the reference clock 12. In S102, the measured time is obtained from the timing unit 743, and the time difference between the measured time and the reference time is calculated. In S103, the time error per unit elapsed time since the measured time was corrected is updated based on the time difference calculated in S102. The current time error can be calculated by dividing the time difference calculated in S102 this time by the elapsed time since the measured time was corrected. Then, the time error calculated up to the previous time and the time error calculated this time are used as a population to calculate the average value. This average value is the updated time error.

[0134] In S104, the time accuracy of the measured time is updated. The time accuracy can be the standard deviation of the population. The updated time error and measured time accuracy are stored in a predetermined memory included in the sensor integration unit 740.

[0135] In S105, the time measured by the timing unit 743 is corrected to the reference time obtained in S101. In this way, the time correction unit 744 of the seventh embodiment not only corrects the measured time, but also updates the time error and time accuracy.

[0136] Returning to Fig. 17 for explanation, the target vehicle behavior determination unit 741 in the seventh embodiment executes the following process in addition to the process executed by the target vehicle behavior determination unit 141 in the first embodiment. The target vehicle behavior determination unit 741 executes a process of acquiring a measurement time from the timing unit 743, and storing the sensor value S in the responsibility determination information storage unit 745 with the measurement time as a timestamp. The target vehicle behavior determination unit 741 executes this process periodically while the host vehicle 1 is traveling. The execution period is set to the same as that of the potential accident information AL in the first embodiment. info The period for storing the signal may be the same as the period for storing the signal.

[0137] Furthermore, the target vehicle behavior determination unit 741 stores the latest time error and time accuracy updated by the time correction unit 744, together with the measurement time, in the responsibility determination information storage unit 745. The responsibility determination information storage unit 745 is configured to include a writable non-volatile memory.

[0138] 19 shows the processing executed by the target vehicle behavior determination unit 741. S111 is the same processing as S1, and a sensor value S is acquired. S112 is the same processing as S2, and one target vehicle is selected from the surroundings of the host vehicle 1. S113 is the same processing as S3, and the sensor value S acquired in S111 is used to determine the relative behavior V of the target vehicle. state In S114, the vehicle position P included in the sensor value S acquired in S111 and the relative behavior V determined in S113 are compared. state to the potential accident responsibility value determining unit 751.

[0139] In S115, the measurement time is obtained from the timer unit 743, and the time error and time accuracy updated by the time correction unit 744 are also obtained. In S116, the sensor value S obtained in S111 is stored in the responsibility determination information storage unit 745 together with the measurement time, time error, and time accuracy obtained in S115.

[0140] [Explanation of the Accident Responsibility Judgment Department 750] Next, the accident responsibility determination unit 750 will be described. The accident responsibility determination unit 750 is realized by a computer separate from the sensor integration unit 740. The accident responsibility determination unit 750 includes a potential accident responsibility value determination unit 751, a potential accident responsibility storage unit 752, a timer unit 753, and a time correction unit 754. The accident responsibility determination unit 750 does not include the external I / F unit 153, and is connected to the external I / F unit 153 via the in-vehicle LAN 11.

[0141] The clock unit 753 measures the current time. The clock unit 753 can have the same configuration as the clock unit 743. The time correction unit 754 can be realized as a function of a computer. The time correction unit 754 has the same function as the time correction unit 744, and executes the process shown in Fig. 18 to correct the measured time for the clock unit 753 and update the time error and time accuracy.

[0142] The potential accident responsibility value determining unit 751 determines the potential accident responsibility value AL in the same manner as the potential accident responsibility value determining unit 151 of the first embodiment. val The potential accident responsibility value determination unit 751 also obtains the measurement time from the timer unit 753, and calculates the potential accident responsibility value AL using the measurement time as a time stamp. val in the potential accident responsibility storage unit 752. The potential accident responsibility value determination unit 751 periodically executes this process while the host vehicle 1 is traveling. The execution period is preferably the same as that of the target vehicle behavior determination unit 741.

[0143] In addition, the potential accident responsibility value determination unit 751 stores the latest time error and time accuracy updated by the time correction unit 754 in the potential accident responsibility storage unit 752 together with the measurement time. The potential accident responsibility storage unit 752 is configured to include a writable non-volatile memory. Since the sensor integration unit 740 and the accident responsibility determination unit 750 are separate computers, the potential accident responsibility storage unit 752 is separate hardware from the responsibility determination information storage unit 745.

[0144] 20 shows the process executed by the potential accident responsibility value determining unit 751. S121 is the same process as S4 in FIG. 2, and the surrounding traffic rule R db S122 is the same process as S5, and determines the traffic rule at the vehicle position P. S123 is the same process as S6, and obtains the potential accident liability value AL val Calculate the following.

[0145] In S124, the measured time is obtained from the clock unit 753, and the time error and time accuracy updated by the time correction unit 754 are also obtained. In S125, the potential accident liability value AL val is stored in the potential accident responsibility storage unit 752 together with the measurement time, time error, and time precision acquired in S124.

[0146] The set of the sensor value S and the measurement time stored in the responsibility determination information storage unit 745 is defined as the time-stamped sensor value S. The potential accident responsibility value AL stored in the potential accident responsibility storage unit 752 is defined as val The set of measurement times is the time-stamped potential accident liability value AL val In the seventh embodiment, the time-stamped sensor value S includes a time error and a time precision, and the time-stamped potential accident liability value AL val The time error and time accuracy are also included in the time-stamped sensor value S and the time-stamped potential accident responsibility value AL. val can be output to an external device via the external I / F unit 153.

[0147] [Summary of the seventh embodiment] In the seventh embodiment, the sensor value S, which is the responsibility determination information, is stored in the responsibility determination information storage unit 745 together with the measurement time. val The sensor value S and the potential accident responsibility value AL are stored together with the measurement time in a potential accident responsibility storage unit 752, which is a storage unit separate from the responsibility determination information storage unit 745. val The time stamp is added to the sensor value S and the potential accident liability value AL by storing the measured time. valFor the ,it only indicates the time when they were acquired or calculated. However, the time stamp indicates the potential accident liability value AL val and its potential liability value AL val The sensor value S used to calculate the potential accident liability value AL can be associated with the time stamp after the fact. val It can be said that this is a correspondence index that enables the sensor value S to be associated with the sensor value S.

[0148] In the next embodiment, the sensor value S stored in the responsibility determination information storage unit 745 is used to calculate the potential accident responsibility value AL val An embodiment for verifying the above will be described.

[0149] The external device contains a time-stamped potential liability value AL that is specified by the time at which verification is required. val The external device also outputs the time-stamped potential accident liability value AL val The time-stamped sensor value S is output within a predetermined time range including the same time as the time of the sensor. The time range is set so that the time-stamped potential accident liability value AL val is set to include the sensor value S used in the calculation.

[0150] At the moment when the time correction units 744, 754 correct the measurement times measured by the clock units 743, 753, the measurement times measured by the two clock units 743, 753 can be considered to be synchronized.

[0151] However, as the time that has passed since the correction increases, the difference between the times measured by the two timers 743 and 753 increases. val In addition to the sensor value S with the same time as the time, the sensor value S with the time within a predetermined time range including the time is acquired. The time range can be set in advance. In addition, the time-attached potential accident liability value AL val The time range may be determined by referring to the time error included in the time error.

[0152] Eighth embodiment 21 is a diagram showing the configuration of a potential accident responsibility value determining device 800 of the eighth embodiment. The potential accident responsibility value determining device 800 determines the potential accident responsibility value AL determined by the potential accident responsibility value determining device 700 mounted on the vehicle 1 described in the seventh embodiment. val The latent accident responsibility determination device 800 is a device for verifying the reliability of the latent accident responsibility determination device 200 of the second embodiment. The latent accident responsibility determination device 800 is also an example of a latent accident responsibility determination device. The latent accident responsibility determination device 800 can be a fixed type installed in a police station or an insurance company.

[0153] The potential accident responsibility value determination device 800 includes a map storage unit 120, a rule DB storage unit 130, a sensor integration unit 840, and an accident responsibility determination unit 850. The sensor integration unit 840 includes a target vehicle behavior determination unit 841 and a rule acquisition unit 842. The accident responsibility determination unit 850 includes a potential accident responsibility value determination unit 851, an external I / F unit 853, and a potential accident verification unit 854. The external I / F unit 853 is the same as the external I / F unit 153. Of the elements included in the sensor integration unit 840 and the accident responsibility determination unit 850, the elements other than the external I / F unit 853 will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. 22.

[0154] The external I / F unit 853 receives a time-stamped sensor value S and a time-stamped potential accident liability value AL in the seventh embodiment. val The external device that reads out the sensor value S is connected to the external I / F unit 853. The sensor value S with the time stamp is input to the external I / F unit 853, similar to the sensor value S input to the external I / F unit 153 in the second embodiment, and is the other vehicle sensor value S (OC) In addition, the time-stamped potential accident liability value AL val is the potential accident liability value AL input to the external I / F unit 153 in the second embodiment. val Similarly, the potential liability value for other vehicles, AL val(OC) It is.

[0155] Next, a description will be given of the flowchart in Fig. 22. The process shown in this flowchart starts when a predetermined start condition is satisfied after an external device is connected to the external I / F unit 853. The predetermined start condition is, for example, that the user has performed a start operation.

[0156] S130 is a process executed by the potential accident verification unit 854, and receives a potential accident liability value AL with a time stamp indicating a time when verification is required from an external device via the external I / F unit 853. val The potential liability value AL obtained here is val The other vehicle potential accident liability value AL val(OC) The time when verification is required is not limited to one time, but may be a range of times. The range of times when verification is required can be set by the user who operates the potential accident responsibility value determination device 800 based on the accident situation, etc. The potential accident responsibility value AL with each time included in this range of times when verification is required is val The following process is performed on the

[0157] Steps S131 to S134 are executed by the target vehicle behavior determination unit 841. In step S131, the target vehicle behavior determination unit 841 acquires a time-stamped sensor value S within the above-mentioned time range from an external device via the external I / F unit 853. The time-stamped sensor value S acquired from the external device is the time-stamped other vehicle sensor value S (OC) It is.

[0158] In S132, the other vehicle sensor value S (OC) The process of S132 is shown in detail in FIG. 23. In FIG. 23, in S1321, the time-stamped potential accident liability value AL val The measurement time is corrected for the time error.

[0159] In S1322, the time-stamped potential accident liability value AL obtained in S130 is val Based on the time accuracy included in val For example, the time range of the potential accident liability value AL after correction in S1321 is determined as valThe potential accident liability value AL is verified by the sensor value S within the range of ±σ centered on the time when the potential accident liability value AL was measured. val The time range is set as follows: where σ is the standard deviation.

[0160] In S1323, the measurement time of the time-stamped sensor value S acquired in S131 is corrected by the time error. In S1324, the other vehicle sensor value S used for verification is calculated based on the time accuracy included in the time-stamped sensor value S acquired in S131. (OC) For example, the time obtained by subtracting −σ of the sensor value S from the minimum value of the time range determined in S1322 is set as the other vehicle sensor value S used for verification. (OC) The time obtained by adding σ of the sensor value S to the maximum value of the time range determined in S1322 is set as the other vehicle sensor value S used for verification. (OC) The maximum value of

[0161] Returning to the explanation of FIG. 22, S133 is the same as S22 in FIG. 5, and one target vehicle is selected from the surroundings of the responsibility value determination vehicle. In S134, the other vehicle sensor value S (OC) , and the relative behavior V of the target vehicle at each time included in the time range determined in S132 is calculated for the target vehicle selected in S133. state Determine.

[0162] S135 and S136 are executed by the rule acquisition unit 842. In S135, the other vehicle sensor value S (OC) The vehicle position P included in the table is the position of the responsibility value determination vehicle, and the surrounding traffic rules R db The rule DB storage unit 130 acquires the responsibility value determination vehicle's position and the surrounding traffic rule R acquired in S135. db Based on the above, the traffic rule at the position of the responsibility value determination vehicle is determined. The traffic rule at the position of the responsibility value determination vehicle and the position-independent rule are combined to determine the accident responsibility rule to be used in the next step S137.

[0163] S137 and S138 are executed by the potential accident responsibility value determining unit 851. In S137, the relative behavior V state Based on the accident responsibility rule determined in S136, the potential accident responsibility value AL val In S138, the potential accident liability value AL for each time calculated in S137 is calculated. val to the potential accident verification unit 854.

[0164] S139 and S140 are executed by the potential accident verification unit 854. In S139, the potential accident responsibility value AL val(OC) The verification is performed to verify whether the potential liability value AL of one vehicle to be verified is reliable. val(OC) In contrast, in S137, the potential accident liability value AL at multiple times is val is calculated because the time accuracy of the two clock units 743, 753 is taken into consideration.

[0165] The specific verification method can be various methods. For example, the total potential accident liability value AL calculated in S137 is val Other vehicle potential accident liability value AL val(OC) The difference between the total potential accident liability value AL is calculated. val The difference calculated for each is below the threshold C th If the difference is smaller than , the verification result is determined to be no difference.

[0166] In addition, the potential accident liability value AL calculated at each time in S137 val For each of the above, a verification result may be determined individually using the same method as in the second embodiment. When the verification result is determined individually, the reliability of the verification result may be added according to the time difference from the measurement time in which the measurement error is only corrected.

[0167] In S140, the verification result determined in S139 is output to a predetermined output target device such as an external device connected to the external I / F unit 853.

[0168] [Summary of the eighth embodiment] In the event of an accident, even a difference of several tens of centimeters or even less in the relative positions of the vehicle 1 and the target vehicle can have a significant effect on the severity of the accident. A difference of this magnitude can occur even in the order of tens of milliseconds.

[0169] Therefore, the potential accident responsibility value determining device 700 of the seventh embodiment described above stores the time error and time accuracy of the timer unit 743 together with the sensor value S and the measurement time. val The time error and time accuracy of the clock unit 753 are stored together with the measured time.

[0170] In addition, in this potential accident responsibility value determining device 800, the other vehicle sensor value S used for verification is calculated by taking into consideration the time error and time accuracy of the timing unit 743 and the time error and time accuracy of the timing unit 753. (OC) In this way, the time range of the sensor value S and the potential accident responsibility value AL val Even if these are stored separately, the potential accident liability value AL can be calculated with high reliability. val can be verified.

[0171] <Ninth embodiment> As the ninth embodiment, a modified example of the seventh and eighth embodiments will be described. In the eighth embodiment, the other vehicle sensor value S (OC) The time range of the

[0172] However, it is not necessary to consider all of these four elements. Any three, any two, or any one of these four elements may be considered to determine the time range. Therefore, in the potential accident responsibility value determination device 700, any three, any two, or any one of these four elements is used to determine the time range as the sensor value S and the potential accident responsibility value AL. val It is sufficient to store it together with

[0173] For example, the other vehicle sensor value S used for verification is determined by taking into consideration only the time error of the timing unit 743 and the time error of the timing unit 753. (OC)In this case, the responsibility determination information storage unit 745 stores the sensor value S and the measurement time of the timer unit 743 together with the measurement error of the timer unit 743, and the potential accident responsibility storage unit 752 stores the potential accident responsibility value AL val The measurement error of the timer unit 753 is also stored together with the time measured by the timer unit 753.

[0174] When only the time error is considered, the time error is corrected and the corrected measurement time is the potential accident liability value AL val The sensor value S of the other vehicle that matches the measurement time assigned to (OC) The other vehicle sensor value S used for verification (OC) is decided.

[0175] In addition, only the accuracy, that is, either one or both of the time accuracy of the timing unit 743 and the time accuracy of the timing unit 753 are taken into consideration, and the time error is not taken into consideration. (OC) In this case, the responsibility determination information storage unit 745 stores the sensor value S and the measurement time of the timer unit 743 together with the measurement accuracy of the timer unit 743, and the potential accident responsibility storage unit 752 stores the potential accident responsibility value AL val The measurement accuracy of the timing unit 753 is also stored together with the time measured by the timing unit 753.

[0176] Tenth embodiment The tenth embodiment is a modification of the seventh and ninth embodiments. In the seventh and ninth embodiments, at least one of the time error and the time accuracy of the measured time is stored together with the measured time.

[0177] However, neither the time error nor the time accuracy of the measurement time may be stored. In this way, the potential accident liability value AL val Although the reliability of the verification results is lower than that of the eighth and ninth embodiments, the potential accident liability value AL val It is possible to verify.

[0178] <Eleventh embodiment> In the above embodiments, the potential accident responsibility information stored in the storage unit 152, 252, 352, 552, 752 is the potential accident responsibility value AL val However, the potential liability value AL val The potential liability value AL is calculated by comparing the potential liability value AL with a predetermined threshold value AL. val The presence or absence of responsibility may be stored instead of the potential accident responsibility value AL val It may be stored together with

[0179] Also, in the second, fourth and eighth embodiments, the potential accident responsibility information output to the potential accident verification unit 254, 454, 854 may be the presence or absence of the above-mentioned responsibility.

[0180] <Twelfth embodiment> In the third embodiment, the potential accident information AL info , the responsibility value determination information R info As the relative movement of the target vehicle, V state However, if the location can be specified, the accident responsibility rule can be obtained from the rule DB storage unit 130. Therefore, the potential accident information AL info If the information that can determine the position is included in the responsibility value determination information R info does not have to include accident liability rules.

[0181] <Thirteenth embodiment> In the fifth embodiment, the potential accident responsibility value determination device 500 uses surrounding responsibility value determination information RS info However, the potential accident responsibility value determination device 500 periodically transmits the surrounding responsibility value determination information RS in response to a request from the responsibility value server Sr or the like. info In this way, the surrounding responsibility value determination information RS info Therefore, the amount of communication data can be reduced compared to when transmitting the peripheral responsibility value determination information RS info The peripheral responsibility value determination information RS contains image data, etc. info This is particularly effective when the amount of data is large.

[0182] <Fourteenth embodiment> In the first embodiment, the potential accident information AL info The responsibility value determination information R contained in info was the sensor value S. In the third embodiment, the potential accident information AL info The responsibility value determination information R contained in info is the relative movement of the target vehicle V state However, the sensor value S and the relative behavior V of the target vehicle state and accident liability rules, together with potential accident information AL info It may be included in.

[0183] <Fifteenth embodiment> In the first embodiment, the sensor value S, which is the responsibility value determination information, may include the vehicle position P. In addition to that, or instead of that, the potential accident information AL info may include detection values ​​detected by the sensor 112, which is a host vehicle behavior sensor that detects the behavior of the host vehicle 1. The detection values ​​detected by the sensor 112 are, for example, the vehicle speed, the yaw rate, and the acceleration. In addition to the above, the detection values ​​detected by the sensor 112 may include various values ​​related to the behavior of the host vehicle 1, such as the steering angle, the steering torque, the brake oil pressure, the accelerator opening, and the control request value.

[0184] Potential accident information AL info If the detection value detected by the sensor 112 is included in the responsibility value determination information, the detection value detected by the sensor 112 is the potential accident responsibility value AL val , and the sensor value S.

[0185] In addition, the potential accident information AL of the third embodiment info , that is, instead of the sensor value S, the relative behavior V state and potential accident information AL, which includes accident liability rules info The behavior of the host vehicle 1 determined from the detection values ​​detected by the sensor 112 may be included in the above.

[0186] Potential accident information ALinfo If the behavior of the host vehicle 1 is included in the potential accident liability value AL val , and the relative movement of the target vehicle V state This means that it corresponds to the above.

[0187] In the seventh embodiment, the sensor value S stored together with the measurement time may include the detection value detected by the sensor 112. In this case, the detection value detected by the sensor 112 is associated with the sensor value S detected by the sensor 111, i.e., the responsibility value determination information, and the potential accident responsibility value AL val The data will be stored so as to correspond to the above.

[0188] <Sixteenth embodiment> In the above embodiments, the potential accident responsibility information and the accident responsibility determination information used to determine the potential accident responsibility information are stored in association with each other or in an association-enabled manner. In contrast, in the following embodiment, instead of the potential accident responsibility information, a video that may be an example of the potential accident responsibility information is stored. Also, instead of the accident responsibility determination information that can be used as information indicating the responsibility of an accident during autonomous driving, a driving state indicating whether the vehicle is in autonomous driving or non-autonomous driving is stored. Due to these differences, the system configuration is different from the above embodiments.

[0189] [Overall configuration of vehicle system 1001] Hereinafter, a sixteenth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. A vehicle system 1001 shown in FIG. 24 is used in a vehicle capable of switching the degree of autonomous driving, and includes an autonomous driving device 1002, a locator 1003, a map database (hereinafter, referred to as map DB) 1004, a surroundings monitoring sensor 1005, a vehicle control ECU 1006, a vehicle sensor 1007, and a communication module 1008. Although a vehicle using the vehicle system 1001 is not necessarily limited to an automobile, the following description will be given taking an example of use in an automobile. Hereinafter, a vehicle using the vehicle system 1001 will be referred to as the host vehicle.

[0190] The vehicle may be any vehicle that can switch between a degree of autonomous driving that specifies that the vehicle is legally responsible for any accidents, and non-autonomous driving that does not implement this autonomous driving. There can be multiple levels of autonomous driving (hereinafter referred to as "automation levels"), as defined by the SAE, for example. Automation levels are classified into levels 0 to 5, as follows, according to the SAE definition:

[0191] Level 0 is a level where the driver performs all driving tasks without intervention from the system. Driving tasks are, for example, steering and acceleration / deceleration. Level 0 corresponds to so-called manual driving. Level 1 is a level where the system assists with either steering or acceleration / deceleration. Level 2 is a level where the system assists with both steering and acceleration / deceleration. Levels 1 and 2 correspond to so-called driving assistance.

[0192] Level 3 is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks in specific locations such as highways, and the driver takes over driving operations in an emergency. At level 3, the driver is required to be able to respond quickly when the system requests a handover of driving. Level 3 corresponds to so-called conditional automated driving. Level 4 is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks except under specific circumstances such as unmanageable roads and extreme environments. Level 4 corresponds to so-called highly automated driving. Level 5 is a level where the system can perform all driving tasks in any environment. Level 5 corresponds to so-called fully automated driving. Levels 3 to 5 correspond to so-called automated driving.

[0193] Here, the degree of autonomous driving that is stipulated as being legally responsible for an accident is determined in accordance with the law, and may be, for example, autonomous driving with an automation level of level 3 or higher, or autonomous driving with an automation level of level 4 or higher. Non-autonomous driving may be manual driving with level 0, or may include driving assistance up to level 2 or lower. In this embodiment, as an example, the description will continue assuming that the vehicle is switchable between autonomous driving with automation level 3 or higher (hereinafter simply autonomous driving) and manual driving with level 0 (hereinafter simply manual driving).

[0194] The locator 1003 includes a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver and an inertial sensor. The GNSS receiver receives positioning signals from a plurality of positioning satellites. The inertial sensor includes, for example, a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor. The locator 1003 sequentially measures the position of the vehicle (hereinafter, the vehicle position) on which the locator 1003 is mounted, by combining the positioning signals received by the GNSS receiver with the measurement results of the inertial sensor. The vehicle position is represented, for example, by latitude and longitude coordinates. Note that the vehicle position may be measured using a travel distance calculated from a signal sequentially output from a vehicle speed sensor mounted on the vehicle.

[0195] The map DB 1004 is a non-volatile memory and stores map data such as link data, node data, road shapes, and structures. The map data may be a three-dimensional map consisting of a point cloud of characteristic points of road shapes and structures. When a three-dimensional map consisting of a point cloud of characteristic points of road shapes and structures is used as the map data, the locator 1003 may be configured to specify the vehicle position using the three-dimensional map and a detection result by a surrounding monitoring sensor 1005 such as a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging / Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) or an exterior camera that detects the point cloud of characteristic points of road shapes and structures, without using a GNSS receiver. The three-dimensional map may be generated based on captured images by REM (Road Experience Management).

[0196] The perimeter monitoring sensor 1005 is an autonomous sensor that monitors the environment around the vehicle. As an example, the perimeter monitoring sensor 1005 is used to recognize objects around the vehicle, such as moving objects such as pedestrians, animals other than humans, and vehicles other than the vehicle, and stationary objects such as guardrails, curbs, and trees. In addition, the perimeter monitoring sensor 1005 is also used to recognize road markings such as lane lines around the vehicle. Examples of the perimeter monitoring sensor 1005 include an exterior camera that captures a predetermined range around the vehicle, a millimeter wave radar that transmits a search wave to a predetermined range around the vehicle, a sonar, and a distance measuring sensor such as a LIDAR. Other examples of the perimeter monitoring sensor 1005 include a sound collector that collects sounds around the vehicle. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the exterior camera 1051, the millimeter wave radar 52, and the LIDAR 53 are used as the perimeter monitoring sensor 1005.

[0197] The exterior camera 1051 is an example of an in-vehicle camera, and sequentially outputs images captured sequentially as sensing information to the automatic driving device 1002. As an example, the exterior camera 1051 is provided on the vehicle with exterior cameras 1051F, 1051R, 1051L, and 1051Re, as shown in FIG.

[0198] The exterior camera 1051F is a camera that captures a predetermined range in front of the vehicle. The exterior camera 1051F may be installed in a position that does not block the driver's view of the front of the vehicle, such as near the rearview mirror in the vehicle interior or at the top of the windshield. The exterior camera 1051F may be installed in the vicinity of the center of the vehicle width direction of the front bumper of the vehicle.

[0199] The exterior camera 1051R is a camera whose image capturing range is a predetermined range on the right rear side of the vehicle. The exterior camera 1051R may be configured to be installed, for example, near the right side mirror of the vehicle. The exterior camera 1051L is a camera whose image capturing range is a predetermined range on the left rear side of the vehicle. The exterior camera 1051L may be configured to be installed, for example, near the left side mirror of the vehicle.

[0200] The exterior camera 1051Re is a camera that captures a predetermined range behind the vehicle. The exterior camera 1051Re may be installed in a position that does not block the driver's view for checking the rear, such as near the center of the vehicle width direction of the rear bumper of the vehicle. The exterior camera 1051Re may be installed near the upper end of the rear window, for example.

[0201] The exterior camera 1051F, 1051R, 1051L, and 1051Re may have overlapping shooting ranges. It is preferable to provide the exterior camera 1051F, 1051R, 1051L, and 1051Re as the exterior camera 1051 so that the entire circumference of the vehicle is captured as the shooting range. Note that the exterior camera 1051 is not limited to a configuration in which the entire circumference of the vehicle is captured as the shooting range, and may be configured to be limited to a part of the shooting range.

[0202] The vehicle control ECU 1006 is an electronic control device that performs driving control of the vehicle. Examples of driving control include acceleration / deceleration control and / or steering control. The vehicle control ECU 1006 includes a steering ECU that performs steering control, a power unit control ECU that performs acceleration / deceleration control, and a brake ECU. The vehicle control ECU 1006 performs driving control by outputting control signals to each driving control device mounted on the vehicle, such as an electronically controlled throttle, a brake actuator, and an EPS (Electric Power Steering) motor.

[0203] The vehicle sensor 1007 is a group of sensors for detecting various states of the vehicle. The vehicle sensor 1007 includes a vehicle speed sensor, a steering sensor, an acceleration sensor, a yaw rate sensor, a switch for switching driving, a brake pedal force sensor, a steering torque sensor, and the like. The vehicle speed sensor detects the vehicle speed of the vehicle. The steering sensor detects the steering angle of the vehicle. The acceleration sensor detects the acceleration of the vehicle, such as the longitudinal acceleration and lateral acceleration. The acceleration sensor may also detect deceleration, which is acceleration in the negative direction. The yaw rate sensor detects the angular velocity of the vehicle. The switch for switching driving is a switch for setting the vehicle to switch between automatic driving and manual driving. As the switch for switching driving, for example, a steering switch provided on the spoke of the steering wheel may be used. The brake pedal force sensor detects the pedal force applied to the brake pedal. The steering torque sensor detects the steering torque applied to the steering wheel.

[0204] The communication module 1008 communicates with a center external to the vehicle via a public communication network. For example, the communication module 1008 may be configured to communicate with a server at an external center (hereinafter, referred to as an external server). The communication module 1008 may report to an external server such as the police or an insurance company, or transmit video stored in the autonomous driving device 1002. The communication module 1008 may also receive map data distributed from an external server that distributes map data, and store the data in the map DB 1004.

[0205] The autonomous driving device 1002 functioning as an autonomous driving system includes, for example, a processor, a memory, an I / O, and a bus connecting these, and executes various processes such as processes related to autonomous driving and processes related to storing images of the surroundings of the vehicle (hereinafter, image storage related processes) by executing control programs stored in the memory. The memory referred to here is a non-transitory tangible storage medium that non-temporarily stores computer-readable programs and data. The non-transitory tangible storage medium is realized by a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk. Details of the autonomous driving device 1002 will be described below.

[0206] [Outline of the configuration of the automatic driving device 1002] Next, a schematic configuration of the automatic driving device 1002 will be described with reference to FIG. 24. As shown in FIG. 24, the automatic driving device 1002 includes a video processing device 1020, a recording device 1021, a driving environment recognition unit 1022, an automatic driving unit 1023, and a driving switching control unit 1027 as functional blocks. Note that some or all of the functions executed by the automatic driving device 1002 may be configured as hardware using one or more ICs or the like. Also, some or all of the functional blocks included in the automatic driving device 1002 may be realized by a combination of software execution by a processor and hardware members.

[0207] The video processing device 1020 is an example of a video recording system, and includes, for example, a processor, a memory, an I / O, and a bus connecting these, and executes a control program stored in the memory to perform video storage-related processing. In the video storage-related processing, the video processing device 1020 stores the video captured by the exterior camera 1051 in the recording device 1021 in response to a predetermined trigger. Details of the video processing device 1020 will be described later. The recording device 1021 is an electrically rewritable non-volatile memory. In this embodiment, the recording device 1021 is provided in the automatic driving device 1002, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the recording device 1021 may be provided in a device other than the automatic driving device 1002. The recording device 1021 may be provided in the vehicle, or in a server accessible by the video processing device 1020 via the communication module 1008.

[0208] The driving environment recognition unit 1022 recognizes the driving environment of the vehicle from the vehicle position acquired from the locator 1003, map data acquired from the map DB 1004, sensing information acquired from the surrounding monitoring sensor 1005, and the like. As an example, the driving environment recognition unit 1022 recognizes the positions, shapes, and moving states of objects around the vehicle using these pieces of information, and generates a virtual space that reproduces the actual driving environment. The driving environment recognition unit 1022 may also recognize the distance between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles, the relative speed of the surrounding vehicles to the vehicle, and the like as the driving environment from the sensing information acquired from the surrounding monitoring sensor 1005. In addition, when position information and speed information of surrounding vehicles and the like can be acquired via the communication module 1008, the driving environment may be recognized using these pieces of information as well.

[0209] The automatic driving unit 1023 performs processing related to taking over driving operations from the driver. As shown in Fig. 24, the automatic driving unit 1023 includes a driving plan unit 1024, a confirmation unit 1025, and an automatic driving function unit 1026 as sub-function blocks.

[0210] The driving planner 1024 generates a driving plan for driving the vehicle by automatic driving using the driving environment recognized by the driving environment recognition unit 1022. For example, as a medium- to long-term driving plan, a route search process is performed to generate a recommended route for moving from the vehicle's position to a destination. In addition, as a short-term driving plan for driving according to the medium- to long-term driving plan, the execution of steering for lane changes, acceleration / deceleration for speed adjustment, steering and braking for obstacle avoidance, etc. is determined. The driving plan generated by the driving planner 1024 may be configured to be performed by machine learning, for example.

[0211] The confirmation unit 1025 evaluates the safety of the driving plan generated by the driving plan unit 1024. As an example, the confirmation unit 1025 may evaluate the safety of the driving plan using a mathematical formula model that mathematically expresses the concept of safe driving in order to make it easier to evaluate the safety of the driving plan. As the mathematical formula model, for example, an RSS (Responsibility Sensitive Safety) model may be used. The confirmation unit 1025 may evaluate the safety based on whether or not the distance between the objects is equal to or greater than a reference distance (hereinafter, referred to as a safe distance) for evaluating the safety between the vehicles, which is calculated by a preset mathematical formula model. The distance between the objects may be the distance between the objects in the forward and backward directions or the distance between the objects in the left and right directions. The distance between the objects referred to here is the distance between the vehicle and a surrounding obstacle, between the vehicles surrounding the vehicle, etc. Examples of surrounding obstacles include vehicles surrounding the vehicle, as well as stationary objects such as pedestrians and objects fallen on the road.

[0212] The confirmation unit 1025 may evaluate the driving plan generated by the driving plan unit 1024 as safe when the distance between the objects is equal to or greater than the safe distance. On the other hand, the confirmation unit 1025 may evaluate the driving plan generated by the driving plan unit 1024 as unsafe when the distance between the objects is less than the safe distance. The confirmation unit 1025 may output the driving plan evaluated as safe to the autonomous driving function unit 1026. On the other hand, the confirmation unit 1025 may correct the driving plan evaluated as unsafe to a driving plan evaluated as safe and output it to the autonomous driving function unit 1026.

[0213] The mathematical formula model used for the safety evaluation in the confirmation unit 1025 does not guarantee that an accident will not occur at all, but is intended to guarantee that the vehicle will not be held responsible for the accident if it takes appropriate action to avoid a collision when the safe distance is less than the safe distance. For example, when the distance between the vehicle and a surrounding obstacle is less than the safe distance, even if the vehicle takes appropriate action to avoid a collision, if the surrounding obstacle is a moving object, there is a possibility that an accident may occur depending on the action of the surrounding obstacle. Note that the surrounding obstacle may be configured to target only surrounding vehicles.

[0214] The automatic driving function unit 1026 causes the vehicle control ECU 1006 to automatically accelerate and decelerate and / or steer the vehicle in accordance with a driving plan that is evaluated as safe by the confirmation unit 1025, thereby taking over driving operations from the driver and performing automatic driving.

[0215] The driving switching control unit 1027 controls switching between automatic driving and manual driving. When the driving switching control unit 1027 detects a driver's operation to switch to automatic driving in an area where automatic driving is possible, the driving switching control unit 1027 causes the automatic driving unit 1023 to start automatic driving. In addition, the driving switching control unit 1027 refers to a long- to mid-term driving plan and switches from automatic driving to manual driving in a planned manner before the area where automatic driving is possible ends. In addition, the driving switching control unit 1027 switches from automatic driving to manual driving when it suddenly becomes difficult for the driving environment recognition unit 1022 to recognize the driving environment and it is difficult to continue automatic driving. Note that when switching from automatic driving to manual driving, a configuration may be adopted in which a notification requesting a change of driving is given in advance.

[0216] In addition, the driving switching control unit 1027 switches from automatic driving to manual driving by detecting a switching operation to automatic driving by the driver during automatic driving. An example of a switching operation to automatic driving by the driver is a switching operation of a driving switching switch from automatic driving to manual driving. An example of a switching operation to automatic driving by the driver is an override by the driver. As an example, the driving switching control unit 1027 may detect, as an override, a case in which the pedal force detected by a brake pedal force sensor and the steering torque detected by a steering torque sensor exceed a threshold value.

[0217] [Schematic configuration of the video processing device 1020] Next, a schematic configuration of the video processing device 1020 will be described with reference to Fig. 26. As shown in Fig. 26, the video processing device 1020 includes a video acquisition unit 1201, a temporary storage unit 1202, a driving identification unit 1203, a risk determination unit 1204, a storage target determination unit 1205, an accident detection unit 1206, a storage processing unit 1207, and a report processing unit 1208 as functional blocks. Note that some or all of the functions executed by the automatic driving device 1002 may be configured in the form of hardware using one or more ICs or the like. Also, some or all of the functional blocks included in the automatic driving device 1002 may be realized by a combination of software execution by a processor and hardware members.

[0218] The video acquisition unit 1201 sequentially acquires outside-vehicle video captured by the exterior camera 1051. The video acquisition unit 1201 corresponds to an outside-vehicle video acquisition unit. The outside-vehicle video may include video that allows confirmation of the situation of an accident that has occurred on the vehicle or an accident that has occurred around the vehicle. Therefore, the outside-vehicle video is accident confirmation video. The video acquisition unit 1201 stores the outside-vehicle video that is sequentially acquired in the temporary storage unit 1202. The temporary storage unit 1202 is a volatile memory, and temporarily stores the outside-vehicle video that is sequentially stored. The temporary storage unit 1202 may be a ring buffer that stores outside-vehicle video up to a certain past time.

[0219] The image acquisition unit 1201 is not limited to a configuration that sequentially acquires vehicle exterior images captured by the vehicle exterior camera 1051, but may also be configured to sequentially acquire interior images captured by an interior camera that captures the interior of the vehicle. The interior camera may be configured to use a camera of a DSM (Driver Status Monitor) that monitors the driver of the vehicle. The DSM is composed of a near-infrared light source and a near-infrared camera, and a control unit that controls these. As an example, the DSM may detect the driver's facial direction, level of alertness, inability to drive, etc. from a captured image of the driver's face captured by the near-infrared camera.

[0220] The driving identification unit 1203 identifies whether the vehicle is in an autonomous driving state or a non-autonomous driving state. The driving identification unit 1203 may identify whether the vehicle is in an autonomous driving state or a non-autonomous driving state by monitoring the driving switching control unit 1027. In the example of this embodiment, when the vehicle is in an autonomous driving state or has switched from manual driving to autonomous driving, the driving state of the vehicle is identified as autonomous driving. On the other hand, when the vehicle is in a manual driving state or has switched from autonomous driving to manual driving, the driving state of the vehicle is identified as non-autonomous driving.

[0221] The risk determination unit 1204 determines whether there is a risk of collision between objects, such as between the host vehicle and an obstacle in the vicinity of the host vehicle and between vehicles in the vicinity of the host vehicle. The risk determination unit 1204 may determine that there is a risk of collision between the objects when the distance between the objects is less than the safe distance calculated by the confirmation unit 1025. On the other hand, the risk determination unit 1204 may determine that there is no risk of collision between the objects when the distance between the objects is equal to or greater than the safe distance calculated by the confirmation unit 1025. The risk determination unit 1204 may determine that there is a risk of collision between the objects when the distance between the objects is less than the safe distance, either between the host vehicle and an obstacle in the vicinity of the host vehicle or between vehicles in the vicinity of the host vehicle.

[0222] When the risk determination unit 1204 determines that there is a risk of collision between objects, the storage target determination unit 1205 links (i.e., associates) the outside-of-vehicle images sequentially acquired by the image acquisition unit 1201 with information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the outside-of-vehicle images are acquired and identified by the driving identification unit 1203, and sets them as storage targets to be stored in the recording device 1021. The information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle may be, for example, a flag indicating whether the driving state of the vehicle is autonomous or non-autonomous (hereinafter, driving state flag). The outside-vehicle images may be linked with the driving state flag, for example, by a timestamp or the like.

[0223] As an example, the storage target determination unit 1205 stores the vehicle outside video stored in the temporary storage unit 1202 after the risk determination unit 1204 determines that there is a risk of collision between objects as the storage target. The storage target determination unit 1205 may be configured to store, in the temporary storage unit 1202, a driving state flag corresponding to the time when the vehicle outside video was acquired, in association with the vehicle outside video. The driving state flag may be configured to be associated with each frame of the vehicle outside video. Also, one driving state flag may be associated with multiple consecutive frames to which the same type of driving state flag is associated. The driving state flag may not be stored in the temporary storage unit 1202, but may be stored in another memory, as long as it is associated with the corresponding vehicle outside video.

[0224] Furthermore, when the driving state of the vehicle switches from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving, the storage target determination unit 1205 links the outside-vehicle video sequentially acquired by the video acquisition unit 1201 with information capable of identifying the driving state of the vehicle at the time the outside-vehicle video is acquired, identified by the driving identification unit 1203, and sets them as storage targets to be stored in the recording device 1021. The storage target determination unit 1205 may determine that the driving state of the vehicle switches from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving, for example, from the driving state of the vehicle identified by the driving identification unit 1203.

[0225] As an example, the storage target determination unit 1205 stores, as a storage target, an outside-vehicle video stored in the temporary storage unit 1202 after the driving state identified by the driving identification unit 1203 switches from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving. The storage target determination unit 1205 may be configured to store, in the temporary storage unit 1202, a driving state flag corresponding to the time when the outside-vehicle video was acquired, in association with the outside-vehicle video.

[0226] The storage target determination unit 1205 is not limited to a configuration in which the vehicle exterior image and the driving state are linked to each other and set as storage targets, but may also be configured to link the vehicle exterior image and the driving state to an interior image corresponding to the time point when the vehicle exterior image was acquired, information used in the risk determination unit 1204 to determine the presence or absence of a collision risk (hereinafter, risk determination related information), and the like, and set as storage targets. The risk determination related information referred to here includes, for example, the distance between objects.

[0227] When the storage target determination unit 1205 determines that there is a risk of collision between the vehicles surrounding the vehicle, it is preferable to link the risk determination related information used by the risk determination unit 1204 to determine whether there is a risk of collision between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles included in the surrounding vehicles, with the vehicle exterior video and the driving state, and to store the risk determination related information. According to this, when an accident occurs between the surrounding vehicles, it is possible to leave as a record the risk determination related information used by the risk determination unit 1204 to determine whether there is a risk of collision between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles included in the surrounding vehicles. Therefore, it is possible to verify the degree of proximity between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles before the accident occurs between the surrounding vehicles, and it becomes easier to prove that the automatic driving of the vehicle is not responsible for the accident between the surrounding vehicles.

[0228] The accident detection unit 1206 detects the occurrence of an accident between objects. The accident detection unit 1206 detects the occurrence of an accident between objects that the risk determination unit 1204 has determined to have a collision risk between the objects. If the accident is between the vehicle and a surrounding obstacle, the accident detection unit 1206 may detect the occurrence of the accident from, for example, a signal from an acceleration sensor in the vehicle sensor 1007. Alternatively, the accident detection unit 1206 may detect the occurrence of an accident between the vehicle and a surrounding obstacle from an airbag deployment signal of an airbag device. Also, if the accident is between vehicles surrounding the vehicle, the accident detection unit 1206 may detect the occurrence of the accident from, for example, an overlap between the surrounding vehicles in the driving environment recognized by the driving environment recognition unit 1022. Alternatively, the accident may be detected from information on the surrounding vehicles obtained by vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

[0229] When the accident detection unit 1206 detects the occurrence of an accident between objects, the storage processing unit 1207 reads out from the temporary storage unit 1202 the storage targets determined as storage targets by the storage target determination unit 1205 at least up until the occurrence of the accident, and stores them in the recording device 1021. In other words, when the storage target determination unit 1205 has determined the storage target in response to the risk determination unit 1204 determining that there is a risk of collision between the objects as a trigger, the outside-of-vehicle images sequentially acquired by the image acquisition unit 1201 from the time when it is determined that there is a risk of collision between the objects to at least the occurrence of the accident between the objects are linked to the driving state flag, etc., corresponding to the time when the outside-of-vehicle images were acquired, and are stored in the recording device 1021.

[0230] According to this, it is possible to store in the recording device 1021 the outside-vehicle image from the time when it is determined that there is a risk of collision between the objects to at least the time when an accident occurs between the objects, and the driving state flag corresponding to the time when the outside-vehicle image was acquired, etc. Therefore, it is possible to verify the accident using the outside-vehicle image from at least the time when the accident occurs to the time when it is determined that there is a risk of collision between the objects. Since it is possible to verify the accident using the outside-vehicle image up to the time when it is determined that there is a risk of collision between the objects, it becomes easier to investigate the cause of the accident. In addition, since the driving state flag corresponding to the time when the outside-vehicle image was acquired is linked to the outside-vehicle image, even if it is determined that the vehicle is responsible for the occurrence of the accident from the outside-vehicle image, it is possible to prove that the automatic driving of the vehicle is not responsible by distinguishing whether the outside-vehicle image is taken during automatic driving or non-automatic driving. As a result, it becomes easier to prove that the automatic driving is not responsible for the occurrence of the accident in a vehicle that can be switched between an automatic driving to a degree that is stipulated as being legally responsible for the accident and a non-automatic driving that does not perform this automatic driving.

[0231] On the other hand, if the storage target determination unit 1205 has determined the storage target in response to the driving state of the vehicle switching from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving, the outside vehicle images sequentially acquired by the image acquisition unit 1201 from the time of switching from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving until at least the occurrence of an accident between the targets are linked to the driving state flag, etc. corresponding to the time when this outside vehicle image was acquired, and stored in the recording device 1021.

[0232] According to this, when an accident occurs between the targets, it is possible to store in the recording device 1021 the outside-vehicle image from the time of switching from automatic driving to non-automatic driving to at least the time of the accident occurring between the targets, and the driving state flag corresponding to the time when the outside-vehicle image was acquired. Therefore, it is possible to verify the accident using the outside-vehicle image at least from the time of the accident occurrence to the time of this switching. If the above-mentioned accident occurs after the degree of automatic driving of the own vehicle switches from automatic driving to non-automatic driving, the driver may mistakenly claim that the accident occurred during automatic driving. In response to this, it is possible to store the outside-vehicle image for the period during which such a mistake may occur in the recording device. In addition, since the driving state flag corresponding to the time when the outside-vehicle image was acquired is linked to the outside-vehicle image, even if it is determined that the own vehicle is responsible for the occurrence of the accident from the outside-vehicle image, it is possible to prove that the automatic driving of the own vehicle is not responsible by distinguishing whether the outside-vehicle image was taken during automatic driving or non-automatic driving. As a result, in the case of vehicles that can switch between a degree of autonomous driving that is stipulated to result in legal liability in the event of an accident, and non-autonomous driving that does not perform this autonomous driving, it will be easier to prove that the autonomous driving is not responsible for the occurrence of an accident.

[0233] When the accident detection unit 1206 detects the occurrence of an accident between objects, the storage processing unit 1207 preferably stores the objects determined as storage objects by the storage object determination unit 1205 in the recording device 1021 for a predetermined time after the occurrence of the accident. The predetermined time here is a value that can be set arbitrarily. This makes it easier to investigate the cause of the accident since it becomes possible to verify the accident using the outside-of-vehicle video after the accident occurs.

[0234] If the accident detection unit 1206 does not detect the occurrence of an accident between objects and the risk determination unit 1204 determines that there is a collision risk between objects and the result of the determination by the risk determination unit 1204 changes from there to there is no collision risk, the save processing unit 1207 does not save the save object determined by the save object determination unit 1205 in the recording device 1021. The save objects stored in the temporary saving unit 1202 and not saved in the recording device 1021 are sequentially deleted starting from data that is older than a certain amount.

[0235] This makes it easier to determine the cause of an accident by making it possible to store outside-vehicle footage going back to the point at which it was determined that there was a risk of collision between objects, while also making it possible to more accurately prevent the recording device 1021 from storing outside-vehicle footage that is unlikely to be related to the occurrence of the accident, thereby reducing the strain on the capacity of the recording device 1021.

[0236] In the case where the storage target determination unit 1205 has determined the storage target in response to a switch from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving as a trigger, if the accident detection unit 1206 does not detect the occurrence of an accident between the targets and the elapsed time from the switch from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving reaches a specified time, the storage processing unit 1207 may be configured not to store the storage target determined by the storage target determination unit 1205 in the recording device 1021. The specified time may be set to any time. This makes it possible to prevent the outside-of-vehicle video that is likely not related to the occurrence of an accident from being stored in the recording device 1021, thereby reducing the strain on the capacity of the recording device 1021.

[0237] Incidentally, even if the storage target determination unit 1205 determines the storage target in response to a switch from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving as a trigger, if the risk determination unit 1204 determines that there is a risk of collision between objects before the accident detection unit 1206 detects the occurrence of an accident between the objects, the configuration may be such that the above processing is performed.

[0238] When the accident detection unit 1206 detects an accident between objects, the report processing unit 1208 reports the occurrence of the accident to an external server such as the police or an insurance company via the communication module 1008. In addition, the report processing unit 1208 reports the occurrence of the accident and transmits the storage target stored in the recording device 1021 to this external server. This allows the police and the insurance company to respond to the occurrence of the accident and to determine the responsibility for the accident based on the information of the storage target. In addition, since the storage target is transmitted to the external server when the occurrence of the accident is detected, it becomes difficult to tamper with the information of the storage target. Therefore, it becomes easier to prove that the autonomous driving is not responsible for the occurrence of the accident from the information of the storage target. Note that the report processing unit 1208 may be configured to transmit the storage target to the external server before storing it in the recording device 1021 when the accident detection unit 1206 detects an accident between objects.

[0239] [Video storage-related processing in the video processing device 1020] Here, an example of the flow of the video storage related processing in the video processing device 1020 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 27. The execution of steps included in the video storage related processing by a computer corresponds to the execution of a video recording method. The flowchart in FIG. 27 may be configured to start when a switch (hereinafter, a power switch) for starting the internal combustion engine or motor generator of the vehicle is turned on. In the example of FIG. 27, it is assumed that the driving environment recognition unit 1022 sequentially recognizes the driving environment of the vehicle. In the example of FIG. 27, it is assumed that the video acquisition unit 1201 sequentially acquires outside vehicle images captured by the exterior vehicle camera 1051 and sequentially stores the images in the temporary storage unit 1202.

[0240] First, in step S1001, the risk determination unit 1204 determines whether there is a risk of collision between objects such as between the host vehicle and an obstacle in the vicinity of the host vehicle and between other vehicles in the vicinity of the host vehicle. In step S1002, if it is determined that there is a risk of collision between the host vehicle and an obstacle in the vicinity of the host vehicle (YES in S1002), the process proceeds to step S1004. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no risk of collision between the host vehicle and an obstacle in the vicinity of the host vehicle (NO in S1002), the process proceeds to step S1003.

[0241] In step S1003, if it is determined that there is a risk of collision between the vehicles surrounding the host vehicle (YES in S1003), the process proceeds to step S1004. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no risk of collision between the vehicles surrounding the host vehicle (NO in S1003), the process proceeds to step S1012. Note that the order of the processes in S1002 and S1003 may be reversed.

[0242] In step S1004, the storage target determination unit 1205 associates the outside-vehicle images sequentially acquired by the image acquisition unit 1201 from the time when it is determined that there is a risk of collision between the objects with the driving state flag at the time when the outside-vehicle images are acquired, which is identified by the driving identification unit 1203, and sets them as storage targets to be stored in the recording device 1021. The determination of the storage target by the storage target determination unit 1205 is continued until the storage processing unit 1207 determines whether or not to store the storage target in the recording device 1021.

[0243] In step S1005, if the accident detection unit 1206 detects the occurrence of an accident between objects determined in the previous step to have a collision risk (YES in S1005), the process proceeds to step S1006. On the other hand, if the accident detection unit 1206 does not detect the occurrence of an accident between objects determined in the previous step to have a collision risk (NO in S1005), the process proceeds to step S1009.

[0244] In step S1006, the storage processing unit 1207 reads out from the temporary storage unit 1202 the storage targets determined as storage targets by the storage target determination unit 1205 at least until the occurrence of the accident detected in S1005, and stores them in the recording device 1021. For example, the storage targets determined as storage targets by the storage target determination unit 1205 until a predetermined time after the occurrence of the accident detected in S1005 may be read out from the temporary storage unit 1202 and stored in the recording device 1021. In step S1007, the report processing unit 1208 reports the occurrence of the accident to an external server of the police, an insurance company, or the like via the communication module 1008, and transmits the storage targets stored in the recording device 1021 in S1006 to this external server.

[0245] In step S1008, if it is time to end the video storage-related process (YES in S1008), the video storage-related process is terminated. On the other hand, if it is not time to end the video storage-related process (NO in S1008), the process returns to S1001 and is repeated. An example of the timing to end the video storage-related process is when the power switch of the vehicle is turned off.

[0246] In step S1009, the risk determination unit 1204 determines whether there is a risk of collision between the objects. In step S1010, if the determination result of the collision risk between the objects determined in the previous step that there is a risk of collision has switched from there being a risk of collision to there being no risk of collision (YES in S1010), the process proceeds to step S1011. On the other hand, if there is still a risk of collision (NO in S1010), the process returns to S1004 to continue determining the objects to be saved and repeats the process.

[0247] In step S1011, the save processing unit 1207 does not save the data that was determined to be saved by the save target determination unit 1205 in the recording device 1021, and the process proceeds to step S1008. As described above, the data that was not saved in the recording device 1021 and is stored in the temporary saving unit 1202 is sequentially deleted, starting from data that is older than a certain amount.

[0248] In step S1012, if the driving state identified by the driving identification unit 1203 has switched from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving (YES in S1012), the process proceeds to step S1014. On the other hand, if the driving state identified by the driving identification unit 1203 has not switched from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving (NO in S1012), the process proceeds to step S1013.

[0249] In step S1013, the storage target determination unit 1205 does not set the outside-vehicle video sequentially acquired by the video acquisition unit 1201 as a storage target, and proceeds to step S1008. On the other hand, in step S1014, the storage target determination unit 1205 associates the outside-vehicle video sequentially acquired by the video acquisition unit 1201 from the time when the driving state identified by the driving identification unit 1203 switches from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving with the driving state flag identified by the driving identification unit 1203 at the time when the outside-vehicle video is acquired, and sets them as storage targets to be stored in the recording device 1021. This determination of the storage target by the storage target determination unit 1205 is also continued until the storage processing unit 1207 determines whether the storage target is to be stored in the recording device 1021.

[0250] In step S1015, if the accident detection unit 1206 detects the occurrence of an accident between objects (YES in S1015), the process proceeds to step S1006. On the other hand, if the accident detection unit 1206 does not detect the occurrence of an accident between objects (NO in S1015), the process proceeds to step S1016. Note that the accident detection unit 1206 may be configured to detect the occurrence of an accident between objects that the risk determination unit 1204 has determined to have a collision risk after the driving state identified by the driving identification unit 1203 switches from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving.

[0251] In step S1016, if the time elapsed since the point at which autonomous driving was switched to non-autonomous driving in S1012 reaches a specified time (YES in S1016), the save processing unit 1207 proceeds to step S1017. On the other hand, if the time elapsed has not reached the specified time (NO in S1016), the process returns to S1014 to continue determining the storage target and repeat the process. In step S1017, the save processing unit 1207 does not save the storage target determined as a storage target by the storage target determination unit 1205 in the recording device 1021, and proceeds to step S1008.

[0252] [Summary of the 16th embodiment] As described above, the configuration of this embodiment makes it easier to prove that the autonomous driving is not responsible for the occurrence of an accident in a vehicle that can switch between a degree of autonomous driving that is stipulated to result in legal liability in the event of an accident, and non-autonomous driving that does not perform this autonomous driving.

[0253] Furthermore, according to the configuration of this embodiment, when the risk determination unit 1204 determines that there is a risk of collision between the vehicles surrounding the own vehicle, the outside-vehicle video and the driving state are linked and stored as a trigger. Therefore, even if it is not determined that there is a risk of collision with the own vehicle, it is possible to store the outside-vehicle video, which makes it easier to investigate the cause of an accident that occurs between the vehicles surrounding the own vehicle and to make it easier to determine whether the own vehicle is responsible for the accident.

[0254] <Seventeenth embodiment> In the sixteenth embodiment, the risk determination unit 1204 determines that there is a risk of collision between the host vehicle and a surrounding obstacle (hereinafter, the first condition), the risk determination unit 1204 determines that there is a risk of collision between vehicles surrounding the host vehicle (hereinafter, the second condition), and the driving state of the host vehicle switches from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving (hereinafter, the third condition) are the triggers for determining the storage target, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, some of the first to third conditions may be used as the trigger for determining the storage target.

[0255] As an example, when adopting a configuration in which only the first condition of the first to third conditions is the trigger described above, the processes of S1003, S1012, and S1014 to S1017 in the flowchart of Fig. 27 can be omitted, and if NO at S1002, the process can move to S1013. When adopting a configuration in which only the second condition of the first to third conditions is the trigger described above, the processes of S1002, S1012, and S1014 to S1017 in the flowchart of Fig. 27 can be omitted, and the process can move to S1003 after S1001, and if NO at S1003, the process can move to S1013. When adopting a configuration in which only the third condition of the first to third conditions is the above-mentioned trigger, the processes of S1001 to S1005 and S1009 to S1011 in the flowchart of FIG. 27 can be omitted, and the process can proceed to S1012 after S1001, and if the answer is NO at S1008, the process can proceed to S1012.

[0256] When adopting a configuration in which only the first condition out of the first to third conditions is not included in the above-mentioned trigger, the process of S1002 in the flowchart of Fig. 27 may be omitted, and the process may move to S1003 after S1001. When adopting a configuration in which only the second condition out of the first to third conditions is not included in the above-mentioned trigger, the process of S1003 in the flowchart of Fig. 27 may be omitted, and the process may move to S1012 if NO in S1002. When adopting a configuration in which only the third condition out of the first to third conditions is not included in the above-mentioned trigger, the processes of S1012 and S1014 to S1017 in the flowchart of Fig. 27 may be omitted, and the process may move to S1013 if NO in S1003.

[0257] In either configuration, it is possible to distinguish whether the outside-vehicle image is from an autonomous driving state or a non-autonomous driving state, as in the 16th embodiment. Therefore, in a vehicle that can switch between an autonomous driving state that is stipulated to be legally responsible for an accident and a non-autonomous driving state that does not implement the autonomous driving state, it becomes easier to prove that the autonomous driving state is not responsible for the occurrence of an accident.

[0258] <Eighteenth embodiment> In the sixteenth embodiment, a configuration has been shown in which a storage target determined by the storage target determination unit 1205 is temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit 1202, and the storage processing unit 1207 stores this storage target in the recording device 1021, thereby storing the storage target in the recording device 1021, but this is not necessarily limited to the above. For example, a configuration may also be used in which a storage target determined by the storage target determination unit 1205 is stored in the recording device 1021, and the storage processing unit 1207 does not delete this storage target from the recording device 1021, thereby storing the storage target in the recording device 1021.

[0259] In this case, regardless of whether the accident detection unit 1206 detects the occurrence of an accident between the objects, the save processing unit 1207 reads the save target from the temporary saving unit 1202 and stores it in the recording device 1021. Then, when the accident detection unit 1206 detects the occurrence of an accident between the objects, the save processing unit 1207 saves the save target in the recording device 1021 by not erasing the save target stored in the recording device 1021. On the other hand, when the save processing unit 1207 satisfies the same conditions as those for not saving the save target in the recording device 1021 in the 16th embodiment, the save processing unit 1207 does not save the save target in the recording device 1021 by erasing the save target stored in the recording device 1021.

[0260] Even with the above configuration, it is possible to distinguish whether the outside-of-vehicle image is from an autonomous driving state or a non-autonomous driving state, as in the 16th embodiment. Therefore, in a vehicle that can switch between an autonomous driving state that is stipulated to be legally responsible for an accident and a non-autonomous driving state that does not implement the autonomous driving state, it becomes easier to prove that the autonomous driving state is not responsible for the occurrence of an accident.

[0261] <Nineteenth embodiment> In the sixteenth embodiment, when the risk determination unit 1204 determines that there is a collision risk between objects that the risk determination unit 1204 determines to have a collision risk and the result of the determination is switched from the presence to absence of the collision risk without the accident detection unit 1206 detecting the occurrence of an accident between the objects, the configuration is shown in which the target to be saved determined by the saving target determination unit 1205 is not saved in the recording device 1021, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. For example, when the time elapsed since the risk determination unit 1204 determined that there is a collision risk reaches a specified time without the accident detection unit 1206 detecting the occurrence of an accident between the objects, the configuration may be such that the target to be saved determined by the saving target determination unit 1205 is not saved in the recording device 1021. The specified time referred to here is a time that can be set arbitrarily.

[0262] With the above configuration, it is possible to store outside-vehicle footage going back to the point at which it was determined that there was a risk of collision between objects, making it easier to determine the cause of an accident, while at the same time, it is possible to reduce strain on the capacity of recording device 1021 by not storing outside-vehicle footage that is likely not related to the occurrence of the accident.

[0263] <Twentieth embodiment> In the sixteenth embodiment, the storage processing unit 1207 stores in the recording device 1021 at least the storage objects up until the occurrence of an accident when the accident detection unit 1206 detects the occurrence of an accident, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which storage objects for a certain period of time are stored in the recording device 1021 regardless of whether the occurrence of an accident is detected or not (hereinafter, the twentieth embodiment). The configuration of the twentieth embodiment will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0264] The vehicle system 1001 of the 20th embodiment is similar to the vehicle system 1001 of the 16th embodiment, except that the automatic driving device 1002 includes a video processing device 1020a instead of the video processing device 1020. The automatic driving device 1002 of the 20th embodiment is also similar to the automatic driving device 1002 of the 16th embodiment, except that the automatic driving device 1002 includes a video processing device 1020a instead of the video processing device 1020.

[0265] Here, an example of a schematic configuration of the video processing device 1020a will be described with reference to Fig. 28. The video processing device 1020a includes a video acquisition unit 1201, a temporary storage unit 1202, a driving identification unit 1203, a risk determination unit 1204, a storage target determination unit 1205, and a storage processing unit 1207a as functional blocks. The video processing device 1020a is similar to the video processing device 1020 of the 16th embodiment, except that the video processing device 1020a includes the storage processing unit 1207a instead of the storage processing unit 1207, and does not include the accident detection unit 1206 and the report processing unit 1208.

[0266] The saving processing unit 1207a saves the storage targets determined as storage targets by the saving target determination unit 1205 for a certain period in the recording device 1021. The "certain period" referred to here is a period that can be set arbitrarily. When the saving target determination unit 1205 starts determining the storage target, the saving processing unit 1207a stores the storage target in the recording device 1021 each time the storage target is determined for a certain period after the start of the determination of the storage target, thereby saving the storage targets for the certain period in the recording device 1021.

[0267] According to the configuration of the twentieth embodiment, it is possible to store in the recording device 1021 the vehicle exterior image for a certain period from the time when it is determined that there is a risk of collision between the objects, and the driving state flag corresponding to the time when the vehicle exterior image was acquired. Therefore, when an accident occurs between the objects, it is possible to verify the accident using the vehicle exterior image for a certain period from the time when it is determined that there is a risk of collision between the objects. Since it is possible to verify the accident using the vehicle exterior image up to the time when it is determined that there is a risk of collision between the objects, it becomes easier to investigate the cause of the accident. In addition, since the driving state flag corresponding to the time when the vehicle exterior image was acquired is linked to the vehicle exterior image, even if it is determined that the vehicle is responsible for the occurrence of the accident from the vehicle exterior image, it is possible to prove that the vehicle's autonomous driving is not responsible by distinguishing whether the vehicle exterior image is taken during autonomous driving or non-autonomous driving. As a result, it becomes easier to prove that the autonomous driving is not responsible for the occurrence of the accident in a vehicle that can be switched between an autonomous driving level that is stipulated to be legally responsible for the accident and a non-autonomous driving that does not perform the autonomous driving.

[0268] In addition, according to the configuration of the 20th embodiment, it is possible to store in the recording device 1021 the vehicle exterior image for a certain period from the time of switching from automatic driving to non-automatic driving and the driving state flag corresponding to the time when this vehicle exterior image was acquired. Therefore, it is possible to verify the accident using the vehicle exterior image for a certain period from the switching time. If the above-mentioned accident occurs after the degree of automatic driving of the vehicle switches from automatic driving to non-automatic driving, the driver may mistakenly claim that the accident occurred during automatic driving. In response to this, it is possible to store the vehicle exterior image for a period during which such a mistake may occur in the recording device. In addition, since the driving state flag corresponding to the time when the vehicle exterior image was acquired is linked to the vehicle exterior image, even if it is determined that the vehicle is responsible for the occurrence of the accident from the vehicle exterior image, it is possible to prove that the vehicle's automatic driving is not responsible by distinguishing whether the vehicle exterior image was taken during automatic driving or non-automatic driving. As a result, in the case of vehicles that can switch between a degree of autonomous driving that is stipulated to result in legal liability in the event of an accident, and non-autonomous driving that does not perform this autonomous driving, it will be easier to prove that the autonomous driving is not responsible for the occurrence of an accident.

[0269] <21st embodiment> Next, a 21st embodiment will be described. Fig. 29 shows the configuration of a vehicle system 1101 of the 21st embodiment. The vehicle system 1101 includes an automatic driving device 1102 instead of the automatic driving device 1002. The automatic driving device 1102 includes an automatic driving unit 1123 instead of the automatic driving unit 1023, and includes a video processing device 1120 instead of the video processing device 1020.

[0270] In the 16th embodiment, the vehicle exterior image and the information that can specify the driving state of the vehicle are associated with each other and are then stored. In contrast, in the 21st embodiment, the vehicle exterior image and the information that can specify the driving state of the vehicle are stored separately while allowing for subsequent association.

[0271] In addition, the vehicle system 1101 continuously stores outside-vehicle images and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle while the vehicle is traveling. That is, the vehicle system 1101 continuously stores outside-vehicle images and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle regardless of whether there is a risk of collision or whether the vehicle is in automatic driving mode.

[0272] In order to separately store the outside-vehicle image and the information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle while enabling subsequent association, the automatic driving unit 1123 includes a clock unit 1124, a time correction unit 1125, a driving identification unit 1126, and a driving state recording device 1127. The vehicle equipped with the vehicular system 1101 includes an in-vehicle LAN 11 and a reference clock 12. The in-vehicle LAN 11 and the reference clock 12 are the same as those described in the seventh embodiment.

[0273] In the 21st embodiment, as shown in Fig. 29, in addition to the reference clock 12, a time correction unit 1125 and a video processing device 1120 are also connected to the in-vehicle LAN 11. Note that elements other than the time correction unit 1125 and the video processing device 1120 shown in Fig. 29 may also be connected to the in-vehicle LAN 11.

[0274] The clock unit 1124 is the same as the clock unit 743 in Fig. 17, and measures the current time (i.e., measured time). The time correction unit 1125 has the same function as the time correction unit 744 in Fig. 17, and obtains the reference time from the reference clock 12, and corrects the measured time measured by the clock unit 1124 to the reference time obtained from the reference clock 12. Similarly to the time correction unit 744, the time correction unit 1125 also successively updates the time error and time accuracy of the clock unit 1124.

[0275] In the sixteenth embodiment, the driving identification unit 1126 is provided in the video processing device 1020. In this embodiment, the automatic driving unit 1123 is provided with it. Like the driving identification unit 1203 provided in the video processing device 1020, the driving identification unit 1126 identifies whether the vehicle is in automatic driving or non-automatic driving. In addition, the driving identification unit 1126 acquires the measurement time, time error, and time accuracy from the clock unit 1124. Then, the identified driving state is stored in the driving state recording device 1127 together with the measurement time measured by the clock unit 1124, the time error, and time accuracy of the clock unit 1124.

[0276] The driving state recording device 1127 is an electrically rewritable non-volatile memory. The driving state recording device 1127 is a separate hardware from the recording device 1021. The driving state recording device 1127 outputs stored information such as information that can identify the driving state and the measurement time to a device outside the vehicle by wired or wireless means.

[0277] [Schematic configuration of the video processing device 1120] Fig. 30 shows the configuration of a video processing device 1120. As shown in Fig. 30, the video processing device 1120 includes the same video acquisition unit 1201, accident detection unit 1206, and report processing unit 1208 as in Fig. 26. The video processing device 1120 also includes a clock unit 11203, a time correction unit 11204, and a storage processing unit 11207. Note that this video processing device 1120 does not include the driving identification unit 1203, risk determination unit 1204, storage target determination unit 1205, and temporary storage unit 1202 included in the video processing device 1020 in Fig. 26.

[0278] The reason why the driving determination unit 1203 is not provided is because, in this embodiment, the automatic driving unit 1123 is provided with the driving determination unit 1126. The reason why the risk determination unit 1204, the storage target determination unit 1205, and the temporary storage unit 1202 are not provided is because, in this embodiment, the outside-of-vehicle video is stored at all times.

[0279] The clock unit 11203 is the same as the clock unit 1124, and measures the current time (i.e., measured time). The time correction unit 11204 has the same function as the time correction unit 1125, and obtains the reference time from the reference clock 12, and corrects the measured time measured by the clock unit 11203 to the reference time obtained from the reference clock 12. Similarly to the time correction unit 1125, the time correction unit 11204 also successively updates the time error and time accuracy of the clock unit 11203.

[0280] The storage processing unit 11207 acquires the measurement time, time error, and time accuracy from the clock unit 11203, and acquires the outside-vehicle video from the video acquisition unit 1201. Then, the outside-vehicle video, measurement time, time error, and time accuracy are sequentially stored in the recording device 1021. In this embodiment, the recording device 1021 functions as a video recording device.

[0281] In this embodiment, the driving state is stored in the driving state recording device 1127 together with the measurement time. The outside vehicle image is stored in the recording device 1021, which is a storage unit separate from the driving state recording device 1127, together with the measurement time. The driving state and the outside vehicle image are stored together with the measurement time, so that a timestamp is added. The driving state and the outside vehicle image stored in separate storage devices can be associated with each other after the fact using the timestamp. By associating the driving state and the outside vehicle image after the fact, the vehicle system 1101 of this embodiment can also obtain the various effects described in the sixteenth embodiment.

[0282] In this embodiment, in addition to a time stamp (i.e., the measurement time) being assigned to the driving state, the time error and time accuracy of the measurement time are also stored in the driving state recording device 1127. In addition, in addition to a time stamp (i.e., the measurement time) being assigned to the outside-of-vehicle video, the time error and time accuracy of the measurement time are also stored in the recording device 1021. By taking into consideration these time errors and time accuracy, it is possible to determine with higher reliability the cause of an accident, which vehicle is responsible for the accident, and so on.

[0283] <Twenty-second embodiment> In the twenty-first embodiment, the time error and the time accuracy with respect to the measurement time when the operating state is identified are stored in the operating state recording device 1127. However, only one of the time error and the time accuracy may be stored, or neither the time error nor the time accuracy may be stored.

[0284] In addition, with regard to the time error and time accuracy relative to the measured time when the outside-vehicle image was acquired, only one of the time error and time accuracy may be stored, or neither the time error nor the time accuracy may be stored.

[0285] <Twenty-third embodiment> In the 16th, 20th, and 21st embodiments, the vehicle exterior image is stored as the accident confirmation image. However, when an accident occurs, it may be necessary to confirm the situation inside the vehicle. In other words, the interior image is also an accident confirmation image that may enable confirmation of the accident situation. Therefore, instead of the vehicle exterior image, the vehicle interior image may be stored. The interior image may include images of various parts inside the vehicle, such as images of the area around the driver's seat, images of the back seat, images of the driver's seat and the passenger seat, and images that combine these images. In addition, both the vehicle exterior image and the interior image may be stored.

[0286] <Twenty-fourth embodiment> In the sixteenth embodiment, the automatic driving device 1002 and the vehicle control ECU 1006 are separate entities, but this is not necessarily limited to the above. For example, the automatic driving device 1002 may also assume the functions of the vehicle control ECU 1006. The automatic driving device 1002 may also assume the functions of the locator 1003.

[0287] <Twenty-fifth embodiment> In the above embodiment, the image processing devices 1020 and 1020a are included in the autonomous driving device 1002. However, this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the image processing devices 1020 and 1020a may not be included in the autonomous driving device 1002.

[0288] <Twenty-sixth embodiment> In the sixteenth embodiment, the risk determination unit 1204 determines whether there is a risk of collision between the objects depending on whether the distance between the objects is equal to or greater than a safe distance calculated by a preset mathematical formula model, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the risk determination unit 1204 may determine whether there is a risk of collision between the objects using other indices such as TTC (Time To Collision).

[0289] <Twenty-seventh embodiment> In the sixteenth embodiment, the automatic driving device 1002 is provided with the confirmation unit 1025, but this is not necessarily limited to the above. For example, the automatic driving device 1002 may not be provided with the confirmation unit 1025.

[0290] <Twenty-eighth embodiment> Furthermore, the image processing device 1020, 1020a may be configured to report to an external server via the communication module 1008 when abnormal behavior of an occupant is detected from the indoor image acquired by the image acquisition unit 1201. The abnormal behavior of an occupant may be detected from the indoor image by image recognition technology. Examples of abnormal behavior of an occupant include a driver being unable to drive, a driver falling asleep, a driver looking away, etc.

[0291] <Twenty-ninth embodiment> Furthermore, the information to be stored that the video processing devices 1020 and 1020a store in the recording device 1021 may be configured to be output to the outside by a means other than communication via the communication module 1008. For example, the recording device 1021 may be configured as a removable recording medium, so that the information to be stored that is stored in the recording device 1021 may be output to the outside.

[0292] Thirtieth Embodiment In the embodiments from the 16th embodiment onwards, the autonomous driving in the driving state is the autonomous driving at a level that is stipulated as being legally responsible for an accident. However, the autonomous driving in the driving state may include a lower level of autonomous driving. In addition, the level of autonomous driving may be stored as the driving state.

[0293] Thirty-first embodiment The first to fifteenth embodiments may be combined with the sixteenth to thirtieth embodiments, and in addition to the potential accident responsibility information and the responsibility determination information, the accident confirmation video may be stored in a manner that allows them to be associated with each other. FIG. 31 shows a travel storage system that combines the potential accident responsibility value determination device 700 of the seventh embodiment with the vehicle system 1101 of the twenty-first embodiment. However, for convenience of illustration, FIG. 31 omits some of the internal configurations of the sensor integration unit 740, the accident responsibility determination unit 750, the surroundings monitoring sensor 1005, the automatic driving unit 1103, and the video processing device 1120.

[0294] In this embodiment, the responsibility determination information, potential accident responsibility information, driving state, and accident confirmation video are stored in separate storage units or storage devices so that they can be associated with each other after the fact.

[0295] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. The embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in the different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure. The control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated computer constituting a processor programmed to execute one or more functions embodied by a computer program. Alternatively, the device and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated hardware logic circuit. Alternatively, the device and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by one or more dedicated computers configured by a combination of a processor that executes a computer program and one or more hardware logic circuits. The computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transient tangible recording medium as instructions executed by the computer.

[0296] The present disclosure also includes the following technical ideas based on the above embodiments.

[0297] (Technical thought 1) A driving memory system mounted on a vehicle, a target vehicle behavior determination unit (141) that acquires sensor values ​​from a sensor that detects sensor values ​​indicating behavior of surrounding vehicles existing around a host vehicle (1) that is a vehicle equipped with the travel memory system, and sequentially determines the relative behavior of a target vehicle selected from the surrounding vehicles with respect to the host vehicle based on the sensor values; A rule acquisition unit (142, 542) for acquiring an accident responsibility rule at the current location of the vehicle; a potential accident responsibility information determination unit that sequentially determines potential accident responsibility information indicating whether or not the host vehicle is responsible for a potentially anticipated accident between the target vehicle and the host vehicle based on the relative behavior of the target vehicle and the accident responsibility rule acquired by the rule acquisition unit; A travel storage system including a storage unit (152, 352, 552, 745, 752) that stores the potential accident responsibility information in association with or in an association-enabling manner the potential accident responsibility information and responsibility determination information that is information used to determine the potential accident responsibility information.

[0298] (Technical thought 2) A traveling memory system according to technical idea 1, The potential accident responsibility information and the responsibility determination information can be associated with each other by a correspondence index, As the storage unit, a potential accident responsibility storage unit (752) for storing the potential accident responsibility information together with the corresponding index; A travel storage system comprising: a responsibility determination information storage unit (745) that stores the responsibility determination information together with the correspondence index.

[0299] (Technical Thought 3) the association indicator is a timestamp; The driving memory system described in Technical Idea 2, wherein the potential accident responsibility memory unit and the responsibility determination information memory unit store at least one of the error and accuracy of the timestamp together with the timestamp.

[0300] (Technical Thought 4) The driving memory system described in Technical Idea 3, wherein the potential accident responsibility memory unit and the responsibility determination information memory unit store the timestamp together with the error and accuracy of the timestamp.

[0301] (Technical Thought 5) A traveling memory system according to any one of technical concepts 1 to 4, the potential accident responsibility information determining unit includes a potential accident responsibility value determining unit (151) that sequentially determines, as the potential accident responsibility information, a potential accident responsibility value indicating a degree of responsibility of the host vehicle for a potentially assumed accident between the target vehicle and the host vehicle based on the relative behavior of the target vehicle and the accident responsibility rule acquired by the rule acquiring unit, The driving memory system includes a potential accident memory unit (152) as the memory unit, which stores the potential accident responsibility value in association with responsibility value determination information, which is information used to determine the potential accident responsibility value.

[0302] (Technical Thought 6) The traveling memory system according to any one of Technical Concepts 1 to 5, wherein the sensor value is stored as the responsibility determination information.

[0303] (Technical Thought 7) 6. The travel storage system according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 5, wherein a relative behavior of the target vehicle is stored as the responsibility determination information.

[0304] (Technical Thought 8) A driving memory system according to technical idea 6, wherein the relative behavior of the target vehicle is stored together with the sensor value as the responsibility determination information.

[0305] (Technical Thought 9) A traveling memory system according to any one of technical concepts 1 to 8, The vehicle further includes a video acquisition unit (1201) for sequentially acquiring accident confirmation video from an on-board camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident occurring on or around the vehicle, A driving memory system, wherein the accident confirmation video is stored in the memory unit in association with or capable of association with the potential accident responsibility information.

[0306] (Technical Thought 10) A traveling memory system according to any one of technical concepts 1 to 9, A driving memory system in which the memory unit stores detection values ​​detected by a vehicle behavior sensor that detects the behavior of the vehicle, or the behavior of the vehicle determined based on the detection values, in correspondence with or capable of being associated with at least one of the potential accident responsibility information and the responsibility determination information.

[0307] (Technical Thought 11) A travel memory system as described in any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 10, comprising a wireless communication unit (360, 560) that sequentially transmits the responsibility determination information of the vehicle stored in the memory unit to the outside of the vehicle.

[0308] (Technical Thought 12) A driving memory system as described in technical idea 11, comprising an external information memory unit (352, 552) that stores the received responsibility determination information when a wireless communication unit mounted on the vehicle receives the responsibility determination information transmitted from an external source.

[0309] (Technical Thought 13) The traveling memory system described in Technical Idea 12, wherein the wireless communication unit (560) transmits the responsibility determination information received from the outside and stored in the external information memory unit.

[0310] (Technical Thought 14) a responsibility determination information acquisition unit (253, 453) for acquiring responsibility determination information which is information used to determine potential accident responsibility information indicating whether or not the responsible vehicle is responsible for a potentially anticipated accident between a responsible vehicle, which is a vehicle for which potential accident responsibility information is to be determined, and a target vehicle selected from surrounding vehicles existing around the responsible vehicle; a potential accident responsibility information determination unit (251, 451) that determines the potential accident responsibility information based on a preset relationship that determines the potential accident responsibility information from the responsibility determination information and the responsibility determination information acquired by the responsibility determination information acquisition unit; a potential accident liability determination device installed outside the liability determination vehicle;

[0311] (Technical Thought 15) the responsibility determination information acquisition unit acquires, as the responsibility determination information, a sensor value detected by a sensor provided in the responsible vehicle and indicating a behavior of the surrounding vehicle; a target vehicle behavior determination unit (241) for sequentially determining a relative behavior of a target vehicle selected from the surrounding vehicles with respect to the responsible vehicle based on the sensor value; a rule acquisition unit (242) for acquiring accident responsibility rules at a position where the potential accident responsibility information needs to be determined; The potential accident responsibility determination device described in technical idea 14, wherein the potential accident responsibility information determination unit sequentially determines the potential accident responsibility information based on the relative behavior of the target vehicle and the accident responsibility rule acquired by the rule acquisition unit.

[0312] (Technical Thought 16) The responsibility determination information acquisition unit (453) acquires a relative behavior of the target vehicle as the responsibility determination information, The potential accident responsibility determination device described in technical idea 14, wherein the potential accident responsibility information determination unit (451) sequentially determines the potential accident responsibility information based on the relative behavior of the target vehicle and the accident responsibility rule at the position where the potential accident responsibility information needs to be determined.

[0313] (Technical Thought 17) The potential accident responsibility determination device according to any one of Technical Ideas 14 to 16, wherein the responsibility determination information acquisition unit acquires the responsibility determination information from surrounding vehicles existing in the vicinity of the responsibility determination vehicle.

[0314] (Technical Thought 18) a responsibility determination information acquisition unit (541) for acquiring responsibility determination information used to determine potential accident responsibility information indicating whether or not the responsible vehicle is responsible for a potentially anticipated accident between a responsible vehicle, which is a vehicle for which potential accident responsibility information is to be determined, and a target vehicle selected from surrounding vehicles existing around the responsible vehicle; a potential accident responsibility information determination unit (551) that determines the potential accident responsibility information based on a preset relationship that determines the potential accident responsibility information from the responsibility determination information and the responsibility determination information acquired by the responsibility determination information acquisition unit; A potential accident responsibility determination device comprising: a surrounding information acquisition unit (570) that acquires surrounding responsibility determination information used to determine surrounding potential accident responsibility information indicating whether or not the related surrounding vehicle is responsible for a potentially anticipated accident between the related surrounding vehicle and a vehicle present around the related surrounding vehicle, which is a surrounding vehicle other than the target vehicle among the surrounding vehicles.

[0315] (Technical Thought 19) A sensor value indicating the behavior of a surrounding vehicle existing around the vehicle (1) is acquired from a sensor that detects the sensor value, and based on the sensor value, sequentially determining a relative behavior of a target vehicle selected from the surrounding vehicles with respect to the host vehicle; Acquire an accident responsibility rule at the current location of the vehicle; Sequentially determining potential accident responsibility information indicating whether or not the host vehicle is responsible for a potentially assumed accident between the target vehicle and the host vehicle based on the relative behavior of the target vehicle and the accident responsibility rule; A driving storage method, comprising storing the potential accident responsibility information and responsibility determination information, which is information used to determine the potential accident responsibility information, in a storage unit in a manner that allows the potential accident responsibility information to be associated with each other or to be associated with each other.

[0316] (Technical Thought 20) A potential accident liability determination method executed outside a liability determination vehicle, comprising: acquiring liability determination information used to determine potential accident liability information indicating whether or not the liability determination vehicle is responsible for a potentially anticipated accident between the liability determination vehicle and a target vehicle selected from surrounding vehicles present around the liability determination vehicle; A potential accident responsibility determination method for determining the potential accident responsibility information based on a preset relationship for determining the potential accident responsibility information from the responsibility determination information and the acquired responsibility determination information.

[0317] (Technical Thought 21) Acquire responsibility determination information, which is information used to determine potential accident responsibility information indicating whether or not the responsible vehicle is responsible for a potentially anticipated accident between the responsible vehicle and a target vehicle selected from the surrounding vehicles present around the responsible vehicle; determining the potential accident responsibility information based on a preset relationship for determining the potential accident responsibility information from the responsibility determination information and the acquired responsibility determination information; A potential accident responsibility determination method for obtaining surrounding responsibility determination information used to determine surrounding potential accident responsibility information indicating whether or not the relevant surrounding vehicle is responsible for a potentially anticipated accident between the relevant surrounding vehicle and a vehicle present around the relevant surrounding vehicle, which is a surrounding vehicle other than the target vehicle among the surrounding vehicles.

[0318] (Technical Thought 22) Used in a vehicle that can switch between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving that does not implement the autonomous driving, A video acquisition unit that sequentially acquires accident confirmation video from an on-board camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident that occurs on or around the vehicle; A driving identification unit (1203) that identifies whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state or the non-autonomous driving state; A video recording system comprising a storage processing unit (1207, 1207a, 11207) that stores the accident confirmation video in a recording device in a manner that corresponds or enables the association of the accident confirmation video with information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the accident confirmation video identified by the driving identification unit is obtained.

[0319] (Technical Thought 23) A video recording system according to Technical Idea 22, The accident confirmation video and the information capable of identifying the driving state are associated with each other by a corresponding index, The recording device includes: a video recording device (1021) that stores the accident confirmation video together with the corresponding index; A video recording system comprising: a driving state recording device (1127) that stores information capable of identifying the driving state together with the correspondence index.

[0320] (Technical Thought 24) the association indicator is a timestamp; The video recording system described in Technical Idea 23, wherein the video recording device and the driving condition recording device record at least one of the error and accuracy of the timestamp together with the timestamp.

[0321] (Technical Thought 25) The video recording system described in Technical Idea 24, wherein the video recording device and the driving condition recording device record the timestamp together with the error and accuracy of the timestamp.

[0322] (Technical Thought 26) The video recording system according to any one of Technical Ideas 22 to 25, wherein the accident confirmation video includes a video of the periphery of the vehicle.

[0323] (Technical Thought 27) The video recording system according to any one of Technical Ideas 22 to 26, wherein the accident confirmation video includes a video of the interior of the vehicle.

[0324] (Technical Thought 28) The vehicle exterior image acquisition unit (1201) is configured to sequentially acquire, as the accident confirmation image, an exterior image of the vehicle, which is an image captured by an exterior camera (1051) provided in the vehicle and capturing an image of the periphery of the vehicle, and further includes: a risk determination unit (1204) that determines whether there is a risk of collision between at least one of the objects between the vehicle and an obstacle in the vicinity of the vehicle and between vehicles in the vicinity of the vehicle; The video recording system described in Technical Idea 26 includes a storage target determination unit (1205) that, when triggered by the risk determination unit determining that there is a risk of collision between the objects, determines to be a storage target to be stored in the recording device the outside-vehicle images sequentially acquired by the outside-vehicle image acquisition unit and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the outside-vehicle images identified by the driving identification unit are acquired.

[0325] (Technical Thought 29) The video recording system described in Technical Idea 28, in which the storage object determination unit stores, as the storage objects, the outside-vehicle images sequentially acquired by the outside-vehicle image acquisition unit and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the outside-vehicle images are acquired, as identified by the driving identification unit, in response to a switch in the driving state of the vehicle from the autonomous driving to the non-autonomous driving, even if the risk determination unit has not determined that there is a risk of collision between the objects.

[0326] (Technical Thought 30) an accident detection unit (1206) for detecting the occurrence of an accident between the objects determined by the risk determination unit to have a collision risk between the objects; The video recording system according to technical idea 28 or 29, wherein the storage processing unit stores in the recording device at least the storage target up until the occurrence of the accident when the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of the accident.

[0327] (Technical Thought 31) The video recording system according to technical idea 30, wherein the storage processing unit stores the storage target in the recording device until a predetermined time after the occurrence of the accident when the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of the accident.

[0328] (Technical Thought 32) The video recording system according to technical idea 30 or 31, wherein the storage processing unit does not store the storage object in the recording device when the judgment result of the risk judgment unit for the objects between which the risk judgment unit judges that there is a collision risk changes from "there is a collision risk" to "there is no collision risk" without the accident detection unit detecting the occurrence of the accident.

[0329] (Technical Thought 33) A video recording system according to any one of technical ideas 30 to 32, comprising a reporting processing unit (1208) that reports the occurrence of the accident to a center outside the vehicle via communication when the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of the accident, and transmits the object to be stored to the center via communication.

[0330] (Technical Thought 34) The risk determination unit determines whether or not there is a risk of collision between any of the objects between the vehicle and an obstacle in the vicinity of the vehicle and between vehicles in the vicinity of the vehicle, A video recording system as described in any one of technical ideas 28 to 33, in which, when the risk judgment unit judges that there is a risk of collision between surrounding vehicles of the vehicle, the storage object determination unit also selects information used by the risk judgment unit to judge whether there is a risk of collision between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles included in these surrounding vehicles as the storage object.

[0331] (Technical Thought 35) A video recording system described in any one of technical ideas 28 to 34, wherein the risk judgment unit judges that there is a risk of collision when the distance between the objects is less than a safety distance, which is a standard distance for evaluating the safety between the objects and is calculated by a predetermined mathematical formula model, and judges that there is no risk of collision when the distance between the objects is equal to or greater than the safety distance.

[0332] (Technical Thought 36) The vehicle exterior image acquisition unit (1201) is configured to sequentially acquire, as the accident confirmation image, an exterior image of the vehicle, which is an image captured by an exterior camera (1051) provided in the vehicle and capturing an image of the periphery of the vehicle, and further includes: The video recording system described in Technical Idea 26 includes a storage target determination unit (1205) that, when triggered by the driving state of the vehicle switching from the autonomous driving to the non-autonomous driving, determines to be stored in the recording device the outside-vehicle images sequentially acquired by the outside-vehicle image acquisition unit and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the outside-vehicle images identified by the driving identification unit are acquired.

[0333] (Technical Thought 37) an accident detection unit (1206) for detecting at least one of an accident between the vehicle and an obstacle around the vehicle and an accident between vehicles around the vehicle; The video recording system according to Technical Idea 36, ​​wherein the storage processing unit stores, in the recording device, at least the storage target up until the occurrence of the accident when the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of the accident.

[0334] (Technical Thought 38) a risk determination unit (1204) for determining whether or not there is a risk of collision between at least one of the objects between the vehicle and an obstacle in the vicinity of the vehicle and between the vehicles in the vicinity of the vehicle; The accident detection unit detects an occurrence of an accident between the objects determined by the risk determination unit to have a collision risk between the objects, thereby detecting at least one of an accident between the vehicle and an obstacle in the vicinity of the vehicle and an accident between vehicles in the vicinity of the vehicle, The video recording system described in technical idea 37, wherein the storage processing unit does not store the storage object in the recording device if the judgment result of the risk judgment unit for the objects between which the risk judgment unit judges that there is a collision risk changes from present to absent without the accident detection unit detecting the occurrence of the accident.

[0335] (Technical Thought 39) The video recording system according to Technical Idea 37 or 38, further comprising a reporting processing unit (1208) that reports the occurrence of the accident to a center outside the vehicle via communication when the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of the accident, and transmits the object to be stored to the center via communication.

[0336] (Technical Thought 40) A video recording system according to technical idea 28 or 36, comprising a storage processing unit (1207a) that, when the storage target determination unit determines the storage target, stores the storage target in the recording device for a certain period of time from the trigger.

[0337] (Technical Thought 41) Used in a vehicle that can switch between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving that does not implement the autonomous driving, A video recording system according to any one of technical ideas 22 to 40, a driving environment recognition unit (1022) that recognizes the driving environment of the vehicle using a detection result by a surrounding monitoring sensor (1005) that monitors the surroundings of the vehicle, A driving planner (1024) that generates a driving plan for driving the vehicle by the autonomous driving using the driving environment recognized by the driving environment recognition unit; and an automatic driving function unit (1026) that controls the driving of the vehicle in accordance with the driving plan generated by the driving plan unit.

[0338] (Technical Thought 42) A video recording method for use in a vehicle that can switch between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving in which the autonomous driving is not performed, Sequentially acquiring accident confirmation video from an on-board camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident occurring on or around the vehicle; Identifying whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state or the non-autonomous driving state; A video recording method in which the accident confirmation video acquired sequentially is associated with information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the accident confirmation video is acquired, or the video is stored in a recording device in an associated manner.

[0339] In the travel storage system of technical idea 1 and the travel storage method of technical idea 19, the responsibility determination information is stored in association with or in an association-enabling manner with the potential accident responsibility information. In this way, the potential accident responsibility information can be determined ex post using the responsibility determination information. The reliability of the potential accident responsibility information can be confirmed later by comparing the potential accident responsibility information determined ex post with the potential accident responsibility information stored in association with the responsibility determination information or stored in an association-enabling manner.

[0340] The potential accident responsibility determination device of technical idea 14 and the potential accident responsibility determination method of technical idea 20 can acquire responsibility determination information and determine the potential accident responsibility information based on the responsibility determination information. Therefore, when the potential accident responsibility determination device acquires the responsibility determination information after the fact, and when the potential accident responsibility determination method acquires the responsibility determination information after the fact, the potential accident responsibility information can be determined after the fact. The reliability of the potential accident responsibility information can be confirmed later by comparing the potential accident responsibility information determined after the fact with the potential accident responsibility information determined by a device other than the potential accident responsibility determination device or the device executing the potential accident responsibility determination method. Note that, as an example of a device other than the potential accident responsibility determination device or the device executing the potential accident responsibility determination method, when the potential accident responsibility determination device or the device executing the potential accident responsibility determination method is installed in a device other than the responsibility determination vehicle, the device installed in the responsibility determination vehicle can be exemplified.

[0341] According to the potential accident responsibility determination device of Technical Idea 18 and the potential accident responsibility determination method of Technical Idea 21, it is possible to directly determine whether or not the situation was such that it could be determined that a large part of the accident cause was in the behavior of the related surrounding vehicles, even if there was a problem with the behavior of the responsible vehicle that caused the accident. As a result of this determination, it is possible to confirm whether or not the potential accident responsibility information appropriately represents the responsibility for the accident for the responsible vehicle, that is, the reliability of the potential accident responsibility information.

[0342] According to the video recording system of Technical Idea 22 and the video recording method of Technical Idea 42, when an accident occurs on a vehicle or in the vicinity of the vehicle, the accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the accident situation, is stored in a recording device. Therefore, based on the accident confirmation video, it becomes easier to investigate the cause of the accident.

[0343] In addition, the accident confirmation video is associated with information that can identify whether the driving state of the vehicle at the time the accident confirmation video is acquired is autonomous or non-autonomous. Therefore, it is possible to identify whether the driving state of the vehicle at the time the accident confirmation video is acquired is autonomous or non-autonomous. Therefore, when it can be confirmed that an accident has occurred from the accident confirmation video, it is easy to distinguish whether the accident occurred during autonomous driving or non-autonomous driving. Therefore, even if it is determined that the vehicle is responsible for the occurrence of the accident from the accident confirmation video, it is possible to prove that the autonomous driving of the vehicle is not responsible by distinguishing whether the accident confirmation video was taken during autonomous driving or non-autonomous driving. As a result, it is possible to easily prove that the autonomous driving is not responsible for the occurrence of an accident in a vehicle that can be switched between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving that does not perform this autonomous driving.

[0344] According to Technical Idea 41, since the video recording system mentioned above is included, it will be easier to prove that the autonomous driving is not responsible for the occurrence of an accident in a vehicle that can switch between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving.

Claims

1. Used in a vehicle that can switch between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving that does not implement the autonomous driving, A video acquisition unit that sequentially acquires accident confirmation video from an on-board camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident that occurs on the vehicle or in the vicinity of the vehicle; A driving identification unit (1203) that identifies whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state or the non-autonomous driving state; A storage processing unit (1207, 1207a, 11207) that stores the accident confirmation video in a recording device in a manner that corresponds to or can correspond to information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time when the accident confirmation video identified by the driving identification unit is acquired, The accident confirmation video and the information capable of identifying the driving state are associated with each other by a corresponding index, The recording device includes: a video recording device (1021) that stores the accident confirmation video together with the corresponding index; and a driving state recording device (1127) that stores information that can identify the driving state together with the corresponding index, the association indicator is a timestamp; A timekeeping unit (1124, 11203) that measures a measurement time used for the timestamp; A time correction unit (1125, 11204) that calculates a time error per unit elapsed time based on a time difference between the measurement time and a reference time based on a time transmitted by a GNSS artificial satellite, A video recording system, wherein the time error is also recorded in the video recording device and the driving condition recording device together with the time stamp.

2. Used in a vehicle that can switch between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving that does not implement the autonomous driving, A video acquisition unit that sequentially acquires accident confirmation video from an on-board camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident that occurs on the vehicle or in the vicinity of the vehicle; A driving identification unit (1203) that identifies whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state or the non-autonomous driving state; A storage processing unit (1207, 1207a, 11207) that stores the accident confirmation video in a recording device in a manner that corresponds to or can correspond to information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time when the accident confirmation video identified by the driving identification unit is acquired, The accident confirmation video and the information capable of identifying the driving state are associated with each other by a corresponding index, The recording device includes: a video recording device (1021) that stores the accident confirmation video together with the corresponding index; and a driving state recording device (1127) that stores information that can identify the driving state together with the corresponding index, the association indicator is a timestamp; A timekeeping unit (1124, 11203) that measures a measurement time used for the timestamp; A time correction unit (1125, 11204) that calculates a time error per unit elapsed time and a time accuracy which is a standard deviation with the time error as a population based on a time difference between the measurement time and a reference time based on a time transmitted by a GNSS artificial satellite, A video recording system, wherein the video recording device and the driving condition recording device also record the time accuracy together with the timestamp.

3. The video recording system according to claim 2 , wherein the time error and the time precision are recorded together with the time stamp in the video recording device and the driving condition recording device.

4. 4. The video recording system according to claim 1, wherein the accident confirmation video includes a video of the periphery of the vehicle.

5. 4. The video recording system according to claim 1, wherein the accident confirmation video includes a video of an interior of the vehicle.

6. The vehicle exterior image acquisition unit (1201) is configured to sequentially acquire, as the accident confirmation image, an exterior image of the vehicle, which is an image captured by an exterior camera (1051) provided on the vehicle and capturing an image of the periphery of the vehicle, and further includes: A risk determination unit (1204) that determines whether there is a risk of collision between at least one of the objects between the vehicle and an obstacle around the vehicle and between vehicles around the vehicle; The video recording system of claim 4 further comprises a storage target determination unit (1205) which, when triggered by the risk determination unit determining that there is a risk of collision between the objects, determines to store in the recording device the outside-vehicle images sequentially acquired by the outside-vehicle image acquisition unit and information capable of identifying the driving state of the vehicle at the time the outside-vehicle images identified by the driving identification unit are acquired.

7. The video recording system of claim 6, wherein the storage target determination unit, when triggered by the driving state of the vehicle switching from the autonomous driving to the non-autonomous driving, determines as the storage targets the outside-vehicle images sequentially acquired by the outside-vehicle image acquisition unit and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the outside-vehicle images identified by the driving identification unit are acquired, even if the risk determination unit has not determined that there is a risk of collision between the objects.

8. Used in a vehicle that can switch between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving that does not implement the autonomous driving, A video acquisition unit that sequentially acquires accident confirmation video from an on-board camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident that occurs on the vehicle or in the vicinity of the vehicle; A driving identification unit (1203) that identifies whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state or the non-autonomous driving state; A storage processing unit (1207, 1207a, 11207) that stores the accident confirmation video in a recording device in a manner that corresponds to or can correspond to information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time when the accident confirmation video identified by the driving identification unit is acquired, The accident confirmation video includes a video of the surroundings of the vehicle, The vehicle exterior image acquisition unit (1201) is configured to sequentially acquire, as the accident confirmation image, an exterior image of the vehicle, which is an image captured by an exterior camera (1051) provided on the vehicle and capturing an image of the periphery of the vehicle, and further includes: A risk determination unit (1204) that determines whether there is a risk of collision between at least one of the objects between the vehicle and an obstacle around the vehicle and between vehicles around the vehicle; a storage target determination unit (1205) that, when triggered by the risk determination unit determining that there is a risk of collision between the objects, determines, as a storage target to be stored in the recording device, the outside-vehicle images sequentially acquired by the outside-vehicle image acquisition unit and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time when the outside-vehicle images identified by the driving identification unit are acquired; A video recording system in which, even if the risk determination unit has not determined that there is a risk of collision between the objects, the storage target determination unit, when triggered by the driving state of the vehicle switching from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving, stores the outside-vehicle images sequentially acquired by the outside-vehicle image acquisition unit and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the outside-vehicle images are acquired, as identified by the driving identification unit.

9. an accident detection unit (1206) for detecting the occurrence of an accident between the objects determined by the risk determination unit to have a collision risk between the objects; The video recording system according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the storage processing unit stores the storage object at least up until the occurrence of the accident in the recording device when the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of the accident.

10. The video recording system according to claim 9 , wherein the storage processing section stores, in the recording device, the storage target for a period up to a predetermined time after the occurrence of the accident when the accident detection section detects the occurrence of the accident.

11. The video recording system of claim 9 or 10, wherein the storage processing unit does not store the storage object in the recording device when the judgment result of the risk judgment unit for the objects between which the risk judgment unit judges that there is a collision risk changes from a collision risk to a collision risk that is not present without the accident detection unit detecting the occurrence of the accident.

12. The video recording system according to any one of claims 9 to 11, further comprising a reporting processing unit (1208) that, when the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of an accident, reports the occurrence of the accident to a center outside the vehicle via communication and transmits the object to be saved to the center via communication.

13. The risk determination unit determines whether or not there is a risk of collision between any of the objects between the vehicle and an obstacle in the vicinity of the vehicle and between vehicles in the vicinity of the vehicle, The video recording system of any one of claims 6 to 12, wherein when the risk judgment unit judges that there is a risk of collision between surrounding vehicles of the vehicle, the storage object determination unit also selects information used by the risk judgment unit to determine whether there is a risk of collision between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles included in these surrounding vehicles as the storage object.

14. The video recording system of any one of claims 6 to 13, wherein the risk judgment unit judges that there is a risk of collision when the distance between the objects is less than a safety distance, which is a standard distance for evaluating the safety between the objects and is calculated by a predetermined mathematical formula model, and judges that there is no risk of collision when the distance between the objects is equal to or greater than the safety distance.

15. The vehicle exterior image acquisition unit (1201) is configured to sequentially acquire, as the accident confirmation image, an exterior image of the vehicle, which is an image captured by an exterior camera (1051) provided on the vehicle and capturing an image of the periphery of the vehicle, and further includes: The video recording system of claim 4 further comprises a storage target determination unit (1205) that, when triggered by the driving state of the vehicle switching from the autonomous driving to the non-autonomous driving, determines to store in the recording device the outside-vehicle video sequentially acquired by the outside-vehicle video acquisition unit and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the outside-vehicle video identified by the driving identification unit is acquired.

16. Used in a vehicle that can switch between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving that does not implement the autonomous driving, A video acquisition unit that sequentially acquires accident confirmation video from an on-board camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident that occurs on the vehicle or in the vicinity of the vehicle; A driving identification unit (1203) that identifies whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state or the non-autonomous driving state; A storage processing unit (1207, 1207a, 11207) that stores the accident confirmation video in a recording device in a manner that corresponds to or can correspond to information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time when the accident confirmation video identified by the driving identification unit is acquired, The accident confirmation video includes a video of the surroundings of the vehicle, The vehicle exterior image acquisition unit (1201) is configured to sequentially acquire, as the accident confirmation image, an exterior image of the vehicle, which is an image captured by an exterior camera (1051) provided on the vehicle and capturing an image of the periphery of the vehicle, and further includes: A video recording system comprising: a storage target determination unit (1205) that, when triggered by the driving state of the vehicle switching from the autonomous driving to the non-autonomous driving, determines to store in the recording device the outside-vehicle video sequentially acquired by the outside-vehicle video acquisition unit and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the outside-vehicle video identified by the driving identification unit is acquired.

17. an accident detection unit (1206) for detecting at least one of an accident between the vehicle and an obstacle around the vehicle and an accident between vehicles around the vehicle; 17. The video recording system according to claim 15, wherein the storage processing section stores, in the recording device, at least the storage target up until the occurrence of the accident when the accident detection section detects the occurrence of the accident.

18. a risk determination unit (1204) for determining whether or not there is a risk of collision between at least one of the objects between the vehicle and an obstacle in the vicinity of the vehicle and between vehicles in the vicinity of the vehicle; The accident detection unit detects an occurrence of an accident between the objects determined by the risk determination unit to have a collision risk between the objects, thereby detecting at least one of an accident between the vehicle and an obstacle in the vicinity of the vehicle and an accident between vehicles in the vicinity of the vehicle, The video recording system of claim 17, wherein the storage processing unit does not store the object to be stored in the recording device when the judgment result of the risk judgment unit for the objects between which the risk judgment unit judges that there is a risk of collision changes from a collision risk to a collision risk that is not present without the accident detection unit detecting the occurrence of the accident.

19. The video recording system according to claim 17 or 18, further comprising a reporting processing unit (1208) that, when the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of an accident, reports the occurrence of the accident to a center outside the vehicle via communication and transmits the object to be stored to the center via communication.

20. The video recording system according to claim 6, 15 or 16, wherein the storage processing unit (1207a) stores the storage target in the recording device for a certain period of time from the trigger when the storage target determination unit determines the storage target.

21. Used in a vehicle that can switch between autonomous driving and non-autonomous driving that does not implement the autonomous driving, A video recording system according to any one of claims 1 to 20, a driving environment recognition unit (1022) that recognizes a driving environment of the vehicle using a detection result by a surrounding monitoring sensor (1005) that monitors the surroundings of the vehicle, A driving planner (1024) that generates a driving plan for driving the vehicle by the autonomous driving using the driving environment recognized by the driving environment recognition unit; An autonomous driving system comprising an autonomous driving function unit (1026) that controls the driving of the vehicle in accordance with the driving plan generated by the driving plan unit.

22. A video recording method used in a vehicle capable of switching between an autonomous driving mode and a non-autonomous driving mode in which the autonomous driving mode is not performed, and executed by a computer, comprising: The computer, Sequentially acquiring accident confirmation video from an on-board camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident occurring on or around the vehicle; Identifying whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state or the non-autonomous driving state; The accident confirmation video sequentially acquired is associated with information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time when the accident confirmation video is acquired, and the associated information is stored in a recording device; The accident confirmation video and the information capable of identifying the driving state are associated with each other by a corresponding index, The recording device includes: A video recording device (1021) that stores the accident confirmation video together with the corresponding index, and a driving state recording device (1127) that stores information that can identify the driving state together with the corresponding index, the association indicator is a timestamp; Measure a measurement time used for the timestamp; Calculating a time error per unit elapsed time based on a time difference between the measured time and a reference time based on a time transmitted by a GNSS satellite; The video recording method further comprises the steps of: recording the time error together with the time stamp in the video recording device and the driving condition recording device.

23. A video recording method used in a vehicle capable of switching between an autonomous driving mode and a non-autonomous driving mode in which the autonomous driving mode is not performed, and executed by a computer, comprising: The computer, Sequentially acquiring accident confirmation video from an on-board camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident occurring on or around the vehicle; Identifying whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state or the non-autonomous driving state; The accident confirmation video sequentially acquired is associated with information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time when the accident confirmation video is acquired, and the associated information is stored in a recording device; The accident confirmation video and the information capable of identifying the driving state are associated with each other by a corresponding index, The recording device includes: A video recording device (1021) that stores the accident confirmation video together with the corresponding index, and a driving state recording device (1127) that stores information that can identify the driving state together with the corresponding index, the association indicator is a timestamp; Measure a measurement time used for the timestamp; Calculating a time error per unit elapsed time and a time accuracy which is a standard deviation with respect to a population of the time error based on a time difference between the measurement time and a reference time based on a time transmitted by a GNSS satellite; The video recording method further comprises the steps of: recording the time precision together with the time stamp in the video recording device and the driving condition recording device.

24. A video recording method used in a vehicle capable of switching between an autonomous driving mode and a non-autonomous driving mode in which the autonomous driving mode is not performed, and executed by a computer, comprising: The computer, Sequentially acquiring accident confirmation video from an on-board camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident occurring on or around the vehicle; Identifying whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state or the non-autonomous driving state; The accident confirmation video sequentially acquired is associated with information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time when the accident confirmation video is acquired, and the associated information is stored in a recording device; The accident confirmation video includes a video of the surroundings of the vehicle, Sequentially acquiring, as the accident confirmation video, an outside video of the vehicle, which is a video captured by an outside camera (1051) provided on the vehicle and capturing an image of the periphery of the vehicle; determining whether there is a risk of collision between at least one of the objects between the vehicle and an obstacle in the vicinity of the vehicle and between the vehicles in the vicinity of the vehicle; determining, as a trigger, that there is a risk of collision between the objects, the outside image of the vehicle and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time when the outside image of the vehicle is acquired, as storage targets to be stored in the recording device; In determining what to store, even if it is not determined that there is a risk of collision between the objects, the video recording method stores the outside vehicle footage and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the outside vehicle footage is acquired, triggered by the driving state of the vehicle switching from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving.

25. A video recording method used in a vehicle capable of switching between an autonomous driving mode and a non-autonomous driving mode in which the autonomous driving mode is not performed, and executed by a computer, comprising: The computer, Sequentially acquiring accident confirmation video from an on-board camera that captures accident confirmation video, which is video that may enable confirmation of the situation of an accident occurring on or around the vehicle; Identifying whether the vehicle is in the autonomous driving state or the non-autonomous driving state; The accident confirmation video sequentially acquired is associated with information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time when the accident confirmation video is acquired, and the associated information is stored in a recording device; The accident confirmation video includes a video of the surroundings of the vehicle, Sequentially acquiring, as the accident confirmation video, an outside video of the vehicle, which is a video captured by an outside camera (1051) provided on the vehicle and capturing an image of the periphery of the vehicle; A video recording method in which, when the driving state of the vehicle switches from autonomous driving to non-autonomous driving, the outside vehicle video and information that can identify the driving state of the vehicle at the time the outside vehicle video is acquired are stored in the recording device.

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