Stopping support device and stopping support method

Abstract

To provide a stopping support device capable of automatically calculating a position where a getting-on / getting-off object can easily get-on / get-off in response to a height of a structure.SOLUTION: A stopping support device 1 includes: an information acquisition section 100 for acquiring peripheral information of a vehicle; a detection section 101 for detecting a travelable area of the vehicle and a three-dimensional shape of an object existing in the periphery of the vehicle based on the peripheral information of the vehicle; a stoppable area calculation section 105 for calculating a stoppable area being the area where the vehicle can stop based on the travelable area of the vehicle and the three-dimensional shape of the object; a getting-on / getting-off easiness calculation section 106 for calculating a getting-on / getting-off easiness for the getting-on / getting-off of the getting-on / getting-off object with respect to the vehicle based on at least the three-dimensional shape of the object; and a support content generation section 107 for calculating a stopping position where the vehicle stops based on the getting-on / getting-off easiness and the stoppable area, so as to generate support contents to support the stopping of the vehicle based on the stopping position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle stopping assistance device and a vehicle stopping assistance method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a parking assistance device has been provided that applies automatic driving technology to park a vehicle in a parking area such as a parking lot and assists passengers in getting on and off the vehicle. As a technology for assisting passengers in getting on and off the vehicle in this way, Patent Document 1 describes a "parking assistance device that can predict whether doors will open or close before automatic parking." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-117815 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the technology described in Patent Document 1, when a vehicle is parked, a camera detects obstacles around the parking position, and a prediction result of whether the vehicle's doors can be opened and closed after parking in the parking position is notified before the vehicle is parked. However, Patent Document 1 does not state anything about the boarding and disembarking height, so when people or other objects (delivery vehicles, wheelchairs, baby strollers, etc.) get on and off the vehicle, there is a risk that they will have difficulty getting on and off if the step between the vehicle and the floor is large. In addition, the technology described in Patent Document 1 is premised on the parking position, and does not disclose a viewpoint of automatically extracting a position where it is easy to get on and off when stopping for pick-up and drop-off, delivery, etc.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object to determine a position in space at which an object can easily be boarded or disembarked. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The stopping assistance device of the present invention includes an information acquisition unit that acquires information about the surroundings of the vehicle, a detection unit that detects the area in which the vehicle can drive and the three-dimensional shape of objects around the vehicle based on the information about the surroundings of the vehicle, a stopping area calculation unit that calculates the stopping area in which the vehicle can stop based on the area in which the vehicle can drive and the three-dimensional shape of the object, a boarding and alighting ease calculation unit that calculates the boarding and alighting ease for boarding or disembarking objects to get off or board the vehicle based at least on the three-dimensional shape of the object, and an assistance content generation unit that calculates the stopping position where the vehicle will stop based on the boarding and alighting ease and the stopping area, and generates assistance content to assist the vehicle in stopping based on the stopping position. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically calculate a stopping position where an object can easily get on and off according to the height of the object represented by the three-dimensional shape of the object, and to support the stopping of the vehicle based on the stopping position, thereby improving the convenience and safety of the object when getting on and off. Problems, configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle stopping assistance device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram showing an example of a stoppable area and a boarding / alighting area according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example in which an assistance content generation unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention calculates positions at which an object can easily get on and off by using height information related to getting on and off. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram showing an example in which there is a step between the vehicle and a structure when an object gets on and off according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 5] 4 is a diagram showing an example in which the getting on and off ease calculation unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention calculates the getting on and off ease of each candidate stop position from a possible stop area. FIG. [Figure 6]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of vehicle information according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of getting on and off object information according to the first embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of boarding / alighting setting information according to the first embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 9] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a stopping support process according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a stopping assistance device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an evaluation log of a stopping position according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a process in which an information acquisition unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention records an evaluation log of a vehicle stopping position in a storage unit. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a boarding / alighting setting screen that visualizes boarding / alighting settings that are set by a boarding / alighting condition setting unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] 13A and 13B are diagrams showing an example of a device for assisting getting on and off an object in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a stopping assistance device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a vehicle stop arbitration process according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the transition of switching between modes according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of whether each door of a vehicle can be opened or closed at a stop position according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a computer according to first to fourth embodiments of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functions or configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted. The present invention is applicable to a computing device for vehicle control that can communicate with an on-board ECU (Electronic Control Unit) for an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) or Autonomous Driving (AD), for example.

[0010] [First embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 9. In the first embodiment, a vehicle stopping assistance device and a vehicle stopping assistance method will be described that calculate an area and a position where an object can easily get on and off from among areas that are candidates for position calculation, based on information on structures and objects at the boarding / disembarking destination and / or source, and information on the object to be boarded or disembarked.

[0011] One of the expected applications of the parking assistance device according to the first embodiment is automatic extraction of vehicle stopping positions. By applying this technology to the parking assistance device, in cases where passengers are getting on and off from a vehicle, it becomes possible to calculate the ease of getting on and off based on the height of structures at candidate positions for getting on and off and the object shape of the object, and to automatically extract positions where it is easy to get on and off.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle stopping assistance device 1 according to the first embodiment. The stopping assistance device 1 is an example of a device capable of controlling a vehicle, and an AD / ADAS ECU is mainly used. Note that a control system or a control server that controls multiple vehicles may be used as the stopping assistance device 1. In this case, the control system or the control server grasps the driving conditions and stopping positions of each vehicle to be controlled, and outputs instructions to the vehicle's ECU to assist the vehicle in stopping at an appropriate stopping position.

[0013] The stopping assistance device 1 shown in Figure 1 includes an area and position calculation unit 10, an information acquisition unit 100, a detection unit 101, a boarding and alighting condition setting unit 102, a boarding and alighting condition management unit 103, a communication unit 104, a stopping area calculation unit 105, a boarding and alighting ease calculation unit 106, an assistance content generation unit 107, a display unit 108, and a control unit 109.

[0014] The outline of the information flow in each part in the block diagram shown in Figure 1 is as follows.

[0015] The vehicle stopping assistance device 1 according to the first embodiment obtains the height of objects (also called structures) around the vehicle Ve where a boarding / alighting object Oe (described later) can board and alight, and calculates the stopping position of the vehicle Ve where the boarding / alighting object Oe can safely board and alight. Therefore, the area and position calculation unit 10 first obtains and detects information required for calculating the stopping area and the boarding / alighting ease from the external sensor 1000, etc. At this time, the information acquisition unit 100 obtains the position of the vehicle Ve to be assisted, and environmental information around the vehicle.

[0016] The detection unit 101 detects the position and speed of the vehicle Ve, as well as the shape, type, position, etc. of the surrounding environment and surrounding objects based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 100. The detection unit 101 acquires the speed of the vehicle Ve from environmental information or a speedometer mounted on the vehicle Ve. The environmental information acquired by the detection unit 101 and the detected information are stored in the storage unit 110 if necessary.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2 described later, a vehicle that is the target of the vehicle stopping assistance by the vehicle stopping assistance device 1 is a vehicle Ve, and an object that gets on and off the vehicle Ve is a boarding and alighting object Oe. The boarding and alighting object Oe is assumed to be, for example, a person, a cart, a wheelchair, or a delivery robot. Information on the boarding and alighting object Oe and the shape and type of the vehicle Ve, the boarding and alighting door of the vehicle Ve, and the like are stored in the storage unit 110 as vehicle information D00 and boarding and alighting object information E00. The vehicle information D00, the boarding and alighting object information E00, the position where the vehicle Ve stops, and the like are detected by the information acquisition unit 100 or the detection unit 101, received by the communication unit 104, or set by the boarding and alighting condition setting unit 102, and recorded in the storage unit 110. The various information recorded in the storage unit 110 can be updated at any time by the communication unit 104 communicating with an external system (not shown).

[0018] Next, the vehicle stoppable area calculation unit 105 calculates a vehicle stoppable area, which is an area where the vehicle Ve can be stopped, based on the surrounding information detected by the detection unit 101.

[0019] The boarding / alighting ease calculation unit (boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106) calculates the boarding / alighting ease for a candidate stop position Pc extracted from a possible stop area Rs shown in Fig. 5 described later. For example, the boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106 calculates the boarding / alighting ease in the possible stop area based on the height of the object at the boarding / alighting destination and physical information of the vehicle Ve and the boarding / alighting object Oe. The higher the boarding / alighting ease value, the easier it is for the boarding / alighting object Oe to board and alight.

[0020] The support content generation unit 107 determines the stopping position of the vehicle Ve based on the possible stopping area and the ease of getting on and off. The stopping position is transmitted to the display unit 108 and the control unit 109, and the display unit 108 displays the stopping position and the control unit 109 controls the vehicle.

[0021] Below, each component in the configuration diagram shown in FIG. 1 will be specifically described.

[0022] The information acquisition unit (information acquisition unit 100) acquires information about the surroundings of the vehicle Ve. For example, the information acquisition unit 100 acquires the position of the vehicle Ve, movement information, and 3D environmental information about the surroundings of the vehicle Ve. The information acquisition is performed by an external sensor 1000. For example, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) or a camera is used as the external sensor 1000. The external sensor 1000 acquires point cloud data and image time series data about the surroundings of the sensor. The LiDAR is a sensor that irradiates laser light and measures the distance to an object based on the reflected light, and is used to detect the position and shape of an object because it can acquire point cloud information indicating the position of an object around the sensor. The data acquired by the information acquisition unit 100 is transmitted to the storage unit 110 and the detection unit 101. In addition to the LiDAR and the camera, the external sensor 1000 may also use a radar, a proximity sensor such as an infrared sensor, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), an acceleration sensor, or the like. Note that the external sensor 1000 may be provided in a plurality of units, or may be a fusion of a plurality of LiDARs, a combination of LiDAR, a camera, and a radar, or a configuration including a plurality of cameras. Also, LiDAR, ToF, a camera, a marker, etc. may be installed on the environment side, and the information acquisition unit 100 may acquire environmental information around the vehicle Ve, the position, speed, angle, and shape of the object to be boarded and disembarked of the vehicle Ve, etc. via the communication unit 104. Also, the information acquisition unit 100 may acquire environmental information acquired by an external sensor provided in another vehicle different from the vehicle Ve from the other vehicle via the communication unit 104.

[0023] The detection unit (detection unit 101) detects an area in which the vehicle Ve can travel and the three-dimensional shapes of objects around the vehicle Ve based on information about the surroundings of the vehicle Ve. For example, the detection unit 101 detects the position and speed of the vehicle Ve, and the shape, type, speed, etc. of objects around the vehicle Ve, including their height and width, based on point cloud and image information acquired by the external sensor 1000. The detection unit 101 transmits the shape, type, speed, etc. of the detected objects to the stoppable area calculation unit 105 and the boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106. Note that the detection of the traveling environment by the detection unit 101 may be performed by recording a 3D map environment such as a high-precision map and reading out environmental information about the surroundings of the position of the vehicle Ve, which is specified based on the position information of the vehicle Ve.

[0024] The boarding / alighting condition setting unit 102 sets the position where the vehicle Ve will be stopped. For example, the position of a sidewalk where people, delivery vehicles, etc. can move is specified. The stopping position is set as a specific position, coordinates, stop, etc. by the boarding / alighting condition setting unit 102 or the communication unit 104 receiving vehicle dispatch information from a vehicle dispatch server (not shown). In addition to the stopping position, time information indicating when the vehicle Ve will stop may be recorded in the storage unit 110. In addition to the stopping position of the vehicle Ve, the boarding / alighting condition setting unit 102 can also set physical information of the vehicle Ve and objects, environmental information such as a high-precision map, and the set information is recorded in the storage unit 110.

[0025] The vehicle stoppable area calculation unit (vehicle stoppable area calculation unit 105) calculates a vehicle stoppable area where the vehicle Ve can be stopped based on the area where the vehicle Ve can travel and the three-dimensional shape of the object. The vehicle stoppable area is an area where the vehicle Ve can travel, excluding areas where the vehicle cannot be stopped. The vehicle stoppable area calculation unit 105 determines the road or driving path from the type, shape, and speed of the object around the vehicle Ve to calculate the vehicle Ve's driveable area. In addition, the driveability of each object is recorded in the storage unit 110 for each type of area, and the driveable area is calculated by detecting the type of area from the position information and the map, or the image or point cloud. For example, information such as a car can travel in the roadway area and a wheelchair can travel in the sidewalk area is recorded in the storage unit 110. The information is recorded in the storage unit 110 in a format in which a specific driveable area is linked to the vehicle Ve, or in a format in which a vehicle type is linked to a driveable area.

[0026] The stoppable area is an area in which the vehicle Ve can travel, excluding areas where the vehicle Ve cannot stop. The stoppable area calculation unit 105 calculates, for example, an area within a certain range of an intersection or a sign as an area where the vehicle Ve cannot stop, and calculates the stoppable area based on the road shape and the vehicle shape to determine whether a road width for other vehicles to pass can be secured after the vehicle Ve stops. The stoppable area calculation unit 105 calculates a road that does not have a road width for other vehicles as an area where the vehicle Ve cannot stop. However, the stoppable area calculation unit 105 may temporarily calculate a narrow road such as an alley as an area where the vehicle cannot stop if the road is a sparsely populated road where vehicles do not frequently travel.

[0027] The vehicle stoppable area calculation unit 105 determines an area in which the vehicle Ve cannot travel, based on information detected by the detection unit 101, map information in the memory unit 110, or information from the communication unit 104. After the vehicle stoppable area calculation unit 105 calculates the vehicle stoppable area, it determines whether there is an object that has a surface where the boarding / alighting object Oe can get on and off, based on the shape including the height and width, type, and speed of the object around the vehicle stoppable area, and determines the surface as the boarding / alighting area for the boarding / alighting object Oe.

[0028] The boarding / alighting ease calculation unit (boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106) calculates the boarding / alighting ease for the boarding / alighting object Oe to board or alight from the vehicle Ve based on at least the three-dimensional shape of the object. For example, the boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106 calculates the boarding / alighting ease for the boarding / alighting object Oe to board or alight from the vehicle Ve from each candidate stop position Pc in the possible stop area Rs. The boarding / alighting ease is an index indicating that, for example, the smaller the step between the height of the boarding / alighting entrance of the vehicle Ve and the height of the structure, the easier it is to board or alight. A high boarding / alighting ease value indicates that the stop position is easy for the boarding / alighting object Oe to board or alight. The boarding / alighting ease calculation unit (boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106) calculates the boarding / alighting ease based on vehicle Ve information including the height of the boarding / alighting position of the vehicle Ve and information on the boarding / alighting object Oe. The boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106 calculates the boarding / alighting ease in consideration of the step between the vehicle Ve and the structure, the positional relationship between the vehicle Ve and the structure, such as the distance and width, the type of the structure, and the physical constraints of the boarding / alighting object Oe. The details of the boarding / alighting ease will be described later.

[0029] The assistance content generation unit (assistance content generation unit 107) calculates a stopping position where the vehicle Ve will stop based on the boarding / alighting ease calculated by the boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106 and the possible stopping area, and generates assistance content to support the stopping of the vehicle Ve based on the stopping position. The assistance content generation unit 107 determines a position within the possible stopping area for the vehicle Ve at which the boarding / alighting ease is maximum as the stopping position of the vehicle Ve, and transmits the assistance content to the display unit 108 and the control unit 109. The assistance content is, for example, display of the stopping position and stopping control of the vehicle Ve.

[0030] The boarding and alighting condition management unit (boarding and alighting condition management unit 103) judges whether or not to perform the stopping assistance process for the vehicle Ve. For this reason, the boarding and alighting condition management unit 103 manages and updates the boarding and alighting conditions based on the information received from each block, and updates the storage unit 110. For example, the boarding and alighting condition management unit 103 receives a detection result from the detection unit 101, receives communication data from the communication unit 104, and receives assistance contents from the assistance content generation unit 107. In addition, the boarding and alighting condition management unit 103 transmits necessary information to each block, not limited to the boarding and alighting conditions. For example, the boarding and alighting condition management unit 103 transmits and receives information between the display unit 108 and the control unit 109. In addition, the boarding and alighting condition management unit 103 writes information to the storage unit 110 and reads information from the storage unit 110. The boarding and alighting conditions are, for example, a position where the vehicle Ve is scheduled to stop and a condition of which boarding and alighting object Oe is to board and alight. The planned stopping position of the vehicle Ve can be set by the boarding / alighting condition setting unit 102, and can also be set or updated via the communication unit 104.

[0031] The communication unit 104 transmits and receives necessary information through a database constructed on a cloud (not shown), an information processing system such as a delivery system, a vehicle control center, a road infrastructure sensor, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, communication between the vehicle Ve and the boarding / disembarking object Oe, and communication with the outside of the vehicle such as a mobile terminal. The delivery system has a system configuration capable of vehicle management and location management of delivery destinations. The delivery system has information on which vehicle is to be directed to which location at what time, and has a function of directing the vehicle at a specified time and delivering the boarding / disembarking object. For this reason, the vehicle's running status and delivery status are managed by the delivery system. In addition, the management of the delivery system includes the vehicle Ve (e.g., truck, taxi) or the boarding / disembarking object Oe (e.g., transport robot). The system transmits and receives information on location designation for pick-up and delivery, information on the boarding / disembarking object Oe, road information such as lanes of the driving road and the presence or absence of construction in a specific area, parking availability, and the position, speed, and shape of surrounding objects including the vehicle's blind spot.

[0032] The display unit 108 displays the detection result of the detection unit 101 and the support content generated by the support content generation unit 107 on a display device 505 shown in FIG. 19, which will be described later, or the like.

[0033] The control unit (control unit 109) controls the vehicle Ve based on the support content. The control unit 109 receives, as the support content from the support content generation unit 107, information on a control target (e.g., a motor, steering, brakes, etc.) and a control amount, and performs control on the control target.

[0034] The storage unit 110 includes map information C00, vehicle information D00, boarding / alighting object information E00, and boarding / alighting setting information F00. The map information C00 includes information on places where stopping is not permitted, such as signs. The map information C00 may be in a format in which a 3D map is created and stored at any time using SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) or the like from a point cloud or image acquired by the external sensor 1000. The vehicle information D00 is shape data including the width, length, and height of the vehicle, and includes information on the position and height of the boarding / alighting door of the vehicle. The boarding / alighting object information E00 includes information on the width, length, and height of the boarding / alighting object Oe. The boarding / alighting setting information F00 sets travel restrictions such as steps and width when boarding / alighting, and is calculated from the shape, wheel size, etc. of the boarding / alighting object Oe.

[0035] Hereinafter, a method for calculating a position where an object Oe can easily get on and off will be described with reference to Figs.

[0036] 2 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle stop possible area and a vehicle getting on and off possible area according to the first embodiment. The vehicle stop possible area Rs is calculated by the vehicle stop possible area calculation unit 105.

[0037] The travel path Rm in Fig. 2 is an area where the vehicle Ve can travel. Here, the travel path Rm is a travel road surface that is continuous with the position of the vehicle Ve. The travel path Rm is detected by the detection unit 101 based on a point cloud or an image acquired by the information acquisition unit 100. Alternatively, the travel path Rm may be read out from the map information C00 in the storage unit 110 based on the vehicle position information. Also, the travel path Rm may be set in the map information C00 to set the operation design area of ​​the vehicle Ve.

[0038] The stoppable area Rs is an area excluding the area where the vehicle Ve cannot stop from the travel path Rm. The area where the vehicle Ve cannot stop is, for example, a place where there is a parking prohibition sign, within 5 m of an intersection or a crosswalk, within 10 m of a railroad crossing, within 3 m of a garage, within 5 m of a fire hydrant or a fire entrance, and such areas are considered to be stoppable. In addition, based on the travel path width and the vehicle width, whether the vehicle can stop is determined based on whether the width of the passage space that can pass after stopping is equal to or larger than a certain value. If the sign has a time designation or there is construction information, the stoppable area calculation unit 105 determines whether the vehicle can stop based on the restriction time and the current time. The stoppable area calculation unit 105 determines a bus stop or bus stop where only a specific type of vehicle can stop from the vehicle type of the vehicle Ve. The stoppable area calculation unit 105 may determine whether the vehicle can stop based on the arrival or frequency of a vehicle coming from behind in addition to the traffic width. In addition, the vehicle possible stopping area calculation unit 105 determines the vehicle possible stopping area Rs depending on how close the vehicle Ve can be to the vehicle when stopped, based on vehicle performance, proximity sensor performance, user settings, and the like.

[0039] Next, the boarding / disembarking possible area Ra will be described. An area at the end of the travel path Rm that has a width and length equal to or greater than the physical information of the boarding / disembarking object Oe is set as the boarding / disembarking possible area Ra (area in which the boarding / disembarking object Oe can move). The stoppable area calculation unit 105 determines whether the boarding / disembarking object Oe can board or disembark based on the shape and type of the structure, and sets the structure in which the boarding / disembarking object Oe can board and disembark as structure A, and the structure in which the boarding / disembarking object Oe cannot board and disembark as structure B. For example, the structure A is a sidewalk, etc., and the structure B is grass B1 or a guardrail B2, etc. If the structure A has a curb, the curb is set as structure B, and the area in which the boarding / disembarking object Oe can travel other than the curb is set as structure A.

[0040] For example, the top surface of the structure A is set as the boarding / alighting possible area Ra. If there is a roof or the like, the stoppable area calculation unit 105 determines whether boarding / alighting is possible based on whether there is a space for the height of the boarding / alighting object Oe between the plane on which the structure A can be installed and the height of the roof or the like. If boarding / alighting is possible, the stoppable area calculation unit 105 sets that area as the boarding / alighting possible area Ra. Note that the stoppable area calculation unit 105 may also set the edge of the roadway or the edge of the travel path Rm as the boarding / alighting possible area Ra depending on the situation. In addition, when considering a person pushing a wheelchair or a cart, the stoppable area calculation unit 105 may also use the presence of a space for the height of the person in addition to the vehicle to be boarded / alighted as a condition for determining whether boarding / alighting is possible.

[0041] The stop position Ps is a stop position of the vehicle Ve, which is generated by the assistance content generating unit 107. The stop position Ps is extracted from the vehicle stop possible area Rs based on the boarding / alighting ease. Hereinafter, extraction of the stop position Ps based on the boarding / alighting ease will be described.

[0042] 3 and 4 are examples of diagrams for explaining the ease of getting on and off according to the first embodiment. The ease of getting on and off is calculated by the getting on and off ease calculation unit 106, and is calculated for the stoppable area Rs based on the map information C00, the vehicle information D00, and the getting on and off object information E00.

[0043] 3 is a diagram showing an example in which the assistance content generation unit 107 calculates a position where the getting on and off object Oe can easily get on and off by using height information related to getting on and off. Examples of height information related to getting on and off include the height of the boarding / alighting door of the vehicle Ve, the height of structures where getting on and off is possible such as sidewalks, and the height of structures where getting on and off is not possible such as curbs. This height information can be acquired from surrounding road information and vehicle information.

[0044] FIG. 3(a) shows a case where a structure B such as a curb or guardrail exists between the sidewalk and the roadway. The assistance content generation unit 107 calculates a position where the boarding / disembarking object Oe can easily board and disembark in the boarding / disembarking area Ra according to the height of the detected structure. In this example, the vehicle Ve stops at a position where the height of the structure B between the vehicle Ve and the boarding / disembarking area Ra is low or non-existent. Even if the structure B is high, the assistance content generation unit 107 determines a location where the structure B opens and closes, such as a platform door at a train station, based on information detected by a sensor, map information, or information acquired by communication, and the control unit 109 stops the vehicle Ve at a position where the door opens and closes.

[0045] 3(b) shows a case where the height of the boarding / alighting area Ra, for example, the height of the sidewalk which is the structure A, varies depending on the location. In such a case, the assistance content generation unit 107 extracts a position in the stoppable area Rs where the height of the boarding / alighting area Ra is closest to the boarding / alighting height of the vehicle Ve, that is, a position with a small step.

[0046] When there is a mixture of structures A where the getting on and off object Oe can get on and off and structures B where it cannot get on and off, the assistance content generation unit 107 extracts a position where the difference in level with the structure A is the smallest based on, for example, a range in which the height of the structure B is within the height of the getting on and off position of the vehicle Ve, and stops the vehicle at that position. Here, the difference in level when the getting on and off object Oe gets on and off the structure A is calculated. The weighting of whether to prioritize the height of the structure A where it can get on and off or the height of the structure B where it cannot get on and off and to determine the stopping position can be changed according to settings.

[0047] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example in which a step H exists between a vehicle Ve and a structure when an object Oe gets on and off.

[0048] The boarding / alighting ease calculation unit (boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106) calculates the boarding / alighting ease to be high when the physical constraints or vehicle constraints of the boarding / alighting object Oe are satisfied based on the physical information and / or vehicle performance of the boarding / alighting object Oe, the three-dimensional shape of the object, and / or the object type. The physical constraints or travel constraints of the boarding / alighting object Oe are calculated from values ​​including at least one of the step, distance, the width of the passage that other vehicles Ve can pass through, and the inclination between the vehicle Ve and the object. The physical information of the boarding / alighting object Oe is shown as boarding / alighting object information E00 in FIG. 7 described later. The vehicle performance is shown as vehicle performance D60 in FIG. 6 described later. The three-dimensional shape and / or object type of the object are shown by values ​​measured by the external sensor 1000. The physical constraints of the boarding / alighting object Oe are shown as boarding / alighting setting information F00 in FIG. 8 described later. For example, the physical constraints are set based on the specifications of boarding / alighting aids such as slopes in addition to the physical information of the boarding / alighting object Oe. The vehicle constraints of the getting-on / off object Oe are indicated as step tolerance E80, tolerable distance E90, maximum climbing angle E100, and maximum stable tilt angle E110 in the specification information of the getting-on / off object in FIG. 7 described later.

[0049] The boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106 calculates the boarding / alighting ease using the step H at the time of boarding / alighting, the distance D, physical information of the boarding / alighting object Oe, and the like. For example, the boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106 calculates the boarding / alighting ease, which is the ease with which the boarding / alighting object Oe can board / alight from the vehicle Ve, for a candidate stop position within the possible stop area Rs. In Fig. 4, a reference height is set, and the height of the structure A, which is the possible boarding / alighting area Ra, and the boarding / alighting height of the vehicle Ve are shown relative to the reference height.

[0050] The ease of getting on and off is calculated, for example, by the sum of the step H between the vehicle Ve and the structure, the distance D, and the boarding width (see FIG. 5) multiplied by weighting constants. The boarding width is the width that can be used for the object Oe to get on and off the structure, and is the width perpendicular to the boarding direction of the object Oe. For example, the following formula (1) is used to calculate the ease of getting on and off. Ease of boarding and alighting = α × distance D + β × step H + γ × boarding and alighting width … (1)

[0051] However, this is subject to the conditions that the step H is within the allowable step, the distance D is within the allowable distance, and the boarding / alighting width is equal to or greater than the allowable width in the width direction of the boarding / alighting object. If the step H, distance D, and boarding / alighting width do not satisfy the allowable step, allowable distance, and allowable width, respectively, in the boarding / alighting settings, boarding / alighting is not possible.

[0052] The ease of getting on and off is not limited to this example, and at least one of the parameters indicating the relationship between the vehicle Ve and the structure, such as the step H, the distance D, the width, and the inclination, may be set. The ease of getting on and off calculation unit 106 may switch the weighting parameter depending on, for example, whether the sign of the step H between the vehicle Ve and the structure is positive or negative. For example, a positive step H indicates that the height of the area Ra where the vehicle can get on and off of the structure is higher than the height of the entrance of the vehicle Ve. Conversely, a negative step H indicates that the height of the area Ra where the vehicle can get on and off of the structure is lower than the height of the entrance of the vehicle Ve. When the object Oe gets on and off, it is easier for the object Oe to get off when the step H is negative, and easier for the object Oe to get on when the step H is positive. Therefore, by changing the weighting parameter depending on the positive or negative sign, it becomes possible to express a case in which the ease of getting on and off is different between an upward step and a downward step even if the step H is the same size. The allowable step, allowable distance, and allowable width may be obtained from physical information of the getting-on / off object Oe, or may be set by the user.

[0053] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example in which the getting on and off ease calculation unit 106 calculates the getting on and off ease of each stop candidate position Pc from the possible stop area Rs.

[0054] The candidate stop positions Pc are positions within the possible stop area Rs, and the boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106 calculates the boarding / alighting ease for each candidate stop position Pc. The boarding / alighting ease is calculated as the ease of boarding / alighting from the candidate stop position Pc to the candidate destination position within the possible stop area Ra. The candidate destination position can be any position within the possible stop area Ra, but for example, it is set to the position within the possible stop area Ra that is closest to the boarding / alighting entrance of the candidate stop position Pc.

[0055] The boarding / alighting ease calculation unit (boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106) calculates a stop position Ps where the boarding / alighting object Oe can easily get on and off from the stop candidate area Rc, and changes the interval between the stop candidate positions according to the vehicle Ve information, the information of the boarding / alighting object Oe, and the required accuracy. After narrowing down the stop candidate area Rc from the possible stop area Rs, the boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106 slides the candidate positions indicated by the outline of the vehicle Ve at a specified granularity to set them as candidates for the stop candidate position Pc. The sliding width of the candidate positions corresponds to the interval between the above-mentioned stop candidate positions, and is set finely when the required accuracy of the allowable step and allowable distance is high. After that, the boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106 sets the stop candidate position Pc with the highest boarding / alighting ease and the boarding / alighting ease equal to or greater than a specified value as the stop position Ps (see FIG. 2). In FIG. 5, an object Oe and a double-headed arrow indicating the boarding and alighting direction are shown on the 3D shape of a vehicle Ve at a stop position Ps.

[0056] The calculation of the candidate stop position Pc by the boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106 can be performed only when stopping assistance is required. For example, when the vehicle Ve approaches a specific position coordinate, or when the vehicle speed of the vehicle Ve is equal to or lower than a certain value, the candidate stop position Pc is calculated. In addition, the area that the boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106 selects as a candidate for the candidate stop position Pc is not necessarily the entire stop possible area Rs, but the range is narrowed down under a predetermined condition. The area that is selected as a candidate for the candidate stop position Pc is, for example, an area without structures that do not allow boarding / alighting, an area with a small step between the structure where boarding / alighting is possible, and an area that is not too far from the structure where boarding / alighting is possible. In addition, the boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106 may set the stop position in the boarding / alighting setting, and narrow down the candidate stop area Rc based on a setting value of whether to stop the vehicle by controlling to stop at the structure where boarding / alighting is possible or to stop at a certain distance.

[0057] In addition to the step and distance when getting on and off, the boarding and alighting ease calculation unit 106 may set the boarding and alighting ease by adding conditions such as a position where a certain distance from surrounding objects can be kept, a position with a roof depending on the weather, a position without puddles, a position where the vehicle Ve can stop gently depending on the vehicle speed, a distance until the boarding and alighting object Oe reaches the sidewalk after getting on and off, and a boarding and alighting time. Even if the step when getting on and off is the same, that is, the step H is zero, the force and posture applied to the boarding and alighting object Oe differ depending on whether the road surface of the travel path Rm is parallel or inclined, and the safety level when getting on and off differs. For this reason, the boarding and alighting ease calculation unit 106 may impose a constraint condition such as not getting on and off at a place where the inclination of the road surface is more than a certain level.

[0058] 6 to 8 show examples of the vehicle information D00, the getting-on / off object information E00, and the getting-on / off setting information F00 stored in the storage unit 110. FIG.

[0059] 6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of vehicle information D00. The vehicle information D00 is composed of a number D10, a vehicle type D20, a vehicle shape D30, entrance / exit information D40, entry / exit assistance D50, vehicle performance D60, and remarks D70. The number D10 represents the vehicle information number for each item of vehicle information D00. The vehicle type D20 represents the vehicle type of the vehicle Ve. The vehicle shape D30 represents the shape of the vehicle Ve, and includes the width D31, length D32, and height D33 of the vehicle Ve.

[0060] The information D40 on boarding / alighting doors indicates, for example, for each boarding / alighting door number D41 of the vehicle Ve, where the boarding / alighting door is attached on the front, rear, left or right of the vehicle Ve, by a relative position D42 from the vehicle reference point and an angle D43. If the vehicle Ve has four doors, the boarding / alighting doors correspond to each of the four doors. If the vehicle Ve is a hatchback, the boarding / alighting doors also correspond to the rear door. Although vehicles with doors are mainly assumed, the boarding / alighting doors indicate the places where the vehicle can be boarded and alighted, and are not necessarily limited to the presence or absence of doors depending on the vehicle type. The information D40 on boarding / alighting doors also includes shape information such as the width D44 and height D45 of the boarding / alighting doors. The vehicle reference point is a reference point for calculating the position coordinates of the boarding / alighting door based on which coordinates of the vehicle, and can be set arbitrarily. For example, the center of the vehicle, the front end of the vehicle, or the rear end of the vehicle is set as the vehicle reference point.

[0061] The boarding and alighting assistance D50 indicates the presence or absence of boarding and alighting assistance devices. The vehicle performance D60 and the vehicle shape D30 are used to generate assistance contents such as calculation of a possible stopping area, calculation of a position angle of a stopping frame, and determination of whether to perform display assistance or control assistance for the stopping frame, in combination with the boarding and alighting entrance information D40 and the boarding and alighting assistance D50. The vehicle performance D60 includes an autonomous driving level D61, a maximum acceleration D62, a maximum deceleration D63, a proximity distance D64, and a step resistance D65.

[0062] The remarks D70 also include other supplemental information related to the vehicle type D20, the vehicle shape D30, the entrance / exit information D40, the entrance / exit assistance D50, and the vehicle performance D60. Examples of information written in the remarks D70 include the mounting positions of entrance / exit assistance devices such as ramps and arms attached to the vehicle Ve, the distance and step that can be assisted, and the width of the entrance / exit assistance device. Other information written in the remarks D70 include the shape of the doors, information on the range of motion of the doors and the entrance / exit positions, and the type and version information of the software built into the parking assistance device 1. CAD data (described as CAD1) showing the shape of the vehicle may also be stored in the remarks D70. Note that the vehicle information D00 does not need to include all of the information described in FIG. 6, and may include at least information that allows the position and height of the entrance / exit to be calculated.

[0063] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the getting on and off object information E00. The getting on and off object information E00 is composed of a number E10, a getting on and off object type E20, a get on and off possible area E30, and specification information of the getting on and off object Oe. The number E10 indicates the getting on and off object information number for each piece of the getting on and off object information E00. The getting on and off object type E20 indicates the type of the getting on and off object Oe (e.g., delivery vehicle A, wheelchair A, etc.). The get on and off possible area E30 indicates that the getting on and off possible area Ra shown in Fig. 5 is the sidewalk and roadway. Note that a type indicating a person (adult or child) may be stored in the getting on and off object type E20 as the type of the getting on and off object Oe.

[0064] The specification information of the boarding / disembarking object Oe is physical information and performance information when the boarding / disembarking object Oe boards and disembarks, such as object shape E40, wheel length (wheel diameter) E50, wheel width E60, wheel spacing E70, step tolerance E80, distance tolerance E90, maximum climbing angle E100, and maximum stable inclination angle E110. The width E41, length E42, height E43, wheel length E50 (front wheels E51, rear wheels E52), wheel width E60 (front wheels E61, rear wheels E62), wheel spacing E70 (vertical spacing E71, lateral spacing E72), step tolerance E80 that the boarding / disembarking object Oe can overcome, distance tolerance E90 that the boarding / disembarking object Oe can overcome, maximum climbing angle E100 that the boarding / disembarking object Oe can climb in the direction of travel, and maximum stable tilt angle E110 without the boarding / disembarking object Oe tipping over are recorded in the boarding / disembarking object information E00.

[0065] In addition, when there is no specification information of the getting on / off object Oe, the step tolerance E80 and the distance tolerance E90 are set based on the wheel length E50, etc. In addition, when the front and rear wheels of the getting on / off object Oe are different in size, the step tolerance E80 and the distance tolerance E90 are set based on the size of the smaller wheel, for example, taking into account the size of the constraint. In addition, the specification information of the getting on / off object Oe can be created using the mounting positions of each wheel or CAD data as the getting on / off object information E00. The getting on / off object information E00 is set by the getting on / off condition management unit 103 based on information acquired from the detection unit 101 and the communication unit 104, in addition to the getting on / off condition setting unit 102.

[0066] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the boarding and alighting setting information F00. In the boarding and alighting setting information F00, suitable setting values ​​for boarding and alighting an object Oe, such as a permissible step or distance, and weighting of the priority of the step or distance, are set. The boarding and alighting setting information F00 is composed of a number F10, a permissible step F20, a permissible distance F30, a permissible width F40, and a type of object F50. The number F10 represents the boarding and alighting setting information number for each piece of the boarding and alighting setting information F00. The permissible step F20, the permissible distance F30, and the permissible width F40 represent each value permitted when the boarding and alighting object Oe boards and alights. The type of object F50 represents the type of the object Oe.

[0067] For the boarding and alighting setting information F00, a default value is prepared based on the values ​​of the boarding and alighting object information E00, etc., and each user can adjust and record a suitable value. In addition, a plurality of boarding and alighting settings may be recorded for the same boarding and alighting object type and used separately. In addition, the shape and wheel information of the boarding and alighting object Oe can be detected by the detection unit 101 from information captured by a camera inside the vehicle or information acquired by the external sensor 1000 at the time of boarding and alighting. In addition, the boarding and alighting setting information F00 can be updated by acquiring information registered in an external system by a user at the time of boarding and alighting reservation via the communication unit 204, or by inputting information on a display device 505 or the like shown in FIG. 19, which will be described later, at the time of boarding and alighting. These pieces of information are registered in the storage unit 110 via the communication unit 104 or the boarding and alighting condition setting unit 102.

[0068] The vehicle information D00, the boarding / alighting object information E00, and the boarding / alighting setting information F00 are not limited to the items shown in Figures 6 to 8, and may be implemented even if not all of them are listed. It is sufficient that the vehicle information D00, the boarding / alighting object information E00, and the boarding / alighting setting information F00 include information that can determine at least the length and width of the vehicle Ve, and the position and height of the boarding / alighting entrance.

[0069] Hereinafter, the overall processing procedure of the stopping assistance device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the stopping support process.

[0070] First, in step S101, the information acquisition unit 100 acquires necessary information from the communication unit 104 and the storage unit 110. The information acquisition unit 100 acquires environmental information and object information around the vehicle from, for example, a LiDAR point cloud, an image, or a map.

[0071] Next, in step S102, the detection unit 101 detects the shape of the surrounding objects of the vehicle Ve based on the point cloud or image around the vehicle Ve. Here, the detection unit 101 determines the travel path Rm, identifies other objects on the travel path Rm, and detects objects on the sidewalk from the sidewalk next to the travel path Rm. Information on the travel path Rm, the sidewalk, and other objects may be obtained by the detection unit 101 reading out a point cloud map or a high-precision map from the storage unit 110, or by the detection unit 101 communicating with an infrastructure sensor or a control center. The infrastructure sensor is assumed to be a camera or Lidar installed on the travel path Rm. The infrastructure sensor is installed, for example, on the travel path Rm of the vehicle Ve, and may be installed indoors or outdoors, such as on a road, on a factory site, inside a building, etc.

[0072] In step S103, the boarding / alighting condition management unit 103 determines the conditions for the stopping assistance. For example, the condition for the stopping assistance is that the speed of the vehicle Ve is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, and the boarding / alighting condition management unit 103 determines whether or not this condition is satisfied. If the condition for the stopping assistance is satisfied, the stopping assistance is performed by the assistance content generation unit 107. Furthermore, the boarding / alighting condition management unit 103 determines whether or not the condition for the stopping assistance is satisfied, for example, that the vehicle approaches an arrival position such as coordinates registered in advance or near a specific facility, or a requested position received from a boarding / alighting object Oe, a delivery system, or the like.

[0073] If the conditions for stopping assistance are satisfied (YES in S103), the process proceeds to step S104, where the vehicle stopping area calculation unit 105 calculates an area in which the vehicle Ve can stop. As described above, the vehicle stopping area Rs is an area of ​​the road Rm excluding areas where stopping is not possible, such as near signs and intersections.

[0074] Next, in step S105, the boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106 calculates the boarding / alighting ease of the object Oe from the vehicle Ve. The boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106 basically calculates the ease of boarding / alighting from the position of the stop candidate in the stop possible area Rs to the closest position in the boarding / alighting possible area Ra. Regarding the boarding / alighting possible area Ra, the roadway and the sidewalk are determined in step S102, but the boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106 further determines the area where boarding / alighting is possible and the area where boarding / alighting is not possible based on the information of the boarding / alighting object Oe, the sidewalk, the structure, and the shape and type of the object. Note that if the boarding / alighting possible area Ra is not nearby, the boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106 determines that boarding / alighting is not possible.

[0075] In step S106, the assistance content generation unit 107 extracts a stop position Ps from the candidate stop positions Pc shown in Fig. 5. For example, the assistance content generation unit 107 extracts a position with the highest degree of ease of getting on and off within the possible stop area Rs as the stop position Ps. When there are multiple positions with the highest degree of ease of getting on and off, the assistance content generation unit 107 determines the stop position Ps by taking into consideration, as a degree of safety, a position where a certain distance can be kept from surrounding objects and structures, a position where the vehicle can stop gently according to the vehicle speed, and the like.

[0076] Finally, in step S107, the display unit 108 and the control unit 109 perform stopping support for the vehicle Ve. For this purpose, the support content generation unit 107 determines a support method based on information indicating whether the vehicle Ve is being manually driven or automatically driven, acquired by the information acquisition unit 100. For example, the support content generation unit 107 causes the display unit 108 to display the stopping position of the vehicle Ve. Furthermore, when the control unit 109 is capable of controlling the vehicle Ve, the support content generation unit 107 causes the control unit 109 to control the vehicle Ve to the stopping position. The support by the display unit 108 and the control unit 109 may be performed in parallel, or only one of them may be performed.

[0077] The above is the description of the first embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the stoppable area Rs where the vehicle Ve can stop and the get-on / off area Ra of the boarding / disembarking object Oe that gets on and off from the vehicle Ve are identified from the shape and type of the object around the vehicle Ve. Then, the boarding / disembarking ease of the boarding / disembarking object Oe is calculated based on the height information of the structure in the boarding / disembarking area Ra, and a method of extracting the stop position Ps of the vehicle Ve from the stoppable area Rs based on the boarding / disembarking ease has been described. In this way, in this embodiment, it is possible to obtain a spatial position where the boarding / disembarking object can easily get on and off from the three-dimensional shape of the structure. According to this embodiment, it is possible to automatically extract a stop position where the boarding / disembarking object Oe such as a person or a vehicle can easily get on and off, that is, a stop position where there are few steps when getting on and off, according to the height of the object represented by the three-dimensional shape of the object. This makes it possible to improve the convenience and safety of the boarding / disembarking object Oe.

[0078] Furthermore, the vehicle stopping assistance device 1 according to the first embodiment can take into consideration not only the height of the structure but also information on the depth of the ditch when extracting the stopping position Ps. For example, in the information on the height of the structure, the depth of the ditch is indicated by a negative value. Therefore, in a position where the depth of the ditch is deeper than a predetermined value, the ease of getting on and off is low, and it is determined that the position is inappropriate as the stopping position Ps. As a result, the vehicle Ve will not stop in a position where the depth of the ditch is deeper than a predetermined value.

[0079] In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and only the differences will be described. Points that are not specifically described are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0080] [Second embodiment] Next, a configuration example and an operation example of a vehicle stopping assistance device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the vehicle stopping assistance device 1 according to the first embodiment, the ease of getting on and off of the getting on and off object Oe is set based on the physical information of the getting on and off object Oe. However, the ease of getting on and off also changes depending on the stopping position of the vehicle Ve. Therefore, a format in which the vehicle stopping assistance device according to the second embodiment records the evaluation value of the ease of getting on and off for the stopping position in order to determine a stopping position at which the getting on and off object Oe is easy to get on and off from actual performance data will be described. Also, a format in which the ease of getting on and off for each user is set will be described.

[0081] 10 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a vehicle stopping support device 1A according to the second embodiment. The vehicle stopping support device 1A includes an information acquisition unit 200, a detection unit 201, a boarding / alighting condition setting unit 202, a boarding / alighting condition management unit 203, a communication unit 204, a display unit 208, a control unit 209, and a storage unit 210. The functions of the units included in the vehicle stopping support device 1A are the same as those of the vehicle stopping support device 1 according to the first embodiment. The vehicle stopping support device 1A also includes an area and position calculation unit 10A instead of the area and position calculation unit 10. The area and position calculation unit 10A includes a vehicle stopping possible area calculation unit 205, a boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 206, a support content generation unit 207, and a learning device 211. The functions of the stopping area calculation unit 205, the boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 206, and the assistance content generation unit 207 provided in the area and position calculation unit 10A have the functions of the respective units provided in the stopping assistance device 1 according to the first embodiment. Also, the information recorded in the memory unit 210 is similar to the information recorded in the memory unit 110 according to the first embodiment, but differs in that it further includes an evaluation log G00 of the stopping position (in the figure, this is indicated as "stopping evaluation log").

[0082] The information acquisition unit 200 includes an external sensor 2000, a vehicle speed sensor 2001, a weight sensor 2002, and a door opening / closing sensor 2003. The external sensor 2000 may be the same as the external sensor 1000 according to the first embodiment. The vehicle speed sensor 2001 measures the vehicle speed of the vehicle Ve. The weight sensor 2002 measures a change in weight of an object Oe before and after getting on and off the vehicle Ve. The door opening / closing sensor 2003 measures the timing when the vehicle door is opened and closed.

[0083] A stopping condition G50 such as steps and distance when the vehicle is stopped and a stopping evaluation value G40 such as boarding and alighting time shown in Fig. 11 described later are recorded in the storage unit 210. The stopping evaluation value G40 represents the stopping state of the vehicle Ve and the performance of the ease of boarding and alighting in the stopping state. The assistance content generation unit (assistance content generation unit 207) improves the stopping position Ps to a position where it is easy for the boarding and alighting object Oe to board and alight, based on the stopping state G50 and the stopping evaluation value G40.

[0084] The learning device 211 learns a weighting parameter W20 for estimating the ease of getting on and off in the stopped state G50 based on the information in the storage unit 210. The weighting parameter W20 includes α, β, and γ in the above formula (1). However, the weighting parameter W20 is not limited to α, β, and γ, and a weighting parameter optimized by machine learning such as a decision tree or deep learning may be used for the weighting parameter W20. The getting on and off ease calculation unit 206 calculates the getting on and off ease at each stopping position using the weighting parameter W20 learned by the learning device 211. However, the getting on and off ease calculation unit 206 may calculate the getting on and off ease without using the weighting parameter W20.

[0085] 11 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the evaluation log G00 of the stopping position. In the stopping assistance device 1A, in order to determine how easy it is for a boarding / alighting object Oe to board / alight the vehicle Ve when the vehicle is stopped and to utilize the determination, the information acquisition unit 200 records the stopping state G50 and the stopping evaluation value G40 in the storage unit 210. The evaluation log G00 of the stopping position includes a number G10, a vehicle type G20, a boarding / alighting object type G30, a stopping evaluation value G40, and a stopping state G50.

[0086] The stopping evaluation value G40 includes information that can be automatically collected by a sensor. The stopping evaluation value G40 includes at least one value that can estimate the boarding and alighting time of the boarding and alighting object Oe. Examples of the stopping evaluation value G40 include the stopping time G41 of the vehicle Ve, the time G42 when the door was open, and the time G43 from the start to the end of the weight change, which are used to estimate the boarding and alighting time. The information on the stopping time G41, the times G42, and G43 are all detected by the detection unit 201. The boarding and alighting condition management unit 203 determines whether the stopping was easy for boarding and alighting based on the stopping evaluation value G40 including these times. In addition, the boarding and alighting condition management unit 203 communicates, if possible, with a communication device mounted on the boarding and alighting object Oe or a mobile terminal held by the boarding and alighting object Oe, calculates an index indicating the stability of the vehicle stopping from information such as the time series position, time series speed, and time series angle of the boarding and alighting object Oe at the time of boarding and alighting, and records the index in the storage unit 210. The information recorded in the memory unit 210 is used to determine whether the object Oe has fallen over or is suddenly vibrating, and is used to evaluate the stopped state G50.

[0087] The stopping state G50 is information indicating the positional relationship between the vehicle and the structure as the stopping state of the vehicle. This stopping state G50 includes at least one of the step, distance, the width of the passage that other vehicles Ve can pass, the inclination, and the angle, which indicate the positional relationship between the stopped vehicle Ve and the structure. The stopping state G50 records how the vehicle Ve stopped at the boarding and alighting location. The stopping state G50 includes, for example, the step G51, the distance G52, the width G53, the inclination G54, and the angle G55 between the vehicle Ve and the structure that is the boarding and alighting target. The inclination G54 includes the inclination θ1 (see FIG. 14 described later) and the inclination θ2 (the inclination angle in the depth direction in FIG. 14 described later). The angle G55 indicates how inclined the stopping position of the vehicle Ve is with respect to the structure. The three numerical values ​​of the inclination G54 (inclination θ1 and inclination θ2) and the angle G55 combine to represent the yaw, roll, and pitch of the three-dimensional vector rotation of the vehicle Ve. Other details of the situation in which the vehicle Ve stopped may include the location of the place where the vehicle Ve stopped, the date and time, the weather, the number of times and the amount of change in weight, the boarding and alighting door used by the boarding and alighting object Oe, whether or not an auxiliary device such as an arm was used, or environmental information around the vehicle Ve. By linking the stopping evaluation value G40 and the stopping state G50, it is possible to know how the evaluation value changed when the vehicle Ve stopped.

[0088] In addition, the setting of whether to record the evaluation log G00 of the stopping position and the level of detail of the evaluation log G00 can be set arbitrarily, and some items may not be included or may be encrypted and recorded in the storage unit 210 in consideration of security and other aspects. When there are multiple boarding and alighting objects Oe, the boarding and alighting object types may be collectively recorded in the storage unit 210 as passengers, etc. If at least one item of the stopping evaluation value G40 and one item of the stopping state G50 are included, the stopping can be evaluated and learned, and reflected in the boarding and alighting ease. In addition, the evaluation log G00 of the stopping position may store the weather when the vehicle Ve stops. For example, if it is raining or snowing, it takes time for the boarding and alighting objects Oe to get on and off, so each value of the stopping evaluation value G40 is likely to be long.

[0089] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a process in which the information acquisition unit 200 records the evaluation log G00 of the parking position of the vehicle Ve in the storage unit 210.

[0090] In step S201, the detection unit 201 determines whether the vehicle Ve has started to stop based on information acquired by the information acquisition unit 200 from the sensors. For example, the fact that the vehicle Ve has stopped is determined based on the vehicle speed acquired by the vehicle speed sensor 2001, and the fact that the door has been opened or closed is determined based on door opening / closing information acquired by the door opening / closing sensor 2003. The information acquisition unit 200 records the information acquired from each sensor in the storage unit 210. When the detection unit 201 detects that the vehicle Ve has started to stop, a timer (not shown) starts measuring the vehicle's stopping time, and the process proceeds to step S202.

[0091] In step S202, the support content generation unit 207 calculates the stopping state G50 of the vehicle Ve based on at least one of the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 200 and the information detected by the detection unit 201. The stopping state G50 of the vehicle Ve indicates the positional relationship between the vehicle Ve and the structure in which the vehicle Ve is stopped. As described above, the stopping state G50 is calculated based on the step and distance between the vehicle Ve and the boarding and alighting destination. The stopping state G50 is information detected by a sensor such as a LiDAR, a camera, a radar, or a sonar installed in the vehicle Ve, or a camera or a LiDAR sensor on the infrastructure side. However, the support content generation unit 207 may calculate the stopping state G50 based on the stopping position of the vehicle Ve extracted at the time of the stopping support. The boarding and alighting condition management unit 203 records the stopping state G50 of the vehicle Ve calculated by the support content generation unit 207 in the storage unit 210.

[0092] In step S203, the boarding / alighting condition management unit 203 determines whether or not an object Oe has boarded or alighted from the vehicle Ve, based on a change in weight information acquired by the information acquisition unit 200 from the weight sensor 2002. As shown in FIG. 10, the boarding / alighting condition management unit 203 can read out information acquired by the information acquisition unit 200 via the storage unit 210. The boarding / alighting condition management unit 203 determines whether or not an object Oe has boarded or alighted, for example, based on a change in the total vehicle weight or center of gravity, whether or not a door is opened or closed, acquisition of a boarding / alighting position by communication with a delivery system or the like, detection by an in-vehicle camera or an infrastructure camera, or the like. The detection unit 201 detects a change in the total vehicle weight or center of gravity, for example, by a vehicle weight sensor or a door opening / closing sensor, or the like.

[0093] In step S204, the detection unit 201 calculates a stopping evaluation value G40. The stopping evaluation value G40 is used to determine whether the stopping was easy for getting on and off, and includes the stopping time, the door opening and closing time, the time from the start of weight fluctuation to the end, and the like, for estimating the time for getting on and off. In addition, the vibration of the getting on and off object Oe during getting on and off and the value of the sensor mounted on the getting on and off object may be recorded by communicating with a communication device mounted on the getting on and off object Oe or a mobile phone held by the getting on and off object Oe.

[0094] In step S205, the boarding / alighting condition management unit 203 determines whether the vehicle Ve has stopped based on the vehicle speed acquired by the information acquisition unit 200 from the vehicle speed sensor 2001 and the door opening / closing information acquired from the door opening / closing sensor 2003. Whether the vehicle Ve has stopped can be determined, for example, by a change in the vehicle speed. For example, when the vehicle starts moving, the boarding / alighting condition management unit 203 determines that the vehicle Ve has stopped. If the vehicle has stopped, the process proceeds to S206, and if the vehicle has not stopped, the process proceeds to S203.

[0095] In step S206, the boarding / alighting condition management unit 203 determines whether or not an object Oe has boarded or alighted while the vehicle Ve is stopped, based on a change in weight information acquired by the information acquisition unit 200 from the weight sensor 2002. If boarding / alighting has been determined to have occurred even once in step S203, the process proceeds to step S207.

[0096] In step S207, the getting on / off condition management unit 203 records in the memory unit 210 the stopping state G50 calculated in step S202 and the stopping evaluation value G40 calculated in step S204.

[0097] So far, a method for recording actual performance data has been described for the purpose of making the vehicle stop so that the getting on and off objects Oe can easily get on and off. However, the stopping position of the vehicle Ve may be designated by a user setting.

[0098] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a boarding / disembarking setting screen 250 that visualizes the boarding / disembarking setting set by the boarding / disembarking condition setting unit 202. Since the vehicle stopping assistance device 1A is assumed to be an AD / ADAS ECU, the boarding / disembarking setting screen 250 is displayed on a display device 505 shown in FIG. 19, which is installed in the vehicle and will be described later. However, the boarding / disembarking setting screen 250 may be displayed on a display device such as a PC (not shown) that manages a group of vehicles. On the left side of the boarding / disembarking setting screen 250, a plan view of the vehicle Ve is displayed as "view1", and on the left side of the boarding / disembarking setting screen 250, a rear view of the vehicle Ve is displayed as "view2". In each diagram, in addition to the vehicle Ve, a boarding / disembarking possible area Ra, a stoppable area Rs, a boarding / disembarking position, and a structure are shown. The image icons of the vehicle Ve and the boarding / disembarking position can be moved arbitrarily by the user.

[0099] The user sets the position and angle at which the vehicle Ve is to be stopped relative to the boarding / alighting area Ra and the structure through the boarding / alighting setting screen 250. The learning device 211 acquires weighting of the step and distance of the boarding / alighting ease based on the set arrangement of the vehicle Ve. The boarding / alighting conditions are set by the user moving the icon of the vehicle Ve or the icon of the boarding / alighting position. The user can also move the icon of the boarding / alighting position.

[0100] The user can also arbitrarily set the arrangement and shape of objects around the vehicle Ve. The user may specify a stopping position, causing the boarding / alighting condition management unit 203 to read a 3D map of the surroundings of the vehicle Ve from the storage unit 210, or to read the shape and boarding / alighting position of the vehicle Ve from the vehicle information D00. If there are multiple boarding / alighting entrances, the user also sets the location from which the boarding / alighting object Oe will board and alight. In addition, if the vehicle Ve is an object whose boarding / alighting height and vehicle position can be set in the height direction, such as a forklift, a height-adjustable dolly, or a drone, the user also sets the boarding / alighting setting in the height direction.

[0101] The assistance content generation unit (assistance content generation unit 107) acquires the stopping position Ps of the vehicle Ve relative to the object at the boarding / alighting destination and the weighting of each element of the boarding / alighting ease, which are set by the user. The boarding / alighting ease calculation unit (boarding / alighting ease calculation unit 106) calculates the boarding / alighting ease based on the weighting of each element acquired by the assistance content generation unit (assistance content generation unit 107).

[0102] The boarding / alighting condition setting unit 202 may display a map as a background on the boarding / alighting setting screen 250 by linking with a navigation device (not shown) equipped in the vehicle Ve. In this case, the boarding / alighting setting screen 250 may display a menu that allows the user to select whether to set the stop position at the entrance of a building or at a place with a high boarding / alighting door as the stop position. In addition, when it is raining or snowing, it is expected that even in the boarding / alighting possible area Ra, it will become wet and difficult to board and alight. For this reason, the boarding / alighting condition setting unit 202 may display the boarding / alighting setting screen 250 that allows the user to instruct to set a place with a roof as the stop position depending on the weather. In addition, the boarding / alighting condition setting unit 202 may display the boarding / alighting setting screen 250 that includes an input field that allows the user to arbitrarily change the values ​​of α, β, and γ in the above formula (1). Alternatively, even if the user does not directly input the values ​​of α, β, and γ in the input fields, the getting on / off condition setting unit 202 may display the values ​​of α, β, and γ calculated at the position to which the user moves the icon of the vehicle Ve on the screen on the getting on / off setting screen 250. In this case, the user can determine appropriate values ​​of α, β, and γ.

[0103] In addition to inputting the values ​​of α, β, and γ from the boarding / disembarking setting screen 250, the user can also input the values ​​of α, β, and γ by connecting a smartphone or the like carried by the user to the parking assistance device 1A. Also, the values ​​of α, β, and γ can be input by inserting a storage medium in which the values ​​of α, β, and γ are stored into the parking assistance device 1A.

[0104] Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a device that assists the boarding and disembarking of a boarding and disembarking object Oe. The use of a boarding and disembarking assistance device such as a slope or an arm lift can reduce the risk of the boarding and disembarking object Oe falling when boarding and disembarking. Therefore, even if the boarding and disembarking object Oe is a vehicle with small wheels, it can board and disembark over a step or distance that allows boarding and disembarking assistance. Fig. 14 shows an example in which a slope 260 is provided between the boarding and disembarking position of the vehicle Ve and the upper surface of the boarding and disembarking possible area Ra.

[0105] As a condition for the stopping position of a vehicle Ve using a boarding / disembarking aid, for example, if the length of the slope 260 is L, the positional relationship in which the slope can be provided from the vehicle Ve to the boarding / disembarking area Ra is such that the square root of ((the square of the step H) + (the square of the distance D)) between the vehicle and the boarding / disembarking area Ra is less than or equal to L. Note that the length L of the slope 260 is the length of the portion available for boarding / disembarking, taking into consideration the length required to fix the slope 260.

[0106] In addition, taking into consideration the maximum slope angle E100 of the getting-on / off object Oe, the angle θ1 of the slope 260 needs to be within the maximum slope angle E100. The angle θ1 of the slope 260 when getting on and off after stopping is calculated by arctan (step H / length L). Furthermore, the vehicle Ve stops in a range where the left-right inclination θ2 (inclination in the depth direction in FIG. 14) when the getting-on / off object Oe gets on and off from the vehicle Ve to the getting-on / off possible area Ra satisfies the maximum stable inclination angle E110 of the getting-on / off object Oe, thereby preventing the getting-on / off object Oe from falling over. The left-right inclination θ2 when the getting-on / off object Oe gets on and off can be acquired as, for example, the road gradient in the traveling direction of the vehicle Ve. The assistance content generation unit 207 performs stopping assistance such that the getting-on / off object Oe can reliably get on and off by considering the conditions of these getting-on / off assisting devices, the maximum slope angle E100, and the maximum stable inclination angle E110. In addition, the user setting of the stopping position when boarding and alighting aids are present is performed by the boarding and alighting condition setting unit 202.

[0107] Next, a learning device 211 that learns the ease of getting on and off at each position based on the performance data and / or user settings recorded in the storage unit 210 will be described. The learning device 211 learns the ease of getting on and off at the stop position for the get-on / off possible area Ra based on the get-on / off setting or the evaluation log G00 of the stop position, and records a weight parameter W20. The learning device 211 is, for example, a machine learning device such as a gradient boosting tree or deep learning. The get-on / off ease calculation unit 206 inputs the step, distance, width, etc. when the vehicle Ve stops at the stop candidate position Pc for the stop candidate position Pc in the stop possible area Rs, and calculates the get-on / off ease at that time based on the learning result of the learning device 211. The processing of the learning device 211 is performed, for example, in step S105 in the flowchart of the stop support processing shown in FIG. 9. The learning device 211 may be connected to the vehicle stoppable area calculation unit 205 and the assistance content generation unit 207 to learn about the driving area, the stopping area, the boarding / alighting area, the assistance content, and the like.

[0108] The above is the description of the second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the stopping state indicating the positional relationship between the stopping position of the vehicle Ve and a structure, and the stopping evaluation value indicating the ease of getting on and off of the getting on and off object Oe after the vehicle stops are recorded in the storage unit 210. The learning device 211 learns the stopping state that improves the stopping evaluation value, thereby improving extraction of the stopping position where the getting on and off object Oe is easy to get on and off. In addition, by reflecting the stopping position set by the user, the stopping position based on the user setting is extracted.

[0109] [Third embodiment] Next, a configuration example and an operation example of a parking assistance device according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the parking assistance device 1 according to the first embodiment, the position is extracted assuming that the vehicle Ve is stopped alone. However, when multiple vehicles are running or stopped around the vehicle Ve, or when an emergency vehicle is stopped, it is necessary to determine the state of the stopped vehicle. Therefore, a third embodiment capable of executing a process of arbitrating the stopping position, which is performed when an emergency vehicle is stopped or when multiple vehicles are stopped, will be described.

[0110] FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a vehicle stopping support device 1B according to the third embodiment. The vehicle stopping support device 1B includes an information acquisition unit 300, a detection unit 301, a boarding / alighting condition setting unit 302, a boarding / alighting condition management unit 303, a communication unit 304, a display unit 308, a control unit 309, and a storage unit 310. The functions of the units included in the vehicle stopping support device 1B are the same as the functions of the units included in the vehicle stopping support device 1 according to the first embodiment. The vehicle stopping support device 1B also includes an area and position calculation unit 10B instead of the area and position calculation unit 10. The area and position calculation unit 10B includes a vehicle stopping possible area calculation unit 305, a vehicle getting on and off ease calculation unit 306, and a support content generation unit 307. The functions of the vehicle stopping possible area calculation unit 305, the vehicle getting on and off ease calculation unit 306, and the support content generation unit 307 included in the area and position calculation unit 10B are the same as the functions of the units included in the vehicle stopping support device 1 according to the first embodiment. The information recorded in the storage unit 310 is similar to the information recorded in the storage unit 110 according to the first embodiment. The vehicle Ve according to the third embodiment is also assumed to be an emergency vehicle such as an ambulance or a fire engine.

[0111] The information acquisition unit 300 includes an external sensor 3000 and an occupant status sensor 3001. The external sensor 3000 may be a sensor similar to the external sensor 1000 according to the first embodiment. The occupant status sensor 3001 is a sensor that acquires information on occupants riding in the vehicle Ve. The information acquisition unit 300 acquires occupant information using the occupant status sensor 3001, and detects the occupant status using the detection unit 301. The detection unit 301 also detects the presence or absence of a fire or accident around the vehicle Ve acquired by the external sensor 3000, the presence or absence of a parked fire engine or ambulance, and the like.

[0112] When it is determined that there is an emergency stop position near the vehicle Ve based on the detection information detected by the detection unit 301, the boarding / alighting condition management unit 303 updates the map information C00 so that a certain range of the emergency stop position is not available for general vehicles to stop for a certain period of time. Furthermore, the boarding / alighting condition management unit 303 transmits the updated map information C00 and the emergency information to the fleet management server 40 via the communication unit 304.

[0113] The boarding / alighting condition management unit (boarding / alighting condition management unit 303) determines whether or not disaster information is present or whether or not an emergency vehicle is boarded or alighted, which is acquired from the traffic management server 40 by an external sensor (external sensor 3000) or a communication unit (communication unit 304) attached to the vehicle Ve, and updates the storage unit (storage unit 310) so that a general vehicle Ve cannot stop within a certain range of the stopping position of the vehicle Ve for a certain period of time. The boarding / alighting condition management unit (boarding / alighting condition management unit 303) determines whether surrounding vehicles including the vehicle Ve are emergency vehicles using at least one of the sensor information acquired by the information acquisition unit (information acquisition unit 300) from the external sensor (external sensor 3000), the information indicating the occupant's state acquired from the internal sensor (occupant state sensor 3001), the vehicle Ve type read from the storage unit (storage unit 310), and the information acquired from the communication unit (communication unit 304), and increases the stopping priority of the vehicle determined to be an emergency vehicle. For this reason, vehicles determined to be emergency vehicles are given priority over other vehicles and are stopped at a hospital or other facility so that the occupants can receive appropriate treatment.

[0114] The traffic management server 40 manages and updates the map information V00, construction information X00, disaster information Y00, and emergency information Z00 in the storage unit 403 by the traffic management unit 402, and transmits the information to each vehicle. For example, map information of the periphery of the vehicle Ve is extracted from the map information V00 by the traffic management unit 402, and transmitted to the stopping support device 1B via the communication unit 401. The boarding and alighting condition management unit 303 updates the map information received via the communication unit 304 to the map information C00 in the storage unit 310. Similarly, construction information of the periphery of the vehicle Ve is extracted from the construction information X00 by the traffic management unit 402, and transmitted to the boarding and alighting condition management unit 303, and then added to the storage unit 310 as construction information. In addition, disaster information of the periphery of the vehicle Ve is extracted from the disaster information Y00 by the traffic management unit 402, and transmitted to the boarding and alighting condition management unit 303, and then added to the storage unit 310 as disaster information. In addition, emergency information in the vicinity of the vehicle Ve is extracted from the emergency information Z00 by the operation management unit 402, and is sent to the boarding and alighting conditions management unit 303, and then added to the memory unit 310 as emergency information.

[0115] The vehicle stopping assistance device 1B communicates with the traffic management server 40 as needed, and receives from the traffic management server 40 information on the presence or absence of emergency information and whether multiple vehicles are stopped. If the detection unit 301 is able to detect emergency information, it is not necessary to receive the emergency information from the traffic management server 40, but this does not necessarily mean that the detection unit 301 is able to detect the emergency information. For example, for emergency information that cannot be seen with the naked eye or emergency information that is somewhat far away and not detected by the sensor, the vehicle stopping assistance device 1B needs to receive the emergency information from the traffic management server 40. Also, if the condition of the driver, who is an occupant of the vehicle Ve, worsens, manual driving needs to be switched to automatic driving.

[0116] The occupant condition sensor 3001 is a sensor for grasping the condition of the occupant of the vehicle Ve that is the stopping support target, and is, for example, an in-vehicle camera or a smart watch of the occupant. The detection unit 301 detects the condition of the occupant by the occupant condition sensor 3001, information of the communication unit 304, or display input, etc. The boarding and alighting condition management unit 303 determines that the vehicle Ve is an emergency vehicle according to the condition of the occupant. In addition, the boarding and alighting condition management unit 303 sets nearby locations where the vehicle can be stopped and emergency facilities such as hospitals as stopping candidates according to the condition of the occupant. The condition of the passenger is, for example, acquired by the information acquisition unit 300 using a smart watch to acquire the pulse, and the detection unit 301 determines the change in the pulse. In addition, the passenger's condition also includes information such as the passenger's body temperature or whether the passenger is lying down, and is determined by the detection unit 301. In addition, the detection unit 301 may detect not only the condition of the passenger but also that the driver is in a state where it is difficult to continue driving (for example, a state of drowsiness or fatigue). In this case, the support content generation unit 307 instructs the control unit 309 to stop the vehicle Ve, and the control unit 309 stops the vehicle Ve.

[0117] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of a vehicle stop arbitration process. The vehicle stop arbitration process is a process for arbitrating a vehicle stop position between a plurality of vehicles. This vehicle stop arbitration process is performed by the boarding / alighting condition management unit 303 alone, or by the boarding / alighting condition management unit 303 and the operation management unit 402. When the vehicle stop arbitration process is performed by the boarding / alighting condition management unit 303 alone, the boarding / alighting condition management unit 303 performs all of steps S301 to S307. When the vehicle stop arbitration process is performed by the boarding / alighting condition management unit 303 and the operation management unit 402, the operation management unit 402 performs all of steps S301 to S307, and the results after the processing are acquired by the boarding / alighting condition management unit 303 via the communication unit 304. The boarding / alighting condition management unit 303 instructs the support content generation unit 307 on the boarding / alighting conditions based on the acquired results, and the support content generation unit 307 generates the support content. The case where the operation control unit 402 performs steps S301 to S307 will be described below.

[0118] In step S301, the operation management unit 402 acquires, from the information acquisition unit 300 or the communication unit 304, information required for vehicle stop arbitration processing, such as the stopped positions of other vehicles and the stopped information of emergency vehicles.

[0119] In step S302, the operation management unit 402 judges whether or not the vehicle Ve needs to be stopped. The stopping arbitration is required, for example, when the stopping candidate position is the stopping position of an emergency vehicle or when there are multiple stopping requests. The operation management unit 402 judges whether or not the stopping candidate position is the stopping position of an emergency vehicle based on conditions such as whether a fire or accident has occurred around the vehicle Ve, whether there is fire or emergency information, and whether it is a stopping position of a fire engine or an ambulance. This judgment is performed by the operation management unit 402 using an external camera, an infrastructure sensor, and communication with the operation management server 40. Whether or not the vehicle Ve is an emergency vehicle may be judged based on the vehicle type of the vehicle information, that is, whether the vehicle Ve is a fire engine or an ambulance.

[0120] In step S303, the operation management unit 402 determines whether the location is a stop location of an emergency vehicle, and if so, in step S304, the operation management unit 402 updates the map information C00 recorded in the storage unit 310 to indicate in the map information C00 that the location is a stop location of an emergency vehicle. For example, a certain range of the stop location of the emergency vehicle is prohibited for general vehicles to stop or traffic is restricted for a certain period of time. The location of the fire or accident and the stop location of the emergency vehicle are recorded in the storage unit 310 together with the detection time and details, and are transmitted by the communication unit 304 to the operation management server 40 and vehicles that can communicate, thereby making the passage of emergency vehicles more efficient.

[0121] In step S305, the operation management unit 402 determines whether there is a request from a plurality of vehicles Ve to stop in the stoppable area Rs. The stop request is sent from the vehicle Ve to another vehicle Ve or the operation management server 40. In addition, a driveway of a hospital or a roundabout of a station corresponds to the stoppable area Rs.

[0122] If there is a request to stop multiple vehicles, the process proceeds to step S306, where the operation management unit 402 determines whether or not there is a stopping space. The presence or absence of a stopping space is determined, for example, by the detection unit 301 detecting the size of the possible stopping area Rs of the candidate stopping position Pc and the number of vehicles that can stop, or by the operation management unit 402 determining whether or not there is a remaining stopping space based on the number of vehicles heading to the stopping location based on information received from an infrastructure camera or a monitoring system. Even if there is no stopping space, if the stopping time at the stopping space is short or if the stopped vehicles depart frequently, the vehicle Ve continues to stop.

[0123] If there is a stopping space for multiple vehicles (YES in S306), the operation management unit 402 continues driving toward the stopping position. On the other hand, if there is no stopping space for multiple vehicles (NO in S306), the operation management unit 402 changes the candidate stopping position in step S307. The change location of the candidate stopping position changed by the boarding / alighting condition management unit 303 and the operation management unit 402 is a location according to the boarding / alighting conditions, for example, a stopping position that is closest to the planned stopping location and is possible to stop. The boarding / alighting condition management unit (boarding / alighting condition management unit 303) judges to perform a stopping assistance process when the vehicle Ve is moving at a certain speed or less and approaches a stopping position set in advance or a stopping position acquired by the communication unit (communication unit 304). Note that, if the operation management server 40 is not present in this system, the boarding / alighting condition management unit 303 arbitrates between the vehicle itself and another vehicle.

[0124] The above is the description of the third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, a method for arbitration when multiple vehicles need to stop has been described. In arbitration of the stopping of multiple vehicles, the stopping assistance device 1B according to the third embodiment can increase the priority of stopping the emergency vehicle by determining whether each vehicle that needs to stop is an emergency vehicle based on the vehicle type or the state of the occupants. In addition, the stopping assistance device 1B identifies the stopping position of the emergency vehicle and the presence or absence of a fire or accident, and updates the map to set a stopping possible area according to the situation.

[0125] [Fourth embodiment] Next, a configuration example and an operation example of a vehicle stop assistance device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the vehicle stop assistance device 1 according to the first embodiment, in order to calculate an area in which the boarding and disembarking object Oe can board and disembark, the width, height, and shape of the sidewalk and the structure are also detected in addition to the roadway. However, in this detection method, object detection is performed in a range wider than the travel path Rm shown in FIG. 2, so that the amount of calculation of the sensor processing may be larger than in normal times. Therefore, a fourth embodiment will be described in which the vehicle stop assistance device switches from a plurality of modes to one mode in normal times and in high-precision detection times in order to perform detection as necessary. The mode switching according to the fourth embodiment can be combined with the above-mentioned first to third embodiments. Hereinafter, the mode switching according to the fourth embodiment will be described assuming that it is performed by, for example, the boarding and disembarking condition management unit 103 of the vehicle stop assistance device 1 according to the first embodiment.

[0126] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the transition of switching between each mode. In the stopping assistance device according to the fourth embodiment, the necessary processing is performed for each condition, depending on the normal mode, the mode for detecting road edges with high accuracy, and the mode for performing stopping assistance. The boarding / alighting condition management unit (boarding / alighting condition management unit 103) in the stopping assistance device according to the fourth embodiment switches to any one of the normal mode during normal driving, the detection mode for detecting objects around the vehicle Ve with high accuracy, and the stopping assistance mode for performing stopping assistance processing. For example, the normal mode is set when the vehicle Ve is driving normally. It is assumed that the mode transitions to the stopping assistance mode when a certain transition condition A is met, and to the detection mode when a certain transition condition B is met.

[0127] The vehicle stopping assistance mode is a mode that performs stopping assistance such as displaying a position where it is easy for an object Oe to get on and off, or controlling the vehicle Ve to that position, and also performs high-precision detection of the road edge. The high-precision detection in the vehicle stopping assistance mode is the same as the high-precision detection in the detection mode. However, the detection accuracy may be changed depending on the mode.

[0128] The transition condition A for transitioning from the normal mode or the detection mode to the stop assistance mode is, for example, when the vehicle speed of the vehicle Ve is equal to or lower than a certain value, or when the vehicle Ve approaches a position where the vehicle is scheduled to stop. The mode may also be switched when the stop assistance device receives a signal for performing stop assistance from a control system (not shown) with which the vehicle Ve can communicate, or when the driver operates a mode switching button or the like. When the transition condition A is not satisfied, such as when the vehicle Ve stops within a certain range of the stop position Ps calculated by the stop assistance, or when the power supply of the external sensor 1000 is turned off, the mode transition is to the normal mode.

[0129] In the detection mode, the detection unit according to the fourth embodiment detects the surroundings with high accuracy using the external sensor 1000 and acquires LiDAR point clouds and camera images in order to create a high-accuracy map including the shape of the sidewalk or structure. The information acquisition unit creates a high-accuracy map using the acquired LiDAR point cloud or camera image, and records the high-accuracy map in the storage unit 110. By recording the high-accuracy map in the storage unit 110, even when the detection unit is remote or outside the detection range of the external sensor 1000, the detection unit can acquire the height of structures such as the boarding and disembarking area Ra, and the support content generation unit can perform stopping support. For example, if the storage unit 110 does not have a 3D map of the vicinity of the current position of the vehicle Ve, the detection mode is switched to. In the detection mode, the on / off timing of the sensor operating in the normal mode, or the frequency of collecting information from the sensor may be changed.

[0130] If the transition condition B is not satisfied or if the power supply of the external sensor 1000 is off, the mode transitions to the normal mode. If the transition condition A for the stop assistance is satisfied during the detection mode, the mode transitions to the stop assistance mode. The transition condition B is assumed to be a case where the vehicle Ve does not have a high-precision map of the surroundings of the vehicle.

[0131] Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an example of whether each door of the vehicle Ve can be opened or closed at the stopping position Ps. The boarding / alighting condition management unit according to the fourth embodiment determines whether each door can be opened or closed based on the shape including the height of the structure, the position and height of each boarding / alighting opening of the vehicle Ve, and the shape and movable range of the door. If there is a structure within the movable range including the height of the position of each boarding / alighting opening at the stopping position Ps, the boarding / alighting condition management unit determines that the door cannot be opened or closed. In Fig. 16, door 1 cannot be opened or closed, and doors 3 to 5 can be opened or closed.

[0132] When the boarding and alighting conditions management unit (boarding and alighting conditions management unit 103) determines that the doors of the vehicle Ve cannot be opened or closed based on the shape, including the height, of the object at the boarding and alighting destination, the position, including the height, of the doors of the vehicle Ve, the range of motion of the doors of the vehicle Ve, and the relationship between the stopping position Ps of the vehicle Ve and the object at the boarding and alighting destination, it notifies the occupants of the vehicle Ve or the manager of the vehicle Ve that the doors of the vehicle Ve cannot be opened or closed.

[0133] The above is the description of the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the fourth embodiment, a method for acquiring information required for calculating the ease of getting on and off while suppressing the amount of calculation of the sensor processing by switching between the stopping assistance mode, the normal mode, and the detection mode has been described.

[0134] <Example of computer hardware configuration> Next, a hardware configuration of the computer 500 constituting the vehicle stopping assistance device according to the first to fourth embodiments will be described. 19 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a calculator 500. The calculator 500 is an example of hardware used as a computer capable of operating as a vehicle stopping assistance device according to this embodiment. The vehicle stopping assistance device according to this embodiment realizes a vehicle stopping assistance method in which each block cooperates with each other to perform the processes shown in each flowchart by the calculator 500 (computer) executing a program.

[0135] The computer 500 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 501, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 502, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 503, each of which is connected to a bus 504. The computer 500 further includes a display device 505, an input device 506, a non-volatile storage 507, and a network interface 508.

[0136] The CPU 501 reads out the program code of the software for realizing each function according to the present embodiment from the ROM 502, loads it into the RAM 503, and executes it. Variables, parameters, etc. generated during the calculation process of the CPU 501 are temporarily written in the RAM 503, and these variables, parameters, etc. are read out by the CPU 501 as appropriate. However, instead of the CPU 501, an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) may be used, or the CPU 501 and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) may be used together. For example, the functions of the information acquisition unit 100, 200, 300, the detection unit 101, 201, 301, the boarding / disembarking condition setting unit 102, 202, 302, the boarding / disembarking condition management unit 103, 203, 303, and the area and position calculation unit 10, 10A, 10B included in the stopping assistance device 1, 1A, 1B are realized by the CPU 501, the ROM 502, and the RAM 503.

[0137] The display device 505 is, for example, a liquid crystal display monitor, and displays the results of processing performed by the computer 500 to a user. The input device 506 is configured integrally with the display device 505, and allows a user to input a predetermined operation or give an instruction to the display. For example, the functions of the display units 108, 208, and 308 provided in the parking assistance devices 1, 1A, and 1B are realized by the display device 505 and the input device 506.

[0138] As the non-volatile storage 507, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flexible disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, or a non-volatile memory is used. In addition to an operating system (OS) and various parameters, a program for making the computer 500 function is recorded in the non-volatile storage 507. The ROM 502 and the non-volatile storage 507 record programs and data necessary for the CPU 501 to operate, and are used as an example of a computer-readable non-transient storage medium storing a program executed by the computer 500. For example, the functions of the storage units 110, 210, and 310 provided in the parking assistance devices 1, 1A, and 1B are realized by the non-volatile storage 507.

[0139] For example, a NIC (Network Interface Card) or the like is used for the network interface 508, and various data can be transmitted and received between devices via wireless communication connected to a terminal of the NIC. Also, various data can be transmitted and received between servers or the like via a network such as a LAN or the Internet, or a dedicated line. For example, the functions of the communication units 104, 204, and 304 are realized by the CPU 501 and the network interface 508.

[0140] The above-mentioned configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized in part or in whole by hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits, etc. Also, the above-mentioned configurations, functions, etc. may be realized in software, by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function.

[0141] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various other applications and modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention as set forth in the claims. For example, the above-mentioned embodiments have described the configuration of the device and system in detail and specifically in order to explain the present invention in an easily understandable manner, and are not necessarily limited to those including all of the configurations described. In addition, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of the embodiments described here with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. In addition, it is also possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations. In addition, the control lines and information lines shown are those that are considered necessary for the explanation, and not all control lines and information lines in the product are necessarily shown. In reality, it can be considered that almost all components are connected to each other. [Explanation of symbols]

[0142] 1, 1A, 1B... Stopping assistance device, 10, 10A, 10B... Position calculation unit, 40... Traffic management server, 100, 200, 300... Information acquisition unit, 101, 201, 301... Detection unit, 102, 202, 302... Boarding and alighting condition setting unit, 103, 203, 303... Boarding and alighting condition management unit, 104, 204, 304... Communication unit, 105, 205, 305... Stopping possible area calculation unit, 106 , 206, 306... Boarding and alighting ease calculation unit, 107, 207, 307... Support content generation unit, 108, 208, 308... Display unit, 109, 209, 309... Control unit, 110, 210, 310... Memory unit, 211... Learning device, 250... Boarding and alighting setting screen, C00... Map information, D00... Vehicle information, E00... Boarding and alighting object information, F00... Boarding and alighting setting information, G00... Evaluation log of stopping position

Claims

1. An information acquisition unit that acquires information about the surroundings of the vehicle; A detection unit that detects an area in which the vehicle can travel and a three-dimensional shape of an object around the vehicle based on information about the surroundings of the vehicle; a vehicle possible stop area calculation unit that calculates a vehicle possible stop area in which the vehicle can be stopped based on an area in which the vehicle can travel and a three-dimensional shape of the object; a boarding / alighting ease calculation unit that calculates a boarding / alighting ease for an object to board or alight from the vehicle based on at least a three-dimensional shape of the object; and an assistance content generation unit that calculates a stopping position at which the vehicle is to stop based on the getting on and off ease and the possible stopping area, and generates assistance content that supports the stopping of the vehicle based on the stopping position. Parking support device.

2. The boarding / alighting ease calculation unit calculates the boarding / alighting ease based on vehicle information including a height of the boarding / alighting position of the vehicle and information on the boarding / alighting object. The stopping assistance device according to claim 1 .

3. the boarding / alighting ease calculation unit calculates the boarding / alighting ease to be high when a physical constraint or a vehicle constraint of the boarding / alighting object is satisfied based on physical information and / or vehicle performance of the boarding / alighting object, and a three-dimensional shape and / or object type of the object, The physical constraint or the travel constraint of the boarding / disembarking object is calculated from a value including at least one of a step, a distance, a width of a road that other vehicles can pass through, and an inclination between the vehicle and the object. The stopping assistance device according to claim 2.

4. an entry / exit condition management unit that determines whether or not a stopping assistance process can be performed for the vehicle; a control unit that controls the vehicle based on the assistance content; The stopping assistance device according to claim 3.

5. A storage unit that records a stopping evaluation value that represents a stopping state of the vehicle and an actual performance of the ease of getting on and off in the stopping state, The stopped state includes at least one of a step, a distance, a width of a road that other vehicles can pass through, an inclination, and an angle, which represent a positional relationship between the stopped vehicle and the object; The stopping evaluation value includes at least one value capable of estimating a boarding / alighting time of the boarding / alighting object, The assistance content generation unit improves the stopping position to a position where the object can easily get on and off based on the stopping state and the stopping evaluation value. The stopping assistance device according to claim 4.

6. The boarding / alighting ease calculation unit calculates the boarding / alighting ease for a stop candidate position extracted from the possible stop area, and calculates stop positions where the object can easily get on and off from the stop candidate area by a process of extracting the stop positions, and changes an interval between the stop candidate positions according to the vehicle information, the information of the object, and a required accuracy. The stopping assistance device according to claim 5.

7. The boarding and alighting condition management unit determines the presence or absence of disaster information acquired by an external sensor or a communication unit attached to the vehicle, or the presence or absence of boarding and alighting from an emergency vehicle, and updates the storage unit so that a certain range of a stopping position of the vehicle is not available for general vehicles for a certain period of time, and determines whether surrounding vehicles including the vehicle are emergency vehicles using at least one of sensor information acquired by the information acquisition unit from the external sensor, information indicating the state of the occupant acquired from an internal sensor, the vehicle type read from the storage unit, and information acquired from the communication unit, and increases the stopping priority of the vehicle determined to be the emergency vehicle. The stopping assistance device according to claim 5.

8. The assistance content generation unit acquires a stopping position of the vehicle with respect to an object at a boarding / alighting destination and a weighting of each element of the boarding / alighting ease degree, which are set by a user; and The boarding / alighting ease calculation unit calculates the boarding / alighting ease by weighting the elements acquired by the assistance content generation unit. The stopping assistance device according to claim 4.

9. The boarding and alighting condition management unit determines to execute the stopping assistance process when the vehicle is traveling at a certain speed or less and the vehicle approaches a stop position set in advance or a stop position acquired by a communication unit. The stopping assistance device according to claim 4.

10. The getting on and off condition management unit switches between a normal mode during normal driving, a detection mode for detecting objects around the vehicle with high accuracy, and a stopping assistance mode for performing the stopping assistance process. The stopping assistance device according to claim 4.

11. When it is determined that the door of the vehicle cannot be opened or closed based on the shape including the height of the object at the boarding / alighting destination, the position including the height of the door of the vehicle, the movable range of the door of the vehicle, and the stopping position relationship between the vehicle and the object at the boarding / alighting destination, the boarding / alighting condition management unit notifies the occupant of the vehicle or the manager of the vehicle that the door of the vehicle cannot be opened or closed. The stopping assistance device according to claim 4.

12. acquiring information about the surroundings of the vehicle; detecting an area in which the vehicle can travel and a three-dimensional shape of an object around the vehicle based on information about the surroundings of the vehicle; calculating a vehicle-parking area in which the vehicle can be parked based on an area in which the vehicle can travel and a three-dimensional shape of the object; Calculating the ease of boarding / alighting for an object to board or alight from the vehicle based on at least a three-dimensional shape of the object; calculating a stop position where the vehicle is stopped based on the degree of ease of getting on and off and the possible stopping area, and generating assistance content for assisting the vehicle in stopping based on the stop position. Stopping support method.

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