Autonomous traveling support device, control method for work vehicle, program, and work vehicle

Abstract

To provide a technique for adding additional functions to an existing work vehicle.SOLUTION: According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an autonomous traveling support device that is structurally and electrically detachable from a work vehicle. The work vehicle in the autonomous traveling support device is configured to travel in response to a first operation input by a user. The autonomous traveling support device includes at least one processor. The processor is configured to execute a program so that the following steps are performed when the autonomous traveling support device is attached to the work vehicle. In a reception step, a switching input is received from the user. The switching input is an input for switching a traveling mode of the work vehicle to a first mode or a second mode. In a vehicle control step, when the traveling mode is set to the first mode, the work vehicle is caused to travel in response to the first operation input, and when the traveling mode is set to the second mode, the work vehicle is caused to travel autonomously using a preset autonomous traveling model.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an autonomous driving assistance device, a control method for a work vehicle, a program, and a work vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses the provision of a control device etc. that can realize a situation in which, when a remote operator is remotely monitoring multiple autonomous vehicles, the remote operator can easily concentrate on remotely operating the autonomous vehicle that is the target of remote operation.

[0003] This control device etc. is a control device used to remotely monitor multiple autonomously driving vehicles configured to be switchable between an autonomous driving mode and a remote control mode, and is equipped with a vehicle identification unit that identifies non-target vehicles among the multiple autonomously driving vehicles other than a target vehicle that is subject to remote control when a specified event occurs, a control command creation unit that creates a remote control avoidance control command for causing the non-target vehicles to drive autonomously so as to avoid situations in which the non-target vehicles require remote control when the target vehicle is controlled to run in a remote control mode in accordance with the operation of a remote control device, and a communication unit that transmits the remote control avoidance control command to the non-target vehicles. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-179577 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the conventional technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 still has room for improvement.

[0006] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a technique for adding additional functions to an existing work vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an autonomous driving support device that is structurally and electrically attachable and detachable to a work vehicle. The work vehicle in this autonomous driving support device is configured to travel in response to a first operation input by a user. The autonomous driving support device includes at least one processor. The processor is configured to execute a program so that the following steps are performed when the autonomous driving support device is attached to the work vehicle. In the reception step, a switching input is received from a user. The switching input is an input for switching the travel mode of the work vehicle to a first mode or a second mode. In the vehicle control step, when the travel mode is set to the first mode, the work vehicle is caused to travel in response to the first operation input. When the travel mode is set to the second mode, the work vehicle is caused to travel autonomously using a preset autonomous driving model.

[0008] According to this aspect, an additional function can be added to an existing work vehicle. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of an overall configuration of a vehicle system 1. FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle system 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a front view of the vehicle system 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a side view of the vehicle system 1. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a rear view of the vehicle system 1. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vehicle system 1. [Figure 7] 2 is a block diagram showing functions realized by a control unit 33 and the like in the autonomous driving assistance device 30. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is an activity diagram showing the flow of processing executed by the vehicle system 1. [Figure 9]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an area in which a specific marker 60 is placed. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an area in which a specific marker 60 is placed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Various characteristic features shown in the following embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0011] Incidentally, a program for realizing the software appearing in one embodiment may be provided as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, or may be provided so as to be downloadable from an external server, or may be provided so that the program is launched on an external computer and its functions are realized on a client terminal (so-called cloud computing).

[0012] In one embodiment, the term "unit" may include, for example, a combination of hardware resources implemented by a circuit in the broad sense and software information processing that can be specifically realized by these hardware resources. In one embodiment, various information is handled, and this information is represented by, for example, physical values ​​of signal values ​​representing voltage and current, high and low signal values ​​as a binary bit collection consisting of 0 or 1, or quantum superposition (so-called quantum bits), and communication and calculation can be performed on the circuit in the broad sense.

[0013] In addition, a circuit in the broad sense is a circuit realized by at least appropriately combining a circuit, circuitry, a processor, a memory, etc. In other words, it includes an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (e.g., a simple programmable logic device (SPLD), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA)), etc.

[0014] 1. Hardware Configuration In this section, the hardware configuration of the vehicle system 1 according to an embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the vehicle system 1. The vehicle system 1 includes a work vehicle 10, a remote control 20, an autonomous driving support device 30, a mounting member 40, and an external terminal 50. The work vehicle 10 is a vehicle for performing a predetermined task, and may be a vehicle that a user boards and can operate manually, or may be a vehicle that can be remotely operated by wireless communication. In addition, preferably, the work vehicle 10 is a grass cutter 100 or a pesticide sprayer. The predetermined task in this case is, for example, mowing or spraying a pesticide in a predetermined area such as a field. In addition, the work vehicle 10 and the remote control 20 are existing products, and the autonomous driving support device 30 is configured to be detachable from the work vehicle 10 via the mounting member 40. In other words, the autonomous driving support device 30 is an autonomous driving support device that is structurally and electrically detachable from the work vehicle 10. In other words, the work vehicle 10 in the above is equipped with the autonomous driving support device 30 that is structurally and electrically connected. First, the work vehicle 10 and the remote control 20, which are existing products, will be described below.

[0015] In one embodiment, a "system" is one that is made up of one or more devices or components. Therefore, it should be noted that, for example, the autonomous driving support device 30 or the external terminal 50 alone as a component is also an example of a system, the autonomous driving support device 30 and the external terminal 50 as components are also an example of a system, the work vehicle 10, the autonomous driving support device 30, the attachment member 40, and the external terminal 50 as components are also an example of a system, and the work vehicle 10, the remote control 20, the autonomous driving support device 30, the attachment member 40, and the external terminal 50 as components are also an example of a system.

[0016] <Work vehicle 10> 1, work vehicle 10 includes an operation control unit 11, a drive unit 12, a traveling unit 13, a working unit 14, a fuel supply unit 15, a radio transceiver unit 16, and a communication unit 17. Work vehicle 10 has a traveling function and a working function, and performs a predetermined task while traveling.

[0017] The operation control unit 11 is a circuit that controls the operation of each part of the work vehicle 10. The drive unit 12 is a part that generates a driving force. In the work vehicle 10, the drive unit 12 generates electric power by an engine that rotates by burning fuel, charges a battery with the generated electric power, and generates a driving force by rotating a motor with the charged electric power. The traveling unit 13 is mechanically connected to the drive unit 12 via gears or the like, and is a part that receives a driving force from the drive unit 12 and travels the work vehicle 10. In the work vehicle 10, the traveling unit 13 is an endless track, so-called a Caterpillar (registered trademark) or the like.

[0018] The working unit 14 is mechanically connected to the drive unit 12 via gears and the like, and is a part that receives driving force from the drive unit 12 to perform a predetermined task. For example, if the work vehicle 10 is a grass cutter 100, the working unit 14 in the work vehicle 10 is a cutter that cuts grass by rotating a cutting blade. The fuel supply unit 15 stores fuel and supplies the stored fuel to the drive unit 12. The radio transmission / reception unit 16 has a wireless communication function and performs wireless communication with the remote control 20. The remote control 20 will be described later.

[0019] The communication unit 17 is a path for transmitting electric signals, and transmits the operation signal received by the radio transmission / reception unit 16 to the operation control unit 11. The operation control unit 11 controls the operation of each unit (drive unit 12, traveling unit 13, and working unit 14) based on the transmitted operation signal. At the same time, the operation control unit 11 generates status information indicating the operating status of each unit, converts the generated status information into a signal, and transmits it to the remote control 20 via the communication unit 17 and the radio transmission / reception unit 16. The status information is information indicating the traveling speed, traveling direction, whether the working unit 14 is operating, etc. The remote control 20 will be described later.

[0020] <Remote Control 20> 1, the remote control 20 includes an operation unit 21, a radio transmitting / receiving unit 22, and a display unit 23. The remote control 20 has a wireless communication function and is a controller that controls the work vehicle 10 remotely.

[0021] The operation unit 21 has an operation lever, accepts the operation of the work vehicle 10 by the user, and generates an operation signal indicating the accepted operation. The operation of the work vehicle 10 includes forward movement, reverse movement, turning left, turning right, turning on / off of the working unit 14, traveling speed, etc. The radio transmission / reception unit 22 wirelessly transmits a first operation input, which is an operation signal generated by the operation unit 21, to the work vehicle 10. The radio transmission / reception unit 22 also receives status information transmitted from the work vehicle 10. In other words, the work vehicle 10 (excluding the vehicle on which the user is riding) is configured to travel in response to the first operation input remotely via the remote control 20. The display unit 23 displays the received status information of the work vehicle 10 (traveling, cutter operation, etc.).

[0022] <Autonomous Driving Assistance Device 30> 1, the autonomous driving support device 30 has a communication unit 31, a memory unit 32, a control unit 33, and a sensor 34, and these components are electrically connected via a communication bus 35 inside a housing 37 of the autonomous driving support device 30. Furthermore, the autonomous driving support device 30 is electrically connected to the work vehicle 10 via the communication unit 31 and a cable 36. The autonomous driving support device 30 is configured to be able to switch the driving mode of the work vehicle 10. Each component will be further described below.

[0023] The communication unit 31 is preferably a wired communication means such as USB, IEEE1394, Thunderbolt (registered trademark), wired LAN network communication, etc., but may also include wireless LAN network communication, mobile communication such as LTE / 5G, Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication, etc. as necessary. In other words, it is more preferable to implement it as a collection of these multiple communication means. In other words, the autonomous driving support device 30 may communicate various information from the outside via the communication unit 31 and the communication network NW. Specifically, the autonomous driving support device 30 is connected to the work vehicle 10 via the communication unit 31 and a cable 36. In addition, the autonomous driving support device 30 is connected to an external terminal 50 via the communication unit 31 and the communication network NW.

[0024] The storage unit 32 stores various information defined by the above description. This can be implemented, for example, as a storage device such as a solid state drive (SSD) that stores various programs and the like related to the autonomous driving support device 30 executed by the control unit 33, or as a memory such as a random access memory (RAM) that stores temporarily required information (arguments, arrays, etc.) related to the program calculations. The storage unit 32 stores various programs, variables, etc. related to the autonomous driving support device 30 executed by the control unit 33.

[0025] The control unit 33 (processor) processes and controls the overall operation related to the autonomous driving support device 30. The control unit 33 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) not shown. The control unit 33 realizes various functions related to the autonomous driving support device 30 by reading out a predetermined program stored in the storage unit 32. That is, information processing by software stored in the storage unit 32 can be specifically realized by the control unit 33, which is an example of hardware, and executed as each functional unit included in the control unit 33. These will be described in more detail in the next section. Note that the control unit 33 is not limited to being single, and may be implemented to have multiple control units 33 for each function. Also, a combination of these may be used.

[0026] The sensor 34 is configured to be able to acquire surrounding information indicating the surroundings of the work vehicle 10. The sensor 34 may be any sensor capable of acquiring information necessary for the work vehicle 10 to travel, such as a LiDAR sensor, a camera, a GNSS receiver, an RTK-GNSS receiver, etc. The sensor 34 may be a single sensor, or a combination of multiple sensors. Specifically, for example, the sensor 34 may employ a LiDAR sensor and a camera. Preferably, the sensor 34 may be configured to be a combination of at least one of a camera, a GNSS receiver, and an RTK-GNSS receiver, and a LiDAR sensor. According to this aspect, the autonomous travel can be controlled more accurately. More preferably, the camera is a depth camera or a stereo camera. According to this aspect, the autonomous travel can be controlled more accurately. The surrounding information is information necessary for the work vehicle 10 to travel, and is, for example, information regarding people, obstacles, feature points, etc., as objects present around the work vehicle 10. Preferably, the sensor 34 is configured to be able to acquire the positional relationship between the position of the work vehicle 10 and the feature points included in the surrounding information. According to this embodiment, the autonomous driving can be accurately controlled. The mounting position of the sensor 34 is not particularly limited, and may be inside or on the exterior of the housing 37, or may be separated from the housing 37 and inside or on the exterior of the work vehicle 10 independent of the autonomous driving support device 30. Preferably, the sensor 34 is disposed on the top of the work vehicle 10 so as to overlook the surroundings of the work vehicle 10. According to this embodiment, the predetermined work can be efficiently performed. Below, a case will be described in which the control unit 33 controls the autonomous driving of the work vehicle 10 based on the measurement results by the LiDAR sensor and the images captured by the camera.

[0027] The LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) sensor is a sensor that irradiates laser light and measures the distance and shape of an object based on information on the reflected light. The LiDAR sensor is a 2D LiDAR (two-dimensional LiDAR) with the same plane as the optical axis direction, and irradiates laser light in a 360-degree direction including front, back, left and right. The camera is a digital camera that has a lens, an image sensor, etc., and captures an image represented by light that reaches the image sensor. When the sensor 34 is a LiDAR sensor, the surrounding information is point cloud data obtained via the LiDAR sensor. According to this embodiment, the autonomous driving can be accurately controlled.

[0028] The housing 37 is a rectangular box-shaped member made of a water-impermeable material such as metal or plastic, and has a ceiling, four side surfaces, and a bottom surface. The housing 37 houses the communication unit 31, the storage unit 32, the control unit 33, and the sensor 34. The housing 37 may have an insertion hole 371 and an imaging hole 372 formed therein to acquire information via the sensor 34. Specifically, for example, the insertion hole 371 formed in the ceiling of the housing 37 may be used for the LiDAR sensor, and the imaging hole 372 formed in the front side surface of the housing 37 may be used for the camera. The LiDAR sensor is inserted and fixed in the insertion hole 371 so that a part of the LiDAR sensor is exposed to the external space, and the part exposed to the external space irradiates laser light.

[0029] <Mounting member 40> As shown in FIG. 1, the mounting member 40 includes a common shape portion 41, an individual shape portion 42, a vibration-proof member 43, and a mounting portion 44. The common shape portion 41 is a portion to which the autonomous driving support device 30 is fixed via the vibration-proof member 43. The individual shape portion 42 is a member that structurally connects the common shape portion 41 and the bar 181 of the work vehicle 10. The common shape portion 41 is a portion to which the autonomous driving support device 30 is fixed, and has a common shape regardless of the work vehicle 10 to which the mounting member 40 is attached. The individual shape portion 42 is a portion to which the work vehicle 10 is fixed, and has a shape that matches the individual vehicle. The vibration-proof member 43 is a vibration-proof member having the ability to dampen vibrations, such as a spring or rubber.

[0030] <External terminal 50> 1, the external terminal 50 has a communication unit 51, a storage unit 52, a control unit 53, a display unit 54, and an input unit 55, and these components are electrically connected via a communication bus 56 inside the external terminal 50. Descriptions of the communication unit 51, the storage unit 52, and the control unit 53 are omitted because they are substantially similar to the communication unit 31, the storage unit 32, and the control unit 33 in the autonomous driving assistance device 30.

[0031] The display unit 54 may be, for example, included in the housing of the external terminal 50, or may be externally attached. The display unit 54 displays a screen of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that can be operated by the user. This is preferably implemented by using display devices such as a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and a plasma display.

[0032] The input unit 55 may be included in the housing of the external terminal 50, or may be externally attached. For example, the input unit 55 may be implemented as a touch panel integrated with the display unit 54. If it is a touch panel, the user can input a tap operation, a swipe operation, or the like. Of course, a switch button, a mouse, a QWERTY keyboard, or the like may be adopted instead of the touch panel. That is, the input unit 55 accepts an operation input made by the user. The input is transferred as a command signal to the control unit 53 via the communication bus 56, and the control unit 53 can execute a predetermined control or calculation as necessary.

[0033] Next, the external appearance of the vehicle system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 2 to Fig. 6. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the vehicle system 1. Fig. 3 is a front view of the vehicle system 1. Fig. 4 is a side view of the vehicle system 1. Fig. 5 is a rear view of the vehicle system 1. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the vehicle system 1. The directions of the members constituting the vehicle system 1 are defined based on "up and down," "left and right," and "front and rear" shown in the figures. Also, in the grass mower 100 (an example of a work vehicle 10), forward movement is traveling "forward," and reverse movement is traveling "backward."

[0034] The work vehicle 10 has a frame 18, and a bar 181 and a cover 182 are fixed to the frame 18 with screws or bolts or the like. Furthermore, four individual shaped portions 42 are fixed to the bar 181 so as to support the common shaped portion 41 of the mounting member 40. The autonomous driving assistance device 30 is fixed to the common shaped portion 41 via a vibration isolation member 43.

[0035] The space formed by the cover 182 stores an operation control unit 11, a radio transmitter / receiver unit 16 and a communication unit 17 shown in FIG. One of the four individually shaped portions 42 is tied with a cable 36 shown in FIG. The cable 36 is disposed within the space formed by the cover 182 and is connected to the communication unit 17 as shown in FIG. Furthermore, the frame 18 is equipped with a driving unit 12, a traveling unit 13, a working unit 14, and a fuel supply unit 15. The work unit 14 is mounted below the frame 18 so as to cut grass that has been buried under the work vehicle 10 .

[0036] The autonomous driving assistance device 30 is attached so as to be located vertically above the fuel filler opening 151 of the fuel supply unit 15. As shown in Fig. 5, the autonomous driving assistance device 30 is provided at a position higher and separated from the work vehicle 10 by the individual shaped portion 42.

[0037] 2. Functional configuration This section describes the functional configuration of one embodiment. As mentioned above, when information processing by software stored in the storage unit 32 is specifically realized by the control unit 33, which is an example of hardware, each functional unit included in the control unit 33 can be executed. In other words, the vehicle system 1 (eg, the autonomous driving support device 30) includes at least one processor (eg, the controller 33). The processor is configured to execute the program so that, when the autonomous driving support device 30 is mounted on the work vehicle 10, the steps described below are performed. According to another aspect, the program causes at least one computer to perform each step by the processor of the autonomous driving support device 30. Each step includes, for example, a vehicle control step, an acceptance step, an acquisition step, a generation step, a specification step, and a switching step.

[0038] 7 is a block diagram showing functions realized by the control unit 33 and the like in the autonomous driving support device 30. Specifically, the control unit 33 can function as a vehicle control unit 331, a reception unit 332, an acquisition unit 333, a calculation unit 334, a generation unit 335, an identification unit 336, a switching unit 337, and a notification unit 338. Each functional unit will be outlined below.

[0039] The vehicle control unit 331 is configured to execute various controls related to the work vehicle 10 via the communication unit 31. For example, the vehicle control unit 331 is configured to control the driving mode of the vehicle system 1 as a vehicle control step. Details will be described later.

[0040] The reception unit 332 is configured to receive various data. For example, as a reception step, the reception unit 332 receives an input from a user from the storage unit 32 of the autonomous driving assistance device 30 or the external terminal 50 via the communication network NW. In one embodiment, the various information received by the reception unit 332 is described as being stored in the storage unit 32.

[0041] The acquisition unit 333 is configured to acquire external information via the communication unit 31. Specifically, as an acquisition step, the acquisition unit 333 acquires surrounding information indicating the surroundings of the work vehicle 10 via the sensor 34 of the autonomous driving assistance device 30. In one embodiment, the various pieces of information accepted by the acquisition unit 333 will be described as being stored in the storage unit 32.

[0042] The calculation unit 334 is configured to execute various calculations in the autonomous driving assistance device 30.

[0043] The generating unit 335 is configured to generate new information from various pieces of information as a generating step, as will be described in detail later.

[0044] The specifying unit 336 is configured to specify various pieces of information as a specifying step, which will be described in detail later.

[0045] As a switching step, the switching unit 337 is configured to switch the driving mode of the vehicle system 1. Details will be described later.

[0046] The notification unit 338 is configured to notify various pieces of information, the details of which will be described later.

[0047] 3. Overview of information processing In this section, an overview of the information processing executed by the vehicle system 1 will be described.

[0048] In one embodiment, it is assumed that an autonomously traveling grass cutter 100 (an example of a work vehicle 10) is performing grass cutting work (an example of a predetermined work) in a field (an example of a work area) consisting of a rectangular area. The autonomous driving support device 30 is structurally and electrically connected to the grass cutter 100 in advance. The grass cutter 100 is loaded onto a car driven by a user and transported to the vicinity of the field. The user has the remote control 20 and external terminal 50 at hand. The flow of processing in this situation will be described below.

[0049] 8 is an activity diagram showing the flow of processing executed by the vehicle system 1. First, the user prepares to have the grass mower 100 perform mowing work (traveling, mowing grass, etc.). Specifically, for example, the user performs predetermined operations on the grass mower 100 to start the engine which is the drive unit 12, adjust the position of the cutter which is the working unit 14, etc. The user also prepares to remotely operate the grass mower 100 by operating the remote control 20, by connecting the grass mower 100 and the remote control 20 so that they can communicate wirelessly.

[0050] In addition, the autonomous driving support device 30 and the external terminal 50 are prepared according to the preparation of the grass mower 100 and the remote control 20. First, the calculation unit 334 of the autonomous driving support device 30 executes a process to determine whether or not communication with the grass mower 100 via the communication unit 31 and the cable 36 is possible. Furthermore, the calculation unit 334 executes a process to determine whether or not communication with the external terminal 50 via the communication unit 31 and the communication network NW is possible. If communication with at least one of the grass mower 100 and the external terminal 50 is impossible, the notification unit 338 notifies an alert. The alert is issued by emitting a sound from a speaker (not shown) provided in the autonomous driving support device 30 or displaying information on a display device (not shown). Alternatively, if communication with the external terminal 50 is possible and communication with the grass mower 100 is impossible, alert information may be displayed on the display unit 54 of the external terminal 50 via the communication unit 31 and the communication network NW. In response to the alert, the user checks the connection status between the autonomous driving support device 30 and the grass mower 100 and the connection status between the autonomous driving support device 30 and the external terminal 50. If communication is possible or if the connection status has been corrected to enable communication, the process proceeds to the next step.

[0051] In the vehicle system 1 at this stage, the driving mode is set to the first mode. The first mode is a mode in which the mower 100 is driven in response to a first operation input. The first operation input is an input from the user via operation of the remote control 20. In other words, the work vehicle 10 (the mower 100, as one example) is configured to drive in response to the first operation input by the user. That is, when the driving mode is set to the first mode, the vehicle control unit 331 drives the work vehicle 10 (the mower 100, as one example) in response to the first operation input as a vehicle control step.

[0052] Next, if the user has the range designation information, the acquisition unit 333 acquires the range designation information via the communication unit 51 and the communication network NW in response to a user's operation via the input unit 55 of the external terminal 50 (activity A001). That is, the acquisition unit 333 acquires the range designation information as a first acquisition step. The range designation information is information that designates the work range of the work vehicle 10 (as an example, the mower 100) by using coordinates. Specifically, for example, the range designation information is information that designates the range of a field where mowing work is to be performed by using coordinates. If the user does not have the range designation information or if the acquisition unit 333 has acquired the range designation information, the process proceeds to the processing of activity A002.

[0053] The user performs an input (hereinafter also referred to as a "switching input") to switch the driving mode of the mower 100 to autonomous driving by operating the input unit 55. As a result, the reception unit 332 receives the switching input from the user via the communication unit 51 and the communication network NW as a reception step (activity A002). The switching input is an input for switching the driving mode of the work vehicle 10 (for example, the mower 100) to the first mode or the second mode. The switching input in this case is an input for switching the driving mode from the first mode to the second mode. The second mode is a mode in which the mower 100 is caused to travel autonomously by referring to predetermined reference information without relying on the first operation input. The predetermined reference information is information for causing the work vehicle 10 to travel autonomously, and is, for example, a mathematical model in which multiple pieces of information are mathematically related, a learned model in which the correlation of multiple pieces of information is previously machine-learned, a rule-based model, or the like. Preferably, the predetermined reference information is an autonomous driving model (an example of a learned model). That is, as a vehicle control step, when the driving mode is set to the second mode, the vehicle control unit 331 causes the work vehicle 10 (as an example, the lawnmower 100) to drive autonomously using a pre-set autonomous driving model.

[0054] Next, the acquisition unit 333 acquires information on the distance between the position of the grass mower 100 and the position of the user (activity A003). Specifically, for example, the information on the distance between the position of the grass mower 100 and the position of the user may be acquired based on attenuation of radio waves in wireless communication between the radio transmission / reception unit 16 of the grass mower 100 and the radio transmission / reception unit 22 of the remote control 20. In detail, for example, in activity A002, the user operates the remote control 20, and a switching input is transmitted from the radio transmission / reception unit 22 of the remote control 20 to the radio transmission / reception unit 16 of the grass mower 100. Based on attenuation of radio waves in the transmitted switching input, the distance between the position of the grass mower 100 and the position of the remote control 20 corresponding to the user's position is calculated. When the distance is calculated, the acquisition unit 333 acquires information on the distance. That is, the acquisition unit 333 acquires information on the distance between the position of the work vehicle 10 and the position where the user inputs the switching input through wireless communication.

[0055] Furthermore, the calculation unit 334 executes a process to determine whether or not the acquired distance is equal to or less than a predetermined distance (activity A004). The predetermined distance in this case is a distance necessary for the mowing work and preparation for the work to be safely performed by the autonomous travel of the mower 100. Specifically, for example, the predetermined distance may be 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20 m, and may be within a range between any two of the numerical values ​​exemplified here. For example, a case will be described in which the predetermined distance is set to 3 m. When the distance between the position of the mower 100 and the position of the remote control 20 corresponding to the user's position is calculated to be 2 m, the calculation unit 334 determines that the distance is equal to or less than the predetermined distance. Alternatively, when the distance between the position of the mower 100 and the position of the remote control 20 corresponding to the user's position is calculated to be 5 m, the calculation unit 334 determines that the distance is not equal to or less than the predetermined distance.

[0056] If it is determined in activity A004 that the distance is equal to or less than the predetermined distance, the notification unit 338 issues an alert (activity A005). Specifically, for example, alert information is displayed on the display unit 54 of the external terminal 50 via the communication unit 31 and the communication network NW. For example, the alert information in this case is information notifying the user that the user will move away from the grass mower 100 by more than 3 m (an example of the predetermined distance), that the grass mower 100 should be driven by operating the remote control 20 so as to move away from the user by more than 3 m, and that after dealing with these, the user should once again input a change in the driving mode.

[0057] An alert is notified in activity A005, and the process is then temporarily terminated. That is, even though a switching input that switches the driving mode has been received, the process is terminated without switching the driving mode from the first mode to the second mode. That is, in the first switching step, the switching unit 337 does not switch from the first mode to another driving mode even if a switching input is received when the distance between the position of the work vehicle 10 (for example, the grass mower 100) and the position where the user inputs the switching input via wireless communication is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. According to this aspect, it is possible to control the switching of the driving mode with greater consideration given to safety.

[0058] The user refers to the alert information in order to proceed with the process and, for example, moves away from the mower 100 by more than 3 m (an example of a predetermined distance). Next, the user inputs a switching input again by operating the input unit 55 in order to switch the driving mode of the mower 100 to autonomous driving. This causes the processing of activities A001 to A004 to be executed again. Note that, if activity A001 has been executed, the processing of activity A001 may be omitted by using the range designation information acquired by the acquisition unit 333 and stored in the storage unit 32. The description of activity A001 when the processing including activity A001 is executed again is the same for the subsequent processing, and therefore will not be given below.

[0059] If it is determined in activity A004 that the distance is not equal to or greater than the predetermined distance, the process proceeds to activity A101. The calculation unit 334 sets the variable i to an initial value (0) (activity A101).

[0060] Next, the acquisition unit 333 acquires surrounding information, which is information about the surroundings of the mower 100, via the sensor 34 (activity A102). In other words, as a second acquisition step, the acquisition unit 333 acquires surrounding information indicating the surroundings of the mower 100 via the sensor 34 of the autonomous driving support device 30 attached to the mower 100 (an example of the work vehicle 10). The surrounding information in this case includes information that can identify whether or not a person or an obstacle exists around the mower 100. In addition, when it is identified that a person or an obstacle exists around the mower 100, the surrounding information further includes information about the distance from the mower 100 to the person or obstacle. Specifically, for example, when a user, which is a person, and a car, which is an obstacle, are located around the mower 100, the acquisition unit 333 acquires information that can identify the presence of a user and the presence of a car as surrounding information via a LiDAR sensor and a camera (an example of a case where the sensor 34 is configured with a combination of multiple sensors). Furthermore, the acquisition unit 333 further acquires information capable of identifying the distance from the grass mower 100 to the user and the distance from the grass mower 100 to the automobile via a LiDAR sensor (an example of the sensor 34).

[0061] Next, the identification unit 336 identifies an obstacle flag based on the acquired surrounding information. The obstacle flag is a flag indicating whether or not a person or an obstacle exists within a predetermined distance from the mower 100. The predetermined distance in this case is a distance necessary for safely performing the mowing work and preparation for the mower 100 by autonomous traveling. Specifically, for example, the predetermined distance is 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20 m, and may be within a range between any two of the numerical values ​​exemplified here. In other words, the identification unit 336 identifies an obstacle flag indicating whether or not a person or an obstacle exists within a predetermined distance from the mower 100 based on the surrounding information as an identification step (activity A103).

[0062] Furthermore, the calculation unit 334 executes a process of determining whether or not the obstacle flag is on (activity A104). Specifically, for example, when the obstacle flag is on, a person or an obstacle is present within a predetermined distance from the mower 100, and when the obstacle flag is off, a person or an obstacle is not present within the predetermined distance from the mower 100. In detail, for example, a case where the predetermined distance is set to 3 m will be described. When an automobile as an obstacle and a user as a person are located 2 m away from the mower 100, the calculation unit 334 determines that the obstacle flag is on. Alternatively, when an automobile as an obstacle and a user as a person are located 5 m away from the mower 100, the calculation unit 334 determines that the obstacle flag is off.

[0063] When it is determined in activity A104 that the obstacle flag is on, the calculation unit 334 further executes a process of determining whether or not the value of the variable i is (1) (activity A105). At this stage, since the value of the variable i is (0), it is determined that the value of the variable i is not (1), and the process proceeds to activity A106. The calculation unit 334 sets the variable i to the value (1) (activity A106). Then, the notification unit 338 notifies an alert (activity A107). Specifically, alert information is displayed on the display unit 54 of the external terminal 50 via the communication unit 31 and the communication network NW. The alert information in this case is information that notifies the user that the user himself / herself will move away from the mower 100 beyond a predetermined distance, that a person other than the user or an obstacle will move away from the mower 100 beyond a predetermined distance, and the like. Then, on the condition that the time t has passed, the process returns to activity A102 (activity A108). Specifically, for example, the time t may be 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, 270, or 300 seconds, or may be within a range between any two of the values ​​exemplified here.

[0064] After the time t has elapsed, the processing of the activities A102 to A104 is executed again. That is, during the time t, the user can take measures such as moving the user himself / herself away from the mower 100 beyond a predetermined distance, or moving a person other than the user or an obstacle away from the mower 100 beyond a predetermined distance. That is, the user can determine that the obstacle flag is not on (off) in the second processing of the activity A104 after the obstacle flag is determined to be on in the first processing of the activity A104. If it is determined that the obstacle flag is not on, the processing proceeds further to switch the traveling mode to the second mode. In other words, as a third switching step, the switching unit 337 switches the traveling mode to the second mode when the obstacle flag is turned off within a predetermined time (for example, time t) after being turned on. According to such an embodiment, it is possible to take safety into consideration in the control of switching of the traveling mode.

[0065] When it is determined in the activity A104 that the obstacle flag is on, the calculation unit 334 further executes a process of determining whether or not the value of the variable i is (1) (activity A105). At this stage, since the value of the variable i is (1), the calculation unit 334 determines that the value of the variable i is (1) (activity A105). Then, the notification unit 338 notifies an alert (activity A109). Specifically, alert information is displayed on the display unit 54 of the external terminal 50 via the communication unit 31 and the communication network NW. The alert information in this case is information that notifies the user to move away from the mower 100 beyond a predetermined distance, to move a person or obstacle other than the user away from the mower 100 beyond a predetermined distance, to run the mower 100 by operating the remote control 20 so as to move away from a person or obstacle beyond a predetermined distance, and to input a changeover input for the running mode again after dealing with these.

[0066] When an alert is notified in activity A109, the process ends thereafter. That is, even if a switching input that switches the driving mode is received, the process ends without switching the driving mode from the first mode to the second mode. That is, in the third switching step, when the obstacle flag is on, the switching unit 337 does not switch from the first mode to another driving mode even if a switching input is received. According to this aspect, it is possible to control the switching of the driving mode with greater consideration given to safety.

[0067] In order to proceed with the process, the user refers to the alert information and, for example, places a person or obstacle more than 3 m (an example of a predetermined distance) away from the grass mower 100. Next, the user again inputs a switching input by operating the input unit 55 in order to switch the running mode of the grass mower 100 to autonomous running. This causes the processing of activities A001 to A104 to be executed again.

[0068] If it is determined in activity A104 that the obstacle flag is not on (is off), the process proceeds to activity A201.

[0069] Next, the calculation unit 334 executes a process of determining whether or not range designation information has been acquired in activity A001 (activity A201). First, the following describes a case where it is determined that range designation information has not been acquired.

[0070] When it is determined that the range designation information has not been acquired, the vehicle control unit 331 switches the driving mode to the third mode (activity A202). That is, the switching unit 337 switches the driving mode to the third mode when there is a switching input for switching to the second mode as a fourth switching step. The third mode is a mode in which a predetermined traveling is performed in advance. By performing the predetermined traveling, the sensor 34 can acquire the position information of the specific marker 60. The specific marker 60 is a marker that is installed so as to specify the working range of the work vehicle 10 (for example, the mower 100). The position information of the specific marker 60 is information that can be acquired by the acquisition unit 333 as surrounding information, and specifically, it is information indicating a relative positional relationship such as the distance and elevation difference from the mower 100 to the specific marker 60, and the direction from the mower 100 to the specific marker 60, or information indicated using coordinates such as latitude and longitude. In other words, when the driving mode is set to the third mode as a vehicle control step, the vehicle control unit 331 causes the work vehicle 10 to autonomously perform a predetermined driving so that the sensor 34 acquires position information of the specific marker 60. According to this aspect, the user can accurately grasp the desired working range. The predetermined driving is an autonomous driving that does not depend on the user's operation and can efficiently acquire information from the surroundings of the mower 100, and may be, for example, a driving such as a rotation or a turning, or a driving in which the mower 100 (an example of the work vehicle 10) turns around an axis perpendicular to the ground and approximately centered on the mounting position of the sensor 34. According to this aspect, the working range can be efficiently grasped. Specifically, for example, the user installs four specific markers 60 in advance at the four corners of a field consisting of a rectangular area. The mower 100 performs a turning driving as the predetermined driving. When the camera recognizes one specific marker 60 while the mower 100 is traveling in a predetermined manner, the mower 100 turns further so as to position the specific marker 60 approximately in the center of the camera's imaging range. Then, information indicating the relative positional relationship, such as the distance and elevation difference from the mower 100 to the specific marker 60, and the direction from the mower 100 to the specific marker 60, is acquired via the LiDAR sensor.Preferably, when the obstacle flag changes from off to on during a given drive in the third mode, the switching unit 337 switches from the third drive mode to the first mode without receiving a switching input.

[0071] Next, the calculation unit 334 executes a process to determine whether or not the position information of the specific markers 60 has been acquired (activity A203). Specifically, for example, the calculation unit 334 executes a process to determine whether or not the position information of the four specific markers 60 placed at the four corners of the field has been acquired. For example, if the position information of only three of the four specific markers 60 has been acquired, the calculation unit 334 executes a process to determine that the position information of the specific markers 60 has not been acquired.

[0072] If it is determined that the position information of the specific markers 60 has not been acquired, the notification unit 338 issues an alert (activity A204). Specifically, alert information is displayed on the display unit 54 of the external terminal 50 via the communication unit 31 and the communication network NW. The alert information in this case includes information that the position information of the specific markers 60 has not been acquired correctly, and is information that notifies the user that, for example, the position information of the four specific markers 60 has not been acquired, and that the user should check whether the predetermined driving in the third mode is being performed correctly. Furthermore, when the alert is issued in activity A204, the process ends thereafter.

[0073] In order to proceed with the process, the user refers to the alert information and, for example, adjusts the position of the specific marker 60 and prepares the driving environment of the grass mower 100 so that the position information of the specific marker 60 can be correctly acquired. Next, the user again inputs a switching input by operating the input unit 55 in order to switch the driving mode of the grass mower 100 to autonomous driving. This causes the processing of activities A001 to A203 to be executed again.

[0074] If it is determined that the position information of the specific marker 60 has been acquired in activity A203, the process proceeds to activity A208. As the process proceeds further, a process of switching the traveling mode to the second mode is executed. In other words, in the fourth switching step, when the position information of the specific marker 60 has been acquired as surrounding information, the switching unit 337 switches the traveling mode to the second mode. According to this aspect, the user can perform work according to a desired work range. The process of activity A208 will be described later.

[0075] Next, a case where it is determined that range designation information is being acquired in activity A201 will be described. The acquisition unit 333 acquires position information of the mower 100 (an example of the work vehicle 10) (activity A205). In other words, the acquisition unit 333 acquires position information of the work vehicle 10 as a first acquisition step. Specifically, the acquisition unit 333 acquires information designated by coordinates as the position information of the mower 100. For example, the position information of the mower 100 may be acquired by employing a GNSS receiver as the sensor 34 of the autonomous driving assistance device 30. This makes it possible to grasp the positional relationship between the range designation information and the vehicle's position information by coordinates.

[0076] Next, the calculation unit 334 executes a process to determine whether or not the positional relationship between the position information of the mower 100 and the range designation information indicating the position of a field (an example of a work range) is in a predetermined state (activity A206). The predetermined state indicates that the work vehicle 10 is in a state in which it can start a predetermined work, for example, that the mower 100 is located within the field area, and that the travel distance of the mower 100 until it reaches the field is less than a predetermined distance. In this case, the predetermined distance is, for example, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, or 100 m, and may be within a range between any two of the numerical values ​​exemplified here. For example, a case will be described assuming that the predetermined distance is set to 10 m. When the travel distance of the mower 100 until it reaches the field is 5 m, the calculation unit 334 determines that it is in a predetermined state. Alternatively, if the travel distance of the grass mower 100 until it reaches the field is 15 m, the calculation unit 334 determines that it is not in the predetermined state.

[0077] When it is determined in activity A206 that the positional relationship between the position information of the mower 100 and the range designation information is not in a predetermined state, the notification unit 338 issues an alert (activity A207). Specifically, alert information is displayed on the display unit 54 of the external terminal 50 via the communication unit 31 and the communication network NW. For example, the alert information in this case is information that notifies the user to move the mower 100 into the field area, to move the mower 100 closer to the field, etc.

[0078] When an alert is notified in activity A207, the process ends thereafter. In order to proceed with the process, the user refers to the alert information and, for example, operates the remote control 20 to move the mower 100 into the field area. Next, the user again inputs a switching input by operating the input unit 55 in order to switch the driving mode of the mower 100 to autonomous driving. This causes the processes of activities A001 to A206 to be executed again.

[0079] If it is determined in activity A206 that the positional relationship between the position information of the mower 100 and the range designation information is in a predetermined state, the process proceeds to activity A208. As the process proceeds further, a process of switching the traveling mode to the second mode is executed. In other words, as a second switching step, the switching unit 337 switches the traveling mode to the second mode according to the positional relationship based on the position information of the work vehicle 10 and the range designation information. According to this embodiment, work can be performed according to the work range desired by the user.

[0080] When proceeding to the processing of activity A208, the generation unit 335 generates a second operation input by inputting the surrounding information into the autonomous driving model. In other words, the generation unit 335 generates a second operation input based on the autonomous driving model and the surrounding information as a generation step. Specifically, for example, in the surrounding information, the working range is specified by coordinates. In addition, the coordinates of the working range are associated with the position information of the mower 100. The generation unit 335 generates a traveling path and a traveling end position on the coordinates by inputting the traveling start position and the shape of the working range into the autonomous driving model. Furthermore, the generation unit 335 generates a second operation input for autonomously traveling the mower 100 so as to correspond to the traveling start position, the traveling path, and the traveling end position.

[0081] Next, the switching unit 337 switches the traveling mode to the second mode (activity A301). When the traveling mode is switched to the second mode, the grass mower 100 starts autonomous traveling in response to the second operation input so as to correspond to the generated traveling route (activity A302). In other words, when the traveling mode is set to the second mode as a vehicle control step, the vehicle control unit 331 causes the work vehicle 10 to travel in response to the second operation input. According to this embodiment, it is possible to cause the work vehicle 10 to travel autonomously in response to the generated second operation input.

[0082] In the process when the grass mower 100 is traveling in the second mode, the activities A303 to A305, A309, and A311 are processed in parallel, and this parallel processing is executed as a loop processing.

[0083] First, the processing of activities A303 to A305 will be described. The acquisition unit 333 acquires surrounding information via the sensor 34 as information about the surroundings of the mower 100 during travel (activity A303). Specifically, for example, information that can identify whether or not a person or an obstacle exists around the mower 100 is acquired. Next, the identification unit 336 identifies an obstacle flag based on the acquired surrounding information (activity A304). As described above, the obstacle flag is a flag that indicates whether or not a person or an obstacle exists within a predetermined distance from the mower 100. In this case, the predetermined distance is a distance necessary for the mower 100 to safely perform mowing work by autonomous travel. Specifically, for example, the predetermined distance is 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20 m, and may be within a range between any two of the numerical values ​​exemplified here.

[0084] Furthermore, the calculation unit 334 executes a process to determine whether or not the obstacle flag is on (activity A305). Specifically, for example, when the obstacle flag is on, a person or an obstacle is present within a predetermined distance from the mower 100, and when the obstacle flag is off, a person or an obstacle is not present within the predetermined distance from the mower 100. In detail, for example, a case will be described in which the predetermined distance is set to 3 m and an obstacle is present on the way of the travel path of the mower 100. As the mower 100 travels along the travel path, the mower 100 gradually approaches the obstacle. Then, when the obstacle is located within 3 m from the mower 100, the obstacle flag changes from off to on.

[0085] When it is determined in activity A305 that the obstacle flag is on, the notification unit 338 notifies an alert (activity A306). Specifically, alert information is displayed on the display unit 54 of the external terminal 50 via the communication unit 31 and the communication network NW. The alert information in this case is information that notifies the user that the autonomous traveling of the grass mower 100 has been interrupted due to the presence of a person or an obstacle, that the user should confirm the presence of the person or obstacle, that the person or obstacle should be moved away from the grass mower 100 so as to exceed a predetermined distance, and that the user should input a new switching input for the traveling mode after dealing with these issues.

[0086] When an alert is notified in activity A306, the switching unit 337 switches the driving mode to the first driving mode (activity A307), and then the process ends. In other words, in the third switching step, when the obstacle flag is on, the switching unit 337 switches from another driving mode to the first mode even if no switching input is received. According to this aspect, it is possible to control the switching of the driving mode with greater consideration given to safety.

[0087] The user refers to the alert information and, for example, moves the obstacle to another position in order to continue the autonomous traveling of the grass mower 100. Next, the user again inputs a switching input by operating the input unit 55 in order to switch the traveling mode of the grass mower 100 to autonomous traveling. As a result, the processing of activities A001 to A305 is executed again.

[0088] If it is determined in activity A305 that the obstacle flag is not on (is off), the process proceeds to activity A308, and the grass mower 100 continues autonomous traveling in response to a second operation input (activity A308).

[0089] Next, the process of activity A309 will be described. The calculation unit 334 executes a process of determining whether or not a first operation input has been received from the user (activity A309). When it is determined in activity A309 that a first operation input has been received from the user, the notification unit 338 notifies an alert (activity A310). Specifically, alert information is displayed on the display unit 54 of the external terminal 50 via the communication unit 31 and the communication network NW. The alert information in this case is information notifying the user that autonomous traveling has been stopped due to the reception of an operation input of the remote control 20 from the user, and that if the user wishes to resume autonomous traveling, the user should again input a switching input for the traveling mode.

[0090] When an alert is notified in activity A310, the switching unit 337 switches the driving mode to the first driving mode (activity A307), and then the process ends. In other words, in a fifth switching step, when the driving mode is the second mode and a first operation input is made, the switching unit 337 switches from the second mode to the first mode. According to this aspect, it is possible to take safety into consideration in controlling the switching of the driving mode.

[0091] When the user wishes to start the autonomous running of the grass mower 100 again, in order to switch the running mode of the grass mower 100 to autonomous running, the user again inputs a switching input by operating the input unit 55. This causes the processing of activities A001 to A309 to be executed again.

[0092] If it is determined in activity A309 that the first operation input has not been received from the user, the process proceeds to activity A308, and the grass mower 100 continues autonomous traveling by receiving a second operation input (activity A308).

[0093] Next, the processing of activity A311 will be described. The calculation unit 334 executes a process to determine whether or not traveling through the work range has ended (reaching the travel end position) (activity A311). When it is determined in activity A311 that traveling through the work range has ended (reaching the travel end position), the switching unit 337 switches the traveling mode to the first traveling mode (activity A307), and then the processing ends. In this case, the notification unit 338 may notify the user that mowing work in the desired range has ended.

[0094] If it is determined in activity A311 that travel in the work range has not ended (the travel end position has not been reached), processing proceeds to activity A308, and the mower 100 continues autonomous travel in response to a second operation input (activity A308).

[0095] In summary, the autonomous driving support device 30 according to one embodiment is a device that is structurally and electrically attachable and detachable to the work vehicle 10. The work vehicle 10 is configured to travel in response to a first operation input by a user. The autonomous driving support device 30 includes at least one processor. The processor includes a program so that the following steps are performed when the autonomous driving support device 30 is attached to the work vehicle 10. The reception unit 332 receives a switching input from the user as a reception step. The switching input is an input for switching the travel mode of the work vehicle 10 to a first mode or a second mode. The vehicle control unit 331, as a vehicle control step, causes the work vehicle 10 to travel in response to the first operation input when the travel mode is set to the first mode, and causes the work vehicle 10 to travel autonomously using a preset autonomous driving model when the travel mode is set to the second mode. According to this aspect, an additional function can be added to an existing work vehicle 10.

[0096] According to yet another aspect, a control method for the work vehicle 10 may be provided. This control method includes a step of attaching the autonomous driving support device 30 to the work vehicle 10, and each of the above steps performed by a processor of the autonomous driving support device 30. According to this aspect, an additional function can be added to an existing work vehicle 10.

[0097] 4.Details In this section, a part of the process flow explained in the previous section will be further explained with reference to other figures.

[0098] 4.1 Processing for identifying the work area using the specific marker 60 FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an area in which specific markers 60 are installed. In the example of FIG. 9, four specific markers 60, ie, specific markers 601 to 604 (when not distinguished from one another, they are referred to as "specific markers 60"), are installed at the four corners of a rectangular working area Ar1. In the example of FIG. 9, for ease of explanation, it is assumed that the specific markers 60 are installed on the boundaries of the working area Ar1. The following description will be given on the assumption that the autonomous driving assistance device 30 employs a LiDAR sensor, which is an example of the sensor 34, and a camera.

[0099] First, the work vehicle 10 performs turning travel (an example of a predetermined travel). As the work vehicle 10 turns right, the camera turning together with the work vehicle 10 captures an image of the specific marker 601. The work vehicle 10 further turns so that the specific marker 601 is positioned approximately in the center of the imaging range of the camera. Then, when the specific marker 601 is positioned approximately in the center of the imaging range of the camera, information indicating a relative positional relationship such as the distance and elevation difference from the mower 100 to the specific marker 60, and the direction from the mower 100 to the specific marker 60, is acquired via the LiDAR sensor. Next, the work vehicle 10 further turns right, and the camera turning together with the work vehicle 10 captures an image of the specific marker 602. In the same manner as in the case of the specific marker 601, information indicating the relative positional relationship such as the distance and elevation difference from the mower 100 to the specific marker 60, and the direction from the mower 100 to the specific marker 60 is acquired via the LiDAR sensor. The same is done for the specific markers 603 and 604.

[0100] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an area in which a specific marker 60 is installed. In the example of FIG. 10, a rectangular work area Ar1 is shown in which 10 specific markers 60, from specific markers 601 to 610 (when these are not distinguished, they are referred to as "specific markers 60"). In the example of FIG. 10, it is assumed that the specific markers 60 are installed on the boundary of the work area Ar1 for ease of explanation. The autonomous driving support device 30 measures the distance and elevation difference from the mower 100 to the specific marker 60, the direction from the mower 100 to the specific marker 60, and the like, using a LiDAR sensor, which is an example of the sensor 34. In the example of FIG. 10, it is assumed that the specific markers 601, 602, 603, 608, 609, and 610 within the detection range of the LiDAR sensor are detected, and the specific markers 604, 605, 606, and 607 outside the detection range are not detected.

[0101] The autonomous driving support device 30 controls the work vehicle 10 to travel within an area whose boundary is near the position of the specific marker 60 detected by the LiDAR sensor. The autonomous driving support device 30 first identifies an area surrounded by the detected specific markers 601, 602, 603, 608, 609, and 610, and travels within the identified area. When the autonomous driving support device 30 travels close to the specific marker 603, which is the edge of the identified area, it stops the work vehicle 10 once and detects the specific marker 60 again using the LiDAR sensor.

[0102] In this case, the specific markers 604, 605, 606, and 607 are also within the detection range, and the LiDAR sensor measures the distance, direction, elevation difference, etc. In this way, when the autonomous driving assistance device 30 travels to the edge of the area whose boundary is near the position of the detected specific marker 60, it repeats the process of detecting the specific marker 60 again, thereby detecting all of the specific markers 60 and specifying the working area Ar1 whose boundaries are all of the detected specific markers 60.

[0103] As explained in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the LiDAR sensor (one example of the sensor 34) has a function of detecting the position of the specific marker 60. The specific marker 60 is installed near the boundary of the area in which the work vehicle 10 travels, as a mark indicating the boundary of the area in which the work vehicle 10 travels. The specific marker 60 is, for example, a board or stick of a specific shape, and is desirably installed at a position higher than the height of the weeds to be cut by the work vehicle 10. In addition, the LiDAR sensor is desirably provided at a position lower than the upper end of the specific marker 60. By providing the LiDAR sensor in this manner, the detection of the specific marker 60 can be made more reliable than when the LiDAR sensor is provided at a position higher than the upper end of the specific marker 60.

[0104] Moreover, "near the boundary" means a position within a predetermined distance from the boundary. The predetermined distance is a distance for preventing the work vehicle 10 from coming into contact with the specific marker 60 when traveling along the edge or corner of the working area Ar1, and is set to, for example, about several tens of centimeters to several meters. In this way, the specific marker 60 is installed as a guide for the boundary of the working area Ar1.

[0105] [others] The vehicle system 1 according to the embodiment can also be implemented in the following manner.

[0106] In the above embodiment, the process of determining whether or not the distance between the position of the work vehicle 10 and the position where the user inputs the switching input by wireless communication is equal to or less than a predetermined distance has been described for the case where the driving mode is set to the first mode, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the process may be performed while the driving mode is set to the second mode and driving is continued by the second operation input, as the first switching step. That is, the switching unit 337 may switch from the second mode, which is another driving mode, to the first mode without accepting the switching input, when the distance between the position of the work vehicle 10 and the position where the user inputs the switching input by wireless communication is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. According to this aspect, it is possible to control the switching of the driving mode with greater consideration given to safety.

[0107] In the above embodiment, the location information of the specific marker 60 is acquired by performing a predetermined driving motion, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the sensor 34 of the autonomous driving assistance device 30 may acquire the location information of the specific marker 60 by rotating with respect to the work vehicle 10. According to this embodiment, the work range can be grasped more efficiently.

[0108] In the above embodiment, when the driving mode is the second mode, when the first operation input is made, the driving mode is switched from the second mode to the first mode. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the reception unit 332 may receive a first input signal and a second input signal as the first operation input as a reception step, and the switching unit 337 may switch from the second mode to the first mode when the first input signal is received in the second mode as a sixth switching step, and may keep the driving mode in the second mode when the second input signal is received in the second mode. According to this aspect, it is possible to take safety into consideration in the control of switching of the driving mode.

[0109] In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which when the driving mode is the second mode and a first operation input is made, the driving mode is switched from the second mode to the first mode. However, this is not limited to this, and for example, the first operation input from the remote control 20 may be invalidated, and the driving mode may be switched from the second mode to the first mode by an input from the external terminal 50.

[0110] In the above embodiment, the case where two terminals, the remote control 20 and the external terminal 50, are used is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the remote control 20 may have the functions of the external terminal 50. In this case, it becomes possible to operate the work vehicle 10 and start autonomous traveling using one terminal, making it possible to provide a user-friendly system.

[0111] In the above embodiment, the driving mode of the work vehicle 10 is switched by operation via the input unit 55 of the external terminal 50, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, an input unit may be provided in the work vehicle 10 or the autonomous driving support device 30. Specifically, for example, the input unit may be provided in the housing 37 of the autonomous driving support device 30, or an existing button, switch, etc. of the work vehicle 10 may be used as the input unit, or the input unit may be provided by retrofitting the work vehicle 10. In this case, it is possible to start autonomous driving even without the external terminal 50, making the system user-friendly.

[0112] In the above embodiment, the vehicle control unit 331, the reception unit 332, the acquisition unit 333, the calculation unit 334, the generation unit 335, the identification unit 336, the switching unit 337, and the notification unit 338 are described as functional units realized by the control unit 33 of the autonomous driving support device 30, but at least a part of them may be implemented as functional units realized by the control unit 53 of the external terminal 50 or a control unit of an external information processing device connected to the communication network NW. Furthermore, the various information described in the above example may be stored not only in the storage unit 32 of the autonomous driving support device 30 but also in a distributed manner in other external devices.

[0113] Furthermore, it may be provided in the following aspects:

[0114] (1) An autonomous driving assistance device that is structurally and electrically attachable and detachable to a work vehicle, the work vehicle being configured to drive in response to a first operation input by a user, the autonomous driving assistance device having at least one processor, the processor being configured to execute a program so that the following steps are performed when the autonomous driving assistance device is attached to the work vehicle, a reception step receiving a switching input from the user, the switching input being an input for switching a driving mode of the work vehicle to a first mode or a second mode, and a vehicle control step causing the work vehicle to drive in response to the first operation input when the driving mode is set to the first mode, and causing the work vehicle to drive autonomously using a predetermined autonomous driving model when the driving mode is set to the second mode.

[0115] According to this aspect, an additional function can be added to an existing work vehicle.

[0116] (2) In the autonomous driving assistance device described in (1) above, further, in the first switching step by the processor, if the distance between the position of the work vehicle and the position where the user inputs the switching input via wireless communication is less than a predetermined distance, the device does not switch from the first mode to another of the driving modes even if it accepts the switching input, or switches from the other of the driving modes to the first mode even if it does not accept the switching input.

[0117] According to this embodiment, the control of switching of the driving mode can be performed with greater consideration given to safety.

[0118] (3) In the autonomous driving assistance device described in (1) or (2) above, a first acquisition step by the processor acquires position information and range designation information of the work vehicle, where the range designation information is information that designates a work range by the work vehicle using coordinates, and a second switching step switches the driving mode to the second mode depending on a positional relationship based on the position information of the work vehicle and the range designation information.

[0119] According to this embodiment, the user can perform work according to the desired work range.

[0120] (4) In the autonomous driving assistance device described in any one of (1) to (3) above, further, in a second acquisition step by the processor, surrounding information indicating the surroundings of the work vehicle is acquired via a sensor attached to the work vehicle, and in a generation step, a second operation input is generated based on the autonomous driving model and the surrounding information, and in the vehicle control step, when the driving mode is set to the second mode, the work vehicle is caused to drive in accordance with the second operation input.

[0121] According to this aspect, the work vehicle can be caused to travel autonomously in response to the generated second operation input.

[0122] (5) In the autonomous driving assistance device described in (4) above, further, in the identification step by the processor, an obstacle flag indicating whether or not a person or obstacle is present within a predetermined distance from the work vehicle is identified based on the surrounding information, and in a third switching step, if the obstacle flag is on, the device does not switch from the first mode to another of the driving modes even if the switching input is accepted, or switches from the other of the driving modes to the first mode even if the switching input is not accepted.

[0123] According to this embodiment, the control of switching of the driving mode can be performed with greater consideration given to safety.

[0124] (6) In the autonomous driving assistance device described in (5) above, in the third switching step, if the obstacle flag is turned on and then turned off within a predetermined time, the device switches the driving mode to the second mode.

[0125] According to this embodiment, the control of switching of the driving mode can be performed with greater consideration given to safety.

[0126] (7) In the autonomous driving assistance device described in any one of (4) to (6) above, further, in a fourth switching step by the processor, when position information of a specific marker is acquired as the surrounding information, the driving mode is switched to the second mode, and the specific marker is a marker installed to identify a work range by the work vehicle.

[0127] According to this embodiment, the user can perform work according to the desired work range.

[0128] (8) In the autonomous driving assistance device described in (7) above, in the fourth switching step, when there is a switching input for switching to the second mode, the driving mode is switched to a third mode, and in the vehicle control step, when the driving mode is set to the third mode, the sensor causes the work vehicle to autonomously drive in a predetermined manner so as to obtain position information of the specific marker.

[0129] According to this embodiment, the user can accurately grasp the desired work range.

[0130] (9) In the autonomous driving assistance device described in (8) above, the specified driving is driving in which the work vehicle rotates around an axis perpendicular to the ground and approximately centered on the mounting position of the sensor.

[0131] According to this embodiment, the work range can be grasped efficiently.

[0132] (10) In the autonomous driving assistance device described in (7) above, the sensor acquires position information of the specific marker by rotating relative to the work vehicle.

[0133] According to this embodiment, the work range can be grasped more efficiently.

[0134] (11) In the autonomous driving assistance device described in any one of (4) to (10) above, the sensor is configured to be able to acquire the positional relationship between the position of the work vehicle and a feature point included in the surrounding information.

[0135] According to this embodiment, the autonomous driving can be accurately controlled.

[0136] (12) In the autonomous driving assistance device described in any one of (4) to (11) above, the sensor is a LiDAR sensor, and the surrounding information is point cloud data obtained via the LiDAR sensor.

[0137] According to this embodiment, the autonomous driving can be accurately controlled.

[0138] (13) In the autonomous driving assistance device described in (12) above, the sensor is composed of a combination of at least one of a camera, a GNSS receiver, and a RTK-GNSS receiver and the LiDAR sensor.

[0139] According to this embodiment, autonomous driving can be controlled more accurately.

[0140] (14) In the autonomous driving assistance device described in (13) above, the camera is a depth camera or a stereo camera.

[0141] According to this embodiment, autonomous driving can be controlled more accurately.

[0142] (15) In the autonomous driving support device described in any one of (4) to (14) above, the sensor is disposed on an upper portion of the work vehicle so as to overlook the surroundings of the work vehicle.

[0143] According to this embodiment, the predetermined work can be performed efficiently.

[0144] (16) An autonomous driving assistance device according to any one of (4) to (15) above, wherein the autonomous driving assistance device includes the sensor.

[0145] (17) In the autonomous driving assistance device described in any one of (1) to (16) above, in a fifth switching step by the processor, when the driving mode is the second mode, when the first operation input is performed, the device switches from the second mode to the first mode.

[0146] According to this embodiment, the control of switching of the driving mode can be performed with greater consideration given to safety.

[0147] (18) In the autonomous driving assistance device described in any one of (1) to (17) above, in the receiving step, a first input signal and a second input signal are received as the first operation input, and further, in a sixth switching step by the processor, if the first input signal is received in the second mode, the mode is switched from the second mode to the first mode, and if the second input signal is received in the second mode, the driving mode is not switched and remains in the second mode.

[0148] According to this embodiment, the control of switching of the driving mode can be performed with greater consideration given to safety.

[0149] (19) A method for controlling a work vehicle, comprising the steps of attaching an autonomous driving support device described in any one of (1) to (18) above to the work vehicle, and steps performed by a processor of the autonomous driving support device.

[0150] According to this aspect, an additional function can be added to an existing work vehicle.

[0151] (20) A program causing a computer to execute each step by a processor of the autonomous driving assistance device described in any one of (1) to (18) above.

[0152] According to this aspect, an additional function can be added to an existing work vehicle.

[0153] (21) A work vehicle comprising an autonomous driving support device structurally and electrically connected to the work vehicle, the autonomous driving support device being any one of the autonomous driving support devices described in (1) to (18) above.

[0154] According to this aspect, it is possible to provide technology relating to a work vehicle capable of autonomous driving.

[0155] (22) A work vehicle as described in (21) above, which is a work vehicle (excluding a vehicle in which a user rides) and is configured to travel in response to a first operation input remotely via a remote control.

[0156] According to this aspect, it is possible to provide technology relating to a work vehicle capable of autonomous driving.

[0157] (23) A work vehicle as described in (21) or (22) above, which is a grass cutter or a pesticide applicator.

[0158] According to such an embodiment, the grass cutter can be driven autonomously to cut grass, or the pesticide sprayer can be driven autonomously to spray pesticide. Of course, this is not the case.

[0159] Finally, although various embodiments of the present invention have been described, these are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0160] 1: Vehicle system 10: Work vehicle 100: Grass trimmer 11: Operation control section 12: Drive unit 13: Running part 14: Working section 15: Refueling Department 151: Fuel filler 16: Radio transmitter / receiver 17: Communications Department 18: Frame 181: Bar 182: Cover 20: Remote control 21:Operation section 22: Radio transmitter / receiver 23:Display section 30: Autonomous driving support device 31: Communications Department 32: Storage section 33: Control section 331: Vehicle control unit 332: Reception 333: Acquisition Department 334: Arithmetic section 335 :Generation part 336: Specific part 337: Switching section 338: Notification Department 34: Sensor 35: Communication bus 36: Cable 37: Housing 371: Insertion hole 372: Shooting hole 40: Mounting material 41: Common shape part 42:Individual shaped part 43: Vibration-proof material 44: Mounting part 50: External terminal 51: Communications Department 52: Storage section 53: Control section 54:Display section 55: Input section 56: Communication bus 60: Specific marker 601: Specific marker 602: Specific marker 603: Specific marker 604: Specific marker 605: Specific marker 606: Specific marker 607: Specific marker 608: Specific marker 609: Specific marker 610: Specific marker Ar1: Working area NW: Communication network

Claims

1. An autonomous driving assistance device that is structurally and electrically attachable to and detachable from a work vehicle, The work vehicle is configured to travel in response to a first operation input by a user; The autonomous driving assistance device includes at least one processor, The processor is configured to execute a program such that, when the autonomous driving assistance device is attached to the work vehicle, the following steps are performed: In the receiving step, a switching input is received from the user, where the switching input is an input for switching a travel mode of the work vehicle to a first mode or a second mode, In the vehicle control step, When the driving mode is set to the first mode, the work vehicle is driven in response to the first operation input; When the driving mode is set to the second mode, the device causes the work vehicle to drive autonomously using a preset autonomous driving model.

2. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 1 , Furthermore, in the first switching step by the processor, if the distance between the position of the work vehicle and the position where the user inputs the switching input via wireless communication is less than a predetermined distance, the device does not switch from the first mode to the other driving mode even if the switching input is accepted, or switches from the other driving mode to the first mode even if the switching input is not accepted.

3. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 1 , Furthermore, the processor In the first acquisition step, position information and range designation information of the work vehicle are acquired, and the range designation information is information that designates a work range by the work vehicle using coordinates; In a second switching step, the device switches the traveling mode to the second mode depending on a positional relationship based on position information of the work vehicle and the range designation information.

4. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 1 , Furthermore, the processor In the second acquisition step, surrounding information indicating a surrounding of the work vehicle is acquired via a sensor attached to the work vehicle; In the generation step, a second operation input is generated based on the autonomous traveling model and the surrounding information; In the vehicle control step, when the driving mode is set to the second mode, the work vehicle is caused to travel in response to the second operation input.

5. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 4, Furthermore, the processor In the identification step, an obstacle flag is identified based on the surrounding information, the obstacle flag indicating whether or not a person or an obstacle is present within a predetermined distance from the work vehicle; In a third switching step, when the obstacle flag is on, the device does not switch from the first mode to another driving mode even if the switching input is received, or switches from the other driving mode to the first mode even if the switching input is not received.

6. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 5, In the third switching step, the driving mode is switched to the second mode when the obstacle flag is turned off within a predetermined time after being turned on.

7. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 4, Furthermore, in a fourth switching step by the processor, when position information of a specific marker is acquired as the surrounding information, the driving mode is switched to the second mode, and the specific marker is a marker installed to identify the work range by the work vehicle.

8. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 7, In the fourth switching step, when the switching input for switching to the second mode is received, the traveling mode is switched to a third mode; In the vehicle control step, when the driving mode is set to the third mode, the device causes the work vehicle to autonomously drive in a predetermined manner so that the sensor obtains position information of the specific marker.

9. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 8, The predetermined traveling is traveling in which the work vehicle rotates around an axis perpendicular to the ground and having the mounting position of the sensor as its approximate center.

10. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 7, The sensor acquires position information of the specific marker by rotating relative to the work vehicle.

11. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 4, The sensor is configured to be able to acquire a positional relationship between the position of the work vehicle and a feature point included in the surrounding information.

12. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 4, the sensor is a LiDAR sensor; The apparatus, wherein the surrounding information is point cloud data obtained via the LiDAR sensor.

13. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 12, The device, wherein the sensor is composed of at least one of a camera, a GNSS receiver, and an RTK-GNSS receiver in combination with the LiDAR sensor.

14. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 13, The apparatus, wherein the camera is a depth camera or a stereo camera.

15. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 4, The sensor is disposed on an upper portion of the work vehicle so as to overlook the surroundings of the work vehicle.

16. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 4, The autonomous driving assistance device includes the sensor.

17. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 1 , Furthermore, in a fifth switching step by the processor, when the driving mode is the second mode, if the first operation input is performed, the driving mode is switched from the second mode to the first mode.

18. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 1 , In the receiving step, a first input signal and a second input signal are received as the first operation input; Furthermore, in the sixth switching step by the processor, when the first input signal is received in the second mode, switching from the second mode to the first mode; When the second input signal is received in the second mode, the driving mode remains in the second mode without being switched.

19. A method for controlling a work vehicle, comprising: A method comprising the steps of: attaching an autonomous driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 18 to the work vehicle; and performing steps by a processor of the autonomous driving support device.

20. A program, A program for causing a computer to execute each step by a processor of the autonomous driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

21. A work vehicle, An autonomous driving assistance device structurally and electrically connected to the vehicle; The autonomous driving support device is an autonomous driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 18, for a work vehicle.

22. 22. The work vehicle according to claim 21, A work vehicle (excluding vehicles in which a user rides), A work vehicle configured to travel in response to a first operation input remotely via a remote control.

23. 22. The work vehicle according to claim 21, A work vehicle which is a grass cutter or a chemical applicator.

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